Hi everyone,

Long time no see. Yeah, I've been sick like a dog thanked to a viral infection. Last week, I could barely sit up but today I feel a lot better. Still a little bit of swelling and marks here and there but at least I no longer have fever. Yeah, roseola is a pain in the you-know-what and I'm glad to come at the tail end of it!

But alas, I digressed. About 2 weeks ago, right before I got sick, I went out to get my first hair perm ever! Well, technically, I got my first perm when I was a kid but for some reasons, my hair did not take the perm solution and I ended up having straight hair. This time around, the L'Oreal Professionnel salon near my place had a perm sale. What was supposed to be a $50 chemical process only cost me 37 bucks. And that included a cut, wash, and style. Score!

Unlike the traditional type of perm where you have to soak your hair in those smelly and yucky perm solutions, Korean setting perm is quick and pretty much odorless. It is also the least maintenance perm that looks natural. Just think about Angelina Jolie's naturally wavy hair. Yup, the setting perm is going to give you awesome hair like that. It's like a straight haired girl's dream come true, you know.

So I settled down, got a quick consultation, and a hair wash before the fun began. First, a hair stylist applied a cream to the area she wanted to curl, which was from my ear down to the tip of my hair. Then, I waited for about 20-25 minutes for my hair to stretch before she washed it. After that, I had my Matrix moment: they hooked me into the machine, yo!

At one point, 3 people were working on my hair. They dried it before winding each section into the heat rods. Those rods are similar to your hot rollers but they are bigger and made of ceramics. Those hair ladies wound my hair really really tight and by the end, I had about 30 curls all over my head. They also put insulating pads over the rollers to make sure the hair is curled up nicely.

I felt like Lion King, if Simba chose to perm his hair and such. This was a moment before the nice hair lady came back with a couple sets of wires to hook me into the Matrix.

T

I don't know if you can see it or not but there were wires hanging out from each ceramic rod. These rods are like hot rollers on steroid! There's a place to hook it into the electricity. Once hooked, the rod will heat up the same way hot rollers do. The difference is I had to sit there and wait for 25 minutes while the heat cooked up my hair nice and crispy!

Really, I was kidding about the crispy part but yeah, it was incredibly hot and heavy. My head felt like it weighed a ton thanked to all the rods and wires. Luckily, 25 minutes went away pretty quickly and the hair techs came to unhook me from The Matrix. Then came the perm solution and I waited for another 10-15 minutes before I came to get the last rinse. Since my hair just got permed, the technician only washed my hair with water and conditioner. I got a quick face massage as a bonus.

Then, I got a haircut and 2 people simultaneously blew dry and styled the crap out of my hair. The total number of people who worked on my head that day was 6 and I paid 37 bucks. Not a bad deal after all!

Here's the end result, 2 weeks after I did the perm:

 Natural-looking wavy hair, yeah? And no, I didn't color my hair. That's my natural hair color with natural highlights and all :)

No, really. People may spend 200 bucks to have hair colored like that but I don't. That's how my hair really is. I spent about 2 years to color and highlighted the crap out of my hair to make it look like that but in actuality, it already does. That's why it's hard to convince me to color my hair these days. I already have the color that I want!

Cascading curls after cascading curls! It's official: I'm in love with my hair!

Ooh, shiny!

One thing I do notice is the staggering amount of volume I have after getting the perm. It's like I have twice the hair or something. On top of that, my hair does not feel damaged at all! The only change I have to live with is to set the hair in sponge curlers about 1/2 hour before going to bed. But that's not mandatory as I only do so after I wash my hair. Also, the 48 hours after the perm is crucial as I was not allowed to wet my hair. I use all the hair products as I did before, although stuff that promises to add moisture seems to be better to keep the ends nice and moist.

