Hair

We I used to care very little about what the internet said about my beauty and hair products. To be fair, the internet did not say much either. But I sure was easily bought by advertisements. Oh Bobbi Brown, how nice of you for making me feel like I'm part of you*. Here's my money. (*I'm not. You are still the expensive makeup with excellent branding, and I'm still living with my not-flawless skin and lack of makeup skill.)

While I'm still easily bought by advertisements, I want simple everything now: I don't want 10 bottles of hair products that promise everything and do nothing, and I want to spend less. That sounds simple enough if the internet, the "natural" products movement, were not messing up my life.

Currently, here's how I'm probably destroying my hair:


Flat Iron

• My hair is long again this year, and I don't want to relax it this time. But since I still need to socialize with humans, I cannot just leave it as it is. And since I don't know how to use a hairdryer to save my life, I decided to get a (new) flat iron.


• The internet tells me that when it comes to plate types, aluminum is bad; ceramic is good because it distributes heat evenly, preventing hair from frying; and titanium, while still good, might be "too strong" for some.


• The cost of the "perfect" flat iron: ceramic plates (not just coated), adjustable temperature and automatic shut off, however, may get you a small airplane, which the internet says is fine because it's an investment.


• After about one week of confusing myself with one info after another, I settled with the least scary iron that I could afford: Philips SalonStraight Active Ion. Its plates are ceramic-coated, and it can reach 210°C, which, to be honest, might be too hot for my hair type. But I'm not buying an airplane today, so that makes all the cons justifiable, right? It can't possibly be too damaging, can it?


• I initially wanted the Mini Essential Care -- not only it's cheaper, it looks sooo cute** too. But unfortunately, those at the store won't clasp properly, and that would be annoying. (**Love-the-packaging-and-ad-forget-the-function wins every time.)

Heat Protectant

• I've used a flat iron before, but I've never used heat protectant. Apparently, in 2016, we need heat protectant.


• So my internet education also tells me that the main culprits in hair products these days are parabens, silicones and sulfates. But do you know how hard it is to find paraben, silicone and sulfate-free products? It's like finding a powder blue unicorn.


• Even a rare powder blue unicorn, the product must be cheap. In the spirit of finding one that actually works for me, and not only because the ads work for me, I've long ditched OSIS+ and been using RM7 Sunsilk Instant Smoothening Cream while growing out my hair. It feels light, and I don't think it's giving me any problems, but OMG, I just noticed it contains silicone and paraben! And I haven't even researched its other ingredients yet.


• So, the cheapest paraben-etc-free product for heated hair that I can find is -- Hair Pro by Watsons Heat Active Hair Serum, on sale for RM28/100ml. I'd prefer something that costs RM7, but, you know, I can no longer touch silicone. (I also got its Heat Active Treatment, which they could totally just call conditioner and which I don't use regularly.) I'm not sure why I'm trusting Watson's with my hair, and I could not find any reviews for them other than paid blog posts. It's like nobody is using this line if they have to pay for it, so here I am.


• This wasn't easy to decide. I wish somebody had sorted this out for me, because I also realized it doesn't really say it's protecting hair from heat but using heat to treat hair. I don't know about you, but they sound like two different functions to me. But I'm done researching. This is too much work. I should find them ok, right?

I'm still wondering, though, all these worries, are we being played by the beauty industry? We think we are deciding based on facts and needs, but are we still being clouded by advertisements? Fine, of course, we are. But to what extent? How many products that we are told bad for us actually aren't? How many products that we're using right now, thinking they are making our lives better, don't actually make a difference? What will the buzzwords be for next year? Five years from now?

Ugh, I need a nap. I'm probably better off ditching that 210°C iron eating right, but for now I'll use "It's genetics" to justify everything.