Hot take: hair growth products don't have to look like medicine to work like it. Most brands in t...Hot take: hair growth products don't have to look like medicine to work like it. Most brands in t...
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Hot take: hair growth products don't have to look like medicine to work like it.
Most brands in this category go clinical white and blue, it reads safe, but it also reads like something you'd hide in a drawer, not something you'd want visible on your sink. For Maneup Labs, I went almost fully black instead.
That was a real risk. In a category this saturated with sterile, pharmacy-white packaging, going dark could just as easily read cold, or get lost next to competitors leaning into "clean = trustworthy." But it did the opposite: next to every clinical-looking bottle on the shelf, black reads premium, not medicinal, closer to what you'd expect from a grooming or fragrance brand than a hair-loss aisle.
That's the audience shift the whole rebrand was built around, not the guy who wants to feel like he's medicating something, but the guy who wants a product that looks like it belongs on his counter.
Would a bottle like this make it out of your bathroom cabinet and onto your sink?
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Artur's avatar
On my sink, yes — but clinical white is doing double duty in that category. It's ugly, and it's also the efficacy cue people are reading, so going black means that signal has to reappear somewhere else, usually in the copy or an ingredient callout. Where did you end up putting it for Maneup?
Virginia's avatar
Good catch!! This is exactly the kind of thing I think about at the strategy stage. We chose to put GHK-Cu Copper Peptide right on the front instead of the ingredient list. It's the real proof point, and it let the credibility come from specificity instead of leaning on clinical white. Thanks for pushing on it😊
DESH's avatar
Looks amazing! 💙
Virginia's avatar
Thank you!!
Aditya 's avatar
This hot take is just correct. Clinical white and blue signals side effects, not results. A hair growth brand you'd actually leave out on the sink is smart, shame is a terrible retention strategy. Maneup Labs looks properly premium here.
Virginia's avatar
Thank you!!
Nicolette's avatar
definitely agree, you've captured a real sense of luxury here!
Virginia's avatar
Thank you Nicolette!!
Sansi's avatar
The shift from a ‘treatment’ to a grooming product comes through immediately. Bringing the GHK-Cu proof point onto the front feels like a smart way to keep the efficacy cue without falling back on clinical white. Did the darker direction also influence the brand’s tone of voice?
Virginia's avatar
Thank you!! And yes, the tone followed the same logic as the packaging: confident and understated, not clinical or hype-y.
Maty's avatar
Going almost fully black for a hair loss product is a bold call, and honestly it makes sense the moment you say it out loud. I'm curious how you tested that risk before committing, or did you just trust the strategy and go?
Virginia's avatar
Mostly the second, trusted the strategy! Looked hard at competitors first, so it wasn't blind, but I went with confidence over data on this one
Angela's avatar
It definitely feels premium and modern. Great work!
Virginia's avatar
Thank you!!
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