Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Initially, I was quite apprehensive when I first had an idea to write about this. I am a normal girl in her twenties who always want to look good, and always want to show the world the best side of me in my social media platforms. I have my own set of insecurities and my own ways to get through them, and I also have self-esteem issues that even at 23, still have yet to figure them out.

However, I decided that I should share it with people who might have similar problems as me, but have no idea what to do or do not know where to start searching for answers.

I have had dry scalp since a few years ago. Probably since I started dying my hair once almost every year. Before that, I have a healthy head of hair, with healthy scalp though I have always had fine hair. In my case, it is genetics. My mum have thin hair, my dad, not really, though he does not have those really thick bushy hair type. My parents are not the hairy type, so I do not really have a say in how my hair turns out though I partly blame my mum for not religiously putting the MBR hair oil when I was younger like how she did for my siblings before me. 

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If you guys do not know what MBR hair oil is, this is it. It is usually used by my Indian friends (which explains why they have really long and thick hair), but I grew up seeing this bottles at home and always wondering what was it and how come I have never seen my mother using it on me. Anyway, she told me that before me, she religiously apply it on my siblings so that they have thick hair. And I guess this thing works.

If you have seen my siblings, you would have realized that the first three of them have a head full of thick hair while me and my younger sister always got bullied in school for having thin hair and got called botak even up till secondary school just because we have fine hair. I do not really take those insults to heart mainly because those people who actually made fun of me when I was younger, did not look as good as me even with thick hair. So I guess, God is fair. *flick thin hair*

Anyway, the question is why do I not use this oil now since I said it is effective? It is because this oil have a certain smell to it that I do not really favor. It has a strong smell that I do not think I will be comfortable with and the smell will stay even after a couple of wash. This is why, it is best to use it on infants or toddlers, before they start having feelings or intelligence to question why does their head smell. By the age of 7, I think it is best to stop applying it and let them use normal shampoo instead.

Anyway, I digressed.

So with my annual dying of hair, and even sometimes twice a year and there was once I dyed my hair or highlighted my hair thrice in a year, my scalp and hair bound to get problems. There was a time when my hair was so dry, I gave up combing my hair at all and let it be because I think if I were to comb my hair out, I would lose all of my hair by the end of the week. Sometimes, I take the easy way out by using conditioner. Not the best of choice seeing how my hair is thin, and using conditioner made my hair look thinner and have no volume whatsoever.

It got so bad that recently, I realized I have not only dry scalp, but a sensitive one.

I have tried using various anti-dandruff products. While those products works for me for about a month, my problem starts appearing again after awhile. It kinds of just control the situation but never really treated or stop it. And in the end, my hair just kind of got thinner and the problem still persists.

These photos were taken on 15 May 2015.

It actually got so bad, I started getting cracks on my skin. *cringe*

It got so bad that I think it affected the skin at the back of my ear as well. I started getting dry skin, that turns out scaly on my head and even behind my ear. It was really gross, especially when it was really dry and it became white and super obvious that Yat noticed it and pointed it out. I hate how I felt during those time.

Adding on to that, my whole wardrobe consists of mostly black stuffs for the obvious reason that black makes me look slimmer hahahahahhaa. Sometimes, when I combed through my hair using my fingers, flakes start to appear on my clothes and when I notice it, I will brush it away but there are times that I did not notice it so it was really embarrassing. Imagine if I was in a train full of people and they saw those flakes on my clothes. They would probably think I am super gross.

Anyway, the dealbreaker was this one time I had a date with Yat and we were casually standing while talking and he brushed some flakes from my clothes and insensitively joked and asked me "B, you have DD eh?" 

I hate it when people say I have dandruff. I do not know how many times I have to explain this but dandruff is caused by too much oil (sebum) while dry scalp is due to loss of moisture from the skin and can be caused by the application of soap, strong detergents, poor diet and etc.

If you want to know if a person have dandruff or dry scalp, look at their hair. If it is oily and greasy, it is most probably dandruff. If the hair looks normal, healthy even, but you see flakes on their clothes, it is most probably dry scalp.

Dandruff flakes are larger than dry scalp flakes and are harder to come off the scalp. People who experience dandruff usually have scalp odor. 

But anyway, you can Google those information yourself to avoid being ignorant.

So after that day, I started going through websites and going through different type of remedies, mostly natural, but never seem to have a permanent positive result until I saw a review on this product and decided to give it a shot.

The reviews were mostly positive and I thought, why not right? So I googled for places that sell them and found that BeauteSpring are selling it.

I bought the "Age Scalp Shampoo" instead of their "Deep Cleansing Shampoo" or their "Rich Moisture Shampoo" because I have sensitive scalp, instead of just dry scalp. If I was just experiencing dry scalp, I would have chosen the "Rich Moisture Shampoo" instead. If you have an oily scalp, you should opt for the "Deep Cleansing Shampoo".

