Could a Japanese-style hair-washing routine be the secret to healthier hair growth? The Japanese are the best students when it comes to beauty and are always one step ahead. If we’re just starting to normalise the use of a massaging brush in hair washing here, you best believe they’ve been doing it twice as much already. This was explained to us by stylist Maria Roberts, founder of the Madart x Studio 25 Hair Spa, where they work with René Furterer products (the brand that invented pre-shampoo treatments 60 years ago).
Roberts, who spent several weeks training in Japan before opening her spa in Quijorna, discovered, among other things, that the Japanese hair-washing technique is a highly focused scalp care ritual. And precisely for that reason, they use two silicone massaging brushes: one on each side of the head to emphasise the massage process that helps cleanse in depth and activate blood circulation.
Super brushing
Running your paddle brush through your hair a few times in the morning isn’t going to cut it. Roberts says many hairstylists use at least two silicone massaging brushes, one on each side of the head, to create a massage routine that helps deep-clean the head and activate blood circulation.
“The best way to do a scalp massage is to start at the back of the head, going upwards, always focusing on the crown of the head, which is where there are more nerve endings,” he explains. By applying the technique with two brushes while applying the shampoo, the effects of the massage are enhanced and all parts of the scalp are reached. “This method”, says Roberts, “Not only stimulates growth, but also relieves tension on the scalp (try massaging it when you’re nervous, it works) and your scalp is much cleaner.”
By now we know that if we want our hair to thrive, we have to know how to care for our scalps and keep that dryness at bay. “The scalp to the hair is the soil for flowers,” Morgan Rabach, board-certified dermatologist and cofounder of LM medical, previously told Vogue. “The healthier the scalp, the better the chance your hair has of being healthy.”
Alan Truman Scalp Bae
Tangle Teezer Scalp Exfoliator & Massager
