I get asked regularly about my hair so I thought I’d put my hair care advice here for easy reference. I’m encouraged to be able to share this with you as I recalled back during the post-covid period, when I discovered the amount of white hair that were really starting to show. I googled what I can do to reverse it and read, “Once they’re out, you can never get it’s natural pigment back” and broke down. My hair was my crowning glory, no, really.

Growing up with horrible cystic acne, I sorta gave up on my skin but my hair though, I almost always wore it long and let its natural waves just do its thing. I’ve always had my hair dark but I was born with red henna coloured hair and it stunned my grandmother. It turned darker as I grew up but you can see it in its full glory under the sun that I was often told to dye it black during spot checks in Secondary School which was followed by a visit by my mother who was strongly against it. My hair wasn’t just my crowning glory, it was my mother’s too. She was thoroughly invested in it throughout my childhood, washing, combing and oiling it and she always had me wear it in braids and ponytails. Besides that, I really didn’t need to do much to get my hair to steal the limelight. I guess I was lucky in the hair department. So when those white hairs started to come up to the surface, aunties and haters alike were quick to point them out, great.

I contemplated letting my white hair just grow out naturally. I actually liked the idea of having a full head of grey hair and contemplated dying it. But I had my concerns.

• Growing it out naturally meant that I had to deal with the peppered brown, black, grey, white hair, I didn’t know how long it will take for it to fully grow out and I was not willing to just sit around and wait as it dragged my confidence down.
• I was worried about having to dye my hair regularly and potentially damage it as I was not used to dying my hair.
• I wasn’t sure how a full head of long light hair would look on me especially since I have a darker skin tone and if it will age me.

After some deliberation and encouragement from Shine to just give it a go, I decided to take the risk and became a silver, some times blonde, fox, and its been a few years since. My hair got its crown back and it turns out that I turn more heads and get more compliments from my grey hair! So here you go, my ultimate care tips for long, dyed, aging Asian hair.

Hair Care Routine Must-Haves

To achieve my healthiest hair at home, I use these products for my hair care routine.

• Shampoo
• Hair Scrub
• Hair Mask
• Hair Oil
• Comb, Hairbrush
• Microfibre Hair Wrap
• Hair Dryer
• Silk Pillowcase

Note: You can use your trusted hair care products that works well on you too, you don’t have to use the ones in this link. These are my personal favourites that I’ve been using and loving for a while now and wanna share just in case you want to try them.

Hair Care Routine Steps

Step 1: Cleanse

There are various advice about how often you should wash your hair. I feel it depends on your lifestyle and where you live. I live in Singapore and the weather here is hot and humid and I’ve had long hair for most of my life. I use to wash my hair daily but I find it tedious on my time and especially product usage so I’ve reduced it to washing it every 2 days and especially on days when I’ll sweat doing rigorous activities and if I’m going anywhere that has strong odour (because your hair retains smell).

I use a hair scrub once every week to reduce clogging around my roots to keep my hair growing as healthy a possible.

Tip: For faster hair growth, mix 3 drops of 100% Pure Rosemary Oil to your shampoo and massage into scalp. Leave it on for at least 1 – 3 minutes then rinse off. My hair started growing faster and baby hairs started popping out too!

Step 2: Condition

After wash, conditioning is a must to retain your hair’s shine and moisture, you cannot skip this. Squeaky clean hair is not a good sign, your hair will be more prone to breaking! If you have greasy scalp like myself, condition from your neck down.

Tip: I use a hair mask in replacement of hair conditioner. I’ve been doing this since I was 20 after a hairstylist shared this secret to maintain shiny locks. Make sure to squeeze out as much water from your hair as you possibly can, then apply hair mask generously from ears down. Leave it on for at least 5 to 10 minutes then rinse off.

Step 4: Detangle

Never begin by brushing your hair from top to bottom especially with long hair! Always start from the middle or the bottom (depending on where your hair tends to tangle), hold it together like a ponytail from the top of the tangled area and gentle brush down the tangles. Once you have successfully detangled your hair, you can brush it from your head to your hair tips smoothly.

Tip: I use a wooden hair brush with round tips to help my scalp distribute natural hair oils to the rest of my hair and it gives my scalp a nice feeling, a sign of blood circulation.

Step 3: Dry Scalp and Hair

Always use a microfibre hair towel to squeeze or pat your hair dry. Never rub your scalp and hair with a towel as it causes friction and makes your hair more frizzy! After squeezing the water off your hair, wrap it in a microfibre towel and let the towel soak in any remaining water then dry it with a hair dryer.

Tip: To keep your scalp from clogging (which results to oily hair and hair fall) and in the best condition, always use a hair dryer. Blow your dryer downwards against your hair to keep hair follicles closed and keeps it from fizzing.

Step 5: Hair Oil

Not many like to hear this but I use a light hair oil to give my hair an extra shine as it’s really difficult to retain the sheen with very long and dyed blonde hair. I use at least one pump of a very light unscented hair oil and apply it from the bottom and slowly work my way upwards stopping just below my ear. Then evenly distribute the oil with a wooden brush.

Tip: I do an at-home oil treatment with Argon Oil at least once a week. Generously spread Argon Oil from the ears down and wrap it in a microfibre hair towel and just leave it on for your hair absorb it. Take note that it can get greasy and the smell may be overpowering for some so ensure to wash it off the next day before heading out.

Visit Your Hair Salon Regularly

If you want silky smooth red-carpet worthy hair, the truth is, you can only really get it from visiting the salon. You can do at-home treatments as often as you like but, it’s always best to have your tresses treated by the professionals.

• Scalp Treatment
• Hair Treatment
• Hair Dye

If you can manage it, ideally, it’s best to pay a visit to your salon at least once every 3 months for a scalp or hair treatment to get any clogging off.

Specially for Love Bella Vida Readers:
Book an appointment via WhatsApp (+65 9639 8043) or download the OLY App to receive 100 OLY Points + 2x $30 Vouchers on your hair services.

I thought my best hair days were gone but it turned out to be one of my best hair eras! I know how grey and white hair looks on me and I’m not afraid of it aging now. I also learned to adjust my hair care routine to manage dyed and light coloured hair better.

I’m glad I took this risk and showed you how a brown skin Asian girl in her late 30s can rock a whole head of long ash grey/blonde hair too. I hope my curated hair care guide was helpful and that it inspires you to make a change for your best hair era.

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Reference:
Shopee
Organic Hair Regrowth Solutions

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