Healthy Scalp with 99 Percent Hair Studio

For quite a while I have been tolerating an itchy scalp. It was so bad till I just kept scratching it till my scalp would hurt when I bathed. Initially, I thought it was just the weather. But Google was one cruel search engine and made me kinda it was lice! T.T

So when I had a hair appointment with 99 Percent Hair Studio, I thought it would be a good idea to treat my scalp first (God knows what was wrong with it.) and in the the meanwhile share with you guys more about scalp hair care.

Some of you may think that if you have scalp issues, the only places you can go are Yun Nam, Beijing 101 etc. who hardsell you and insist you are balding. But there are actually options of hair salons (not all though) who also provide treatment for your scalp if you want to save yourself from the earbleed. (>.<)

99 Percent Hair Studio has a few outlets but I went to the one at Orchard Central. (Will write on the other outlets next time) The salon was very spacious and bright. Suzanna was my stylist and she was so patient and nice, explaining me to me each and every step. (By the way, I would really recommend her if you are visiting 99 Percent Hair Studio.)

There are 2 treatments available: Precise Care Treatment ($ 89) and Exclusive Care Treatment ($ 169). To help you make your choice, usually we will start off with the Exclusive Hair Treatment for 2-3 times (depending on severity) to make sure the scalp is clean before we can move on to precise care treatment for maintenance. For me, I also started off with the Exclusive Hair Treatment. 

The first thing we had to do before we start the treatment proper was to scan my scalp so that I can understand my scalp condition better. Thankfully for me, I didn't have lice! Neither did I have senstive scalp (Your scalp will be red if so) It was just an issue of an oily scalp. Will show you guys the disturbing pictures later :P

The first step was a minty, refreshing scrub to remove the cuticle. And it smells so good too. What surprised me was that the particles were finer than my face scrub. The scrub was massaged into my head and left to set for 5 minutes so that it will soften the stubborn cuticle.

After that, my hair was shampooed twice. Once with normal shampoo to remove any debris and the second time with a scalp care shampoo. Look at all the cuticles from my hair. Gross! Glad to have them removed for good! My scalp now finally feels it has been deep cleansed. :P

The second step was a scalp treatment to strengthen my scalp. It was massaged into my hair and left to set for 15 minutes. Unlike other salons, there was no use of steamer to enhance the absorption and reduce hair damage. It was rinsed out with using cold water. (Yikes forgot to take photos of this...)

The last step was the ampoule to strengthen my mane and prevent hair loss.  It was a minty tonic which you had to leave on your head for 24 hours. When my hair was wet, serum was also applied to give my hair the shine and lustre. After my hair blow dried, primer was added to reduce the frizz.

We did a final scan and you can see that my hair follicles are no longer blocked with oil! The whole treatment lasted about 2 hours, so the biscuits served were real handy cos halfway I was starving. Haha.

For some of you who may be wondering the about the difference between Exclusive Care Treatment and Precise Care Treatment, basically the latter has one less step. For Precise Care Treatment, you will make a choice between Step 1 and Step 2 . All other steps remain intact. The recommended treatment frequency is monthly, but of course this would depends on your scalp condition. 

Suzanna was really nice and even gave me temporary curls for the day (which my friends told me was gorgeous!) So does it mean we should try out curls next?!? I felt so beautiful, I was stepping photos (yea in the collage) as I walking down the streets. #Bimbo #HealthyHairBeautyMane

Hahaha, and I am glad to report my scalp is no longer itchy! Yea, I am very relieved that the treatment worked and was not a mere temporary relief.  I am sure given the weather so of you may be facing the same itchy scalp issue as me. Hopefully this post helps and have given you more insights and options to what you can do to help yourself :D

Review: Avalon Organics Shampoo and Conditioner

Do you wanna have ghostly healthy hair like me? Lol. Before Chinese New Year, still can use slightly inauspicious words like "ghost" etc.

Now that my hair is healthy and straight, I intend to keep it that way :P I am still not that "on" about organic haircare, but my Mum is crazy about it, intending to keep the family "crown" free from parabens. Sigh, but parabens are what keep the hair silky smooth, you know. But definitely, I would prefer cancer-free over a luscious mane anytime.

I got to give organic haircare a go. And the brand I tested was Avalon Organics. In terms of packaging, Avalon Organics has this sleek, stylish look (environmentally friendly too) which will make you so proud showcasing it in your bathroom.For me, most organic shampoo usually leave my hair pretty dry so I would need to spam a whole lot of conditioner after.

