Tag: oily scalp

My Updated Scalp and Hair Care Routine 2021 – Type 1, Low Porosity, Virgin Hair

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It has been almost year since I last posted my scalp and hair care routine, I thought it was about time to do an update since it has changed a bit since then!

First things first, my hair is VIRGIN again! No more annoying dry, bleached ends. Alongside healthier ends, I find with my current routine, my scalp is less irritated, and my hair surprisingly stays moisturized and rarely feels dry. The best part is, this routine is more simple!

About my Scalp and Hair:

  • Type 1 – pretty straight hair, but I’m not sure the specifics. Am I 1a, 1b, or 1c?
  • Medium strands.
  • Low porosity.
  • Scalp is traditionally oily, I like washing my hair every other day. I don’t like using hair powder and dry shampoo as it causes buildup and irritates my scalp with longterm use.
  • Hair typically gets dry as days pass, but lately it’s been staying moistured (maybe because of the warmer weather).
  • No more bleached ends, they are finally healthy and rarely experience breakage.

My Scalp and Hair Care Routine

With wet hair, I lather the shampoo bar and focus the application on my scalp and roots, and just repeat this process until my entire scalp is sufficiently covered. I then massage my scalp for a minute to make sure the shampoo has a chance to do it’s thing to break down the oils and because it feels good to give my scalp a light massage. After that I rinse my hair then move on to either a pyrithione zinc (PZ) shampoo or conditioner.

1-2x a week, I will use a PZ shampoo to treat my scalp. Last year I used the Innate Life Scalp Treatment, but I found it was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable on my scalp, and it was just a pain to have to shampoo my hair 3 times. The PZ shampoo is a lot easier to use and has proven to be very effective! I used to use Head & Shoulders for years until I threw my scalp into turmoil when I started bleaching and dying my hair. My current go-to PZ shampoo is AG Hair Control Anti-Dandruff Shampoo with 2% PZ. I find this to be non-drying and it is also pH balanced for the scalp. After shampooing, I massage around two pumps on my scalp and I find this enough since the cuticles are now lifted and the mileage is just better after a first wash. After making sure my entire scalp is sufficiently covered in the treatment, I massage my scalp again for a bit and leave it in for a few minutes while I do my body care, then rinse.

Once shampoo and/or PZ treatment step is complete, I finish off my hair wash with Upfront Cosmetics Conditioner Bar. I wet it and massage the bar first to get the lather going, then I massage the bar directly on my hair. I keep doing this until I feel like my hair is sufficiently coated in conditioner and I can easily run my fingers through. If I didn’t use a PZ shampoo that day, I would wrap my hair in a bun and do my body care routine. Otherwise I would just rinse it out after.

After showering, I ring out my hair and wrap it in a hair towel (gift). I find this has been the best way to remove as much water as possible from my hair and I find it shortens the amount of time I need to blow-dry.

Once I let my hair out of the towel, I apply a heat protectant since I don’t like airy-drying my hair that much. Note, I have air-dried my hair for years prior and I have not seen a signficant difference in the quality of scalp and hair. My current go-to heat protectant is IT 12-In-One Amazing Leave-In Treatment (gift). I really like the scent of it, it reminds of Nerds candy and it makes my hair feel really soft and not weighed down. I spray only the mid shaft to ends of my hair and lightly run my fingers through, making sure it’s well coated. Sometimes I also apply a moisturizing spray on my scalp, I’m currently using the Innate Life Neroli Hair Primer. While I do like the list of moisturizing ingredients in the formula and that it does not weigh down my hair, I really dislike the scent – smells like Bermagot and Citrus.

After I apply the heat protectant and hair primer, I then begin drying my scalp with hot air, holding the blow dryer at a distance. Because I removed a lot of the water, my hair dries pretty quickly despite it being long. I usually focus on making sure my scalp is dry and I just lightly dry my hair strands. Once I finish drying my hair, I apply Innate Life Rose Elixir Hair Oil. This is the only oil serum I have ever liked for my hair and I have repurchased it a few times since I first tried it.

Last step, I brush my hair with the Tek Oval brush. I like the rounded ends because it’s gentle on my scalp. I start at the ends and work my way up to prevent extra hair fall. Sometimes I take an extra amount of time to massage my scalp.

That is pretty much it for my go-to scalp and hair care routine. Here are some extra steps I’d do if my hair is feeling dry.

I still like having the Briogeo Rosarco Milk Leave-In Conditioner on hand because it’s a light mist that I can use on dry hair, and I think it would be useful come the summer months when I’m outside more and my hair is more susceptible to dryness from sun exposure.

