I’ve been coloring my hair for almost two decades. I attribute the health of my hair partly to the good salons I go to, but mainly to the daily maintenance that takes place in the shower. There’s no point in dumping money at the salon when you don’t invest in good home hair care.
For someone with long, thick, coarse hair that has gone through dyeing, bleaching, perming, straightening - all the works - I make sure to use the right products to protect and nourish it.
Once you dye or bleach, your hair is changed FOREVER. Sad, but true. To hair that is damaged, you cannot treat it the same way you did when it was untainted – rough toweling, brushing, using general shampoo and runny conditioner.
If damage is already done, how can we take care of it? One method is to shave your head and start from scratch, but erm, no need for extreme measures. 😆 The other more sensible method is to use hair products that target specific hair problems. The most common hair problems faced by Singaporeans are frizz, dryness, and chemically-damaged hair.
You know how articles preach about not washing your hair too often to retain the oils and minerals for silky and shiny hair? The authors should come and visit Singapore, any time of the year, walk about in the heat, then they’ll know why it’s impossible to wash only 1-2 times a week. By the end of each day, my scalp is super greasy, my hair flat and gross from the humidity and sweat. If I attempt to go to bed without washing my hair, I will not sleep well and end up waking to wash my hair at 3am.
I can't not color my hair (because I am vain like that lol), so the only thing I can do is to use products specifically formulated to take care of my hair’s health.
For the past one month, I have been using products from TRESemmé Expert Selection Keratin Smooth and TRESemmé Expert Selection Platinum Strength, and my hair is seeing improvements in texture and hydration. I first heard about TRESemmé many years ago from overseas bloggers who constantly raved about the brand but it wasn't available here. I sought them online, but it didn't make economic sense to ship bottles of shampoo and conditioner over. Now the TRESemmé Expert Selection range has finally launched in Singapore!
TRESemmé Expert Selection Keratin Smooth Shampoo & Conditioner
TRESemmé Expert Selection Keratin Smooth Shampoo is specially formulated with lower sulfates so that it is gentle on the hair yet still lathers well. It is infused with Keratin to reduce frizz and leave it sleek and manageable. It cleanses well, but doesn't give the overly squeaky and stripped feel. TRESemmé Expert Selection Keratin Smooth Conditioner restores protein for shine and smoothness. While creamy and rich, I love how this formula doesn't weigh my hair down at all. When used together, frizz can be controlled for up to 48 hours.
I transfered the shampoo and conditioner into travel-sized bottles and brought them along with me on a recent overseas trip. Every day was a good hair day. Hoho! 😀
Oh yes, the range of TRESemmé Keratin Smooth products is suitable for color-treated hair. Colored hair fiends, rejoice!
TRESemmé Expert Selection Platinum Strength Shampoo & Conditioner
The TRESemmé Expert Selection Platinum Strength range of products claims to repair up to 2 years of hair damage from styling, heat and chemical processing in just 5 washes. Okie, let me calculate. 2 years require 5 washes, so 20 years need 50 washes. I haven't washed that many number of times yet, but I have faith that if I keep up with it, my hair will reap the benefits TRESemmé designed this range for. It protects against breakage, with Advanced Renewing Complex strengthening the hair's natural protective barrier.
The conditioner from both the Expert Selection Keratin Smooth and Expert Selection Platinum ranges have high viscosity, almost mask-like, as opposed to diluted ones from most drugstore brands. Tonight I'm going to try leaving the conditioner on for a longer period of time underneath a shower cap, since the heat helps it better penetrate hair. 🙂
While the quality of the products is impressive, the thing that shocked me the most was the price. I started using them without doing any research so that I can be most objective in my assessment. When I finally read the press release and doubled checked at Guardian (exclusively sold here), I was stunned by the prices.
TRESemmé Expert Selection Keratin Smooth Shampoo - $11.50 (340g), $13.90 (650g)
TRESemmé Expert Selection Keratin Smooth Conditioner - $11.50 (340g)
TRESemmé Expert Selection Platinum Strength Shampoo - $13.90 (650g)
TRESemmé Expert Selection Platinum Strength Conditioner - $11.50 (340g)
Drugstore prices for salon quality products? YASSS!! My hair is happy, my wallet is happy, my bathroom is happy (because they look salon-grade expensive).
Thank you for reading - may good hair days ever be in your favor. 😀
This post was written in collaboration with TRESemmé Singapore.