I got a ton of compliments on my new hair. Compared to the other types of perms, setting perm keeps the hair wavy for about 5 months. Once you get a haircut, you need to redo the perm as well. From the way I see it, I would do it twice a year to keep my hair nice-looking and healthy as well. Other people who want the tight and spiral kind of curls may want to try digital perm, which is more expensive. To me, this is nice enough and I make sure to keep myself loaded to get my perms twice a year :)

That's all for now, folks! Have you permed your hair or tried setting perm before? Please let me know. I'll be back once I feel better.

With love,
Dao xoxo


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Hello everyone,

Not so long ago, I an assignment from ELLE to interview Manolis Sevastopoulos, L'Oreal Professionnel National Educator in Vietnam. This was a part of the pre-show activities for ELLE F/W 2012 Fashion Show. The interview went well and Manolis actually taught me a whole bunch of things about hair, which, believe me, as a makeup-centric beauty blogger, I don't know much about. On top of that, he was really funny, which made an assignment feel like fun.

In the middle of the interview, Manolis asked me a question as a way to answer my question. Just imagine him speaking English with a Greek accent and you'll get the idea :)

Me: What's your favorite product?
Him: You know about Mythic Oil, no?
Me: *shook head*
Him: We use Mythic Oil in everything. We mix it into our hair dyes. It's fantastic. You don't have it? I'll give you. By the way, you should dye your hair. You have lovely hair, why black? Why brown? You should come to our academy and we'll dye your hair.
Me: *felt half ashamed as hair was sticking into scalp in the most horrendous manner* *face palm* *speechless*

I told you, that interview was fun. By the end of the interview, he gave me a tour to L'Oreal Professionnel Academy in Ho Chi Minh City and asked a guy to give me a bottle of Mythic Oil that the staff was using. I took it home in the rain.

Because of the rain, I decided to wash my hair that night and used Mythic Oil before blow drying it. Since I came back from the vacation, my hair was in an utter state of dread: it was oily at the root and dry at the tip. On top of that, it felt rough and shed like Belly's hair in summer. I don't think I've said this before but I don't like hair oils or serums that much as they tend to add more oil to my root and deflate my hair as well.

But again, I was desperate so I pumped a healthy dose of Mythic Oil and rubbed it from root to tip without touching the scalp (as Manolis warned me not to do so.) Then, I blew dry the crap out of my hair.

The result was uh-MAY-zing! My hair was softer, smoother, and sleeker at the first try. I slept on it and on the next morning, I saw more volume on top. Usually, my mop of hair would be greasy by day 2 but at the end of the second day, it was fine. So I stretched out for one more day and on day 3, my hair was greasy as it would usually be on day 2. However, this would not be the end of awesomeness. I've noticed less hair falls as well. For the first time since ever, I have met a product that truly makes my hair look and feel better.

So what is Mythic Oil, anyway?

According to L'Oreal Professionnel, Mythic Oil is "enriched with a special blend of avocado and grape seed oil, this lightweight oil cares and pampers all hair types. Nourishing even the finest hair, the formula leaves hair looking shiny, feeling nourished and supple."

Here are the ingredient list and instructions:

As you can see, all the hair smoothing and sleeking powers come from cyclopentasiloxane and dimethiconol. However, as avocado and grape seed are number 4 and 5 in the ingredient list, they are abundant enough to make a difference. In the past, I remember rubbing a little bit of Moroccan Oil in my hand and because it felt really, really tacky, I decided not to rub it on my hair. Moroccan Oil, as I recall, doesn't have a lot of argan oil. Therefore, I can't compare between Mythic Oil and Moroccan Oil. However, if Mythic Oil is the answer to Moroccan Oil, I guess L'Oreal Professionnel just won.

Believe me, I was very cautious of what this Mythic Oil would do to my skin. Usually, hair products with intense amounts of those two compounds would cause my skin to freak out. I would see zits sprouting around my jaw line and the perimeter of my face. But nope, after half a month of continuous use, I saw none of the above.

Now, here's the thing: while L'Oreal Professionnel is a salon brand, you can hardly find it in the U.S and Japan unless you hit up Amazon.com which sells it for an exorbitant amount of money! In the U.K, I've read somewhere that you can get this on sale for around 10 pounds. In Vietnam, it is currently priced at around $22 USD.

