Hair Color Expert: Hair dye job for under RM100?!

Hello internet! Finally posting my first blog post for 2019 just when February is drawing to an end, can you believe that?! I'm proud to say that the start of the year has been rather productive albeit not in blogging... LOL! Other than that and how frequent I had been down with sickness one after another, things are generally great! Some of the rather memorable occasions include me messing around with my homies with pop pop (they fell for that!), being at Batu Caves for this year's Thaipusam and then a mini road trip to Sekinchan. Not to mentioned I tried aerial yoga for the first time yesterday! Seems like a lot going on and I hope the coming months will be as exciting, so much more to do!!


On my IG story LOL

The other thing is me getting my hair dyed, yeah right after CNY. Too happening in the past weeks I couldn't schedule an appointment with my regular saloon! Plus, I only heard of Hair Color Expert from one of my homies a week before CNY. When she told me it is only under RM100 for long hair (of any length!), I decided I must go. It is so affordable!!! Slightly more than what I've spent for the DIY Herbatint Permanent Hair Color Gel I tried last year.


RM88.90 to be exact!

Other saloons in KL would charge me RM400 for my hair length! Of courselah the color turned out pretty and service are amazing but if I could get the same color for lower price of course I'd choose the more affordable one! Some might argue to paying more means better quality chemicals that probably won't damage your hair (my mom thinks so!) but really, aside from feeling your hair and scalp how else do we measure the damage? Dying hair is already harmful to your hair to some extend. If there is a way to gauge the damage, I want to know how.

 Anyways, I was like 5-10 minutes late for my appointment, having booked my appointment just less than an hour. It was an impromptu decision just to tick some stuff off my to dos list. Didn't wait long before a receptionist/stylist sat me down to advice on the color. I had Mahogany in mind but she was like straight up telling me that it won't cover my grays. Ya-ouch. 

Then proceeded to recommend several other shades which may. I thought, ok, let's listen to the pro and went ahead to choose 5/75 Deep Healther which sample look close to a warm dark brown. Refer to the not-so-accurate colors due to phone lighting in the color chart below.

I was then ushered to my chair then first had the scalp protector which I topped up for RM15 applied and massaged. You can also top up RM55 for the Nano treatment, I didn't. Found out soon after Hair Color Expert uses the exact same brand of Nano treatment with my hair treatment _ the Bioma Plant +9 I just reviewed last November!

After the scalp protector, proceeded to have my hair dyed with the help of two stylist. I timed, that only took 15 minutes! Was then told I could wait outside while waiting for the color to set for 30-minutes. They provided a timer to each customers, neat. Fast forward, I was back inside to have my hair washed with hot then cold water and blow-dried on high heat. I really wished they'd ask what temperature I prefer, the dryer was set on high my scalp hurt! (T___T)

So result, result! First before _ dark roots, mahogany mid-length and bleached roots. Work of art.

After _ just warm dark brown still with lighter roots.

I tried looking up 'healther color' but only found 'heather color'. First thing that turned up goes, "In clothing, heather refers to interwoven yarns of mixed colors producing flecks of an alternate color. It is typically used to mix multiple shades of grey or grey with another color to produce a muted shade (e.g., heather green), but any two colors can be mixed, including bright colors." So heather here probably meant grayish brown. Indeed my first impression was there are tints of lavendar-gray which didn't show much in the photo.. Still, it is a nice shade of brown.

Oh, and the stylist kinda backtracked and say this color won't hide my grays... I was like, damn, I should've stuck with Mahogany! They still look obvious, but appearing like highlights. Oh well, with the price I can always make an appointment again XP


Before you go making your appointment, here are several points to note about:

1) All appointments are to be booked via the Hair Color Expert's app

2) The saloon only offers hair dyeing _ bleaching & coloring and Nano treatment. No haircut service! Gahhh, I needed a haircut so now I have to make an appointment with my regular saloon and explain why I didn't just go back to them to dye my hair. I have betrayed them! *guilty*

3) No bleaching or highlighting service past 4pm appointment

4) Because of the chemicals used, pregnant or breastfeeding women are not recommended to dye their hair (Overheard this!)


