Image by IVLpicsNot too long ago there were a slew of banner ads posted across the web which advertised an Asian hair product brand by the name of Asience. The ad displayed an image of an Asian girl with long, luscious, healthy hair. Being that I'm obviously not an Asian with type 1 hair, I should have immediately dismissed the ad as not of any value to me. Deep down inside, however, I could not just deny the fact that I was just itching to find out more about this Kao Asience.
So I immediately Googled the brand and landed quickly on their website. On the home page were the words "specially formulated for Asian hair." Now when you and I think of Asian hair, we don't tend to think that they need any special forumlation to keep the hair healthy. In fact, I'm going out on a limb to say that I feel like Asian's have some of the healthiest looking hair I've seen. Why do they need a product specially formulated for that type of hair?
According to KAO, the makers of the Asience, the structure of Asian hair actually makes it more prone to damage than Caucasian hair. Because Asian hair has more cuticle layers at a sharper slant, it's more prone to protein loss as a result of chemical treatments, blow drying, and UV rays. Not sure if you know this, but more and more of the Asian population is moving away from sporting virgin hair and experimenting with chemical processes which causes long term damage to the hair structure. That's why a product like this has such appeal.
Take a quick look at the video below and you'll see how virgin straight black hair is not as popular as it used to be in the Asian culture.
So what makes Asience so special?
According to the manufacturer, Asience has within it's contents, an ingredient called 18-MEA which is said to cause a dramatic improvement to the touch and feel of the hair. Having no idea what 18-MEA was, I immediately began my research. It turns out that this secret ingredient is actually not a synthetic product created in the labs of KAO but rather a natural chemical found on the hair's outermost cuticle layer. This naturally occurring chemical is depleted with chemical processes and does not naturally regenerate. I found some great information about 18-MEA from truthinaging.com.
Here's an experpt from the website:
"What is 18-MEA or Methyl eicosanoic acid? Dry hair consists of around 95% proteins and 2% lipids. A substantial amount of the lipids are present as 18-methyl eicosanoic acid at the surface. The rest of the hair is made of 'nuclear' remnants, carbohydrates and inorganic salts. These lipids are on the outside of each cuticle to protect the surface and give hair its smoothness and ‘slip’.
The exciting part about the discovery of 18-MEA is that researchers say it minimizes future damage and actually halts the aging process. It can target and repair each hair, attaching itself to the damaged areas, restoring the surface."
The article also goes on to say that although she was excited about the possibilities of 18-MEA, she was bummed out about the fact that she couldn't find a legitimate hair product (at the time) which contained adequate amounts of this ingredient. Well now the day has come and we are all lucky to have lived to see the day that this product came into existence.
I myself am extremely excited about the product because it promises to provide suppleness to the hair instantly. Not only does the product claim to add shine and suppleness to the cuticle layer, it also boasts about improving the health of the hair on an ongoing basis as you continue to use it. What more can you ask for?
Also on the truthaboutaging website was a customer review after using the Asience product that I'll share with you.
June 11th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Kathy
OK. The Asience stuff arrived last night. It is a shampoo, conditioner and “treatment” which is more concentrated version of the conditioner. The shampoo is a pearly white, thinnish liquid. Very fine lather. Rinses well, hair has lots of slip to it. Put about a quarter’s worth of the treatment on and opened the conditioner to see what it looked like and put a pea’s worth of it in my palm It’s a thinner version of the treatment. Fresh, floral-y scent. Left it on for a few minutes while I finished my shower. Rinsed off. Hair felt good, quite conditioned, lots of “slip” to it. Combed out easily. Blew it dry. Hair is shiny and it feels great. My fingers glide through it. it really FEELS different. It has a silkiness to it that it doesn’t always have. You know how in shampoo commercials where the model’s hair has silky movement to it? That’s what this does. Is my hair the shiniest it’s ever been? Not sure about that after just one use. But it does feel amazing. I do like it.
By the way, speaking of shampoo commercials, I found one on youtube for Asience. Take a look.
Here's another review. This one's from Amazon.com:
By Esmeralda (Florida) - See all my reviews
I'm Chinese with very long, straight hair that had a dull sheen. I tried all kinds of products, especially the Garnier line because I color my hair. Only the ASIENCE conditioner did the trick. I saw the commercials on Japanese TV and at first scoffed at the models showing off their luxurious looking hair (obviously salon done), but then I thought, why not TRY it? After using it for two weeks, my hair became smoother, sleeker and very shiny. I started to get loads of compliments about how HEALTHY my hair looked. Now, it is the only conditioner I use, and I have been using it for 4 months. I have switched recently and tried something else, but found that I always came back to the Asience conditioner.
They recommend using the shampoo together, but because I tend to have oily hair, I found using both made my hair feel too heavy and greasy. I think people with very dry and brittle hair may find it more beneficial to use the shampoo as well. For me, I find just using the Asience conditioner and some other shampoo works just fine.
I have spoken to friends (Japanese) who also have straight hair, and they have found the same results. In addition, I don't dye or perm my hair, I henna it, and I don't subject my hair to harsh elements. Therefore, I had healthy hair to begin with. I just didn't have the shine, but this conditioner definitely turned on the gleam!
I'm gushing with excitement because this product seems extremely promising. Needless to say, I will soon have this product line within my clutches and, of course, a review will be coming.
Supple hair, here I come......