Pu Niao's
Beauty Junkie Reviews

WHAT IS IT: Ichikami Shampoo

THE PRODUCT(S):

Ichikami Shampoo: Ichi-kami advocates that for us to have smooth-looking, silky, soft and shiny hair, we must first have beautiful and healthy hair. Japanese women have always treasured and paid attention to their hair and they believe that inner beauty (i.e. the natural state of the hair) is more important than the outer appearance of our hair.

The hair has always been referred to as a mirror to the inner “face” of a human. In our modern fast-paced society today, Ichi-kami reproduced the ancient wisdom behind having beautiful hair in modern technology. Ichi-kami is to care about your hair MOST. This shampoo produces fine lather which gently washes hair. This prevents friction during washing which causes hair damage.

The shampoo itself has a gel-based consistency and the texture isn't too thick and creamy. The scent is sweet and floral-esque, but it doesn't make you feel nauseous and even after washing the shampoo off your hair, there's this faint lingering scent of floral that doesn't overwhelms. And the scent, OMG, I love it!!

VERDICT: First of all, the scent is actually sweet and floral-esque, but it isn't too heavy to the point where you feel nauseous despite repeated sniffing. And even hours after washing off this shampoo, there's this faint but lingering floral scent on your hair which actually seems reminiscent of hair perfume, and yet it doesn't at the same time. Personally, I'd gladly have my hair smelling like an Ichikami Shampoo than the previous shampoo my mother used to buy for me when I was still in primary/secondary school. Think Kao, Rejoice, you get the idea.

And also, I love the pearl milky-beige color of the shampoo. I realized I am in contact with a lot of products that have a pearl-ish color tone lately :O And I practically felt like I am almost using milk to wash my hair instead of using an actual shampoo, due to the color. And we all know how milk can help prevent frizzy, dry and damaged hair due to it's unique blend of natural fats, protein, vitamins, and minerals that have the ability to strengthen and fortify cells, and this includes hair cells.

I like how the shampoo suds really well, and doesn't make my hair get all tangled up in the shower. And immediately after washing off the shampoo suds, my hair still remained close to tangle-free, and I did notice hair-fall wasn't so drastic after all. And the shampoo suds are easily washed off my hair too, no endless standing still under the shower-head like a zone-out zombie, just waiting and massaging the suds out of my hair, which I seemed to encountered in many new and fancy shampoos I've tried and tested. Although shower time is fun, with all the shampoos and shower gels and stuffs, but still, standing under the shower-head for eternity isn't my cup of tea either.

And I just love how smooth, soft and silky my hair became just after one wash. And sometimes, I am a rather lazy bum and tend to prefer tying my hair up in a bun so it doesn't swish here and there, irritating me when I need to focus on doing stuffs. So, tying up hair into a bun is almost the same as test-trying the after-effects of how well the shampoo and conditioner can be under such somewhat extreme condition to the hair and hair follicles. So, I sort of waited until my hair was around 60% - 70% dry before twisting it into a tight bun (which almost always became a loose bun a few hours later).

Heck, I even went to bed with my hair in a bun. And promptly woke up the next day, to find my hair still soft, smooth and silky, albeit a little wavy from the bun hairdo the previous night. And I was expecting some knots and tangles here and there because of the bun 'do, which didn't happen at all. It feels as if I only had my hair in a bun for a mere 30 minutes or so. And most shampoos plus the bun 'do normally leave my hair tangled somehow. But not Kracie Ichikami Shampoo.

And ultimately, my hair feels clean without the usual greasy and dirty feeling I get, which I think is rather impressive. Considering that I have scalp/dandruff problems, I wasn't expecting this shampoo to make my hair feel clean, much less look oil free. As this isn't a dandruff-based shampoo, I wasn't expecting an itch-free scalp either. However, I am rather amazed how much I didn't scratch my scalp after using this at all. And I personally think the people behind this shampoo should consider making a dandruff line of shampoos as well, to cater to fans who like the shampoo range, but suffers from mild to somewhat severe dandruff problems.

VERDICT: ✓✓✓

WHAT I THINK: Love the scent, the smooth, silky and clean feeling I have and can see on my hair. And also tangle-free hair too.

WHERE TO REDEEM SAMPLE: I previously first redeemed a pair of shampoo and conditioner sample via CozyCot's "questing and coin rewarding programme" during July last year (2012). I'm not sure if this programme is still available, as sometimes, it shows up when I logged into CozyCot's website and sometimes, it doesn't.

However, you can redeem samples of the shampoo and conditioner via The Sample Store. But be aware that their current delivery charges are S$2.99 for 1-2 items and S$3.99 for 3-4 items.

Why not like my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/PuNiaosProductReviews to be informed of latest samples I found, which is duly updated? Also includes updates to contests that I've sourced out for you to join. It will definitely save you the trouble of having to hunt them down :)