New Year New Hair

Sorry for starting a post with so many selfies of myself but I am really digging this look. Basically I highlighted my hair (no bleach, no cut). After much thoughts, I decide I am going to grow my hair back so that I can experiment more hairstyle since my son is not interested in pulling long hair. I am sure many of you must be thinking why I didn't opt for a bleach. I am trying to improve the quality of my hair so I didn't want my hair to go through too much chemical this time round. 

I really wanted was some colour. But one thing I didn't know is that my son is so dang clingy. I was even late for my appointment because he woke up earlier to make me change his diaper. So much for a day out. Despite the limited time, I am glad Toni & Guy (Mandarin Gallery) managed to squeeze some colour onto my head. 

I am not sure about you, but I am always most amused with the tools the hairdresser use. This time round I had a halo revolving around my head which reminded me a lot of a spaceship. So much for me-time, I was immediately reminded of my son's love for aliens and took a few selfies to send over to the Hubs to show him LOL!

Guess, I must really look chio cos my husband decided to take me out for a date after. I love thee Mandarin Gallery outlet for its location. It has a lot of my favourite places. Usually I would grab a drink at Providore and would dine either at Blue Label or Wild Honey! Quite a nice way to start the new year. Remember fellow Mummies, dates are a must to keep the romance alive!

How I solved my Mummy's Hair Woes

So like all other women, I didn't manage to escape the post-partum hair loss. I was flaking quite a bit of hair by the 5th month post-partum. Okay, I have an overly-thick head of hair, so the hair loss was initially acceptable because it made my head less fluffy, lol and it did feel lighter and breezier. 

However, after a while, the hairfall became quite unbearable because the OCD in me hated seeing hair on the floor. I spent a good deal of my free time sucking up hair with the vacuum and cleaning the bath area. It was a horrible waste of time. And...I was starting to look unkempt and had a slight bald patch at my fringe area. How unsightly!

Although I was in need of some hairfall treatment, I was also very concerned on whether it was breastfeeding safe. I needed a haircut that was somewhat mummy-friendly too. I don't have as much time as before to mask my hair or even blow dry it sometimes. Conditioning it was already considered a luxury. 

I hopped down to Toni & Guy (Mandarin Gallery) for a quick snip and Genesis Hair Fall Treatment. Really like the location because it is near my favourite places. I can grab a bite at my favourite brunch place - Wild Honey and can cross the street to Toy'r'us at Paragon to grab a toy for my baby. After the snip, I can even tabao some nice snacks from Charlie Tea. #awesome 

I am sure Mummies out there want to know more about the Genesis Hair Fall Treatment ($208). I am a bit kiasu, so after discussion with my hairdresser, we decided to skip the serum step as it will be massaged into the scalp. The treatment helps to strengthen the hair roots and prevents breakage. For me, I started to see the effect within a week. 

It is a 6 steps procedure which takes roughly an hour:

1. Bain-Hydra Fortifant + Poudre Detox: Basically, it is like a cleanse the helps to break down the subum on your scalp.
2. Booster Genesis + Concentre Ampli-force: This is a booster applied to the lengths and ends of your hair to plump the hair fibre so that they will be more resistent to breakages.
3. Masque Reconstituant: Helps to moisturise the hair
4. K-Water: This is applied on the lengths and ends of your hair to give it the shine. 
5. Serum Anti-chute Fortifiant: I skipped this but supposedly this helps to reduce hairfall from the roots.
6. Defense Thermique: This helps to protect hair from high temperatures.

I left the fate of my hair to my hairstylist and she gave me a 少女时代 doll-cut. She also gave me bangs so that the bald patch could recover. Honestly, I thought I would look stupid because I always look silly with such style, especially when there is no colouring. Have to give her credit for doing quite a good job. She thinned it pretty well and my baby doesn't pull my hair anymore. (Note: My hairstylist is Candy and this trim cost around $97)

I have the option of either tying it up or letting it down. It is a simple style but it is quite a nice style for mummies. It is fuss-free, save shampoo money (LOL!) and you can still look good. Best of all, I got a refreshing new look. I was starting to feel like quite an old hag already. Once I stop breastfeeding, I am considering a slightly more adventurous - Mako Mori look from Pacific Rim. :P

Balayage hair with Kimage

A lot of people told me that my balayage hair looks awesome for the wedding. Honestly, this is actually my first time dying my hair and I am pretty happy with the effect. It is a lot more manageable than expected. Because the stylist did a gradient effect on my hair, my roots were essentially still black.

It was also quite easy to maintain because as my hair grew out, there was not much of a need for a touch-up either. And my hair did not become dry and frizzy. But according to the stylists, that is because my hair condition is awesome! :P I know I take good care of my mane.

I also ended up putting some waves in my hair. My natural hair is actually very, very straight. But Kimage has been curling my hair for the past 2 years that...oh well everyone thinks I have natural curls. Honestly, no one give me as natural bouncy curls as Kimage. At the same time, I have also received some of my worse curly hairdo from Kimage.

But still if you ask me where to do curls and dyes, I would suggest Kimage. It is the place I have given my virgin hair dye and curl experience to. And they always successfully convince me that experimenting with my hairstyle can bring out a new, more gorgeous me. Brown hair with curl, dang I feel like a star already....and very ready to be married.

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

Soft Curl with Kimage

So this is my new look. :) Feeling pretty awesome and pleased about it because old enemies may not recognise me on the streets. Looking one hell of a corky bitch cos my new bouncy curls are so dang awesome!!!

Back at work and every one is dishing comments on my new look. When you change your hairstyle, it is not about you, it is about the whole community. I got feedback ranging from "Obasan, Ajumma, Damn Korean, put it down, tie it up, tie it higher, your fringe is too thick"!

 

It is my first time heading curls so I still haven't figured out how to look photo-worthy. Haha. But generally, older people seems to prefer me with my hair let down to truly see the beauty of the twirls. Younger folks suggested that I tie up. Personally, I like my hair tied up. With regards to my thick bangs, that's my signature look. LOL!

What I did was digital perm for those who keen on it as well. It hails from korean, pretty much the same steps as re-bonding, main difference one makes your hair straight and the other make it curl. I found the whole process rather quick (4 hours), faster than what I expected :)

Some of the looks from the hair models last week. Curls really do have more variation than straight hair. Think coloured hair looks better with curls. Mine looks like a shiny wig, Hehe. I am going to try out various looks in the weekends and post it on Instagram?

And for those who wonder, where's my model shots, please don't have too hight expectations. I think it probably gonna sucks. I wasn't expecting a photoshoot. So I stayed up all night and woke up with a puffy left eye. And when I saw so many people and the camera lens, I froze...literally. It is like a sudden awareness of the surrounding. Terrible me, usually I don't suffer from fright.

Like me straight? Or do you prefer me curly? Pretty big change huh. BF hasn't seen me yet. Can't wait to walk in circles around him and watch him confused. Wonder if he will recognise his own GF...I derive pleasure from toying him LOL!

This change is done at Kimage. The price is between S$250 to S$335. The curl supposedly last 6 months. You can monitor my curls on my blog. Lol!