Ms Pooja Chhabra - Trichologist at Trichokare

Meet Pooja, one of the trichologists at TK TrichoKare. I was very lucky to be able to have a consultation with her during my last appointment with TrichoKare and I was very happy to finally have an expert examine and advise me on my hair loss issue from a more scientific and biological point of view.

As per usual, the consultation began with a scan of my scalp and she was very happy that my scalp was very clean (compared to the previous appointment). I was happy that my twice-a-day shampoo habit has paid off. She also pointed out that she could see that my veins were quite close to the scalp, indicating that I have sensitive scalp/skin. That is true, which is also why I'm quite particular about what products I use. Nevertheless, I am still suffering from hair loss.

What causes hair loss?
A variety of reasons cause hair loss, including:

• hormones
• stress
• genetics
• scalp infections
• certain hairstyles
• oily scalp with clogged hair follicles

In my case, it was a combination of both genetic and hormonal issues. Pooja explained that chemically speaking, the main culprit for baldness is DHT (Dihydrotestosterone), a derivative of the male hormone testosterone which can be found in the oil glands of every hair follicle. As women's hormones change every month and even more drastically during pregnancy, DHT is triggered more so with us because the balance of hormones keep changing. We all know how a teeny tiny bit of hormone change can really wreak havoc in our bodies and (now we know) hair. This DHT is also the cause of hair loss in men but it is often a lot easier to treat because men's hormone levels do not fluctuate as often as women's.

Pooja told me not to give up hope as my clean scalp has shown that there is still a chance to work on the follicles to ensure that they get more nutrients required for healthy hair growth. When she saw that I was taking Minoxidil (5%) and using Hair Max while also taking Biotin with Multi-vitamins, she said that I was definitely someone who "has been there and done that when it comes to hair loss!"

It was good to hear from a trichologist's point of view that Regaine/Rogaine (brand differs depending on which country you buy it from) foam for both men and women are exactly the same and the different packaging is mainly due to marketing purposes. 5% is normally prescribed to men while 3% to women. However, women with serious hair loss can be prescribed with 5% minoxidil. She did warn me not to stop using minoxidil as it is the only thing that is preventing the DHT from being formed. Once I stop, as my hormones are still sending the same signals to the hair follicles, I may experience a very sudden severe hair loss.

Pooja then customised the treatment for me and explained that I was going to get a hair mask to soothe the sensitive skin while also balancing it so that it will be less oily. After that, I will get their ampoule which contains extracts from herbs that clinically show improvement in hair growth and to nourish the hair follicles will be applied onto my scalp. It's as if I'm going for a facial but instead of my face, I'm treating my scalp!

Too much white hair!

Another problem plaguing me is the amount of white hair that I have on my head. Lucky me, I was given a preview of their colouring services before it launches in April! My hair was coloured before the hair mask and since TrichoKare is the hair care experts, naturally the hair dye that they use did not contain ammonia and uses natural ingredients.

Indeed, no nasty chemical smells while my head was smothered with the dye. I did not experience any itching on my scalp while waiting for it to set either! During the wash, my consultant switched from their usual conditioner to another one which was more moisturising and targeted at grey hair. This was simply because she realised that although my scalp was oily, the ends of my hair were very dry. I've got to say that I love the personalised treatment.

Ampoule used for the treatment

The ampoule was sprayed onto my scalp with something that reminded me of an air-spray gun. It felt really cool on the scalp and the massage that followed after was amazing! Besides being very relaxing, the head massage is also meant to promote blood circulation to the scalp and therefore, encourage nutrients to reach the follicles. Pretty similar to what my cold laser is supposed to do.

After the blow dry, my head was given the infra-red treatment by what I'd like to call the 'octopus' and Pooja explained that this is to kill off any bacteria on the scalp as this too would affect the health of your hair.

After colouring

I'm also glad that the hair colour covered all my grey hair! The consultant then added some of their Hair Coat which immediately added shine to my hair without it feeling oily. I also noticed that it helped with the frizziness too! When I touched my hair, it was really soft and a far cry from how it was when I walked into the salon.

At the end of the treatment, it was back into the consultation room for a review scan. The hair colouring has helped to show where there are empty hair follicles and Pooja was optimistic that new hair can grow back from them.

