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I am a poster child for damaged hair.
It’s the combination of genes and a lifetime of chemical treatments.
I was born with insanely thick, coarse, naturally wavy hair. I came out of my mother’s womb looking like a Russ troll.
And I didn’t help matters by doing crazy things to my hair.
Because of the frizzy craze of the ’80s, I got my first perm when I was in first grade. It wasn’t as glamorous as I thought it would be. My uncle started calling me Chris because he said my hair made me look like a Christmas tree. He was wrong. I actually looked more like Goomba, that creepy brown video game villain that Super Mario likes stomping on.
Since then, my hair has been subjected to practically every kind of chemical treatment you could think of: straightening, relaxing, numerous 10-hour rebonding sessions, digital and non-digital perms. I’ve also bleached and re-bleached and dyed my hair all sorts of colors—pink, purple, red, blue, green. Right now, my hair is a mix of three shades—dark roots, dirty blonde and about six inches of blue-green.
Vicious cycle
I’ve had a lot of fun with my hair but to say that it is damaged is an understatement. It’s a vicious cycle—my attempts at making it prettier and more manageable just keep damaging it more.
My hair is in such bad shape that just shampooing it wouldn’t do; I have to use a lot of conditioner because otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to run a comb through my waves. I get really bad tangles that sometimes, I am left with no choice but to attack the knots with scissors.
I’ve tried hair masks, hair treatments, leave-on conditioners, oils and even home remedies in my quest for softer hair. One time, I tried a DIY olive oil-and-eggs hair mask. I made the mistake of heating the oil and ended up with cooked eggs on my head.
My struggle with my hair continues. Good hair days only happen to me about twice a year. If I need to wear my hair down, I have to go to a salon for a professional blowout. My hair is up in a big bun most of the time.
This week, Dove launched Daily Hair Vitamin, its newest hair innovation, and my editor thought I was the perfect person to put it to the test.
I’m no stranger to Dove’s hair products. I’m obsessed with its Intense Repair Conditioner. I’ve used practically every conditioner available in the market and it really stands out. I’ve seen a difference in my hair since I started using it—it’s become softer and easier to style. Thanks to Dove’s conditioner, I’ve actually been able to wear my hair down in loose waves without having to go to a salon.
My hair loves this conditioner so much—it’s as if it drinks it. I go through so many bottles that I wish they sold it by the gallon. Even when I go on short trips, I always travel with a big bottle.
Damage care
Julia Ng, Dove Hair’s senior assistant brand manager, said, “Dove is number one in damage care. It repairs damage at the cellular level. Damage is the core of all hair problems—bad hair days, buhaghag days. The moment you step out of your shower, your hair is prone to damage. Towel-drying is damaging, brushing and combing are damaging. When you step out of your door, you expose your hair to the sun, the wind, the pollution, aircon.”
Dove created Daily Hair Vitamin, adding an important step to your daily hair care regimen of using shampoo and conditioner. “After cleansing with shampoo and moisturizing with conditioner, this product locks in the nourishment and it lasts the whole day,” Julia said. “It boosts the power of your shampoo and conditioner.”
Daily Hair Vitamin has three ingredients that are essential for damage repair—vitamin E, botanical extract and mineral oil. “Vitamin E nourishes the hair, botanical extract helps repair the hair and mineral oil protects your hair from damage.” Each capsule contains 1 ml of Daily Hair Vitamin.
I had the chance to try Daily Hair Vitamin at a pampering session at Blo Blow Dry Bar in Rockwell earlier this week.
While the average person would need only one capsule (some, like Apples Aberin, Unilever’s head of PR for Personal Care—just use half), my hair is so thick and so damaged that they had to use three capsules. And because I have enough hair for two people, two people—Josie and Anton—were needed to work on my blowout.
When my session was done, my hair felt lighter and softer. And 16 hours later, after pulling an all-nighter and after numerous attempts by my puppy to chew on my hair, my hair was still soft, pretty and tangle-free.
Real test
But the real test came the next day. Anyone could have great-looking hair after a professional blowout, but how would my hair look and feel if I applied the Daily Hair Vitamin myself?
After using Dove Intense Repair shampoo and conditioner, I squeezed out the excess water from my hair, cut open the capsules and used my palms to apply the oil from the mid-section of my hair to the tips. I did not apply the Daily Hair Vitamin to my scalp and the roots of my hair to avoid oiliness.
I couldn’t believe how easy it was to comb my hair after my shower—no tangles! And my hair feels softer and not oily. Dove may have just given me the gift of wash and wear hair that I had been longing for. I’m an instant fan.
Dove Daily Hair Vitamin is available at Watsons, Mercury Drug, Shopwise, Rustan’s and Robinsons Supermarkets. Each blister pack of six capsules costs P75.