I exfoliate my skin like crazy, but I never thought about "detoxifying my scalp" since isn't shampoo supposed to do that? After watching a few Asian hair spa videos where part of the treatments actually include scalp scrubbings, I started looking into hair exfoliation products as it wasn't until I started colouring my hair and using dry shampoo more that I noticed my scalp felt itchy at times. I thought at first that my scalp was too dry, but then I realized it was more than that - it needed a good scrub! Then during a sale on Kristin Ess products on Well.ca, I saw two products that spoke to me: the Scalp Detoxifying Bubble Mask and the Instant Exfoliating Scalp Scrub! I mean, how GOOD do those sound?!
Purchased by me
For my sometimes itchy scalp, I thought that product build-up was the problem so the first product that immediately sounded appealing to me was the Scalp Scrub. In general, I love scrubs so the thought of something that was able to exfoliate my scalp and loosen dead skin cells seemed like a treatment that would feel oh-so-good! In addition to removing flakes, this silica scrub also removes hard water deposits and excess sebum and has a first ingredient of sucrose (not water!) which apparently keep natural moisture intact! I found this important because I have used one detoxifying hair treatment in the past and it dried out my hair SO MUCH that I had to RE-WASH it two days in a row with a hair mask and oils to not have it stick out like witch hair!
The nozzle of the bottle is pointed so that you can target application right at the scalp and then partition your hair. Since this is meant to be used on wet hair, I actually find the partitioning quite challenging to do because when you have long hair like me and are trying angrily to partition it in the shower without snapping it, not a lot of progress happens! What I do is a squirt a decent amount into my hands and work it in on the top of my head and then squirt more and work into the base of my scalp. Then I use one of those rubber shampoo/massager combs to work in the scrub all over! Though this is a bit cumbersome in application, the itching on my scalp did stop and it did feel cleaner like I had pressed a reset button on my whole head!
The next product that caught my eye because I love it in sheet mask form was the Bubble Mask! Unlike the Scalp Scrub, this is a foam that is used on DRY hair and is a pre-shampoo treatment that feels instantly refreshing while also removing oil and dead skin cells. Not only is the foam SUPER COLD, but the formula also contains salicylic acid to clarify and really clean things out!
One thing I thought this mask would be like was bubbly. Like incredibly bubbly to the point where I thought I would be sporting a massive bubble fro, but sadly that was not the case. The reviews on the Kristin Ess site were also a bit strange because a lot of people were complaining about how they couldn't figure out how to get this foam anywhere near their scalps. If you have used a dry shampoo foam before, it is exactly the same process. I call it "diving in" because you literally just take your foam ball and smash it right onto your scalp and just work it in! The bubbles are so light that the product flows through the hair and because the hair is dry it's fairly easy to distribute the product evenly.
One thing I should mention about both products is that while I was expecting the characteristic Kristin Ess scent like her other core products, these two products had a strong artificial coconut scent which I wasn't a huge fan of. Thankfully the scent doesn't last long and did not linger in my hair, but I felt like it was an unnecessary addition of fragrance that sat quite high on the ingredients list.
Final verdict: While I am still enjoying both products, I like the Bubble Mask more because it was easier to use while giving me the same results - a itch-free and clean scalp! The scrub has actually been nice for my husband post-run as shorter hair doesn't give him the same issues I had so if you are someone with short hair is looking for an effective way to exfoliate the scalp, the scrub might be a good option!
You can find Kristin Ess products at Well.ca!
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