One of the best sellers is Avalon Organics Lavender Nourishing Series which I gamely tried out. Personally, I feel that that this shampoo doesn't foam much, and that causes some problem because I would be spamming a lot of shampoo on my head. Plus, the liquid is rather watery, so a huge amount of the shampoo flow out quickly from the bottle in a single light press. :( But I can totally understand why this is a best-seller. The lavender scent is very relaxing and lingers mildly on your head after a wash. Very good for the insomniac. 

And tada, presenting the best organic shampoo ever - the Avalon Organics Biotin B-Complex Therapy Thickening Series. This series really does curb hair loss. Usually, when I am even shampooing my hair, a handful of strains have already conveniently met their demise. But when I was using this shampoo, my hair happily stuck on my head.

Depending on individual's preferences, I personally enjoy a more woody scent. So this is now my favourite series! Yeah! For those who are interested in other organic beauty products, you may visit Smoochiezz. Another product I really like from them is the Konjac Sponge. Happened to buy one during their road show and it is awesome!!! P.S. it survives longer when you freeze it (yea i freeze everything!) :P

Do comment or share if you know of any other organic brands that will put my new favourite to the test. :)

Review: Care for your Crown with Essentials

Previously, I have did an advert on Essential, a popular haircare brand from Japan. Essential has a wide range of products, from basic care like Shampoo & Conditioner to more intensive treatments like Hair Masks and Leave On Treatments to help repair and care for hair for women and all their hair woes. Today, I have 2 other products to introduce to you. It is the Leave On Treatment range with the brand new CC Oil and Night Care Milk.

It is common knowledge that heat styling, perming and dyeing can damage your hair, what you may not know is that external environmental factors and your everyday habits can put stress on your hair and impact its health and appearance!

The write up on the 5 stress brothers are as below. Click it to enlarge to know what is hindering you from your gorgeous mane!

1. Blow drying: Heat damage/friction from blow drying The process of blow-drying removes moisture from the hair, both outside and inside the hair - leaving hair dry, brittle and susceptible for further damage

2. Combing: Friction to the hair cuticles due to daily combing Combing through wet hair causes great hair damage as the hair follicle is at is most fragile state. Likewise, the friction caused by coming through dry hair can form hair knots which makes hair prone to unnecessary breakage

3. Split Ends: Fraying of hair shaft due to dry and brittle hair The ends of your hair are the oldest and driest parts. When the protective hair cuticle is destroyed at the end of the hair, the hair splits into two or more parts.

4. Hair Breakage Besides daily heat styling, blow drying and brushing, other seemingly harmless actions like tying your hair into a tight ponytail or twirling your hair with your fingers exert excessive stress on your hair, resulting in hair breakage

5. Dryness: Dry hair that feels rough Exposure to the sun, wind or even air-conditioning can result in hair dryness. The hair cuticle that protects the hair is weakened and is unable to retain moisture within the cuticles of the hair

Lately, my hair have been highly unmanageable (God knows why). Everyone who sees me simply just accuse me of not combing my hair. :( Actually it is cos sometimes I am too tired I fall asleep before my hair is completely dry. And so, I wake up with nice wavy hair (IMO), but everyone thinks it is just a mess.

So what on earth is the cause?

Some of you may have heard of Pillow Friction. It is the friction between your hair and the pillow when you toss and turn at night. It causes the cuticles to be misaligned, creating frizz creates frizz, resulting in a fabulous lion’s mane the next morning! My trademark!

Essential Night Care Milk (Used on the left) : It is used to protect your hair from pillow friction by leaving a protective coat around each hair strand and prevent misaligned cuticles when hair rubs against the pillowcase, leaving hair more manageable the next morning. To be applied on damp or dry hair before going to bed.

Cuticle Coat Protection (Used on the right): Leaves hair smooth & tangle free all day. Contains Hair Supplement Oil, which is similar to hair’s natural oil.

Personally, I think both products work the best when you used them together. The Essential Night Care Milk is thicker and leave your hair feeling very moisturized.  The Cuticle Coat Protection is lighter but smells really lovely. I would say I prefer the effect of the Essential Night Care Milk if I really have to choose one.

