Hello, my hair colour do not last!

I have recently received a query on the fan page from Facebook about hair colour. It goes like this;
Hello, how much to color hair plus treatment?Is the color lomg lasting? I dyed my hair last time and it just last for 2-3 months only.

Here is my answer;

Hello, thank you for your query. Hair colour eventhough named as a permanent color would indeed last for about 2-3 months like you have mentioned. A temporary color would last for 1 - 8 shampoos. Have you noticed that in that 2-3 months, you would have seen at least 2 inch of new hair growth and that the color on your ends will fade with less colour intensity and shine. So even if there is a product called permanent colour which never fade, you will still expect to see long dark hair regrowth on your roots. All hair colors will fade and primarily due to natural oxidation. Natural environment such as sun, water and oxygen will cause color fadage. Put it in a way that even if your hair is 100% natural color, the colour at the ends will still be a lighter brown due to this natural oxydation process. Hair color are never meant to wear more than 4 months because of this situation, this also explained why you could see some ladies with long hair on the street wearing a faded 'orange' 'rusty' ends with dark roots. Treat hair coloring as your beauty accessory such as make-up, make-up transform a face but have to remove it at the end of the day. Isn't nice to have a 'permanent make-up?'. Jokes aside, when you see a 2-3 inch regrowth on the roots and faded orange ends means it is time to do either one of this actions. Action 1: Do a brand new color work Action 2: If you are tired of the color maintenance, tone down the ends to minimize the color level gap between the ends and the roots ala subtle 'ombre' effect with a semi-permanent colour.
Cost of hair colouring work is based on the type of work involve. It would be helpful if you could send me a pic of the colour work you desire.

Hope you get some learnings here on how often you should color your hair amd how to maintain it. Write to me if you have other questions about hair colour, I'll be glad to help😀

Can you really make your hair grow faster?

Can we really? 

This question is best answered by women who have an issue of gray hair. A very particular woman about vanity colors her white roots every two weeks and there is nothing wrong with that. This is just an indication for you to gauge how fast hair can grow and yes, they will see new white roots on the second week after their first coverage.

For the rest of us who have not or has yet to experience this dilemma, the same goes for natural color, just that you would not see it because it is of the same dark color. Hair generally grows approx 1 cm per month and how healthy it is depending on our lifestyle to ensure longevity of each hair life cycle. There is really no point if hair could grow fast however lifespan is very short. Human goes through life cycles, for i.e infant, teens and adulthood. The same goes with hair with its 3 life cycles; the growing stage, maintenance stage and drop out stage; these are just laymen terms without being too technical.

It is therefore important that we have to ensure the growing stage and the maintenance stage is prolonged or delayed before it reaches the drop out stage. This is like investing in super anti aging creams to delay signs of aging.Thanks to science, innovation and technology like Botox, Line filler serum or surgery for face to diminish facial lines, hair too has it’s own version. We can now target specifically the hair growing stage and the maintenance stage and shampoo to ensure it is healthy and supple.

L’Oreal Professionnel Density Advanced shampoo from Serie Expert range is first to consider as a cleansing product. It contained Vitamin PP and B6 with Omega 6 to nourish the hair roots then use a leave-in scalp treatment like the new Trinical . It act like a booster to target and strengthening hair growth stage then it can be use alternately with Aminexil . Aminexil is another leave in scalp treatment specifically to stimulate inactive hair follicles which means zero hair growth after the drop out stage.

Our naked eye will not be able to see and tell the lifespan of each strand of hair on our scalp as each strand varies otherwise we would experience total baldness when it is time to a new growth cycle once every few months! It is therefore advisable to use these products when you want and feel like treating your scalp or when you are experiencing slow hair growing pattern. Lifestyle and healthy diet also plays a major role to see a better result.

Would you want to try washing hair everyday as a lot of your friends would say to expedite hair growth? Science or tale, you decide…..

At a glance at The Met KL hair salon

Welcome to The Met KL Hair Salon, an urban and edgy salon but with commercial styles that is very easy to maintain

Overview of our salon, using only premium hair care lines like Redken 5th NYC

A special Redken for Men retail products and Pureology Hair Care for Colored Hair

Redken Hair Care and Styling retail section

Styling Stations

We are located at Ground Floor, President House, Park Royal Hotel in the heart of Kuala Lumpur

redken.com

What to do with damaged hair?

My article is featured in this month Female magazine.I wrote about the concerns of damage hair and how it is to be cared for.Lots of hot tips to be shared..

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.

How can I control my life when I can't control my hair?

The above title is the reason most clients see us. When they are stuck somewhere and no longer know how to manage, or when they are heartbroken, they will see us for a change of hairstyle or hair color to represent a brand new start. When they are inspired by some new looks from Hollywood e.g. when Victoria Beckham was wearing the infamous bob cut, they come to us to help inject a dose of glamour into their lives. We are indeed very important people, responsible and accountable for the happiness of women and their well being. The next question is to find out how responsible are we, really?

