LADY@LXG: The Hair Care Salon Solutions by Shiseido

Have you ever wondered why your salon treatment or hair care products seem to be giving you less than impressive results? Or why your hair just seems to look less glossy than usual? Well, thanks to the team at Shiseido Professional, I learned that the culprit to my blah locks, was the water that I shower in.

The water from our taps comes from different reservoirs and Singapore’s tap water has a hardness range of between 60-250. Because dry porous hair absorbs water like a sponge during shampooing and water vaporizes into the air as the hair dries, minerals crystallize and accumulate inside the hair shaft, resulting in hard and stiff hair that no conditioner or treatment mask can soften.

Personally, I didn’t really think that my hair was dry or dull looking until after my treatment. The before and after shots will show you just how lifeless, stiff and dull my hair looked prior to having the calcium and minerals stripped off. In fact, to be quite frank, I was rather mortified to have been traipsing around the country with such stupid looking hair!

The treatment was pampering and blissful and I learned that lathering shampoo on my head is not the right way to wash my hair, as it causes hair to get tangled. Instead, the right way to apply shampoo would be to lather it in your palms before applying it onto your hair, which is how it was done at Shiseido!

The Hair Care Salon Solutions treatment consists of several steps, but it all begins with the application of Salon Solutions Off-Clear - a hair cleanser that strips Calcium ions and other factors that make the hair stiff away from the hairs' surface. Salon Solutions Out-Ca is then applied. As the name suggests, this treatment targets the deepest layers of the hair and thoroughly removes the Calcium ions accumulated within. Next comes a air texture transformation treatment, Salon Solutions Up-Tex, which instantly makes stiff hair, soft and supple. Salon Solutions In-Cortex is then applied in order to repair damage done to the deep hair layers.  Salon Solutions In-Cuticle is used to repair damage done to the surface layer of the hair. After all this, a final treatment is applied - specifically to maintain the treatment effect for a long period of time, using three-layer "microcoating". Because my hair tends to be dry, Salon Solutions On-Moist was used, so that my hair would retain moisture. Depending on your own hair quality, there are also On-Volume and On-Smooth treatments available.

To maintain my new bouncy demineralized hair, Tien and Amy selected the Adenovital range of shampoo and conditioner. Its has been about a month since my treatment and my hair still looks and feels much softer that it did before. This is my first time using Shiseido Professional hair care products and I must say that I love it!

My scalp, which is normal, tends to get a bit irritated and flaky with most shampoos. But since using Adenovital, I have had no issue at all. Moreover, since I cut my hair short, it has been quite troublesome to condition it daily as I always end up getting conditioner on my scalp - which then leads to irritation and flakiness. Thankfully, this conditioner can be used on the scalp and it keeps my hair and scalp protected and smelling absolutely amazing!

Adenovital contains a magical ingredient called Adenosine. The Shiseido Research Center has been studying Adenosine over the course of 15 years - and they've discovered that this naturally occurring substance that exists in the human body, has a remarkable effect on dermal hair papilla; activating and promoting growth. And so the Adenovital range was created.

The Adenovital Shampoo gently cleanses the scalp while maintaining moisture, thereby improving the condition of the scalp, and better preparing it for the application and penetration of Shiseido's propriety Adenovital Scalp Essence.

The Adenovital Scalp Treatment can then be applied. This replenishes a dry scalp with moisture to improve the scalp condition and also promote the penetration of the Adenovital Scalp Essence. The Scalp Essence is a hair growth essence formulated with ingredients that actively affect the hair growth mechanism. It permeates deep into the hair root, and promotes the growth of beautiful hair. 

Lastly, Adenovital Scalp Tonic conditions the scalp to leave it moist and clean while effectively preventing hair loss, dandruff and itchiness - and consequently making the hair more beautiful!

THE HAIR CARE ADENOVITAL Shampoo 250 ml
Suggested retail price: SGD 42

THE HAIR CARE　ADENOVITAL Scalp Treatment 130 g x 2
Suggested retail price: SGD 58

THE HAIR CARE　ADENOVITAL Scalp Essence 180 ml
Suggested retail price: SGD 108

THE HAIR CARE　ADENOVITAL Scalp Tonic 200 g
Suggested retail price SGD 48

I was very lucky to have been able to speak to Tien Goh, the Senior Educator for Shiseido Professional. With over 16 years in the industry, Tien is a walking encyclopedia on hair, and was kind enough to patiently answer our many questions!

1. Do mineral deposits hinder the absorption of conditioner and other products that we apply to our hair?
The basic function of a conditioner is to coat the outer surface of the hair, forming a protective layer and giving it shine and smoothness - whereas a mask (prepared in a professional salon) with repairing properties and protein treatment in a capsule form, is able to penetrate deeper for a strengthening effect.

However when the hair is so loaded with minerals, whatever treatment applied will be redundant as the hair is unable to absorb the proteins and moisture found in treatments and hair masks.

2. Are there any other treatments available that you know of that can strip these deposits from our hair? 
There are several products currently in the market that are able to detox the scalp by deep cleansing it. There are also products that are able to detox the hair by removing buildups and strip minerals deposited on the surface of the hair.