For those who would like to get a bottle of the products, they are retailed at $11.90. Alternatively, you can play Essential’s Facebook game - Mane Hero where you combat the 5 evil Hair Stress Brothers and Pesky Pillow King to win attractive weekly prizes! With my laggy computer, it is a darn hard game.

So no more washing your hair to 'reset' your mane. Now you don't have to compromise on beauty rest and go through this hassle and routine of washing and blow-drying in the morning! Psst...I don't do that...haha...now that I have good hair products, all the more I can sleep later!!! Wahaha~

Review: Go hairless with Faceworks

The nicest tuft of hair is grown on the head. Anywhere else, you may consider to rid them. Especially for ladies, the armpits and lower legs should be hair-free cos the society deems it as visually appealing.

Looks aside, hair traps sweat and dirt and thus allowing growth for bacteria. It is an hygiene issue. And so, sometimes women just get rid the (hair) root of the problem all together given that there are so many methods to do so. IPL, waxing, shaving etc.

Today, I will share a bit more on IPL. In my opinion, it is the fastest and most efficient way to remove hair. Shaving is of course, the most painless method. But it is non-permanent and repetitive. I am allergic to some razor baldes so I don't use this method. Waxing is more painful and it leaves ingrown hair but it is faster and hair growth is slower.

IPL by far is the best method cos it best of both. The hair grown after each session becomes finer and soon you will pretty much be hairless! :) You lie there and see flashes of light through the air as your therapist work on the specific body parts.

I visited Faceworks for 4 sessions of Lower Leg IPL. The exterior of the place is clean and professional looking. I was serviced by the senior therapist, Angie. As mentioned earlier, I am allergic to the razor blades. So every time the blade graze my leg, it would leave pesky patches of rash. Angie noticed it after the first treatment and from then on applied aloe vera to sooth those areas. 

I quite like the fact they are very customer focus. Even when Angie was not around for 1 of my session, the other therapist would also be aware of my condition and not shave too closely to my skin for the fear or irritating it. P.S. you need to shave a little as IPL doesn't work on overly long hair.

The treatment room is small but really cosy. There is however no locker to put your stuff. The shaver used are disposable! Yeah, it is kinda gross if you have to use somebody's old shaver. I would catergorise Faceworks as a no frills palour. There is no hard sales but yet there is no compromisation on customers service.

I received reminders for my next appointments. And compared to more established firms, Faceworks is more flexible to changing of appointment time and there is no penalty for it. Their aftercare service is fantastic as well. Angie followed up on my rashes the next day and was always showed concern over my subsequent visits.

Not going to show any photos of my legs cos they are not the confident parts of my body. They are tree trunks that bruise easily. The hair WILL grown finer and the hair growth WILL be slower. There is a lot less maintenance and less resistance to kick the boyfriend if he tries to caress my leg. I don't like people touching the pricks when the hair just grows. :P

For my readers only, if you live at Bukit Timah (Beauty World Centre), you are in luck. Faceworks is offering:

1. 20% on all IPL treatments
2. IPL Skin rejuvenation facial treatment at $28 only for first time customers!!!

**IPL is not suitable for pregnant ladies, customers with dark skin tone/skin disease and cancer patients. IPL treatments are permanent unless changes in hormones e.g. pregnancy!

Hair Care: Ka'fen Acid Hair Series

Ever since I had my trim, my hair seems to be growing drier, losing its luster shine. :( So now, I am more open to expose my hair to other shampoo and treatments to improve its condition.

Ka'fen is a taiwanese brand so all the instructions at the back are in Chinese!!! Omg, totally putting my reading skills to the test again. *Freaks out*

Ka'fen has 3 series with a total of 7 shampoos and 3 treatments. I am using the Acid Hair series, which is  the most moisturising in the KA'FEN line of products which will help repair very dry hair to retain their original softness and glow. This series has 3 shampoos and 1 treatment, I am using the Moisturizing Aroma Shampoo!

• Moisturizing Aroma Shampoo - Nourishing and moisturising the hair. Helps keep the glow in the hair which is caused by dry or frizzy hair.

• Balancing Shampoo - For people with oily scalp. Helps in oil control, anti-aging of hair, helps eliminate dandruff to maintain a clean and healthy scalp. Also create a lighter hair for ease in styling, maintain a PH balance, sooth the scalp and helps restore hair elasticity.

