If Eye-Rolling Were an Olympic Sport…
If eye-rolling were an Olympic sport, Cheryl and I would absolutely take home the gold.
After decades of hammering out products and services that are truly above and beyond the best of the best, we’ve developed some very strong eye-rolling muscles.
Why?
Because while we obsess over purity, performance, and long-term impact, we continue to watch companies with big budgets, deep pockets, and louder marketing take genuinely good ideas…
drop them into questionable bases…
and sell them like hotcakes.
Often outperforming the very people doing the hard, authentic work—work that actually benefits people and the planet.
A Parallel Worth Paying Attention To
Let’s step away from hair for a moment and talk about protein—because the pattern is identical.
At this point, nearly everyone understands that healthy living requires adequate protein. Most people don’t get enough—especially those who work out, are aging, or are trying to maintain strength and vitality.
Baby Boomers, in particular, know how critical supplemental protein can be. So much so that protein has made its way into coffee, smoothies, snacks—everywhere to “insure” (wink-wink) you get your dose of toxic protein.
We recently even read about a vegetarian restaurant, Goodbeet in New Jersey that caused an uproar by offering the option to add fish or chicken protein. The backlash was intense. (The other joke that’s about to happen is that they will cower to stupidity and include a soy based or other option to make it worse on the protein deprived customers….another story for another time!)
Protein matters.
The intention is good.
But—as always—the details matter more than the headline.
Where the Problem Creeps In
The cheapest, most widely used protein base in supplements is soy.
And here’s where our concern begins.
Soy contains naturally occurring compounds called phytohemagglutinins (yes—that spelling is correct). These are lectins—sometimes referred to as “plant agglutinins”—that can bind cells together under certain conditions.
Now here’s why we pay attention to this.
The finest capillaries in the human body are found in two places:
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The hair follicle
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The retina of the eye
Healthy blood flow and unobstructed nutrient delivery through these tiny capillaries are essential for hair growth and optimal vision.
Through years of observation, client experience, and internal testing—not lab claims—we began noticing a pattern:
Young, otherwise healthy individuals who dramatically increased soy-based protein supplementation were also reporting unexpected hair thinning.
The common explanation offered elsewhere? Hormones. Testosterone. DHT.
But when these individuals removed soy-based protein and supported circulation and follicle health appropriately, hair growth resumed.
That made us pause.
We’re not saying protein is bad.
We’re not saying all soy is evil.
We are saying that cheap shortcuts have consequences, and those consequences are rarely discussed.
Why This Isn’t Mainstream Conversation
Soy protein is inexpensive.
It’s plant-based.
It’s scalable.
It fits the marketing narrative.
And until there’s a cheaper alternative that delivers the same margins, uncomfortable conversations tend to stay quiet.
A Strange—but Telling—Side Observation
During our research years ago, we ran a small, admittedly unpleasant experiment near a dumpster where roaches were abundant.
The real food scraps disappeared quickly.
One thing didn’t, though.
Tofu.
Everything else was eaten.
The tofu remained untouched.
Interpret that however you wish—but it was… memorable.
The Bigger Pattern
Soy-based protein beverages are now being marketed with the same enthusiasm soft drinks once were—presented as fountains of youth, packed with vitamins, minerals, and buzzwords.
But no amount of added nutrients can fully compensate for a problematic base.
Just like adding vitamins to a diet soda doesn’t suddenly make it healthy.
We understand the business reality: manufacturers have to cut costs somewhere. Otherwise the retail price becomes unsellable.
But what frustrates us—and fuels the eye-rolling—is how often compromise is disguised as innovation.
Why We Refuse to Join In
This is why Cheryl and I roll our eyes—daily.
Commercial after commercial.
Ad after ad.
Email after email.
Miracle promises…
built on questionable foundations…
marketed to people doing their best to make healthy choices in a very confusing world.
You’ve heard the saying: If you can’t beat them, join them.
Not us.
We’ll continue to make pure products from pure ingredients.
And when we discover a way to make something even better, cleaner, or more effective—we upgrade it.
You’ve seen us do it before.
And we’ll keep doing it.
Because integrity doesn’t roll with trends.
It stands its ground.
Do you know what we’d recommend for your hair? Take the 2 Minute Hair Quiz to see if you qualify.
- Vitamin D Derivatives, Scalp Science, and Why the Environment Around Hair May Matter as Much as Hair Itself
- NULASTIN vs GrowOUT: The New Era of Hair Fitness and Why Scalp Science Is Getting Smarter
- How to Create a Scalp-Friendly Hair Routine
- Hair Growth Mistakes That May Be Slowing Results
- Why Silicone-Free Haircare Matters More After 40
Story Blog #6
