I don’t know about you but I’m one of those who keep changing shampoo because my hair seems to be easily immune to the shampoo effect! Almost after 1-2 bottles, I will need search for new brand again…

I have oily scalp (if I did not wash my hair for 1 day, you can see my hair is so damn oily/shiny! It’s just one day know!?), dandruff (Yes, not only oily, dandruff starts to appear too.), dry hair and split ends (One strand of hair can split into 3 man!)! Finding one shampoo that is cost effective and tackles all this problem seems challenging! It’s either you get one that fix your scalp/dandruff but doesn’t give your hair that extra shine/soft touch (even drier hair) or you get one that gives you soft smooth hair but end up making your scalp even oilier, or worst, itchy scalp.. 😦 This is the problem of COMBINATION HAIR!! Grrr… You can never solve the problem with one shampoo!! ……

OH WAIT!

Actually, NOW you can!!! Just recently, in October, Essential relaunches with brand NEW packaging, IMPROVED formula and a NEW variant! \(^__^)/ ….. (so what???)

SO it means…… Girls with combination hair, your problem is solved!!!

But before I go into details, let me just do a quick intro of Essential (for the benefit of new user)!!

Essential is a popular haircare brand from Japan. Understanding the needs of Singaporean girls and their hair woes, Essential has a wide range of products to help repair and care for hair. Essential offers products ranging from basic care like Shampoo & Conditioner to more intensive treatments like Hair Masks and Leave On Serum/Lotions.

Essential haircare range has relaunched with new, improved formula and technology. Now, Essential is available in 4 variants to suit all hair needs and types:

• Nourishing Breakage Defense (orange) – for weak & damaged hair

• Moisturizing Frizz Free (pink) – for dull & rough hair

• Light Finish Volumizing (yellow) – for flat and limp hair

• Deep Cleansing Care (blue) – for oily scalp & dry ends (new!)

Out of these 4 variants, the yellow and blue variants have technology that caters to people with combination hair – oily scalp/roots yet dry ends.

Essence even came up with a table like below to show you the difference/effect of each of them.. (How thoughtful!)

Well, The concept of ‘combination hair’ is similar to that of ‘combination skin’, where hair condition from the same person is not uniform from root to tip. People with combination hair usually have oily roots and dry ends. Consumers are not familiar with the term ‘combination hair’ and no other haircare brand has talked about it.

Essential wants to take this chance to educate consumers about this concept and bring to their attention that they may have this condition and new Essential is the solution to their problem.

New Essential Light Finish Volumizing (yellow) and Deep Cleansing Care (blue) variants have the optimum combination of Smart Cuticle Care & Sebum Cleansing Technology to target both problems of roots and hair ends. As a result, consumers experience the best of both worlds with one product – airy light roots and moisturized ends. It also has Microfine All Smooth Essence which delivers nutrients to repair damaged hair surface from root to tip; promises to smoothen your locks and helps you achieve healthy and manageable hair.

Hair feels surprisingly smooth when you finger comb through whether wet or dry. With the absence of tangles, water does not get trapped between the tangles hence blow-drying your hair is also faster!

Question: With so many variants, how do I know which is suitable for me?

Answer: Just ask yourself two questions and choose from the matrix below..

1. Do you have oily hair roots/scalp?
2. Do you have dry/damaged hair ends?

Deep Cleansing Care (blue) variant has the lightest formula and is suitable for people with very oily roots, followed by Light Finish Volumizing (yellow) variant for oily roots..

Improved treatment (tube) now works its magic on your hair in 30 seconds! The result you will get is deeply moisturized and manageable hair. Perfect for busy days!

For more intensive treatment to treat those dry/damaged ends, leaving hair softer,
smoother and more manageable, use Essential Hair Mask! People with very dry/damaged hair should use the richest formula Nourishing Breakage Defense (orange) variant for treatment and mask while the rest can use the Moisturizing Frizz Free (pink) variant which is comparatively lighter.

Always remember, do NOT apply treatment/mask on your scalp. Apply to hair ends only. It will make your hair (near to scalp) oily..

So here’s the variant I received!!!

Deep Cleansing Care (blue) variant!!!

& Nourishing Breakage Defense (orange) treatments!

SUPER EXCITED ME CAN’T WAIT TO TRY!!!! LOL!!

I’ve been washing my hair with Essential shampoo/conditioner everyday and I must say.. It smells AWESOME!! I think Japan brands always make their product smells soo nice!! Make people wana keep using them!!

My thought on the first few days: Although they smell awesome (the scent last ONE whole day on my hair!!) but the shampoo/conditioner did not perform as expected. 😦 I’m glad that my scalp is less oily now but hair ends are still as dry. Using the conditioner, it did not gives me that silky smoothness.. 😦 Disappointed, I went on to try the 30 seconds treatment..

WOOO… This is sooo much better!! My hair instantly comes alive! It’s smooth and like advertisement, my hair can fly sui-sui when the wind blows!! Ok, too exaggerating but this treatment really helps to fixed my hair breakage and give me the desired smoothness!! When I comb my hair, it’s totally tangle-free and as smooth as silk! You won’t feel those hair breakage while combing your hair! Just remember to only use it on hair ends!! You would’t want your hair root to be oily again…

Too bad I can only use this 2-3 times a week!! (T_T) But heng ah~ (fortunately) I still have their hair serum from previous review (read HERE) to save my bad hair day!!!! Awwww.. heartz-heartz!!!

Ya, the side without serum is how my hair looks like when I only use shampoo & conditioner.. Frizzy -__-

My thought after using it for 1 week plus: I can start to see improvement on my hair ends! Although using just the shampoo/conditioner did not give my hair that ultra smooth touch, I’m glad they’re still easy to comb and less frizzy now. However, I don’t know is it because my scalp is drier now, it tends to itch a bit at times.. hmm..

So to speak, to achieve that awesome smooth and sleek hair plus no oily scalp, it’s not impossible! I just have to use the whole series – Shampoo, Conditioner & Treatment/Mask + Serum!! Yes a bit ma-huan (troublesome) I know but that’s the price to pay for beautiful hair right?

If you’re like me too, very excited to try them, head over to Essential Facebook Page now to redeem your FREE samples now!! Mai tu liao~ Follow them on the FB and instagram (@essentialsingapore) for the latest update!!

**The above blog review is proudly sponsored by:

The Sample Store | Essential