I also occasionally incorporate hair masking in my scalp and hair care routine. Back in the winter, I tried the Capillary Schedule so I was masking on every wash, rotating 3 types of hair masks. I found it very helpful at keeping my hair moisturized, to the point that I didn’t need a hair protectant when drying my hair. Now that it’s warmer, I just reach for a mask once a month because I have not really been experiencing an oily scalp and dry hair when I do not wash on my normal schedule.

Products I Use for my Scalp and Hair Care Routine

Upfront Cosmetics Shampoo and Conditioner Bar
https://upfrontcosmetics.ca/collections/haircare-1

AG Hair Control Anti-Dandruff Shampoo
https://rstyle.me/+Z1gntCIyGJvy7u1DxQhrcw *

The Body Shop Hair Towel – it was part of a gift box I got for my birthday, but there’s a really cute strawberry one they sell
https://rstyle.me/+d9yGodOwbpdjUdUxYJyEDQ *

The Innate Life Neroli Hair Primer
https://theinnatelife.com/collections/scalp-treatments/products/test

It 12-in-One Amazing Leave-In Treatment *
https://rstyle.me/+D3NjVevLqVC4y0037o4aRQ *

The Innate Life Rose Hair Elixir
https://theinnatelife.com/products/rose-hair-elixir

TEK Wooden Oval Brush
https://rstyle.me/+JdKmryfn92r4Z_wzQAWy7w *

Briogeo Rosarco Milk Leave-In Conditioner
https://rstyle.me/+GQWRiIrQ1Lpeu-JuakpVlA *

The Hair Routine Moisture Treatment
https://www.thehairroutine.com/products/moisture-treatment

*Affiliate links. If you use one of these links to make a purchase, I earn a small commission. Thank you so much if you decide to use them!

As always, I hope you find content like this helpful and informative!

xo, M

Related Content to my Scalp and Hair Routine

Scalp and Hair Care Routine 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR-ALeOkKrk

Capillary Schedule
https://www.instagram.com/p/CKPNFWGL19O/?igshid=4dw9qyhomgr6
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CMDFVcAn4gB/?igshid=1fpn0za0mu178

REVIEW: Avon Elastine PropoliThera Shampoo, Conditioner & Hair Mask

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In the last year or so, I’ve become more into haircare due to what seemed to be like never-ending scalp issues, dry hair, and just a general plateau in my scalp and hair’s health. Now that all my bleached ends have been cut and I have my virgin hair back, I’ve managed to normalize my scalp health and keep my hair shafts pretty healthy, but they do seem more prone to dryness – I’d think it is due to my scalp’s health at the time, my age, and environmental stressors. I have been using Avon’s Elastine PropoliThera haircare* for the past few weeks and am ready to share my experience in what it’s done for my hair. Spoiler: I’m impressed!

Products sent for review purposes. All thoughts are my own, always *casts doe patronus*

INFORMATION ON AVON ELASTINE PROPOLITHERA HAIRCARE

avon-propolithera-haircare

SHAMPOO/CONDITIONER: Catch the buzz. Beeswax, honey and royal jelly (what bees eat) combine with vitamins and amino acids to form this rejuvenating shampoo/conditioner. Treat your tresses to our soothing formula, which will repair damaged hair while giving it a smooth and manageable appearance. Benefits: Repairs damaged hair, Smooths & softens hair

HAIR MASK: Catch the buzz. Treat your tresses to our rejuvenating hair mask, made with beeswax, honey and royal jelly (what bees eat). This nutrient-enriched formula will help deeply nourish your hair and repair damaged split-ends. Benefits: Infused with nutrients and antioxidants that help provide deep nutrition and protection from heat and damage

Our Elastine PropoliThera is formulated to add new life to your hair. Free of sulfates and parabens, it infuses every strand with healthy-looking body and shine.

– Avon.ca

ADDITIONAL CLAIMS:

  • Suitable for all hair types, color-treated hair, permed hair or chemically-treated hair
  • Paraben-free, sulfate-free
  • Made in Korea

PACKAGING:  All are packaged in plastic components, the shampoo and hair mask are opaque orange. Shampoo and conditioner are pump bottles, the hair mask is a large jar with a twist-off lid.

HIGHLIGHTED INGREDIENTS:

  • Propolis (tree sap plus beeswax) – Contains minerals, vitamins, amino acids and antioxidants to help restore weak and brittle hair.
  • Honey (made by bees from the nectar of flowers) – Helps restore moisture.
  • Royal jelly (the food of bees) – Helps lock in shine and restore hair’s natural luster.

These three key ingredients all share the same primary function, acting as a moisturizing ingredient to prevent hair from becoming dry and brittle. Although they are quite high in the ingredient list, I’m quite pleased with the overall formulation of each product for I can see how they help add and retain moisture. Another thing I noticed is Fragrance being high on the list, and I definitely smelled it! It’s quite sweet but I personally like it and really enjoyed using the shampoo, conditioner, and hair mask each time. It also lingered for a while as well.