However, and this is a big however, I've found out that you don't have to use a full pump to get smooth and sleek hair. While it is not greasy when you use a lot of Mythic Oil, I don't see much of a difference when I use 2 pumps or 2 big drops. This is the amount of Mythic Oil I'm using now, considering how expensive it is going to cost me once this 4.2 ounce bottle runs out:

The trick of how to apply it is to dispense 2 or 3 drops of oil on your palm (it smells floral, btw), then rub the two palms vigorously together. This will warm up the oil and help spreading it better. Once the oil contacts with your wet hair, it will toughen up and become hard to spread. After dispensing the oil close to the scalp without touching, you rake your hands down to the tip of your hair, then twist it back and forth while running the palms up and down the length. Then, you can go ahead and blow dry your hair out and see how shiny it is.

Am I going to buy another bottle after this one runs out? You betcha! Mythic Oil is officially The Good Stuff in my book. This is rare to me when it comes to hair products as I'm very anal about them. I remember buying a bin full of hair care and styling products only to donate them to those in need (the YMCA Summer Camp at some point became a benefactor as I dropped boxes and boxes of hair products at their door!)

So if you are in Europe and Asia but not Japan, I hope you'll give Mythic Oil a try. It is so really, really, ridiculously good that it makes me and my hair happy. For those who live in the U.S and Japan, Amazon.com can be your best friend :)

That's all for now, folks! I hope you'll get to try Mythic Oil soon.

May you have a good hair day,
Dao xoxo


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Hi everyone,

After years of being a beauty blogger, I thought I knew everything. However, once in a while life throws me a curve ball to make me re-evaluate my so-called "superiority." The most recent one involves a shampoo. You see, I was using the black Sunsilk shampoo with shimmer (aka Sunsilk Co-Creations by Jamal Hammadi.) It was fine and dandy until I decided to jump ship to the pink Sunsilk (another Co-Creations product by Yuko Yamashita.)

Why the change of heart, you ask.

Because the TV commercial told me so. You see, the pink Sunsilk is meant for straight hair and since I do have stick straight hair, it should be good, right?

Well, kinda.

The first few weeks went fine: my hair was sleeker and dried a lot faster without using the blow dryer. I also noticed slight volume on my hair. On top of that, this shampoo smells like strawberry milkshake, which is fantastic.

But it ended right about there. I also noticed how dirty my hair became on the second day. Dirty and itchy. Therefore, I changed my schedule from every other day wash to every day. Then, it became dirty and itchy and dry. So I added conditioner. It became dirty and itchy and dry but oily by the time I washed it.

And then something happened, too. My housekeeper noticed how much of my hair was falling on the floor. "You need to do something," she told me, "This is not healthy for your body, you know. I am sick and my hair doesn't fall down that much."

Her words made me take a long hard look at my diet and daily routine. Everything seemed fine. Then, I looked at my bathroom and it dawned on me that the pink Sunsilk was the culprit. I switched back to the black Sunsilk and everything came back to the way it once was.

The morality of this story is simple: if you find something that works, stick with it. Don't get fancy as it may cause you more trouble in the long run.

How about you? Do you have any similar experience? I know my hair is not that fussy but that was quite scary.

That's all for now, folks! Hope you'll have a good week ahead.

Love,
Dao xoxo

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Hi everyone,

Guess what? I got a new haircut like...a few weeks ago =)

I know, I'm late in updating this kind of thing and my actual hair is about an inch longer now but it's still better late than never, right? The last time I had a haircut was around the end of July, 2011 (around the time I did this FOTD.) I waited a good 5 month for my hair to grow out before getting a haircut. The previous haircut was more of a Rihanna hairstyle with the front longer than the back. As I grow it out, that style no longer works and the new guy who cut my hair decided to do the traditional layered look on me.

