“Real Housewife” Jill Zarin has a personality that some love and maybe some, don’t, but no one can deny that she has style and really great hair! It was with curiosity that I attended an interesting event for the hair nurturing product, Viviscal, where Ms. Zarin had the hostess role in a taping for “Behind the Chair” (a website for hair pros). The event was primarily an info-mercial for Viviscal, nutraceutical and auxiliary hair care products that are supposed to help people grow hair longer, stronger and faster. Also promoting Viviscal was Viviscal company spokesperson Martino Cariter, and Behind the Chair’s Mary Rector-Gable, plus the legendary celebrity stylist Oscar Blandi.
As Jill prattled about things, including her shoes (color-blocked and very cute) to warm up the audience, the crew set up the final touches for this live videocast, meant for the eyes and ears of hair stylists. But the audience included a variety of people interested in beauty, who sat through the more than an hour-long presentation (you can see it too).
There is a certain allure when you think of a potion in pill form that can help people with thin or thinning hair, or who want longer, stronger hair. Simply pop a few pills, and voila! long, gorgeous locks! That’s an overly-simple explanation of what Lifes2Good’s Viviscal does, but according to the hosts, the product is a favorite of celebrities such as Reese Witherspoon and Fiona Hughes and models like Jessica Stam and Karlie Kloss. Actresses and models have hair that really takes a beating, and sometimes even needs to be dramatically altered to fit a role. If you are an actor or actress that has to frequently die your hair, but it, or even shave your head for one role, growing your hair back and keeping it healthy, is a must.
Like any other part of your body (e.g. nails, skin), if you nurture it with the right vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, you can give it a better chance of functioning well, especially if it has already been compromised. The Viviscal supplement has 60 mg of Vitamin C, and something called an “Aminomar Marine Complex” (600 mg of it) that is described right on the box as: “polysaccharides from deep sea fish.” I initially thought this was pretty funny, since things fish don’t have, are hair or fur. But everyone knows that fish are good for your body. Viviscal also features an acerola cherry extract (240 mg) and horsetail extract (60 mg), plus one or more of the following: cod, english whiting, shark, and microcrystalline cellulouse, magnesium stearate, hypromellose, natural orange flavor, and glycerol.
I’m not a tritchologist or dermato-trichologist, but I do review a lot of beauty products and am familiar with ingredients that do various things. I received samples of the product, and I tried it, but I wasn’t able to continue using it long enough to see the kind of results you might get, if you really use it for a longer period of time. But as I see it, all of the above ingredients could help a healthy body, and hair is part of that body. Whether or not these ingredients specifically make hair grow, or grow longer and faster and stronger, I can’t ascertain. But, according to the package insert, Viviscal works in four stages: Stage One nourishes the hair follicle. Stage Two strengthens and encourages growth of existing hair. Stage Three encourages the growth of existing hair when it has slowed down or temporarily stopped (these hairs will be thin and wispy at first). In Stage Four, the hairs become longer, stronger and better.
There are many beauty problems for which there are remedies, but hair issues, along with deep wrinkles, dark spots on skin, and cellulite, are very hard to treat. An instant fix is a wig or a weave, but growing your real hair in greater quantity, or stronger and longer, is obviously going to take time and patience. When it comes to Viviscal, you need to be patient for about 6 months. Then you have to continue with maintenance. There are two different types. Viviscal® Extra Strength helps to stimulate thicker and faster hair growth of thinning hair due to: Post-pregnancy, Menopause, Hereditary, Stress, Medication, and/or Poor Nutrition (two tablets per day). . There is also Viviscal Hair Repair (only one tablet per day) good for those who have damaged hair from bleaching, over-dyeing, chemical treatments, over styling, or hair extensions. The average price per box seems to be about $30.00. The Shampoo and conditioner are about $10.00 per bottle.
If you are a celebrity who has to look good all the time, or someone who is just plagued by hair issues, it sounds like a dream come true. but a word of caution: not every product works equally well for everyone because we are all unique. “NutraCeuticals always make me a bit wary. After all, you are ingesting ingredients directly into your body. That’s not always dangerous or bad, but it is something to consider especially if you have medical conditions that might be affected by some ingredient you’re not aware of. If you want to try it. a good idea is to talk to your doctor(s) first, just to be sure that there is nothing in it that might compromise existing medications you are taking. There is warning on the box does say not to take it if you are pregnant or nursing, or for anyone under the age of 18. Another important caveat is that if you are allergic tro fish, you definitely wont’want to take Viviscal because some main components are fish-oriented. I’m not trying to suggest that there is anything bad or harmful in these pills, but while the ingredients are not exactly “drugs,” anything you ingest can have consequences (besides longer, lusher hair).
During the video presentation, after Oscar quickly styled the hair of a couple of models, including a clearly delighted Jill Zarin for whom he produced a quick updo, and he and the panel of hair care pros shared their thoughts about thinning hair, andf offered cogent points about why it would be a good idea for stylists to stock Viviscal in their salons. Everyone wants hope to achieve their (hair) goals. Maybe, just maybe, a few months of Viviscal can speed the process. If thinning, breaking, or otherwise damaged hair is your issue, Viviscal, used with the Viviscal Auxiliary products: shampoo and scalp cleanser, conditioner, and scalp lotion, could be the magic potion you’re seeking.
Obviously the panel has a connection to Lifes2Good and Viviscal, but they did all speak with a great deal of enthusiasm about the product. What really got my attention, and added even more credibility, was the endorsement from Oscar Blandi. Even though he was speaking for Viviscal as a spokesperson, he was willing to go “on the record,” speaking directly to the live audience of beauty professionals, and also on video, to a wider universe of hair styling colleagues. Oscar is a superstar stlist with a celebrity following. He doesn’t need to tout something, especially something that isn’t from his own line of hair products, if he doesn’t belive in the product. When he says Viviscal is good and he suggests it to his clients, it makes me want to believe.
You can see Oscar’s tips for thinning hair and read more about Viviscal here . There is also an official Viviscal E-commerce web site; where you can learn more and order Viviscal products. If you’re really intrigued, watch the same Viviscal presentation I experienced with Oscar and Jill, that I saw as part of the live audience.