“Responsible” (ri-spon-suh-buhl) according to the dictionary means “answerable or accountable, as for something within one’s power, control, or management. Capable of a rational thought or action”. Have we ever wondered why most customers have poor impressions about hair coloring? Have we ever wondered why most professional models are so unwillingly to accept hair shows? Even when they can, guess what are the most common no-no’s…..no “bleaching”. Yes, we all know that especially those of us who organize hair shows. No matter whether they are customers or models they do have something in common, the poor perception about hair coloring. I mention perception because deep deep down, we are the one who are responsible. Remember the definition of “Responsible”? – “being capable of a rational thought or action”.

I was having this conversation with my colleague who is responsible for sales; we do have a very comfortable café with lots of cakes, bagels and all sorts of coffee and other beverages on sale at our office so it makes sense to find some time to connect with colleagues while having a cuppa. She told me that salons in Taipei are generally ok even if they feel the technical work like color or perm could damage customer’s hair at that moment as this provides them the opportunity to sell hair treatments as well. Here are my thoughts; do we sell hair treatments only for damaged hair clients? Is that how the poor perception about hair coloring started? There are a few consequences if we do not make a rational decision for the customers. First, the customer will think twice if we offer our color services again in the future, so why not think of long term business relationships and gain trust instead, of short term gains. Second, we are not educating customers about the importance of treating hair. The way we do salon business now should not be the same as we did five or ten years ago. Just look at skin care; there are cleansers, toners, serums/essences, day creams, night creams, sun blocks, eye creams, face scrubs. Have I missed any more face products because I am sure they are more! Customers are fully aware about these face products and it has become a necessity. How could hair care evolve to become this important to people’s daily routines? FYI Scalp, hair and skin share the same structure; however scalps are even more complex.

Let’s organize a debrief session with your team on how we could be innovative. Share our knowledge and experience with our colleagues. Educate customers about the science of hair and why we should treat it, and how hair could become damaged or dry. More innovation news to share about hair care; there will be scrubs for hair and scalp in the near future and there are already organic ingredient in shampoos. Professional hair care companies have already started to kick off the path to evolve in professional and salon retail products. Are you ready to evolve or would you rather choose to be comfortable? Make a choice, because no one but you yourself is responsible for the decision.

The Met KL – Celebration

Madonna Louise Ciccone (born 16 August 1958), known simply by her first name, is an American pop singer-songwriter, record and film producer, film director, dancer, actress, author and fashion icon. Guinness World Records listed Madonna as the most successful female recording artist of all time. Madonna is often referred to by the media as the 'Queen of Pop'. Madonna's record company credited her as having sold over 232 million albums and 150 million singles worldwide.

Why Madonna?

2010 is the year of Madonna. She performed "Like a Prayer" at the Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief concert in January 2010. In March she released her third live album, Sticky & Sweet Tour. She announced plans of directing her second film, W.E., a biopic about the affair between King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson. Madonna granted American TV show Glee the rights to her entire catalogue of music, and the producers planned an episode which featured Madonna songs exclusively, titled "The Power of Madonna". Entertainment Weekly called it "one of the best hours of TV you’re likely to see all year". Glee: the Music, the Power of Madonna, an EP containing eight cover versions of Madonna songs featured in the episode was released in May. The EP debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, with 98,000 copies sold in the United States.

She also appeared in a series of Dolce & Gabbana and Louis Vuitton advertisement campaigns and participated in a fashion spread for Interview and W magazines. Madonna is definitely not known for standing idly on the sidelines.

Madonna is a star and has always been a woman who takes chances. She might not be a woman that every female looks up to, but she is definitely worth her weight in gold. She commands the stage, and has always been the center of attention. Madonna told Dick Clark on his Show, "Bandstand" in the 1980's that she wanted to rule the world. We have cheered her on as she has taken command of the center arena. Madonna is a seductress in fishnet stockings. She has a strong head for business, and can still sing and dance as well as the younger girls, trying to climb to the top of the charts.

The Met KL is celebrating its 4th Anniversary in Oct 2010 and the anniversary theme is based on Madonna’s hit chart song “Celebration” which was released digitally in July 2010. It is a dance-oriented song with influences of Madonna's singles from the eighties and nineties. The lyrics of the song invite one to come and join a party. Revisiting her images from the 80’s right up till now has brought back some strong influences and inspirations for us to create great hairstyles and hair colors for today’s modern women. Our goal is to empower, inspire and encourage women to take chances, enhance their look, and boost their self esteem. Great hairstyles are easily accomplished by working together with your natural hair texture or altering it to a positive effect, as are amazing hair colors. Colors need not be too light however, just enough to accentuate the hair texture, length and skin tones.

The Met KL has re-created a series of looks selected from Madonna’s top selling album covers. The looks feature diverse of hairstyles and hair colors taken from the albums “Like a Virgin “and “True Blue” from the 80’s, “Vogue” and “Ray of Light” from the 90’s and “Confessions on the Dance floor” from 2005.

The Met KL would like to extend special appreciations and gratitude to the “Stars” of the campaign; Serena C for “True Blue”, Azura Zainal for “Like A Virgin” and “Vogue”, Jenny Lee for “Ray of Light”, and Jay Menon for “Confessions on the Dance floor”. Fabulous make up was created by the Shu Uemura Black Book Artists, superb photography by

Bernard Ooi of Dreamz Studio, fantastic fashion styling by Peter Lum and our talented hairdressers at The Met KL- Emil Khor, Alex Yap, Teng Wong and the team of assistants.

Thank you.

The Met KL

03-21481111