AVON ELASTINE PROPOLITHERA SHAMPOO & CONDITIONER

AMOUNT: 16.9 fl. oz
PRICE: $24 CAD / $18 USD
WHERE TO BUY: Shampoo – Avon.ca, Conditioner – Avon.ca

INGREDIENTS

avon-propolithera-shampoo-ingredients

The Elastine PropoliThera Damage Repair Shampoo contains gentle surfactants that cleanse the scalp and hair root without stripping them of moisture. It also has Dimethicone to help close the cuticles at the top of the head. It’s interesting to see Iron Oxides on the list as well, I’m wondering if they happen to stay on our scalp and hair root after washing to protect the crown area against visible light, or maybe I’m over-analyzing and it’s purely used for adding colour to the shampoo. Either way, it’s a nice-to-have in my books! Moisturized and protected scalp and root definitely help pave the way for healthy-looking hair shaft.

avon-propolithera-conditioner-ingredients

The Elastine PropoliThera Damage Repair Conditioner is also formulated with Dimethicone, but in this use case it’ll help close the cuticles at the mid-shaft to ends. The conditioner also contains some nice emollients such as Meadowfoam Seed Oil, Shea Butter, Moringa Oleifera Seed Oil, Argan Oil, Hydrolyzed Collagen, and Tocopherol.

With both shampoo and conditioner, I’m quite impressed with the list of ingredients that are beneficial to my hair health!

EXPERIENCE

  • Smells delicious
  • Did not need to use a lot of the shampoo to sufficiently massage onto my entire scalp
  • Shampoo lathered nicely
  • Used a typical amount of conditioner I needed to coat the mid-shaft to ends
  • Hair felt very soft from scalp to ends
  • I never experienced buildup from the Dimethicone because I always used a clarifying shampoo on the following wash

AVON ELASTINE PROPOLITHERA HAIR MASK

avon-propolithera-hair-mask

AMOUNT: 10.1 fl. oz
PRICE: $24 CAD / $18 USD
WHERE TO BUY: Avon.ca

INGREDIENTS

The Elastine PropoliThera Damage Repair Hair Mask has a pretty awesome whopper of great ingredients, and I really wasn’t expecting there to be that much!

Alongside the key ingredients mentioned prior, there are more than a handful of additional moisturizing ingredients high on the list such as Glycerin, Shea Butter, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Argan Oil, Moringa Oleifera Seed Oil, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Hydrolyzed Collagen, and Panthenol.

I was most excited to see Amodimethicone in this hair mask as well, an ingredient I recently learned about from Lab Muffin. In short, it is a silicone with amino-acid groups that selectively attaches to damaged hair more strongly, moisturizes the hair and leaves a protective film, without buildup!

EXPERIENCE

  • Smells delicious
  • Left it in my hair for 20 minutes – 2 hours prior to washing
  • Bleached ends felt noticeably softer – I have never experienced a hair mask making a difference before!
  • Now that I have a full head of virgin hair, I still notice my ends feeling extra soft after using the Hair Mask

FINAL THOUGHTS ON AVON ELASTINE PROPOLITHERA HAIRCARE

Based on ingredients and performance, I am really impressed by Avon’s Elastine PropoliThera Damage Repair haircare! I have never tried haircare products from Avon before, but I’m really glad this was my first experience. Every time I used these products, my hair felt soft, looked shiny, and didn’t feel weighed down. I enjoyed the fragrance in these products and rarely had headaches after using them. Overall using Avon’s Elastine PropoliThera haircare a pleasant experience and I do feel like they have contributed to my scalp and hair’s overall health.

As always, I hope reviews like these are helpful and informative.

xo, M

HAIRCARE HAUL: She’s a big one!

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Hey everyone!

I haven’t done a hair specific post before, but I’d thought no better time then now since I bought a LOT of items to improve my scalp and hair.

I’ve tried every single product listed below, but will wait another month to give them proper reviews. All you have to know for now is I’ve been getting positive comments on how my hair has been looking! My friend says it visibly looks smoother, my mother even noticed it looks thicker and fuller, particular at the front, and I’ve noticed my hair feels super soft despite having bleached/dyed ends.

My hair:  Long (underboob length). Dark brown that gets natural highlights in the summer, tips are dyed because I’ve been growing out my natural hair – haven’t dyed my hair since December 2017. Pretty much straight 24/7 – although when I get a haircut there is a slight wave. Would say mostly my hair is 1A. Low porosity. Not thick like typical Asian hair but still considered thick (if that makes sense).