Unfortunately, I could not get the hair growth treatment straightaway. Pooja explained that the herbal extracts used for hair growth would be rendered useless if the scalp and hair follicle were still clogged with oil and toxins as the growth factor would not be absorbed. Which is why it is normally recommended for clients to do 6 to 8 cleansing Trichological Scalp Treatments before going onto the hair growth treatments. Hair growth also differs from person to person because of our natural hair cycles as well as the cause(s) of each individual's hair loss.

I decided to buy some of Trichokare's fabulous hair care products so that I can continue having great hair after leaving the salon. I was so grateful that Pooja was around because what went into my bag was also per her recommendation. My shampoo (it's called Purifying Bath) is meant to be strong enough to wash off oil from my scalp so that I no longer need to wash my hair twice a day. In my bag also went the Hair Coat and Black Shine, both contain proteins and nutrients that were blended by trichologists to repair damaged hair while moisturising it. I also got an ampoule for at-home treatment.

I must say that I really enjoyed this treatment and it's mostly due to the good advice of the trichologist who customised the treatment from start to finish. With so much stress, pollution and diet issues  (not to mention how some of us change hair colour like we change clothes) nowadays, it is important to take better care of your scalp like how one takes care of our face.

Which is why, if you have hair problems but do not know where to start, do make an appointment with TrichoKare's trichologist for your first time consultation. If you just want to try out TrichoKare's Scalp Treatment, SWAG Guide is happy to say that we've managed to get a special price for you!

Book your trial Scalp Treatment for only S$48 (w/ GST) instead of S$138 here.
You can also book your appointment with the trichologist at S$91.60 here.

It's free to join SWAG Guide as a member to enjoy these promotions and say 'YES' to healthy, beautiful hair!

HAACH has invited Master Lam Cheung, founder of Hong Kong Permanent Soft Stitch Make-up Artist Association, to Singapore for an exclusive workshop on your perfect eyebrows for your facial features as well as how it will affect even your luck and fortune!

Topics to be covered are:

• The Perfect Pair - importance of matching Brow trends and shape with your face type
• Learn how your brow shape could affect your luck and personality
• How your eyebrows can improve your looks and overall features
• Shaping the Perfect Brow - for your facial features, eye shape, age and career
• Understand the art of eyebrow embroidery - including picking the right colour and technique
• Live demonstration of eyebrow embroidery

Below is an example of Master Lam's work:

Event details
Dates: 9 & 10th January 2016 (choose 1 day)
Time: 2 - 5pm
Registration fee: $28

To register for FREE, all you have to do is purchase ANY trial treatment from HAACH as listed on Pásshen!

Master Lam at a previous workshop

About Master Lam
Founder of Hong Kong (H.K.) Permanent Soft Stitch Make-up Artist Association, Master Lam Cheung is renowned for his expertise and fortitude - constantly bringing innovation to the world of beauty and make-up. Since founding of HKPA in 1998, apart from conducting several eyebrow embroidery workshops in HK island-wide, Master Lam Cheung has brought the art of Permanent Soft Stitch Make-up to Germany, Korea, Thailand, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and has ventured into the Chinese and European markets too.

They say that your eyes are the windows to your soul but did you know that with the wrong eyebrow shape, it can dramatically change your look? In fact, you can take a look at 43 horrible eyebrows as curated by Buzzfeed here.

That is why Pásshen has teamed up with multiple award winning eyelash and aesthetician, Leticia Loh, from Exquisite Aura Lashes to hold a workshop on Mon, 16 Nov during our inaugural Beauty Week. We caught up with her for a quick update on the workshop.

Pásshen: What can attendees expect from the workshop?
Leticia:  I'll be talking about the different eyebrow shapes and what kinds of face shapes suit which eyebrow shape. After that, the workshop participants will get hands-on and draw those shapes out. By the end of the workshop, they should be able to know how to draw their own eyebrows and shape them properly too.

Leticia and her awards

P: We understand that you're also going to talk about eyelash extensions?
L: Yes, there have been some recent news reports on how eyelash extensions are bad for your eyes and I want to educate the public about it. It's not that eyelash extensions are harmful, it's who you go to and what sort of materials they use as well as how you maintain them that are important.

