Varalee

Hair by Science · Australian prescription hair-loss treatment

A prescription brand, rebuilt to scale and easier to say yes to

A full rebrand to get a chemist-founded hair-loss service ready to scale. Then two ways in: a no-prescription bundle that became a best seller, and a simpler TGA questionnaire and sign-up flow for partner salons.

Hands opening the Hair by Science Regrowth and Prevention Kit: a derma roller, regrowth serum and DHT Blocker capsules

  • A core product

    The no-prescription bundle I proposed: shampoo, conditioner and hair vitamins

  • Two ways in

    An easy first purchase, plus a simpler prescription sign-up

  • Approved by the CMO

    A simpler TGA questionnaire, refined with the Chief Medical Officer

The challenge
The science was real, but the brand didn’t look it. The old identity looked dated, not like a company you’d trust with a medical treatment. On top of that, every new customer had to complete a TGA medical questionnaire before buying anything.
What I saw
Most new customers met Hair by Science at its hardest point: a medical questionnaire. The problem wasn’t only the form. It was asking strangers for a big commitment before they trusted the brand.
The result
A brand ready to scale, with guidelines that carry across packaging, print, social and digital. And two ways in: a no-prescription bundle that became a core product, and a simpler prescription sign-up, designed and approved with the Chief Medical Officer.

Services Brand strategy · Visual identity · Packaging and print · UX research · Sign-up flow · Usability testing

I have worked with Varalee for a number of years now. She always produces high quality work with superb attention to detail and quick turnarounds.

Taylor Chircop, Hair by Science

The situation

Hair by Science is a prescription hair-loss treatment service, founded by a chemist.

The business was also planning a new channel: partner salons would introduce the products to their own clients on an in-salon iPad.

I worked directly with the Chief Operating Officer and the Chief Financial Officer, and with the Chief Medical Officer on the questionnaire.

Our work together started with the rebrand and grew into packaging, print and the sign-up flow.

The brand

Discovery started with the business’s motivation, what made it different, its competitors and its audiences, captured in two customer personas. The brand idea that came out of it was simple:

“A chemist sharing high-efficacy products and knowledge with his friends.”

That idea set the tone for everything: warm and approachable, but wise, like advice from a friend who happens to know the science.

The HBS monogram is short, minimal and bold, chosen for memorability and a sense of stability.

Before

The previous Hair by Science logo: a green DNA helix in a circle above HAIRBYSCIENCE in lime and olive capitals
Before: an identity that no longer reflected the science or the audience.

After

The new Hair by Science HBS monogram in charcoal, with Hair By Science set beneath a fine rule
After: the HBS monogram, for a brand that needed to feel clinical and friendly at once.
Hair by Science mood board: a couple resting, amber dropper bottles, a bright clinic and a gloved hand pouring a sample
From the mood board: informative, high integrity, scientific and friendly, with the confidentiality a health service needs.

Packaging and print

Hair by Science amber dropper bottles: Natural DHT Blocker, Proprietary Regrowth Serum and Minoxidil
The product had to feel as considered in the hand as the brand promised.
The Hair by Science Beard Serum carton in matte black with the white HBS monogram, on a dark wood table
Beard Serum: the same monogram, reversed out of matte black. The men's range reads as part of one family, while standing apart on the shelf.
  • Hair by Science business cards in brushed stainless steel, with the HBS monogram etched on the back
  • Hair by Science product booklet: the cover and a spread on the Maintenance and Prevention Kit
  • Hair by Science tri-fold flyer for the regrowth shampoo and conditioner, with the bottles and herbal ingredients
  • The Hair by Science Hair Health Kit: a white rigid box with the HBS monogram on the lid
Booklets, flyers and brushed stainless steel business cards with white etching, all working from the same guidelines, down to the paper stocks, which I sourced.

A new front door

I proposed an easier first step: a non-prescription bundle of shampoo, conditioner and hair vitamins that people could buy, try and trust before committing to treatment. Buying used to start with a medical form. Now it could start with a shampoo. We launched it on Mother’s Day with a promotion built for reach. It became one of the brand’s best sellers and was kept as a core product.

Hands sliding open the Hair by Science Hair Health Kit, with the supplement, shampoo and conditioner inside
The Hair Health Kit: a rigid, double-walled box with a matte satin finish that slides open, so the unboxing feels like a care package rather than a pharmacy bag.

Before

  1. Stranger
  2. Medical questionnaireMany drop off at the form
  3. Prescription

After

  1. Stranger
  2. Bundle
  3. Trust
  4. Simpler sign-up
  5. Prescription

The sign-up flow

The goal: make the TGA questionnaire, progress tracking and subscription quick enough to complete in a salon chair, as the business prepared to sell through partner salons.

The redesigned Hair by Science medical questionnaire on iPad, with a progress bar and yes/no buttons
One long form became two short parts, a user profile and then the medical questions, with simple yes/no answers. The questionnaire itself was refined and approved with the Chief Medical Officer.
A customer on a sofa using the Hair by Science iPad sign-up, which shows the process in four illustrated steps
A splash screen explains the whole process up front, with icons, so the customer knows what to expect.
Three Hair by Science iPad sign-up screens: a product detail, the Choose step with its progress bar, and sign-in
A progress bar lets them move back and forward freely, and an animated receipt at the end imitates the in-store experience.

The flow follows Apple’s interface guidelines, WCAG accessibility standards and Nielsen’s usability heuristics.

  • The Hair by Science range in a row: tubs, a derma roller, bottles, droppers and serum tubes, all with the HBS monogram
  • Hair by Science brand guidelines: the HBS monogram in three versions, the typefaces and a black, cream and grey palette
  • Hair by Science iPad welcome screen: “The Most Advanced Hair Loss Treatments”, with new and existing customer buttons
  • Hair by Science iPad screen “Help us, help you”, explaining why the health questions matter, with a Get Started button
  • Hair by Science iPad sign-up, account step: name, email, password and mobile fields
  • Hair by Science iPad sign-up, product step: the serums and kits listed with quantity controls
  • Hair by Science iPad Your Details screen for checking health answers, shipping and payment before confirming
  • Map of every screen in the Hair by Science iPad sign-up, in order from the welcome screen to the receipt

What it shows

With a health product, trust is earned or lost at every touchpoint, from the logo to the last question on a medical form. Designing all of them as one experience is where the value is.

This project was a Brand Build.

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