Vitality Extracts is an essential oil brand that makes products for the skin and hair. The brand claims that their products are “pure, safe and free of chemicals” and they sell both single essential oils and custom blends.
But do essential oils actually have skin and hair benefits or are these products a waste of money? Are essential oils damaging to the skin? What carrier oils are the best choice to pair with essential oils? And how do real users rate and describe the effects of Vitality Extracts?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more as we review the ingredients in two of Vitality Extracts’ most popular products: Hair Envy and Skin Envy. We’ll analyze medical studies to give our take on whether these products are likely to be safe and effective.
We’ll also give our recommendation for the best carrier oil to pair with essential oils, and highlight real, unsponsored Vitality Extracts user reviews.
Hair Envy Review
Hair Envy is the most popular Vitality Extracts product and its ingredients are shown above. It contains 15 plant-based ingredients and not all of them are essential oils.
Argan oil may help to prevent hair from damage, according to a clinical trial published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology.
Castor oil has been clinically shown to improve hair luster according to a 2022 medical review.
Jojoba oil has been shown in research studies to improve hair fiber and reduce hair breakage resistance as we documented in our review of Raw Sugar Shampoo.
Avocado oil is shown in clinical research to promote collagen synthesis, which suggests it may promote scalp health.
All of the above-listed oils are not essential oils, but rather plant oils which are undistilled. Vitality Extracts does not make this clear. Their website and instructions are confusing, because essential oils typically need to be diluted into carrier plant oils (like the ones above) until they’re at a safe concentration.
But Vitality Extracts does not publish the essential oil concentration of this blend. This leaves consumers totally unclear on whether Hair Envy needs to be further diluted with another carrier oil or if it can be applied directly.
Some of the essential oils in this blend also have medical research backing for hair quality improvement.
Tea tree oil was shown to be effective against dandruff due to its antifungal properties in a clinical trial published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.
Rosemary oil is one of the few plant-based ingredients that’s clinically shown to promote hair growth as we documented in our review of Fortero Shampoo.
Eucalyptus was shown in a 2008 clinical trial to improve hair gloss and durability.
Clearly there are a large number of effective ingredients in this formulation for hair quality improvements. We consider Hair Envy likely to improve hair quality and potentially effective for hair growth. One great thing about this product is that it’s entirely free of questionable additive ingredients like fragrance or preservatives.
Is the brand’s skin care oil equally as effective? We’ll analyze in the next section.
Skin Envy Review
The ingredients in Vitality Extract Skin Envy are shown above.
Coconut oil is one of the most effective natural skincare ingredients. A 2018 medical review on the skin-protective effects of various plant oils found coconut oil to be the best option, because coconut oil has anti-aging, anti-inflammatory and skin barrier repairing effects.
Frankincense oil was shown to have an anti-inflammatory effect in a 2017 clinical trial. This was an in vitro (test tube) study, which is a weaker standard of evidence than human trials.
Sandalwood oil is a promising natural treatment for acne, psoriasis, eczema and other skin conditions according to a medical review published in The Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology.
Myrrh oil and vanilla oil are the remaining active ingredients, and we can’t find any medical studies proving their efficacy for skincare.
Overall we consider Skin Envy likely to improve skin quality given that it contains several research-backed ingredients. Our concern is that the concentration of the essential oils isn’t published, and it’s unclear whether the product can be used as-is or if it needs to be diluted in a carrier oil.
Like the previous Vitality Extracts product, this one is entirely free of questionable additives and is packaged in glass. We appreciate how environmentally-friendly and non-toxic this brand is.
Where to Buy Vitality Extracts for the Best Price
Vitality Extracts products are sold on the brand’s website and on Amazon. Here’s a price breakdown that’s accurate as of the publication of this article:
Hair Envy
Brand website: $42.95 (link)
Amazon: $30.65 (link to official Amazon listing)
Skin Envy
Brand website: $21 (link)
Amazon: $16.79 (link to official Amazon listing)
Vitality Extracts products range from 20% to 29% cheaper on Amazon.
Real, Unsponsored Vitality Extracts Customer Reviews
Amazon reviews are a more objective resource for honest customer reviews in our opinion than a brand’s website. Hair Envy is Vitality Extracts’ most popular product on Amazon, with over 900 reviews and an average review rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars.
The top positive review from a verified purchaser comes from a user named “Barbara S.” who claims it improved their hair quality:
“I've been using this product for about 6 months. I can't really tell if I have more hair, but it definitely looks like I have more hair. My hair looks fuller and bouncier; it doesn't lie flat on my head anymore, looking miserable and unhealthy.. I only rub it into my scalp a couple of times a week, usually after I wash my hair, or if my hair is starting to look a bit droopy. No, it hasn't given me a full head of thick hair, but my hair looks a LOT better.”
The top negative review from a verified purchaser is written by a user named “Ruby Ramsey” who claims the product is ineffective:
“I have been using this product since June and there is absolutely no difference. I don’t like the smell of it also.”
Vitality Extracts has a 1.39 out of 5 star rating on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website. A user named “Sharon H.” complains they received less product than was ordered and that she hasn’t heard back from the brand:
“They cheated me out of product that I ordered. I ordered 2 bottles of product and they only sent one…This is no way to run a company unless you are a SCAM. Vitality Extracts does not know what good Customer Service is and I will never order from them again.
Vitality Extracts does not respond to nearly any of the BBB complaints which we consider to be a red flag. High-quality brands take customer complaints seriously and try to rectify them.
Our Clean Skin & Hair Picks
There are skin and hair care products containing ingredients shown in clinical trials to be effective for reducing wrinkles and improving skin quality.
HYDRAGLOW by CLEARSTEM is our top anti-aging moisturizer.
It features bakuchiol as an active ingredient which was described in a 2014 clinical trial as "clinically proven to have anti-aging effects."
Bulletproof Collagen Powder is our top anti-aging skin supplement.
Collagen supplementation was shown in a medical review published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology to reduce visible signs of skin aging as well as improve skin elasticity and skin hydration.
Ingreendients Daily Shampoo is our top shampoo pick, because it's formulated 100% from plants and contains research-backed active ingredients like acetic acid, derived from apple cider vinegar (ACV), which researchers suggest "can condition hair making it softer, silkier, shinier."
None of the products recommended in this section contain additive ingredients that we consider questionable from a health perspective.
