Giddy Tigers

A couple of months ago, I purchased a Groupon for a hair cut, wash and steam treatment at one of the hair salons in Penang.  I was looking forward to the day because I was long overdue for some hair pampering.

When I arrived at the salon that morning, I was greeted and attended to by a very nice lady who seemed genuinely concerned about my hair.  She mentioned a few things which really hit home.

She said she noticed the hair on the crown of my head thinning and asked if it was because of childbirth.  She also speculated that I slept late and that I did not use any treatment products for my hair.  She told me that she had that same problem previously too, and that she used to work for a hair loss treatment company which charged a fortune for clients with hair loss problems.  She said that she is currently using a combination of hair treatment products which cost less in the long run with the same results.

Of course, I was always skeptical when hair salon people recommend products.  I figured they were just trying to close a deal and get me to buy something from them.  But still, I listened to this lady when she spoke about the products and I asked questions.

These were the 2 products she recommended:

• L’oréal Professionel Expert Series Pure Resource Citramine purifying shampoo
• Mau Plus Hair Serum with Ginger Extract

She said conditioner is optional in my case, and if I wanted to use it as a detangler, I could apply only on the lower half of my hair.

Well, if you know me personally, you will know that my hair is naturally fine and very soft, and also very little.  Hair loss after childbirth has also contributed to my scarce amount of hair and I have always wondered how to resolve this problem.

In conclusion, I did not buy those products from her shop on that day itself, but went on home to do my research.  A few reviews on the shampoo told me that it was a good cleansing shampoo, and there were also some great reviews on the hair tonic.  Apparently one of the symptoms of hair loss in women is the occurrence of acne on the face, which I had been battling with for the past few months.  Could that be an indicator I had been ignoring all this time?

So I decided to bite the bullet and try out these products to see if they could help combat my hair loss, and hopefully promote hair growth.

After some investigation, I found out that the price of the L’oréal shampoo at the salon was the cheapest, so I went back to the salon to purchase the shampoo.  As for the hair tonic, I purchased it online.  I managed to get 2 bottles of the hair tonic for a specially reduced price too!

The shampoo is specially suitable to cleanse an oily scalp, which is one of the primary reasons causing hair loss.  And I loved that I could use it every day!  I reduced my use of the hair conditioner and only used it once a week, on the lower half of my hair.

The hair serum, I use when my hair is damp out of the shower in the evenings.  I squirt a little on the scalp, concentrating on the crown area and rub it a little to ensure it doesn’t trickle down my face.  The consistency of the serum is very watery, but when it is applied on the scalp, it lends a very cooling and refreshing feeling.  I was concerned about the sticky icky feeling of having something sit in my hair/scalp when I go to bed at night, but I was relieved that the serum actually gets absorbed totally into the scalp to do its magic, leaving me with a clean-feeling scalp.  The initial scent is also a very pleasant one, but it does not linger.

So then, what about the results?

I did notice the bottom of my hair getting thicker and fuller, and my hair didn’t feel as limp as before.  As for the crown part, I noticed only a little bit of improvement. I’ve used this combination for about 2 months now, and I’ve used up half the shampoo bottle (as is apparent in the picture above) and a full bottle of the hair serum.  Not entirely sure how long it will take to show results, since hair cycle growth takes a few years (s0metimes) to stabilize.

Here’s a pictorial comparison over the past couple of months, with pictures randomly taken.  Please excuse the state of my face in some of the photos.  I really wanted to show just the hair 🙂  For the record, my hair had not been cut or trimmed since that first hair salon visit.

Do you notice a difference?  Do you think the results will be much clearer in another 2 months’ time?