Silver Ang, an artiste, blogger and property agent, is one of many young women who have amazingly coloured hair and yet shampoo their hair frequently to get rid of inevitable build up oil due to the hot and humid weather of Singapore. Other than washing out the hair colour too quickly, could too-frequent a shampooing of hair actually cause harm? Read on to find out more.
One of the most important things to multi-hyphenate Silver Ang is her vibrant mane. And she certainly does plenty with it! Currently a lovely rainbow hue, her mane looks luscious and striking. As she goes about her packed schedule juggling her responsibilities, her beautiful locks draw a lot of attention from admirers. Little do they know the work that goes into maintaining such hair and the problems Silver faces in keeping her hair healthy in the face of all the styling, colouring and perming she puts her hair through to take those Insta-worthy shots.
As a working professional who puts her best foot forward for her day-to-day work, Silver is all-too-aware of the importance of ensuring her mane attraction is well-cared for. “After all, the hair maketh the man (and woman)!” she quips.
In the pursuit of so many activities, Silver’s days are consequently always filled with her next project. At her busiest, she kept 20 hour days where her day only ended at 6am. In fact, Silver shares that her day-to-day activities vary so much that she does not have a fixed daily schedule: “I don’t have a typical day. You could say that my typical day is where nothing is typical. Everything changes all the time.”
In spite of the unpredictability of her work schedule, Silver still has to put much work and effort into ensuring that public persona is maintained. This includes making sure that her kaleidoscopic rainbow tresses remain vibrant and healthy, as well as frequent exercise to keep herself in shape. The exercise, coupled with the heat and humidity of Singapore’s typical weather, contribute to a sweaty scalp that needs to be washed often so that oil and dirt do not build up. However, it is often said that it is not advisable to wash coloured hair too frequently, as this strips the colour from the hair at an accelerated rate.
Silver confesses: “I’m not sure if washing my hair (or scalp) so often is actually good, as I’ve read so many conflicting articles about washing once every few days rather than washing every day. But because we’re in Singapore, the heat and humidity, plus the exercise I do, makes it really difficult to not wash my hair. I can’t stand having clumpy hair, so I wash it, sometimes even more than once a day.”
With the frequent reaching for the shampoo to fight the bogged down roots and oil, Silver has found that her hair colours have been inevitably fading and consequently has been requiring more frequent visits to her hair salon sponsor for touch ups to the colour. While she is thankful for her hair sponsor for always taking such good care of her locks, she wishes there were a more permanent solution to the oil build-up on her scalp that has necessitated such frequent hair washing.
Silver’s clunky roots and oily hair are caused largely by the weather in Singapore and her lifestyle – as the unpredictability of her schedule means she may not have time to sleep sufficiently or eat regularly. She also suspects that her zealous washing of her hair may be contributing to the problem and causing more harm than good, “I think I’ve always had this problem with the roots of my hair getting all clunky after two days, but as I’ve been exercising more and shampooing my hair more often, I am afraid that my scalp may be overcompensating for the oils that I keep washing away.”
Is Silver right and what can she do to overcome her oily and clogged roots? This is actually a really common problem among people in Singapore, no thanks to the hot and humid weather year-round. So, for those of you who are struggling with a clunky scalp resulting in too-frequent washings, read on for the Svenson trichologist’s take on Silver’s conundrum and some advice on how she can manage her hair and scalp better.
What the Svenson Trichologist says
With modern life and all its pressures from work and other pursuits, it may be almost impossible for people to avoid having a hectic schedule, eating a poor diet, having insufficient sleep or having chemically treated hair. For young people like Silver in their 20s or 30s, these issues have almost become a norm – especially when they are constantly seeking to prove themselves in their jobs that are often fast-paced, and physically and mentally challenging.
It is important that Silver knows that she has been already doing the first right thing to her hair; that is, by washing her hair daily, even twice daily at times! In fact, this may actually have helped Silver to prevent even more damage to her hair.
However, it is important to use the correct type of hair shampoo in order to get maximum results and not end up with dry lifeless hair. Since Silver has the habit of washing daily, we advise that she continues with this habit, while taking care to choose a shampoo with moisturising properties. Doing so will help ensure that moisture is locked into her hair shaft while still removing residual build-up on the scalp with each wash.
“If Silver uses the right shampoo for her hair, she really need not worry about her constant hair colouring,” says Kim Fong, Certified Trichologist at Svenson. “She should look out for these key ingredients in the shampoo she picks: shea butter, hibiscus extracts and sunflower seeds. These plant proteins will help protect the hair cuticle from the damaging effects caused by environmental factors or harsh ingredients found in some hair styling products.”
If you are looking for the perfect shampoo that moisturises gently while ensuring the scalp is clean of build-up from the day’s grime, you may want to consider Svenson’s Hair Retention System products. These are most popular with people who lead a very hectic lifestyle and prize their hair and scalp health. This range of paraben and sulphate-free hair products contain organic extracts and the key ingredients of shea butter, hibiscus extracts and sunflower seeds, to nourish the hair and scalp, so they are really great for people with oily scalps who have to wash their hair frequently to prevent build-up.
One of our star products that is perfect for humid weather is the Restart Clarifiying Shampoo and Clarifying Cleansing Conditioner, for its menthol sensation and formulas that are chock-full of super food ingredients. You’re usually told that conditioner can’t be used on your scalp, but we encourage you to try our Clarifying Cleansing Conditioner on your scalp. Feel the cooling sensation soothe your scalp as its active ingredients slough off build-up and nourishes the hair follicles and shaft.
This is the third of a three-part series where we talk to people with hair problems and ask a trichologist from Svenson to weigh in her advice according to the problems presented. You can ask a trichologist by either emailing to [email protected] or clicking here.
This article is brought to you by Svenson.