This is a funny looking but decent shot of moi sans makeup :) Believe it or not, I just woke up and realized my hair looked awesome so I snapped away some pictures. I know, I am vain galore!
But on the other hand, the lightning is awesome or not?

Another pic of me moving away from the camera, haha!
I decided to post it to show how awesome my skin is. Vain x2 :P

From now on, I guess I am not going to cut my hair every two months anymore. Since I cut my hair in August 2010, it was an excruciatingly slow process to grow it out. Why? Because I used to cut it every two months. Everytime I cut it, the hair dresser chopped at least 1/2 inch off, which means about half of what my hair had grown out was gone.

So, the wisdom of growing longer hair is quite simple: do not cut your hair as often! When you do, just trim a tiny bit at the end. In my case, the hair stylist did not take off the length at the end. He only corrected the layers and recut my bangs, which does change my face shape a little bit. I may go back to him again because he did my hair really well. It requires minimal styling and looks good even after a long night of sleep.

Hip-Hop Abs week 2 recap:


I didn't miss any workout, yay! Did all six of them. Also, I did the X-Stretch DVD from P90X, aka the mother ship of all workouts! There is a butt stretch in the X-Stretch DVD, which made my eyes go like this o_O when I heard about it but yes, it did stretch out my gluteal region :D

Also, I love this song:



I hope this song will make you feel pumped up and ready for the week ahead. Have you ever heard of Jin Akanishi? This is the first song I've heard from him but from what I found out, he is really big in Japan. I hope he is going to be known worldwide as well.

With love from your makeup addict friend,
Dao xoxo


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Hi everybody,

I grew up with Sunsilk and this brand was the first to introduce me to conditioner. Yeah, back when I was 8 or 9, we just washed our hair with shampoo and that was it. I remember my grandma had a bottle of Sunsilk that she locked in her dresser for years. It was her back-up shampoo that she would use for special occasions. That was how much she treasured it.

Years passed and I was delighted when Sunsilk came to the U.S market. Albeit being the #1 hair care brand in the Asian market, it failed to make a note in the U.S and folded at the end of 2010. I tried it then and the formula was sub-par. So, when I came back to Asia, I made sure to give Sunsilk a try and I was blown away.

The stuff is that good! For years, I wanted to find something that keeps my straight hair healthy without weighing it down. Not so many shampoos in the U.S market can do that since they all contain a lot of humectants and moisturizers, which my hair does not need.

(L-R) Sunsilk Co-Creations shampoo designed by Jamal Hammadi and conditioner designed by Thomas Taw
My apologies to the less stellar photo: it's been raining a lot lately and I had to take the picture indoor . With the green wall, the colors are off. This frustrates me to no end!

Shampoo ingredients
It contains the extract of Gleditsia australis, a plant in Vietnam with pods that can be used as shampoo. For generations, Vietnamese people char the pods and boil with water until it turns black. It is believed to keep the hair black and healthy.

Conditioner ingredients

The "swatch": conditioner on top, shampoo at the bottom

I thought I've seen it all until I saw the black shampoo. Yup, this stuff is black with mica shimmers and it took me a while to get used of the color. While both have floral scents, the conditioner is thicker than the shampoo, which I find to be on the runny side. The shampoo is mild and keeps my hair clean until the second day. I do notice a nice lift on the hair after I wake up. The shampoo itself is moisturizing enough for me and I only use the conditioner once in a while (maybe twice a week tops.)

With that said, the conditioner is actually can be left on for two minutes before washing. It is highly moisturizing, thanks to the dimethicone in the ingredient list. In fact, both of them have dimethicone highly ranked in the lists to give the hair a glossy and smooth feeling.

Since I've used this Sunsilk combo, my hair has been incredibly shiny. It also gets easier for me to comb and style my hair. I expected these products to make my hair look and feel greasy by the second day but that rarely happens, which is a big relief to me.

