You're allowed to love the weight loss and miss your hair.

The part nobody warns you about

Nobody warned you about the shower.

The compliments, yes. The new clothes, the double takes, the friend who grabs your arm and says you look incredible. But not the moment you run your fingers through wet hair and come away with more than you should. Not the extra loop in the hair tie. Not standing under the bathroom light tilting your head, wondering whether your part was always that wide.

And here's the unfair bit. You don't feel allowed to mind. You chose this. It's working. So you smile, say thank you, and quietly empty the brush again.

So let's say the thing out loud: you're allowed to be thrilled about your body and heartbroken about your hair at the same time. Both are true. Neither cancels the other. And if you found your way here somewhere between a GLP-1 medication and a blocked shower drain, you're in very good company. Some of our customers arrived exactly the same way.

What's actually happening up there

Your hair is running about three months behind the rest of you.

Here's the short version of what a trichology textbook would say. At any moment, roughly 85 per cent of the hairs on your head are growing and about 15 per cent are resting. When your body goes through something big and fast, it quietly moves more hairs than usual into rest. Rapid weight loss sits on dermatology's own list of ordinary triggers for this, right alongside having a baby and recovering from an operation. Familiar company. Temporary company.

And here's the catch that explains everything. A resting hair doesn't fall out straight away. It sits in the follicle for two to four months, then lets go. So the shedding arrives on a delay, right when the scales are finally moving and everyone keeps telling you how amazing you look. Your hair isn't reacting to this week. It's reacting to the week your body changed gear, months ago.

Two things about that are genuinely comforting. First, this is shedding, not balding. The follicles underneath are alive and simply on pause; nothing is scarred, nothing is gone for good. Second, this kind of shedding winds down on its own as your body settles into its new normal. Researchers are still working out whether the medication itself plays any part; what almost everyone agrees on is that the bigger driver is the speed of the change. Which is why nothing on this page will suggest you change what's working. Keep going. Your hair isn't asking you to stop. It's asking you to wait, and to be kind to it in the meantime.

The part you can control

So what do you actually do with the waiting?

And the lag works both ways: the shedding you see today started months ago, and the care you give your scalp today is what you'll be seeing months from now. Start the good habit tonight.

The first two are yours. The third one is ours.

Where the name comes from

“Hinu” is the Māori word for oil.

HINU began with founder Allie Cameron and the hair-oiling traditions of her Māori heritage in New Zealand, where oiling hair has been an act of care passed between generations for as long as anyone can remember. Not a treatment. A ritual. Something you do for someone you love, or for yourself, slowly, with your hands.

That's the spirit the Hair Growth Oil was blended in: 18 botanical oils and extracts, chosen to nourish the scalp and leave lengths feeling soft, strong and cared for. It was never designed for any medication, any diagnosis, any trend. It was designed for hair that's been through a lot. Which, some seasons, is all of us.

“Rawe te hinu nei mō ōku makawe! My poor hair has gone through a lot in the past year with weightloss, pregnancy and then a bad decision of getting highlights that bleached my hair to a point of breakage :( I have chopped off the lifeless hair and started using this hair oil before every wash. It has made such a difference to my hair. Ngā mihi nui x”

Ashley P. · Verified buyer

What's in the bottle

18 botanicals. 15 certified organic. Nothing you'd need to google nervously.

Amla and false daisy, treasured in traditional hair oiling for centuries. Black sesame, avocado and tsubaki to nourish. Rosemary, peppermint and black pepper to leave the scalp feeling awake and cared for. Lavender, cedarwood, sandalwood and geranium, which is why every second review mentions the smell. Lightweight enough to wash out completely, gentle enough for sensitive scalps, kind enough to use on the week you need kindness most.

The full ingredient list, in label order, is on our product page. Review it first if you have sensitivities, and stop using the oil if irritation occurs.

The whole ritual, honestly

The Sunday-night ritual

Already juggling protein targets, appointments and everything else? This is the one thing on your list that only happens once a week.

Honest timelines

What women tell us, week by week.

Hair keeps its own calendar and we'd never promise it a schedule. But with 1,627 reviews, patterns show up. Here's what customers report, in their own words. Individual results vary.

The honest version: hair grows slowly, and the women with the best stories are the ones who stayed with the ritual. Which is exactly why the guarantee below exists.