Shiseido Professional’s Salon Solutions in-salon hair treatment has come up with a patent-pending technology that is able to totally eliminate mineral accumulated Inside the hair. This breakthrough in hair treatment results in soft fluffy hair that is smooth and shiny, with zero oiliness feeling after the treatment.

3. On a separate note, why are some people allergic to hair colour, and would using a purely herbal alternative be a safer / better option?
Allergies are mostly caused by each individual’s reaction to any particular food or product - just like certain individuals having bad allergies to peanuts, or others having fatal allergies to Aspirin.

The most likely ingredient that causes an allergy reaction during hair colouring is Paraphenylenediamine (PPD). Simply put, PPD is the colourant/dye/pigment itself. Therefore, people allergic to hair colour will most likely have the same allergy reaction to herbal hair or non-ammonia hair colour, as these hair colour products all contain PPD.

4. Are "ammonia free" colourants really healthier for our hair? Any tips on what we should look out for when buying a box of hair colour?
During hair colouring, an alkaline agent is needed to swell the hair to enable colour penetration. The most commonly used alkaline agent is Ammonia. It is still a preferred alkaline as it swells the hair more efficiently, hence the colour deposit is richer and longer lasting. However the downside of ammonia is that it smells stronger - the reason being, that the ammonia in the dye vaporises efficiently, resulting in a stinging odour. Most importantly, after the hair colouring is complete, no alkaline residue is left inside the hair.

On the other hand, ammonia-free products typically use another form of alkaline agent - Monoethnalomine (MEA). Unlike ammonia which is a gas that evaporates quickly, ethanolamine is too ‘heavy’ to evaporate into any form of gas. Therefore, it does not evaporate, and so does not  have a strong odour during colouring. But this also means that after the colouring process, the hair will contain more alkaline residue, which will take a longer period to ‘leave the hair’ - resulting in dryness of the hair about one month after colouring. And unlike ammonia that is able to swell the hair more efficiently, MEA is not as efficient, resulting in a less intense colour deposit. The plus point of using MEA is a more pleasant experience during the colouring process, as it is less smelly.

5. How often should a person wash their hair,  and is conditioner really necessary?
It is advisable to shampoo our hair daily, due to our hot and humid climate. This is especially so for those who sweat a lot or have a normal to oily scalp. This is because after shampooing, the sebum secretion returns in just 24 hours, so hair can be washed daily without any fear of it drying out.

Lastly, it is important that we condition our hair after every shampoo as conditioner replenishes the moisture lost during shampooing, and at the same time repairs the surface of our hair.

6. What DIY hair care advice would you give someone who wants to keep their hair healthy?
A full hair care itinerary is needed to maintain healthy hair and scalp:

- Daily shampooing, conditioner & scalp tonic. Do a weekly deep cleansing followed by a hair mask.
- Invest in a good shampoo as it touches our skin. It would be best to go for a non-silicon shampoo, as silicon coats and clogs our follicles.
- For beautiful hair, try a leave-in treatment; it works miracles, like makeup for the face. The result is instant and immediate.

7. Any tips on how to choose the right shampoo / conditioner?
Always insist on a non-silicon shampoo. Choose your shampoo according to your scalp.

For those with a dry sensitive scalp with symptoms of fine and powdery flakes that fall off easily, they can try Fuente Forte Scalp Care Shampoo and Scalp Conditioner from Shiseido Professional. Most importantly, please note that a dandruff shampoo will not help a dry flaky scalp, as it will only further dry the scalp, resulting in more flakes.

Causes of dandruff on the other hand, are normally due to: insufficient shampooing, not shampooing daily for oily or sweaty scalp - resulting in excess micro-organisms which trigger an irritating reaction in the scalp epidermis. Symptoms are oily sticky, yellowish clusters of flakes that stick to the scalp. For this condition, anti-dandruff shampoo will be able to help by killing the  bacteria.

Having 2 different shampoos is another MUST!. Use one shampoo that cleanses the scalp efficiently, and alternate it with a shampoo for coloured or dry hair. This way we maintain a good balance for the hair and scalp. It is just like everyone should have 2 facial foams - one that cleanses the face well after a day out, and another that has a light cleansing effect in the morning for a refreshing feeling. Likewise, we should use a light day cream and a richer night cream.

In Singapore, we wash our hair almost daily, therefore go for a rich and moisturizing conditioner.

8. Are "sulphate free" shampoos really better and is it true that Sulphate is the main cause for most of our hair fall problems?
Sulphate is the main ingredient used in almost every one of our personal care products - specifically for its foaming and cleansing properties. However in an individual with skin that is too dry, it might be cleaning ‘too much’, resulting in a dry scalp. This might be too dehydrating for the follicles, resulting in unhealthy hair growth. Therefore it is important for those with less 'oily' and sensitive scalps to go for a shampoo with better scalp care properties. 

Shiseido Professional has kindly sponsored THREE sets of their ADENOVITAL Shampoo and conditioner worth $100 each! To take part all you need to do is:

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