Price-wise, Sunsilk shampoos are mid-range products in the price list. Since Unilever has a factory in Vietnam, the prices of products made in Vietnam are significantly cheaper. I've tried a few shampoos and conditioners to find Sunsilk as the brand that gives my hair the glossiest and sleekest look.

Although Sunsilk is no longer available in mass-market stores in the U.S, you can still (hopefully) find it in Asian stores. Believe me, the formula is different in Asia and Unilever focuses on different hair types depending on the market. If you have straight hair and want to add shine, Sunsilk may be the answer to you.

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Hi everybody,

The cold, harsh winter days of 2011 have made my scalp very itchy. Mind you, I don't have dandruff and this year, I don't have flaky scalp during the wintertime, either. However, the itchiness drives me nuts. Between my regular organic shampoo and Neutrogena Anti-Residue shampoo, my hair is clean. However, they couldn't stave off the itchiness.

Then, I went to get a haircut at Aveda Institute and experienced their famous Rosemary Mint shampoo and conditioner. Twice. It took me the second time and the almost running out of shampoo at home for me to get a bottle of this shampoo. And guess what? This might have been the best shampoo I've tried yet.

Aveda Rosemary Mint shampoo (8.5 fl. oz, $10.50 USD)

 Wanna know why I like it so much? Jump!

First of all, while Rosemary Mint shampoo has been around for a while, Aveda recently changed its formula. Now, it does not contain SLS, which can cause contact dermatitis to some people. I think my scalp as well as my face has this issue with SLS. Since I stopped using products that contained sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate, my face and scalp have been behaving better.

At $10.50 USD for the smaller size, Rosemary Mint is considered one of the cheapest haircare line at Aveda. (The other one is Shampure, their flagship shampoo/conditioner that probably exist as long as Rosemary Mint.) After using Rosemary Mint for the last two weeks, I've realized how amazing this shampoo is: it volumizes my hair, y'all!

Seriously, it gives my hair beaucoup volume without using any other styling products. And I thought nothing like this existed. Not only my hair looks so voluminous on the first day but the bounciness also prolongs way into the second and third day. (By then, my hair started to resemble Robert Pattinson's hair. I know, TMI!) On top of that, the hair has a lot of shine. Although the best way to get more shine is to couple with the Rosemary Mint conditioner, I still have some Brilliant conditioner left and it works just fine.

Like other Aveda haircare products, Rosemary Mint contains essential oils. In this case, the two oils used are rosemary and peppermint leaf extracts. The whole hair washing experience is very therapeutic with the oils works on my olfactory sense. With the presence of peppermint, I feel more alert while washing my hair and my scalp has a tingling sensation. On top of that, rosemary oil treats the itchy scalp very well. I come out of the shower feeling refreshed and a lot calmer.

An attempt to capture the ingredients
The new formula does not contain SLS and parabens.

Ingredients: aqueous extracts/ rosemary leaf extract, peppermint leaf extract, sodium coco-sulfate, lauramidopropyl betaine, glycerin, babassuamidopropyl betaine, vinegar, camphor, menthol, cocamidopropylamine oxide, steramidopropyl dimethylamine, polyquartenium-4, fragrance, linalool, limonene, citric acid, sodium chloride, sodium gluconate, phenoxyethanol, benzoic acid.

Like many SLS-free shampoos, Rosemary Mint lacks vigorous bubbles. However, since I already went through a couple of sulfate-free and organic shampoos before it, this is not a big issue to me. However, I find myself using about 2 quarter-size of shampoo to get my hair clean. A quarter-size amount of product only gives me a weak attempt to clean about half of my head. Also, if you have dry hair, this is not the shampoo for you. Since my hair is oily, it cleans the gunk out very well and leaves it in a squeaky clean state. I'm very impressed with its ability to clean without using any SLS in the formula.

While I know Suave made a dupe of this shampoo, I decided not to buy it since it contains SLS. I tried a Suave shampoo before and I found myself scratching my head the same way Belly scratches his fur. My hair also came out in clumps. Yes, my scalp can get very sensitive sometimes.

