I need help!!

Hi All, I would like to share a real story wrote in to The Star recently asking me for advise and suggestions.How would you feel if you have similar hair and scalp challenges? then read on....

"Dear Consultant,

I'm in my early 30s. When I was in my primary school, my hair is straight. However, when I entered my puberty, my hair started to have waves. Those waves were ugly, especially when they appeared on my fringe. Since then, I was advised to crop my hair to a very short length in order to keep the waves at bay.

As I grew up, I craved to have long hair, just like any other girls. I grew my hair when I was in Form 6. It was a total disaster! I had a large volume of hair and with the waves; I could not let my hair down. It had to be tied up all the time or I would be called "Lion King".

I went through rebonding to straighten my hair thrice. It gave me satisfaction but it did not last. So, I was advised to perm my hair curly and I did.

Problems start to arise after I gave birth to my son. I was not allowed to wash my hair during the confinement month and it has caused much itchiness. I bought dry shampoo (powder form) in the pharmacy and thought it might help to reduce the itchiness but it didn't. After that one month of confining from washing my hair, I've developed a very serious dandruff problem.

With the large volume of hair and waves, and now with dandruff, I feel like tearing off my hair. I've to wash my hair two times during each bath to stop the itchiness. My scalp is producing much oil, to which I think is the main problem of the dandruff. Besides having large volume of hair, my hair is also frizzy and hard. I've tried many shampoos in the market but to no avail to calm down the frizz or to stop the itchiness.

I need your help in advising which shampoo is best suitable for my hair type.

I thank you in advance.

Best regards

Alice Tong"

Here are my answers:

Dear Alice,

I am sorry to hear that you have such a challenging hair situation and thank you for writing in to us, we felt your concern and we are here to provide you some options on how to manage the whole issue.

I understand that you are experiencing oily scalp, dandruff and unmanageable wavy hair. I would like to assure you that dandruff is a temporary situation and we will overcome that if the right product is used.

We could certainly treat all the issues at the same time, let's start with your scalp care. First, treat your scalp with Serie Nature's Cleansing Clay with White Clay.It helps to purify and deep cleanse oily scalp. This is a unique pre shampoo masque, it helps to gently absorbs excess sebum. Leave on for two minute, rinse and follow with a shampoo for dandruff in which we would recommend Instant Clear Dandruff Treatment shampoo or Power Clear depending on the severity of the problem. Both are from Serie Expert range.

Now, your scalp is purified and clean. Your next step is of course a conditioner. To control the volume and fizziness, a heavier product is necessary such as Series Expert's Liss Ultime Masque. Towel dry hair after the dandruff shampoo and apply Liss Ultime Masque only from mid length to ends. It is very important to avoid the scalp as you scalp is already oily and do not need additional nourishing product. Leave on for 3 min and rinse.

Towel dry and proceed to hair care. Apply Serie Expert's smooth night treatment to control and tame unruly hair and let dry naturally.

Try observe if your scalp situation gets better, if it does , stop using the products for oily scalp and dandruff but switch to Liss Ultime Shampoo to control hair instead.

I believe the above regime will be able to help control the situation as there are all prescribed based on your problems, having said that, there are also a few more steps involved, which need professional assistance such as your hairdresser. Look for any salon that carries the above product and ask for a professional consultation before you begin the regime. This helps to reconfirm all your situations that you may have because there are some scalp and hair treatments which are only available for in salon treatment and more intense. The above recommended is for your home care use only.

I also understand that you have experienced rebonding however I would recommend relaxing instead. The difference is your hair is still be with light waves but with more control and blend in with your regrowth after three months. Rebonding would create a hard regrowth line most of the time. Try relaxing your regrowth every three months but only on your regrowth area as opposed to full head. This is a more permanent solution and hair care regime recommended above is to control it.

Nevertheless, we still highly recommend that you seek professional consultation in a professional salon for more clarification.

Thank you.

The above products recommendation are L'Oreal Professionnel range however similar hair care and treatments are also available in Redken 5th Ave NYC. Call us at The Met KL at 03-21481111 for a professional consultation for your haircut, scalp problems, hair color issues and damage hair issues.We are ready to help.