P: Where did you learn about eyelash extensions and eyebrow shaping?
L: I've always been interested in beauty so when my husband was working in Korea, I decided to take up an eyelash extension course. Soon, I found myself a Certified Eyelashes Extension Instructor by the International Eyelashes Design Association, Korea. I've been doing this for a year in Korea, being promoted very quickly within 6 months to Associate Director due to my techniques and customer service. However, we had to move back to Singapore so now here I am and I've started my freelance business "Exquisite Aura".

One must note that although Eyelashes are Leticia's expertise, she also is a National-Interstate Council of State Boards of Cosmetology Certified Instructor for MircroPigment and Nail Technology. This is why she also does lip embroidery as part of her service. Do check out Exquisite Aura's listing on Pásshen here as well as register for your ticket to her workshop here.

Was lucky to be invited to the Singapore launch of US-based Vita Coco's cold pressed organic coconut oil on Wednesday! Vita Coco's coconut water has already won the hearts of millions internationally since it's processing from fruit to packet ensures that drinking from the packet is almost like drinking from the nut itself.

The humble coconut has been heralded as a wonder fruit and thus, this jar of coconut oil has been aptly called the 'little jar of wonders' as coconut oil is packed rich with good fats (medium chain fatty acids) and acids (Capric, Caprylic and Lauric) which nourish, energise and stimulate your body’s metabolism. In fact, the only other natural source of such a large quantity of these rich fats and acids are in mother’s breast milk, which strengthens the immunity of her baby.

Due to the wonders of coconut oil, the running tagline for Vita Coco is "Eat it. Wear it. Swear by it!". Let's touch on the "Eat it" portion as food is always close to the heart.

Here I am enjoying a glass of Coconut Margarita and mind you, this was my 2nd cocktail. I had earlier drunk a glass of Coconut Water Mojito! Yummy and refreshing! There were mocktails too but I wasn't driving so bring on the alcohol!

The team had engaged the chefs at Glass House, Hotel Fort Canning, to come up with a 3 course meal to showcase the variety of ways that Vita Coco's coconut oil and coconut water could be used in one's cooking.

First came a simple salad of baby spinach, tomato, cucumber, roasted walnuts, mandarin orange slices drizzled with some coconut oil. The result was very refreshing and it was interesting to smell the coconut but not eat something that is very rich but light.

Second course was the chicken soup that was cooked with coconut water. It was a bit too sweet for my liking and I reckon that it's because the chef added sugar and not because of the coconut water. I've cooked broth with coconut water before and it tastes really yummy, especially when you mix it with chicken broth as the coconut water adds another dimension to it. Alternatively, I feel that coconut water is a good vegetarian broth! Just remember to add the salt.

Lastly is Coconut Butter Chicken with Savoy Coconut Rice. It uses both coconut oil and water as part of the ingredients.

Chef preparing the Coconut Butter Chicken

We had a cooking demonstration as well! Chef taught us how to prepare the Coconut Butter Chicken dish and if you'd like the recipe, you can head on over to my other blog In Chef Mode to download it.

As mentioned earlier, coconut oil is versatile and not only can you eat it, you can use it and this brings us to the "Wear it" portion.

I'm currently using Coconut Oil in what is known as oil pulling. Basically, you gargle with coconut oil for about 20 minutes before brushing your teeth. This 'pulls' the bacteria and dirt in your mouth due to the anti-bacterial properties of coconut oil. I've done it for about a week or so and what I like about it is that it doesn't dry my mouth and lips, unlike normal mouthwashes.

One of the attendees getting a scrub made with Vita Coco coconut oil

Model having a mask applied onto her face after makeup removal using coconut oil

Due to its moisturising properties, you can use the coconut oil as a body scrub by mixing it with rock salt or sugar. Also, you can use it as a harmless and effective makeup remover!

Another way of using coconut oil is a hair conditioner, just like how a lot of Indians use it traditionally. If you have fine hair, it is also advisable to coat your hair with coconut oil before shampooing. Called a 'pre-poo', this prevents your hair from getting dried out during the shampoo process.

You can get more information and tips on how to use coconut oil at http://www.swearbyit.com.

So where can you get your hands on this little jar of wonders and the refreshing coconut water? The 250ml Vita Coco coconut oil is retailing at S$20 and will be available at all major supermarkets and specialty stores from November 2015 onwards. The coconut water are already on sale in the major supermarkets!