At $10.50 USD per 8.5oz bottle ($29.50 USD for the 33.8oz size), Aveda Rosemary Mint shampoo is an excellent volumizing shampoo. The tingling sensation from peppermint as well as the essential oil blend give me a nice aromatherapy experience every time I use it. If you have oily scalp with some lingering itchiness, you should give this shampoo a try. My itchiness is gone since I started using it, which is a huge relief to me.

How about you? Have you tried Aveda Rosemary Mint? Do you like it?

Disclaimer: I bought Aveda Rosemary Mint out of my own pocket. The opinions and experience are mine.

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Hi everybody,

Once in a while, I discover a product that makes me want to say, "Why didn't I find it earlier?" Batiste dry shampoo is one of them. I wish I found it back when I had really long hair. It could have saved me from looking like an oily grease during the summer. You see, I have oily scalp. While the rest of my hair is clean, my scalp just looks like I need a vigorous wash. For the life of me, I can't wash my hair everyday. Not only my scalp is oily, it is also sensitive.

But now that I have Batiste in my life, things changed for the better. My hair no longer looks greasy after the first day, as long as I remember to use Batiste.

Batiste dry shampoo, original scent.
This is the travel size ($2.99), the full size costs $7.49 ($6.99 if you have Sally Card.)

Wanna know why I like this shampoo so much? Jump!

This is the "Before" picture
Notice how greasy my bang looks

After I sprayed some Batiste on my hair. Tada!

See, it works! Not only the original Batiste does not smell bad, it works like a charm. After shaking the can, I spray it all over my head. A fine mist of corn starch and alcohol is propelled from the can by butane and isobutane. Then, I rub the corn starch to my hair, leave it for a couple of minutes, and brush it off using a natural boar bristle brush. The hair looks somewhat dull but it feels and smells clean. I notice a tiny bit of volume on my hair.

After I finished the travel size can of Batiste, I bought a full size can in Blush. It smells more powdery while the original version just smells fresh. Batiste also has another fragrance called Tropical but I didn't see it at Sally. Batiste has been around for a while now and its this price, I'd say it is a good and reliable product.

Disclaimer: I purchased this product for my personal use.

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Hi everyone,

A long time ago, I went on a vacation and stayed at a hotel that provided Neutrogena Anti-Residue Shampoo. Since I didn't pack my own shampoo, I used it and as a result, my hair was squeaky clean for the whole week I was there. The stuff smelled strange and my hair was dry. Needless to say, I quickly forgot about it.

Neutrogena Anti-Residue Shampoo ($6-8 USD)
Picture source

The reason this product is flying so low under the radar is the packaging. Neutrogena does have a minimalist approach when it comes to packaging their products. This anti-residue shampoo is clear and stored in a clear bottle. To me, the packaging is between cheap and something Steve Jobs would approve for the next iPhone. It's a toss up. However, this shampoo is very thick and you only need a tiny bit to wash your hair. Recently, I brought it back in this post to as a remedy to remove flake caused by styling product build-up. Why did I have such a sudden change of heart?

Wanna know why? Jump!

Because Neutrogena changed the formula, baby!

Let's see:

Ingredients in old formula (from Neutrogena website):
Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Chloride, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycerin, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Citric Acid, DMDM Hydantoin, Fragrance

Ingredients in new formula (from Walgreens website):
Water , Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate , Cocamide DEA , Cocamidopropyl Betaine , Glycerin , Imidazolidinyl Urea , Methylparaben , Propylparaben , Citric Acid , Fragrance

The new product has a nicer floral smell that's similar to the yellow Neutrogena face wash. It does not contain SLS anymore. However, it is not 100% sulfate-free since Neutrogena switched to a ammonium lauryl sulfate, a somewhat gentler surfactant than SLS. Cocamide DEA is a sudsing agent that I can live without while cocamidopropyl betaine is a medium-strength surfactant that does not irritate skin. Both of them are derived from coconut oil, by the way. Glycerin was added in the formula as a moisturizing agent.