My Scalp: Used to be super inflamed when I bleached for years, to the point where I developed a disgusting amount of dandruff. Now it is fairly balanced – no dandruff, but scalp gets itchy by the 2nd day after washing. Scalp can get quite oily. I tried “adjusting” to wash my hair only 1-2x a week for a year and it never adjusted (yes, even without using heat, using SLS and silicone-free shampoo / conditioners, dry shampoo).

CALIA NATURAL

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Broken record intro, yes, I heard about this from Holistic Habits lol.

I actually contacted Calia Natural customer service because they actually have such a huge selection of products, catered to any hair type! After explaining to them my current scalp and hair situation, they recommended for me the Purifying line for dry hair, the Balancing line, and to do a conditioning mask every so often. I opted for the smallest sizes of their Purifying Shampoo, Balancing Conditioner, and Intensive Conditioner. I’ve used these a handful of times and holy moly, my hair feels AMAZING. I’m no stranger to SLS-free, silicone-free shampoos and such. I’ve actually been using them for years. I think the biggest standout about their products is that they are attentive to the pH of their products. Their shampoos are around pH 5.5 (like the scalp) and conditioners around pH 4.5 (like the hair shaft). I am VERY impressed with these products so far, and totally get the hype around them.

THE INNATE LIFE + HASK

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This brand has also been mentioned by Holistic Habits, but it was actually OrganicallyAnna’s review that convinced me to give this the Innate Life a go. I purchased their small bundle which contains their Scalp Treatment for Problematic Scalp, Herbal Hair Mask and Rose Hair Elixir. I have had an irritated scalp for years, and have always bought serums to help. Not once however, did I ever intently massage my scalp, or did I ever use something so oil-based for it before! I tried coconut oil in the past and honestly w-t-f is the point if I need to do 2-4 shampoos to get it out!? So far though the Scalp Treatment has been fairly easy to wash out, and very enjoyable to use! I love the scent of the Herbal Hair Mask, but it performs kinda meh; I’ll have to try it in different ways to see how it performs best.

IMG_20190606_165113.jpg

Usually for hair oils, silicone always performs the best for me, hence why I purchased an amazingly affordable one from Hask – their Monoi Nourishing Shine Oil. I love how a small amount goes a long way and makes my bleached, dyed ends feels soft. However, I am equally as impressed and more obsessed with the smell from the Innate Life’s Rose Hair Elixir. O-M-G, yes, you smell like roses for majority of the day if you use this in your hair. Both hair oils have great scents actually, not super strong, quite subtle, but I prefer the natural scent from the Rose Hair Elixir.

BEACH COSMETICS

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After giving spot-on recommendations, I trusted OrganicallyAnna with another one of her favourites, Beach Cosmetics Mellow Out Leave-In Conditioning Detangler. After having horrid results from using Carina Organics Sweet Pea Leave-In Conditioner, I steered clear from leave-in conditioners for a while. I tried a sample-size of the Briogeo one and actually seemed decent, but I opted to support a more local brand made by a Canadian actress! I’ve used this detangler the least amount of times compared to the other products, but I still enjoyed using it the couple of times I did! It’s a lovely fine spray, leaves my hair actually detangled, feeling soft, and smelling like a cookie! It’s a bit too faux-fragranced for my liking, yet I can’t stop smelling my hair and feeling delicious. Either way while it’s in my hair it’s not overpowering and I don’t smell it unless I willingly sniff my hair (admittedly more often than usual). I may consider the Briogeo one in the future but for now I’m happy with the one I just got!

TEK BRUSHES + KITSCH

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The only tools / accessories purchased in this haul! I feel like almost every channel I watched, TEK Brushes were ALWAYS mentioned! And on top of that, I haven’t found a brush that looks quite like it (well, I did, but the quality was poo-poo). I caved and bought TEK’s Oval Brush, which I have been loving! Basically a wooden brush is supposed to help massaging your scalp, help distribute your natural oils throughout your hair strands, and not cause a lot of breakage to your hair when brushing. So far the head massages have been nice and gentle, and I can’t really tell if the “oil distribution” part is doing much. Either way this brush definitely performs and is great quality! As for the Kitsch Microfiber Hair Towel Wrap – I like how microfiber absorbs a lot of water from my hair, for this has helped reduce the amount of heat I use significantly! I already had a microfiber cloth, but Kitsch offered a turban towel so I had to get it. I’m happy to report that it fits all my hair easily!

Honourable Mention: Revlon One-Step Dryer and Volumizer. Check out my Instagram post on it if you want to know more about why I love this tool!

And that’s that for the haul! I’m going to attempt to explain my haircare routine in the future, and I’ll be reviewing some of the products at a later date (I’m thinking July, since some of these products are made by Canadians!).

xo, M