[Hair Journal] 2025
But also, I don't have anything new or positive to say. As seen above, my hair is still very similar to what it was since the 2024 Hair Journal. I am trying to grow a bit more out to add to the long parts, so that when I tie it into a ponytail, there'll be a much more pleasant design.
Hair type, concerns, history: late-30s, 1c, low porosity hair, buzzed on the side, longer on top and undyed...for the last year. The white hairs have won and I'm tired of pulling them out. Focused on anti-aging: hair loss and thinning. Still living with hard water. Still loving the short hair life.
My Hair Currently
Current frustration with my hair is also due to the fact that I've had an inexplicably hard to explaining clearly to my stylist and barber what I want. The last time I went to either of them, I've walked out ultimately not loving what was done and I guess I only have myself to blame. So I've started hacking at it myself, which has turned out surprisingly well-ish. I'm thinking I'll be trying a new (though recommended to me) stylist early 2026 where the hair I'm growing out will be worth shaping. She has experience with this type of hairstyle, so fingers crossed. I really miss my NY stylist...he understood me😭
2025 is the year the white hairs have finally won. 2026 will be the year I start dying my hair. I played with Arctic Fox hair dyes when I was coming out of my ash silver phase, so my immediate thought was always going back to them. The white hairs in the buzzed areas aren't too noticeable, so I'm thinking of just dying the longer parts. I purchased Peach Prosecco as I wanted a color that won't detract or distract too much from my natural hair and hopefully turn the whites into just a bit of shade. I've heard white hair doesn't absorb pigment like normal hair does, so my expectations are kind of low.
What Else Has Changed
My hair strands have thinned.
My psychology towards my white hairs.
I was always lighthearted towards my white hairs, of course it's inevitable that they would win. I started pulling them out because I used to watch my aunt (aka my "Taiwan Mom") do it when I was younger. I'd kind of grin when I did it because it reminded me of her.
I know the exact tilt of my head and eyes watching my aunt pluck her white hairs in her bathroom. I thought it was silly at the time because she was beautiful and the white hairs didn't detract from that in my young eyes. But that's what she wanted to do. And since she missed so many white hairs in the back of her head, she even let me help her a few times.
But as this year progressed, I worked through a lot of emotional heaviness I had been carrying towards losing my aunt in 2019. What I'm willing to say on a public forum is that I still carry a lot of sadness in my heart for my aunt and the way her life turned out. With how dutiful, kind and loving she was, she deserved that much back from those who claim(ed) to love her; a much richer life than she got.
With my increased interest in skincare and haircare supplements during and post-pandemic, it made me realize that she may have plucked her white hairs out because she felt really unfulfilled. She was a single mom, and the main caretaker to her mother, and she was likely worrying her life was starting to not turn out the way she was hoping. Seeing the white hairs in the mirror may have reminded her that time was not on her side to close the distance between hopes/dreams and reality.
So my setting aside the plucking of the white hairs is also coinciding with finishing my emotional/mental work I've been doing over my aunt.
When I was playing with all sorts of fun colors with my hair years ago, I was able to convince my mom to join me in that adventure. She set aside the dark browns and started playing with splashes of pinks and blues and purples and loved all the compliments she got. I think that's just a much more fun way of approaching white hair (and time/life as a metaphor).
Current Routine
I'm down to two shampoos that I switch between, one that's gentler, the other that's a wee more stripping. Sekkisei Oil Cleaners got a little bit more use when I was washing out stronger hair product that I had to more consistently use for a period. One conditioner that I sometimues use depending on how my hair is feeling. And two main after-washing care products.
It's so nice to have finally pared down my routine to something more minimal. I'm not sure if it actually means I know what I'm doing, but it feels that way.
Reviews
Cleansers/Shampoos
- Sekkisei Oil Cleanser (WRP) – Back in rotation! With finishing the Dr. Groot Scalp Scaling Shampoo, this has come back to play a more prominent role. Really important when I feel like hair styling product has been gumming up my scalp and strands. I still don't use it very often, because I still remember it felt like consistent use felt like it was stripping my strands of oils.
- Sansim Daol Shampoo (WNRP) – my last hanbang product! It's in normal rotation now, and it works very well as a more stripping shampoo. I do like having two shampoos to trade off between, and I've been enjoying Milbon as a gentler shampoo. I haven't bothered to search for a slightly more stripping shampoo...even thinking about it right now is really annoying to me tbh.
- Milbon Restorative Shampoo (WRP) – I walked by a salon in my neighborhood that carried Milbon and...why didn't I think of trying them earlier? It fits in great with my move from kbeauty to jbeauty. For ease of purchase, I just bought this bottle from that salon, but I think the Renewing Shampoo is a better fit for what I need. It smells like sweet, fresh flowers without being cloyingly sweet.
- Tsubaki Hair Shampoo Massage Brush – Still the same one from all the previous journal entries. Now that my hair is getting just a little bit longer (and I have more of the longer parts to contend with), I really do need to use it with every shampooing.
Conditioner/Treatment
- Ululis Moist Water Conc Hair Treatment (MRP) – picked it up in a whim from my last ImageBeauty haul because the packaging is pretty. It's a perfectly fine conditioner, nothing extraordinary. But I have nothing bad to say about it, and with my minimal use of conditioner in general, it's really all I need. It has a clean laundry smell, with just a hint of sweetness. It's lovely.
Moving Forward: For this third (?) year in a row, I would still love to try the Cha Tzu Tang Mulberry Shampoo. As mentioned above, Milbon Renewing Shampoo is next on the list to try. Some sort of stripping shampoo one day as well.
Hair Care
- Decorte AQ Scalp & Hair Energizer (WRP)– I still enjoy it. But it's my last bottle and Milbon has a Enhancing Vivacity Essence in its Gold Line that I'm curious about, especially since it also uses ginseng. I would happily come back to Decorte's if it doesn't work out though.
- BathSabbath GHOST Unscented nut-free Beard Oil GHOST (WNRP) - My last bottle! Last time I looked on etsy they were closing down. I think I might be able to get away with just using Baxter's Grooming Cream though (see below).
- Verb Ghost Oil (WRP) - I don't know why I included it in this picture, I use it only for styling ad not as a hair treatment. In my 2023 Hair Journal, I mentioned I was annoyed at what the silicones in it were doing to my hair. So it really is just for styling/special occasion purposes.
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