Compared to the old formula, the new formula contains more preservative ingredients: imidazolidinyl urea, methylparaben, propylparaben, and maybe citric acid (although I think it's there to lower the pH to a more neutral range.)

Does it work as an anti-residue shampoo? Neutrogena claimed it would remove up to 95% of the build-up. While I can't measure, my scalp does feel a lot cleaner. However, I have to use a heavy-duty conditioner to keep my hair from feeling like straws. You win some, you lose some. This is definitely not a win-win situation. However, since you only need to use it once in a while to remove the residue, this is acceptable. Once in a while, deep clean your hair and then go back to your regular shampoo is something I can live with.

What do you think? Have you bought this product before? Do you deep clean your hair once in a while? Please let me know in the comment section, ok?

Disclaimer: this product was provided for PR purposes. The opinions in this review, however, are mine and they are best to my experience and knowledge.

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Hi everybody,

Belly has a confession: he has dry fur

The weather is getting colder and it only means one thing: our hair are suffering! Dull looking, dry and brittle hair with flaky scalp sound familiar to you? Until last year, I did not experience much of the winter hair woe. However, this year I get smarter and become more prepared for the winter.

In today's post, I compile a short list of tips to keep your hair healthy and shiny during winter. Some of the tips have instantaneousness results while others take time to show.

1. Give yourself a scalp massage

Until last year, I did not know that dry scalp could happen to me. The sub-zero temperature means less moisture in the air. As a result, my scalp was flaky and itchy. The relief came in a quick scalp massage when I went to get a haircut. The hairstylist rubbed a few drops of oil on my scalp before giving me a vigorous scalp massage. Not only did it feel good, the oil helped adding moisture while the massage stimulated blood flow to my scalp.

A scalp massage is easy to do at home. Olive, jojoba, and coconut oils are moisturizing, penetrative, and light, which are suitable to be used on your hair and scalp. After adding a few drops to the part on your hair, use the fingertips to rub the oil into your scalp. Just move your fingertips in circles as your hands move from the center to the sides and front to back. After you are done massaging, brush your hair with a natural bristle hairbrush and shampoo your hair as usual.

2. Got oil? Give your hair a hot oil treatment

Don't waste your money on hot oil treatment products. The oil you use for a scalp massage can be used for this purpose as well. All you need to do is to pour olive, jojoba, or coconut oil in a container, lid it, and put it in a cup of hot water to heat the oil up. If you have short hair, about 2-3 tablespoons of oil is enough. If you have long hair, please heat up 1/4 cup of oil.

After the oil is heated, spread it all over your hair and scalp. You can do a scalp massage while you are at it before wrapping your hair in a plastic processing cap. If you need extra moisturizing power, soak a towel in warm water and cover your head and the processing cap with it. Then, wrap a dry towel on top of the wet one and wait 15-20 minutes for the oil to work its magic on your hair and scalp. Shampoo as usual and use conditioner if necessary. I find my hair to be very bouncy and lustrous afterwards.

Wanna read more tips? Jump!


3. Clarifying shampoo: the arch-nemesis of flakes caused by hair product build-up

Before you bust out that bottle of dandruff shampoo, make sure the flakes are not dandruff. After doing a scalp massage with oil and you still see flakes, you may need to use a clarifying shampoo to remove the build-up caused by hair products. The Neutrogena Anti-Residue shampoo is a classic product that will make your hair and scalp squeaky clean. However, if you don't have it available, just mix your shampoo with 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda before washing your hair.

4. Take fish oil

Two years ago, I took fish oil on a daily basis and saw the result after three months of constant using. Not only did my skin behaved better, my hair also had an unbelievable shine. It does take time to notice the difference but once the omega fatty acids in the fish oil work their magic, your hair will be stronger. During that time, my hair was still long and I noticed less breakage during winter.