• Color Preserve Shampoo - For hair which are coloured or permed. Contains a unique extraction brightening formula which deeply cleans the hair, retains hair glow and shine. Repairs and restores damaged hair from frequent dyeing and perming while maintaining PH balance.

• Rapid Recovery Treatment - retain moisture and replenishes nutrients in hair. Leaves hair with a refreshing feeling with a non-sticky, supple and elastic touch. Contains hydrolysed protein components which help in deep repairing of hair and replenishes protein to enhance toughness in the hair.

Generally, I find it good for controlling hair loss. I am dropping lesser hair! This a very light hair care series as compared to the typical brands we are used to. It has a mild smell. If you are very used to soap suds, you will be surprised with the somewhat sauce-like texture of this series as there is not much foaming.

The difference is subtle in photos. I think that the biggest is difference is a reduction in the fall of hair. For those who are worried about brands that are not well established, I have tried and tested Ka'fen and confidently give you the "Okay to Buy"! 

For those who are interested in the Acid Hair Series, My Secret Beauty is doing a promotion which starts on 1/8/2015 and ends on 14/8/2015 whereby any purchase of the 800ml Acid Hair Series product, you will also receive the 300ml of the same product.

Good deal for SG50! :)

Essentials Review: Care for your Glory

Many of you may not know, but I am an avid user of Essential's hair masks and treatment tube! I usually use the orange- coloured product for rich premier treatment for silky straight hair. My reason for picking Essential was because it was affordable and easily available and most importantly, it was a product which deliver results for me.

You must have seen Essential in your nearest drug store and supermarket. Essential is a popular haircare brand from Japan. Essentials offers a variety of products to get rid of every girl's hair woes, ranging from the basic care like Shampoo and Conditioner to treatments like Hair Masks and Leave on Serum and Lotions. This October, Essential relaunches with brand new packaging, improved formula and a new variant!

Being a lucky girl, I had the opportunity to test out their range. Based on my hair type, I was given the pink Frizz Free category. Compared to their previous hair mask, you are no longer required to leave it for as long as 10-15 minutes. Just 3 minutes! And you can rinse it off. For me, it is perfect because I don't enjoy long baths! And as usual, it allows me to have manageable hair for the next week!

It was my first time trying the basic care products and I love the lingering sweet scent in my hair. I may consider switching cos it is easy on my pockets and I think it improves the effect of the hair mask when used together!

1. Essential Moisturising Frizz Free Shampoo - S$4.50 (200ml) / S$11.50 (750ml)
2. Essential Moisturising Frizz Free Conditioner - S$4.50 (200ml) / S$11.50 (750ml)
3. Essential Moisturising Frizz Free Hair Mask - S$9.90 (can last up to 3-6 months depending on frequency of use)
4. Essential Moisturizing Frizz-free Treatment - S$7.90 (I think that was the price when I last bought it :)

How to Choose the Correct Variant for your Hair Type

Ask yourself the two questions and choose from the matrix below:
1. Do you have oily hair roots/scalp?
2. Do you have dry/damaged hair ends?

• Nourishing Breakage Defense (orange) – for weak & damaged hair
• Moisturizing Frizz Free (pink) – for dull & rough hair
• Light Finish Volumizing (yellow) – for flat and limp hair
• Deep Cleansing Care (blue) – for oily scalp & dry ends (new)

Hair Mask

The richest formula Nourishing Breakage Defense (orange) variant for treatment and mask is the most suitable for people with dry/damaged hair. The rest should use the Moisturizing Frizz Free (pink) variant which is comparatively lighter.

I am sure many of you have heard of combination skin type, but do you know there is also combination hair. The needs of our hair roots and ends are very different as such we should use right products that would answer to their needs. New Essential Light Finish Volumizing (yellow) and Deep Cleansing Care (blue) variants have the optimum combination of Smart Cuticle Care & Sebum Cleansing Technology to target both problems of roots and hair ends. As a result, consumers experience the best of both worlds with one product - airy light roots and moisturized ends.

Out of the 4 new variants in the new relaunched range, the yellow and blue variants contains technology that caters to people with combination hair - oily scalp/ roots yet dry ends. So those of you with such problems, you may want to try out their products. There are free samples available at their Facebook

Never ever settle for a product that never answer to your hair needs. After all, the mane is a woman's greatest glory :) Maintain a breathable, refreshed scalp and you can retain this glory for a good many years!