Dan Hodgdon on plant powered routines that add up

You start where you are, with the hair you have today, and you build from there. That line from Dan Hodgdon sums up Vegamour, a Los Angeles hair wellness brand that asks for patience, daily use and a calm scalp first. This is hands on scalp care for shedding, volume and routine.

“I feel like I’m the Forrest Gump of the beauty world.” Dan Hodgdon says it with a laugh, and it reveals more than modesty. {.dropcap} He grew up living in about 20 places, including Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Indonesia and Australia, and spent summers on his uncle’s dairy farm in Vermont. The farm grew or raised much of what the family ate and depended on balanced ecosystems and crop rotation. That early lesson, that nothing grows in a vacuum, later shaped how he thinks about scalp and strands.

Vegamour launched in 2016 after years supplying plant based actives to beauty companies. Hodgdon had watched brands use costly botanicals at less than one percent for label claims. He wanted formulas that used plant actives at levels intended to have efficacy, with simple routines people could keep. The brand started in lash and brow because studies cost less and results showed faster, then moved into hair.

What others miss is how practical the promise is. Vegamour does not sell a quick fix. It sells a base step, applied daily to a clean dry scalp, massaged in and left to work, judged after 60 to 90 days. For readers who wash for a household, manage shedding after stress or postpartum, or soothe an itchy scalp, that steadiness matters. If shedding persists, or a scalp is painful, flaking heavily or showing bald patches, see a dermatologist. For a baby’s skin concerns, see a pediatrician.

You started your first import and export business at 17, bringing batik clothing and handicrafts from Bali and Thailand to the United States, later forming the clothing label XibitA in the late 1990s. What did carrying goods through markets teach you about sourcing plants later.

I have been an entrepreneur since I was 17 and started my first import and export business traveling to Bali and Thailand and bringing back batik clothing and hill tribe handicrafts to sell in the U.S., which led to me forming a successful clothing label in the late 90s called XibitA. I lived in Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia and really had the opportunity to see a lot of different cultures and see how different people around the world lived. Growing up abroad gave me a global perspective that has served me well and led me to pursue interests that were global in scale, armed with a naive belief that anything is possible if your heart is in the right place and you are passionate about what you are doing.

Markets teach you to listen before you buy. You learn to ask who grew it, how it was harvested, what happens after you leave. That stayed with me when I moved into beauty ingredients. I wanted to know the supply chain, not just the certificate. Good sourcing is slow work. You build trust, you pay fairly, you return. That is how you get consistent plant material you can formulate around, and how you keep the work honest.

You spent summers on your uncle’s dairy farm in Vermont, where the family grew or raised much of what it consumed and rotated crops without synthetic fertilizer. You have said you learned that nothing grows in a vacuum. How does that farm logic show up in a shower routine.

I learned that nothing grows in a vacuum, there is an ecosystem that has to be balanced. On the farm, if you are good to the earth, she will be good back to you and provide you with all you need and more. We grew or raised much of what we consumed. We rotated crops. We watched soil, water and animals as one system. You could not force growth in one corner and ignore the rest.

I think about scalp the same way. Hair does not grow apart from sleep, stress, diet, cleansing or how you handle strands. My advice is practical. Keep the scalp clean but not stripped. Massage daily to bring blood flow and to spread serum evenly. Rinse shampoo fully, then condition mid lengths to ends unless the scalp is very dry. Pat dry rather than rub. Detangle gently from ends upward. Give any new scalp step 60 to 90 days before you judge it, and track shedding in the shower drain, not in fear.

In 2004, while living in Thailand, you began advising the natural plant based spa line Akhassa and building supply chains for sustainably sourced plant actives, later extending to Southern Africa and Madagascar for marula, baobab and Kalahari melon in partnership with about 5,000 women. What made you move from supplying actives to starting Vegamour in 2016.

While I was living in Thailand I started advising a natural plant based spa line called Akhassa, and that pulled me into supplying sustainably sourced plant based actives to beauty companies. We worked in Southern Africa and Madagascar on oils including marula, baobab and Kalahari melon, in fair trade partnership with about 5,000 women in Northern Namibia, Swaziland and South Africa. I loved that work. It connected growers, chemists and brands.

The frustration was dosage. I kept seeing beauty brands use actives at less than one percent for marketing claims. Why not create our own line of hair wellness products that incorporated these natural actives in a way in which we knew they would be most beneficial and have the most efficacy. That question became Vegamour. What if we tried to put these things all together into a singular formula, rather than using a one-shot approach with six different products. One routine, done daily, with plants at functional levels.

Vegamour began in lash and brow before hair, because studies were cheaper and results showed in five to seven days for lash and two to three weeks for brow, against 60 to 90 days for hair. Why was that starting point useful for a small brand learning to formulate.

Starting in lash and brow was practical. Studies cost less and you learn faster. Lash results can show in five to seven days and brow results in two to three weeks, while hair takes 60 to 90 days. That speed let us test our ideas about plants, textures and daily use without asking people to wait a full season. We learned how to write clear instructions, how to keep a brush or dropper hygienic, and how to photograph change honestly in plain light.

Hair then felt like a natural next step. The same rules applied. Apply to clean skin, use the same small amount each day, massage in, stay consistent. We kept the routines simple on purpose. No one really knows your brand like you do, and I think, in order to be authentic, you have to stick to your core values and who you think you are as a brand and what your goals are. Ours were plants, patience and routines that fit real life.

Your GRO Hair Serum at 49 dollars for a one month subscription is positioned as the base step of every routine for shedding. Walk us through hands on use, how much, where, how long, for someone new to scalp serums.