They have a bunch of other rules which are stated on their app, so don't forget to check them out!

reflecting on 2018 & welcoming 2019

In just a few hours, it will be the New Year, oh how scarily fast time flies when you're adulting! As much as I would love to clear my other blog drafts before the new year begin, things have been so hectic the past weeks and I even fell sick. I finally had some time for myself early this week but with work still constantly at the back of my head *sigh* Nevertheless, 2018 has been a quite an amazing journey for myself so I am crossing my hands 2019 will be kind to me as well!

Anyways, this post is just me looking back into 2018 and counting my blessings. There were bad things such as how I contracted dengue but that showed how I am surrounded by people who cared about me. Of course,even my parents overfed me while I was recuperating at home. In many ways, I feel loved and blessed.

The other random highlights of my 2018 life, not in specific order are:- 

#1 Okay, not something I did in 2018 but rather something I managed to do _ I completed my Bali & Singapore's Travelogues woohoo!!

#2 I bought a DSLR and took lotsa photos! Our relationship is still going strong hahahaha

#3 tried Merchants' Lane cafe for the first time with my homies

#4 Explored several parks in KL & Selangor such as Taman Botani in Shah Alam, Lake Gardens, Desa Park, Kota Damansara Community Forest Park and early this week, Serendah Waterfall. I super love being in contact with nature. In case y'all never heard, shinrin yoku aka forest bathing is a natural therapy involving spending time in nature to promote self-healing. It works for me especially when I feel so stress up thinking about work but the moment I spend time just looking at trees and flowers or dipping my legs into streams and waterfall, I feel so calm.

#5 Speaking of shinrin yoku, Japonisme is back and they are such fascinating concepts such as Ikigai, Kintsugi and more (there are books of these titles which I totally wanna read!). Japan is freaking awesome! Of course, Japonisme revolves around a whole lot more such as art, sculptures and architectures but I'm more fascinated with the cultures and ideas which can be put into practice in our everyday life.

#6 Went on a random 2D1N trip to Cameron Highlands. Sharing my Cameron Highlands' itinerary & budget in case y'all planning for vacays! Because I had a lot on my plates this year, I decided to hold all international travel which is quite a bummer! This may continue until 2019 IDK but I really am missing Japan a lot *sniff*

#7 I did explore quite a few local spots, one of them Tadom Hill Resort with my colleagues. It's a small recreational spot but we had great fun playing human size jenga and some of us jumped into the man-made lake

#8 Probably the coolest thing ever _ I attended an Indian wedding for the first time! Check out how it went. I find the ceremony truly fascinating and eye-opening.

#9 my old friends, Daniel and Naoko came down from England for a visit & I met their baby, Nagisa-chan for the first time! Aside from the lovely family, two other friends from Australia and another from the Netherlands were around for a visit and we hung out. I feel grateful that they remember and took some time to hang out with me albeit their short visit. I also find it funny how whenever I think of them, they'll somehow always end up contacting me soon after!

Of course, there are great friends living locally whom I wish we could meet up more often but everyone is busy with their lives. Still, I can always count on them for being there! *virtual hugs* It's just like the quote about how "Good friends are like stars. You don't always see them but you know they're there". I tried looking for other quotes but I think this is the closest way to describe them.

#10 Attended another of my gal pal and ex-colleague's wedding, such a pretty bride!

#11 Ate a lot of durians when durian runtuh, literally.


#12 I discovered Hermo, the ultimate online beauty shopping haven

#13 went to the 2018 Bon Odori in Shah Alam for 2 consecutive years

#14 Decluttered my room. Still working on being a minimalist!


#15 Discovered thrifting, namely in Kedai Bless and ReFash


#16 I discover a love for nude shade lippies and eyeshadow. Wanted to write about them but I didn't have the time! Soon!!


#17 One of the many things in my head these days are the topic about sustainability and nature. By now you've probably heard me mentioned about this several times now. I noticed in the past few months, there were more brands and companies supporting the concept of recycling which is great news! From the ban of plastic straws, to a garment brand accepting bras recycling, to Uniqlo's recycling program and even 1 Utama Mall's electronics recycling. The list goes on. Totally supporting this movement and I hope this practice be a long term goals for many.


Those are pretty much what I can recount for now. Until the next post, wishing y'all all the best for 2019! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!