I can’t remember where I first read about Tsubaki hair products by Shiseido but I remember that they were highly raved over. We don’t get this brand in Malaysia at this time, so when I was in Japan, I picked up a bottle of Tsubaki Shampoo and Conditioner so I’d know what all the hype is about.
Well, guess what? This lovely shampoo and conditioner kept my hair wonderfully soft from the first wash and smells really nice to boot. You only use very little and its all wonderful in paradise right?
WRONG!
While Kao Asience turned my hair into hay, Shiseido’s Tsubaki shampoo and conditioner gave me an itchy scalp!
Now, this was a development I was not expecting.
There I was enjoying the use of the Tsubaki shampoo and conditioner, marveling at how lovely and soft my hair was. I did also realize that my scalp was starting to get itchy. Believe me, its not a nice sight to see anyone scratching their head like they had head lice! Very unprofessional too to surreptitiously scratch your head in public.
I did not trace it to the shampoo at first. It was only after 2 weeks of itching that something twigged. I switched over to the Yuan Swertia shampoo and after 2 days, the itching stopped.
A week later, I attempted the Tsubaki range again. 2 hair washes and the itching came back. I wash my hair everyday so I noticed it almost immediately.
Needless to say, this product is yet another failed hyped hair care product for me.
Pros: Hair felt very soft and manageable, Smells lovely, Only very little is needed
Cons: Not available in Malaysia at time of writing, Gave me an itchy scalp!
So, we don’t get Tsubaki here in Malaysia at this point in time, but I know there are many of you who have tried this. Does it work for you or did you notice any side effects?
For me, I couldn’t balance out the lovely soft hair with the itchy scalp so these nearly full bottles are staring at me in the shower everyday. I use it once in a while – gotta use it up right? Used just once I don’t get the itchies, so its become a weekly thing for now.
Paris B
I cannot remember the price as it was purchased in Japan a while ago. At a rough estimate its RM25+ per bottle. Update: Tsubaki shampoo is now available at leading pharmacies in Malaysia including Jusco Wellness pharmacies
slowbrogal says
June 16, 2010 at 9:42 amomg! RM25+ in Japan is cheap…I’ve tried Tsubaki but it is not as great as it though. I only love their conditioner but a little too much will lead to drandruff and I don’t know why.
ParisB says
June 16, 2010 at 10:02 amHmm… then perhaps I’m mistaken about price? Can’t remember – its been too long LOL…
plue says
June 16, 2010 at 10:09 amme using the White range, red still can’t open, cuz my White not done! LOL.
i so far have no problem with itching and all, but using it everyday for me weighs my hair down a bit, making it oily much faster den normal. might be one of the ingredients in it that makes ur scalp itch? >_< so far me only heard of ppl getting dandruffs and getting oily hair, but not the itch! 🙂
ParisB says
June 16, 2010 at 10:13 amYeah I did read about dandruff problems but the itching can kill! Or make me kill whichever comes first – thankfully I’ve worked it out so a once a week use keeps my hair soft but isn’t enough to cause itching!
suls says
June 16, 2010 at 10:38 amI’ve been using the Tsubaki range for a few months now and so far no problems for me! Leaves my hair nice and soft. However, I don’t know whether it is really worth the price as I find there’s not that much difference to my hair when compared with cheaper brands that I’ve tried before.
ParisB says
June 16, 2010 at 10:48 amI do love that soft feel it gives the hair too – its it expensive? I really can’t remember the price LOL
JessL says
June 16, 2010 at 10:42 amHi Paris,
Have you tried Arimino products before ? It’s also from Japan and it’s used by Shunji hair salon. I picked up a bottle of Mint shampoo – (green color one) just yesterday.
It feels great after first time of ; but I’m not sure about long term use of it.
I also got the Volume Up hair mist. It’s smells heavenly fruity!
ParisB says
June 16, 2010 at 10:49 amHi Jessl, no I haven’t tried that brand but anything that smells fruity piques my interest! Thanks for the recommendation – I’ll check it out when I can
Hsu Jen says
June 16, 2010 at 10:48 amLooks like I’ll be sticking to my old favourites from the Guardian shampoo shelf for now.
xin says
June 16, 2010 at 11:00 amhate shampoos that give itchy scalp! i have the same problem with sunsilk too. now i think i love Ba Wang shampoo. not the bawang as in onion tho 😛
ParisB says
June 17, 2010 at 11:28 amA friend tried Ba Wang! The one endorsed by Jackie Chan right? Maybe I should try it hehe
Ginger says
June 16, 2010 at 11:11 amHave you tried Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Masque? I’m always searching for the right kind of shampoo for my straight hair, most products I’ve used will only work for the initial 2 – 3 months then it doesn’t work any more 🙁 Either my hair falls limp again, or gets coarse, scalp itchy, hair falls more than normal… But since I’ve use the masque in combination with the oil (it’s been 2 months) I can use any regular shampoo again, and so far my hair is still shiny & soft. And it’s been 3 months since I last highlighted my hair but I think somehow since using the masque the highlights are more enhanced. The strange thing my hair will look better the next day & usually last for the next 2-3 days. I usually wash my hair every other day but now I only wash it when my scalp really gets itchy… which is after the 4th day or so 🙂 Try it, I bought mine at Strawberry.net
ParisB says
June 17, 2010 at 11:28 amI haven’t tried the mask but since you say its on Strawberrynet I’ll take a look next time! Which brand is it under?