To find out more about Vita Coco and their nutty story, visit http://vitacoco.com/sg.

Great rewards await you when you join Pásshen as a client!
Get a mystery box worth more than S$150* in health and wellness goodies when you join us as a member. This promotion is valid from 21 Sep till 30 Nov 2015.

How to qualify?
1. Sign up as a member
2. Email marketing@passhen.com your username, email address and mailing address
3. Once we have checked your status, we will mail the box to you within 5 working days!

What are you waiting for? Sign up NOW at www.passhen.com!


*Terms &Conditions apply.

Specially for my readers, Passhen users as well as those on WellnessYogi's mailing list! Don't say that I don't share good deals! Head onto www.tk-hair.com/wellnessyogi to enjoy the super good deal!

When I went to the gym at Raffles Place last week, I was pleasantly surprised to see the station covered with Tokio Marine's ad and with each passing panel, I was more in love with the whole campaign!

Well done Tokio Marine! You've successfully managed to shed your stuffy Japanese image and gotten a little personal with your audience.

Heard from my media agency that the Japanese HQ has mandated the similar campaign worldwide so the regional offices had no choice but to follow. Which made me even more surprised because I felt the people in the ads looked more Singaporean than Japanese!

Anyway, this is the perfect ad campaign to demonstrate certain elements of what makes up a Good Advertisement. Specifically, the new trend of more emotional soft sell.

1. Audience can relate to the ads

The whole series were about individual needs that are relatively universal - life events such as retirement, setting up one's business, starting a family or owning a car. All these are events that one would probably go through in one's life journey.

They also chose to have a font that looks more like a person's handwriting to convey a more personal touch. They kept the serious, straight fonts only for their contact details and corporate sale spiel.

The ads were personable too, with words such as 'I' and 'us'. Tells the audience what Tokio can do for  a person rather than what's so great about themselves/their product(s).

2. Proper call-to-action tagline

You don't have to read the whole paragraph but notice on the "Talk to us." and "Ready for what's next." These 2 are very clear and personable taglines and personifies the company. My only gripe would be that I wished there was a url or telephone number because I'm not sure whether I should Google "Tokio Marine" to find out their contact details to talk to them or what as not all their posters had the url.

They also played on people's aspirations to own their own businesses or cars in their main titles, such as "Yesterday, I answered to my boss. Today, I answer to my customers."

3. Relatable Faces

It's a little subtle but the models used in this campaign were a mix of races. Spotted someone who looked a little Malay and another few more Chinese. These faces are a lot more catered to the Singaporean audience, plus their relaxed poses makes the ads a lot less forgettable for an Insurance ad.

4. Consistency
They kept to the same colour scheme and the running "Yesterday...Today,..." tagline where they juxtaposition various scenarios for all their ads. This helps in brand recall and you will definitely recognise their corporate colour the next time you see it (think Scoot = Yellow; Tiffany = that shade of blue; Coca Cola = Red etc). They even have that odd blue arc at the bottom corner on every single poster with their contact details under it.

I'm sure that there are reasons why these ads aren't perfect but please...let's give a hand to Tokio Marine and their ad agency. It is NOT easy to book the slots for the posters, turnstiles AND the bottom walls of not just 1 but 2 stations (friend told me that she saw the same ads in Newton MRT station) to show the ad AT THE SAME TIME PERIOD.

Estimated cost? S$300k. Excluding production and design. SMRT doesn't do bulk discount. Oh...and I saw the ad adaptation on taxis but couldn't snap any pictures because it zoomed past me. So...that's probably another $50-60k, depending on how many taxis have the ad.

 I finally spotted one of them Tokio Marine ad cabs on 18 Apr night!! :)

If you need a break from the madness known as work, join us for a day of Yoga and wellness workshops to help you RESET your life and get your balance back at WellnessYogi:RESET.

Do note that the topics within the schedule are still subject to changes.

It will be a day full of activities and ALL attendees will be getting a goodie bag worth S$60! What's inside? Stay tuned! All I can say is that one item will be a really sweet and cold treat! :)

There will also be a bazaar that's open to the public, featuring stalls that will be selling a variety of health and wellness products or services!