GRO Hair Serum helps reduce hair shedding and it is where every routine starts. I tell people to start exactly where you are. Use it daily as the base step of a GRO routine. Here is the method that works. One, part dry or towel dried hair in two or three sections so you can see the scalp. Two, fill the dropper and apply one full dropper across the scalp, not the lengths. Three, use fingertips to massage in for one minute, moving skin gently rather than scratching. Four, do not rinse. Style as usual.

Wash hands after. If you wash daily, apply after washing when the scalp is clean. If you wash two to three times a week, apply each morning and let it absorb. Most people judge shedding after 60 to 90 days of daily use. Take a photo in the same light on day one, day 30 and day 60. If itching, pain or sudden shedding appears, pause and see a dermatologist.

Start exactly where you are, use plants at levels that matter, and let daily rituals add up.

Dan Hodgdon

The GRO and Advanced Hair Serum at 65 dollars for a one month subscription is framed as the next step that builds on the basics for shedding and visible signs of breakage. Who should move up, and how do you layer it without overloading the scalp.

GRO and Advanced Hair Serum reduces shedding and visible signs of breakage, and it is our more dedicated step to build on the basics. Stay with the base serum if your main concern is light seasonal shedding and you are new to scalp care. Move up when shedding feels persistent, strands snap easily, or you want a more focused daily step and you know you will use it every day.

Do not layer both serums at the same time. Finish one approach, then switch, or use the Advanced serum as your daily scalp serum and keep shampoo, conditioner and styling simple. Apply one dropper daily to a clean dry scalp, section by section, massage one minute, do not rinse. If you use minoxidil or another drug treatment, or you have a scalp condition, talk with your dermatologist before changing routines. More product is not better. Consistent, measured use is what supports the appearance of thicker, fuller looking hair.

You have said you would rather retain subscribers with education and support than chase acquisition, admitting you once had tunnel vision for acquisition and lost sight of care. What changed in how Vegamour teaches routine.

We had tunnel vision for acquisition and completely lost sight of the fact that, oh, we got to take care of these people. That was honest and it stung. We needed to have one voice with one mission. For us that meant Hair Wellness, Powered by Plants, Built Around You, and rituals that add up. So we slowed down and taught the basics. How to section. How to dose. How to wait.

We stopped pushing free trials that brought the wrong fit and started explaining what daily use really asks. A short video at the sink beats a claim. We show the part line, the dropper, the one minute massage. We remind people that shedding varies and that scalp comfort comes first. Retention follows care. When someone understands the steps and sees modest, steady change in the appearance of volume, they stay because the routine fits, not because a discount locked them in.

You refuse chemical hair growth drugs with negative side effects, token amounts of actives used only for claims, and one size fits all solutions. How do you decide that a plant combination is ready, and when do you say no.

We refuse to use chemicals with negative side effects when plant actives can perform as well or better for the appearance of density and volume. We also refuse tiny token amounts of actives used only for marketing claims. Our rule is simple. Use plant actives at effective levels, combine them in one formula instead of six separate products, and test for scalp comfort and ease of use.

If a blend needs ten steps to work, we say no. If it pills under styling foam, we say no. If it needs heavy fragrance to cover a base note, we rework it. We would rather stay with what we know than serve both men and women with muddled messaging, so we keep instructions clear for every gender and every hair type. How do we create something that is not going to hurt the earth. That question stays on the bench from first lab sample to final pack, with packaging kept simple to reduce cost and waste.

In 2024 you said you surrendered day to day at Vegamour to focus on social impact work and a consumer goods incubator, while the team runs the brand. What are you carrying forward from Vegamour into that next chapter.

In 2024 I stepped back from day to day to focus on social impact work and a consumer goods incubator with a first brand planned. Day to day is run by the team, and my wife Lisa Gillespie was part of early brand history. What I carry forward is the same farm lesson. Build the ecosystem first. Treat growers fairly, formulate honestly, teach the routine, then grow.

I also carry the limits I learned. Keep the assortment tight. Speak with one voice. Take care of subscribers after they buy. Ask how a product ships, how it is refilled, what it leaves behind. I feel like I am the Forrest Gump of the beauty world in the best way. Different places and times came together and allowed us to build Vegamour. Now I want to use that pattern again, with plants, with people, and with packaging that respects cost, waste and real bathrooms.

Closing note from the desk

What stays after this conversation is the method, not the marketing. Section the hair so you can see skin. Use one measured dropper. Massage for a minute with pads, not nails. Repeat daily and judge shedding after two to three months in the same light. Hodgdon returns to the same plain advice, whether the scalp is oily, dry, coily, bleached or thinning.

Vegamour set out to make hair wellness for real life, with plant actives at functional levels and routines that add up. The work is unglamorous and repeatable, which is why busy households can keep it. Clean scalp, careful hands, steady calendar. That is the whole thesis, applied one part line at a time.

Product spotlight

GRO Hair Serum, 49 dollars for Subscription one month supply, 64 dollars one time one month supply, 139 dollars subscription three month supply. A lightweight daily scalp serum that helps reduce hair shedding and supports the appearance of fuller looking hair. Part hair, apply one dropper to scalp, massage one minute, do not rinse. Use daily for 60 to 90 days.

GRO+ Advanced Hair Serum, 65 dollars for Subscription one month supply, 78 dollars one time one month supply, 188 dollars subscription three month supply. A more focused daily serum for shedding and visible signs of breakage. Apply one dropper to a clean dry scalp in sections, massage to absorb, style as usual. Keep styling simple while you test consistency.