5. Go dark

While lighter hair colors look fun during summer, they can make you look dull and haggard during winter. If you lighten your hair, the indoor fluorescent light is not your friend during the winter months. It makes your hair look dull and tired. If your hair is dry, it even emphasizes the dryness further. However, the fix is really simple: all you need to do is dye your hair darker. A rich chocolate shade actually hides the flaws your hair have while does not hurt your hair as much since it does not involve a lot of lifting agent in the formula.

6. A is for argan oil

This nut oil from Morocco has been the it oil at the moment. Like coconut, olive, and jojoba oil, argan oil is light and penetrative to your hair. What makes it even better is how argan oil adds shine to your hair without making it look greasy. While there are many products out there claiming to have argan oil, I highly advocate using pure argan oil since it is undiluted and does not contain methicones, which can clog pores. Pure argan oil can be found in some health food stores and online. Compared to the fancy hair products, it is actually quite affordable. I've seen places selling it at $8/oz.

These are the hair tips I have for a fabulous winter hair. I hope you will have lustrous and shiny hair during this winter. Flaky, itchy scalp and dull hair can be the thing in the past.

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Hi everybody,

If you have followed the beauty blogsphere lately, you would probably noticed the uproar against the Brazilian Blowout. Yesterday, NPR did a story on it and you can read it here. Coincidentally, NPR also did another article about the latest and cutest musical number on "Sesame Street." During the weekend, I put it on my Facebook account and I have seen it in a lot of my friends' Facebook updates as well.

While my hair is easy to maintain, I do have friends who wake up at 4 a.m to make their hair look more presentable. It is hard work but most of my friends did not take an easy way out by perming their hair. In fact, some of them actually left the perm and embraced their natural curls.

When I read the "I Love My Hair" article on NPR, I was very touched at Mr. Mazzarino's effort to encourage his daughter to love her hair. His mentioning of the Barbie doll also struck a chord in me. For a very long time, I was flipping magazines after magazines, trying to find an actress or a model who looked like me. My main reason was to see how the makeup tips and tricks those magazine articles mentioned would look on Asian women. I got none. Every month, I looked at the cover of Cosmo and wondered why they didn't put Lucy Liu on the cover.

I guess this video clip deserves a post on my blog. It's not just about loving your hair but also about loving yourself. Of course, there are many things you and I want to change about our outlooks. However, instead of putting ourselves under the microscope and dissecting all the flaws, we should embrace it. What we deem as flaws are the things that make us unique.

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Hairtag made the news :)

About 3 months ago, the folks from Hairtag sent me their products to review. Why it took me so long to write this review still eludes me. To be fair, their products are kind of cute and helpful, although I don't seem to use them as much. This product originated from Japan and is very popular in Asia.

First product: Basic Hairtag

Basic Hairtag ($2.99 for 2 pack)

Each package has two velcro sheets that can stick to your hair

Press it over your bang to get your hair away from your face

What I like about it:

• Does not dent or deflate my hair
• Portable
• Does not contain metal so I don't have to worry about beeping sounds at the airport security check point

What I don't like about it:

• It's velcro! Who wants to pay $3 for 2 pieces of velcro?

Second Product: Bling Bling Silver Bow Hairtag

Bling Bling Silver Bow Hairtag ($6.99 per item)

It's bling-tastic!

Put it on my hair...

...and took it out. Look, no dent!

What I like about it:

• The bling: I can actually wear it out if I want to. It's quite a decorative piece
• The size: it's bigger than the basic Hairtag and I don't feel like wearing velcro on my head

What I don't like about it: none. I'm quite happy with this Bling Bling hairtag.

There's another version of the Bling Bling hairtag called the Bling Bling Crown. I don't have that one but I guess it would work as well as the Bling Bling Bow.

And now, a disclaimer for FTC et. al: The products in this review were lovingly furnished by Hairtag. I didn't buy them, although I think the Bling Bling silver bow is worth buying. For more information regarding My Makeup Blog's disclosure policy, click here.

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