I'm sure many of us are familiar with 'Essential', which is under Kao's umbrella of brands. I used to swear by their Essential Hair Mask (in pink) many years back but I got too lazy to use it oops. Fast forward this year, I bought their travel sized volumising conditioner to bring to China and I really liked it! So when I samplestore sent me the campaign invite for Essential's new products, I knew I really wanted to try it!
Ok I know I rarely talk about haircare stuff, because yeah... my main obsession is with skincare products. But I still take care of my tresses and my hair stylist has been telling me that my hair is really dry recently:(
I USED to have really frizzy and wiry hair that had to be rebonded every year or so. My dad even had an embarrassing nickname for me back then... but somehow my stars aligned and God decided that I should have straight hair again. (YAY!) My hair now is slightly wavy, very thick BUT it's definitely damaged from colouring and flat irons. (I use flat irons to curl the ends of my hair) I think I'm really quite happy with the state of my hair except that it's slightly dry and I find that it lacks volume and shine.. Although I know many people beg to differ, because they think my hair has enough volume. Sorray I love voluminous hair, it's NEVER enough volume.
Of course by now, with beauty articles and magazines shoving tons of information in our faces, we know that perming, heat styling and dyeing (yes crazy hair colours I'm lookin' at ya) can be really detrimental to our hair condition but we sometimes forget that some of our everyday habits and the external environmental factors can also put stress on our hair and affect its appearance and health!
JENG JENG JENG. The 5 evil hair stress brothers....
Omg... see how crazy they look.
Who deals with more than one, if not all of the above evil brothers? 
For me, it's definitely brazen blow-drying and despicable dryness! No spiteful split ends because I've chopped them all away but I used to have crazy amount of split ends when I kept my hair long.
Here are the 5 hair stresses we constantly have to deal with:
1. Blow drying
This is one that I'm pretty sure eveyone has to deal with... It's so conflicting because hello, my hair is dripping wet I gotta dry it, but the process of drying it actually removes moisture from my hair, BOTH inside and outside the hair. Er logic??! But really, blow drying your hair, especially at the max temperature setting actually dries the hair out, causing it to be brittle and susceptible to further damage. I'm definitely guilty of this because sometimes my thick hair takes soooo long to dry, so I just blast the max temperature to shorten the drying time.
2. Combing
Combing through wet hair actually damages our hair follicles as they are at the most fragile state. Likewise, the friction caused by combing through dry hair can form hair knots which makes our hair more prone to unnecessary breakage. Also, frequent combing causes fly aways~~ as static charge is produced when there is constant rubbing between individual strands of hair, which makes you look messy!
3. Split Ends
The ends of our hair are the oldest and driest... when the protective hair cuticle is destroyed at the end of our hair, the hair splits into two or more parts. 
4. Hair Breakage
Many seemingly harmless actions like tying your hair into a tight ponytail or twirling your hair with your fingers exert excessive stress on your hair, resulting in hair breakage.
5. Dryness
Which I think is the most evil of all! Exposure to the sun, wind or even air-conditioning can result in hair dryness. Sleeping in an ac room does not help much either, for both our skin and hair :(
The hair cuticles that protect the hair are weakened and therefore unable to retain moisture within the cuticles of the hair.
To combat the above problems, Essential is releasing TWO NEW PRODUCTS - ESSENTIAL CC OIL & NIGHT CARE MILK.
You must be thinking.. WHAT CC OIL? You mean like BB and CC creams not enough, now comes another CC oil? Yes, the CC in Essential CC Oil (60ml) actually refers to 'Cuticle Care'! It is formulated with the same 'multi-functional' concept of BB and CC creams — 1 oil is all you need to protect your hair from 5 different hair stresses. What the CC Oil does is that it forms a protective coat around each hair strand, leaving it smooth and manageable 
What's really cool is that it contains Hair Supplement Oil (lanolin acid) which is similar to our hair's natural oil to help repair, moisturise and protect your hair. It is also light and non-greasy, thus suitable even for applying it throughout the day. You can use it on both damp or towel-dried hair, concentrating on the mid-length to tip!
My verdict:
I've put off using hair oils for a REALLY long time because I had one bad experience with a particular brand. It was really thick and greasy, my hair just couldn't absorb the oil. It actually caused the pores along my jawline to become clogged and I broke out. Ughs gross.
But this CC Oil really lives up to its claim of being lightweight and non-greasy. I've tried it and it is really instantly absorbed by my hair. It is also not sticky at all! YASSS DRINK UP THE GOODNESS MY HAIR. It has a light floral scent which I really appreciate because I hate hair products that have an overpowering scent. I am actually really impressed because my hair ends feels really smooth now and I can't stop touching it. 
SEE! It really is smooth and shiny~
Have you ever felt like this? 
When we toss and turn at night, there is friction between our hair and the pillow, causing the cuticles to be misaligned. This creates frizz, resulting in the fabulous lion's mane hair the next morning
To deal with that, many of us ladies have to wake up much earlier to wash our hair, dry it then style it (phew), on top of skincare products and makeup before heading to work or school. Heck, ain't nobody got time fo' dat. Beauty sleep is more important!
As you can see, the Essential Night Care Milk has a much thicker, richer and gel-like consistency as compared to the oil. Like the CC oil, you can apply this on both damp and towel-dried hair. For better results, ensure that your hair is completely dry before going to bed. And please please please do not sleep with wet hair girls, it is really bad.
My verdict:
I actually really like this product! Yesterday before heading to bed, I applied it on my damp hair before blow drying. Even though this has a richer texture, it's still not greasy or heavy at all, so two thumbs up for Essential. I actually found the scent to be slightly different from the CC oil but no complaints as both are really subtle. I wasn't really expecting much, but I was gladly surprised this morning when I woke up. My hair was still very soft and smooth! 
Of course I still had to comb and style my hair, but my fly aways are very much tamed. Now I don't have to spend so much time doing my hair routine before going out! I can foresee myself using this on a daily basis heh.
Of course I still had to comb and style my hair, but my fly aways are very much tamed. Now I don't have to spend so much time doing my hair routine before going out! I can foresee myself using this on a daily basis heh.
Good news for you girls!
Head over to Essential's Facebook Page to play the Essential Mane Hero game to win attractive prizes weekly!
All you have to do is help Mane Hero catch the Essential products by moving the Essential basket left and right to catch the powerful hair treatments to gain points. At the same time, you have to try avoiding the Evil Stress Brothers and Pesky Pillow King! One word of caution, don't try to grab all the Essential hair products if you can't because you'll end up catching one of those nasties instead 
Go try it for yourself!
Have a good long weekend everyone! Thanks for reading!
Both Essential CC Oil (60ml) and Night Care Milk (100ml) retails at S$11.90 each and can be found at all local supermarkets and leading pharmacies.
With love,
A
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