Beaute Spring is currently selling the shampoo at $29/bottle. I know it is quite pricey as compared to other shampoo brands, but it is a huge bottle. I am currently on my second month of using this, and I still have about half a bottle of shampoo left. So a whole bottle could probably last you about 3-4 months.

The other two shampoos are being sold for $23/bottle. But keep in mind these are 300ml bottles as compared to the 520ml bottle the Age Scalp Shampoo comes in.

Other than this, I bought this as well from BeauteSpring :

This Deep Clean Scalp Oil is an essential oil for scalp massage. It comes with a roll on applicator and I will just roll it on my scalp, diving my hair and making sure I covered all parts of my hair. It is recommended to apply this before washing your hair, so I would apply this, massage it onto my scalp and leave it on for at least 20 minutes before I jump onto the shower and wash my hair. I love the smell, though I think some people do not really fancy it. It has a lemon smell and it does not really stick to your hair.

On top of that, I also bought this :

Mielle Seaweed Scalp Clinic Mask (250ml) $38.90

I cannot seem to find it being sold anywhere else in Singapore, except in Qoo10. 

It was a really fast delivery - I think I received it within 4-5 days. It is definitely pricier than if you were to get it in Malaysia, for some reason. Some sellers in Malaysia are selling it for RM85 and with the current exchange rate of 2.7, that is about SGD31. If you guys are able to find it at a cheaper price, please do share it with me. Good things must share!

This is the most important product. This Seaweed Scalp Clinic Mask is the product that helps to scale your scalp. This mask is to be used after shampooing your hair (something like a conditioner). 

HAIR CARE ROUTINE 

(First month, I follow this routine twice/thrice a week, after which I do it once a week.)

So this is my just woke up face.

The first thing I do is to comb out my hair and get rid of the tangled hair and make sure it is... proper and well-combed.

This is what the "Deep Clean Scalp Oil" looks like and the roll on applicator.

I rolled it on to my scalp, back of my neck... Basically everywhere around my head hair region.

Then I massage it onto my scalp, making sure every part of it is covered with the oil.

After about 20 minutes, I jump into the shower and wet my hair.

I lather on the shampoo on my palm and shampoo it like a normal person would and pretend to not look at the camera.

After I am sure all part of my hair and scalp is thoroughly cleaned, I rinse it off with water.

Then, I apply it to my hair and when I do it, I will comb my hair out so that I make sure it covers all my scalp area. 

After which, I will put on a shower cap and leave it on for 10-15 minutes while I scrub myself, brush my teeth, wash my face, shave myself or just sit down and read a comic while the scalp settles down.

After 10-15 minutes, before I rinse it off, I will massage it onto my head first for about a minute or two. Rinse it off thoroughly.

I usually towel dry my hair, but if I am at home and not feeling so lazy, I will blow dry my hair for a bit. You will realize that your hair feels silky smooth and your scalp feels amazing. Using that seaweed scalp, you will feel a minty, sizzling sensation on your scalp. It is as though you feel those seaweed actually being hard at work getting rid of your dry skin. 

After my hair is completely dry, I will then apply a generous amount of Seborin Aktiv that was bought by Yat, on my hair to promote hair growth hahaha. 

On some days, I actually use a cotton bud, dip it lightly into the solution and then just lightly apply it on my eyebrows too and just leave it to dry.

END OF HAIR CARE ROUTINE

These photos above were taken on 23 May 2015. 1 day after I started following my hair care routine. You can see that my skin around my hair region and my scalp is definitely getting better, even if it is just a slight bit. The skin behind my ears are not as red as before.

Pictures above are taken on 24 May 2015. Two days after I started using the products. Notice how at the back of my neck, the red patches are slowly paling out? The dry skin is still visible, but the red, inflamed skin is not as red as before. The skin on the back of my ear is also healing.

These photos were taken on 19 June 2015. One month into using the products.

Today, I have a healthy scalp, with no worries of white flakes on my clothes when I wear dark coloured clothes and I have never felt more confident with my hair before. My scalp is not as itchy as before and there are definitely no red patches on my scalp due to sensitivity to my previous shampoo products. None of the pictures have been edited.

I hope this post helps those who are currently experiencing dry scalp problems and are too afraid or do not have enough money to spend it on dermatologists or a hair care provider.

*I also try as much as possible to get a scalp treatment at least once every 6 month in a proper hair salon. I currently do not have a fixed salon that I go to - I usually go to the one with the best deal hahahahaha. But I suppose it does help with my scalp problem a little before I found this hair care routine.

** Please keep in mind that it was not an easy decision for me to write this post and I will truly appreciate it if you can leave constructive comments. I had to think through thoroughly about my decision to share this post and expect the worse kind of outcome and try to prepare for the backlash it might welcome. Derogatory comments is really unneccessary, so keep your words kind and mindful! :)

*** No, I am not paid by any of the brands above to do this review. I just wanted to share this with people who might be experiencing the same kind of problem I had. :)