Grab your buddy and register here. Corporate and sponsorship packages are also available. Please contact us at ing@wellnessyogi.com or passhen.sg@gmail.com for more details.

I really shouldn't. But I did. I couldn't resist buying this limited edition Hello Kitty 40th Anniversary nail set (S$40) when I went to Sephora after work. I had an extra 20% discount thanks to my Black Sephora card, which really helped to push me into grabbing this for myself. Although I went into Sephora purely to find nice gift items for Christmas.

See the crystals just below the nail file? Those aren't simple crystals. They're Hello Kitty crystals! Each crystal is in the shape of Kitty-chan! The red ones? Apples!

How cute is the tin can that all the nail stuff was placed in? Gah...I'm such a sucker for cute things. There are other limited edition Hello Kitty cosmetic sets but I already have a lot of lip glosses and eye shadows, and unlike nail polishes, you don't really need that many of those. To me at least. I can't wait to use the stuff from this box but I'll have to wait because I broke 2 nails this week :(

Trying out more nail stamping and trying to get the hang of it. I have to remind myself that my nails are very curved so I can't just roll it sideways, I have to remember to roll it downwards too. Anyway, I'm rather pleased with this monochromatic theme of dark and light blue. Instead of using the ring finger as the accent nail, I went with the pinky and used my Alice In Wonderland OPI glitter! I think I may need to purchase nail gloves because it's quite hard to clean the stamps with nail polish remover while trying to ensure that I don't clean off the polish on my nails. It's an art, I tell you.

Oh...let me reiterate. Those are my REAL nails. I've been asked several times by even my own Auntie whether these are my real nails. Yes, they are. I do not have extensions on or false nails glued on. They're real.

Sephora is evil. They made me buy S$70 worth of of Ciate nail polishes. 6 mini ones that come in Tree Trinkets and 3 regular ones in fabulous summer shades. The mini ones were on sale. Seriously. Some friends of mine should expect to get a tree trinket from me for Christmas. Haha. I do like shopping for Christmas gifts early. I can't wait to try out the new polishes BUT...I must construct my new container to hold my polishes. Yup, I'm horrible...I've managed to stuff the toolbox till it's too full. In my defence, that toolbox isn't large enough for most tools. It's more suitable for sewing kits or medical stuff. Uh huh. It's a multi-purpose box.

Anyway, there are quite a few designs that I've seen that I may want to try out but they'll have to wait till I'm back from my trip to Krabi! :) 

Watson's was having a sale for these Sally Hansen Sugar Coat nail polish. Buy 1 and get 1 free. Good deal right? $14.90 for 2 bottles! Yes...I was lured by the discount and bought these 2 colours. I didn't realise that it was meant to be sandy textured nail polish. Guess I should've read the fine print on the front of the label.  :P

So, after the first 2 coats, they turned out like the above. In my opinion, that's a little tooo boring. So what did I do? I added heart stickers on my thumbnails and glitter polish to the tips. I also did accent nails by adding a lot of glitter polish.

I must say that I'm not very fond of this sugar coat texture. It was too rough for me. I've used OPI's Sand polish and it wasn't this bumpy. I know that it's the desired effect but I like touching my nails from time to time and the rough bumps of the sugar coat polish was not making me happy. Weird, I know. Nonetheless, since I've bought 2 bottles, I will go and search for suitable designs that have sandy textures incorporated into them.

I'm officially addicted to Carousell. I find myself constantly going to the app on my phone (I wished it were on iPad too though)  and browsing through others' listings as well as mine. I get thrilled when I receive messages and offers for my items!

Anyway, I've got the following 2 items up for sale that I think are uber cute and are super great deals:

Both are original Hello Kitty and Little Twin Stars phone covers by Sanrio. Although the packaging reads that it's for the iPhone 5C, it works for the iPhone 5 (1st series) because that's the phone that I'm using.

I'm selling them at S$10 each although normal retail price is S$29.90 each. I have another Little Twin Stars cover that I'm currently using. To purchase them, head onto http://carousell.co/melfann/ and leave me a comment/offer.

The great thing about Carousell is that you can access it on your desktop too! Mind you, I'm not paid to advertise for them. I'm just really addicted to it. That's where I bought my Kitchenaid from. LOL.

I do have other items on sale so do take a look!