Rane says
June 16, 2010 at 11:34 amI bought this in my Hong Kong trip 2008, tried and It made my hair itchy also. Not a good one to recommend to my friends….
ParisB says
June 17, 2010 at 11:28 amAhhhh looks like I’m not alone!
Ling says
June 16, 2010 at 11:55 amI was using this for the past few months, my scalp get itchy, too! Now I know why!! And it only soften my hair for the first few washes, I got mine during a trip to china, the biggest version cost around RM50 each.
ParisB says
June 17, 2010 at 11:29 amAnd 3rd person to report itchy scalp!
Lee says
June 16, 2010 at 12:36 pmHello Paris,
Well I have very sensitive scalp. If I am not careful the itchiness and flakiness will kill me (that’s a bad bad hair day for me :()
Anyway, I personally find a few shampoos might help, easily accessible as well 🙂
1. Rejoice 3 in 1. Yes, this is a cult classic, and probably the best-selling shampoo in this region. I wished they had that in England when I was there…it’s cheap anyway 🙂
2. L’Occitane Aromachology Soothing Shampoo & Conditioner. They are fabulous for sensitive scalp, natural and no SLS. So it doesn’t cause any itching and calm the scalp very well. The only downside is it’s pretty expensive…
Btw, you can always you the tsubaki for your makeup brushes? That’s just a suggestion, since you mentioned it made your hair soft. x
ParisB says
June 17, 2010 at 11:31 amThanks for the recs Lee! I don’t have a sensitive scalp – at least I never used to. Sigh…
Rejoice 3 in 1 doesn’t work for me – dries my hair – weird eh? 😀 I haven’t tried the L’Occitane one but I think I will give it a whirl – I’ve used more expensive products before 😀 I wouldn’t use the Tsubaki for my makeup just in case my face gets sensitive hehe… but I do use it once a week now and its great to soften my hair (and used once a week I don’t get the itchy scalp!)
lemon says
June 16, 2010 at 1:19 pmhi Paris!
i bought the conditioner online for RM46, bigger bottle with the pump, not sure how many liters. i love the smell and it makes my hair super soft! i liked it very much, but after awhile, it seems to lost its magic and becomes just like any normal conditioner. i am still using the shampoo, a little goes a long way.
right now i am using redken all soft conditioner, which makes my hair super soft too, but it kinda stays on the bathroom floor tiles awhile, which maybe slippery….
cheers,
lemon 😉
ParisB says
June 17, 2010 at 11:32 amI used to love Redken All Soft! The smell is wonderful right? Then I got a bad batch and stopped using it. I could try it again 😀
Cas says
June 16, 2010 at 1:23 pmI”ve tried both the red tsubaki and the white one for damaged hair. I personally quite love it, it makes my hair super smooth and nice every wash. I do however feel it’s a bit heavy or rather rich which I’m always afraid might give me a breakout since I have sensitive skin. Anyway, now that you’ve blogged about it, I’m itching to get another bottle once my Bath & Bodyworks shampoo finishes, hehe.
ParisB says
June 17, 2010 at 11:32 amItching! Pun intended? 😉 Glad this one works for you anyway!
april says
June 16, 2010 at 11:23 pmI tried it before and it didn’t make my hair better or worse, so I’ve concluded it’s all hype and there’s no point continuing with it. Oh dear the itchy scalp is rather bothersome.
ParisB says
June 17, 2010 at 11:33 amDon’t you hate it when people hype it up and you find its just meh? Sigh…
Jyoan says
June 17, 2010 at 5:17 amah, quite sad. Neither of these two shampoos are working for you. I haven’t tried Tsubaki, and don’t plan to, but Asience has been good for me. =)
ParisB says
June 17, 2010 at 11:33 amGlad Asience works for you! Yeah both are total duds for me. At least I can work the Tsubaki for a weekly hair wash 😀
Yap says
June 17, 2010 at 5:07 pmHi
I suggest you to use deep cleansing shampoo once or twice every week -)
OR..
You can try use deep cleansing shampoo to clean your scalp everyday (if you have oily hair). Wet hair, apply shampoo and massage scalp (you can choose to leave it for 30secs to 1 min), rinse then wash your hair with normal shampoo again.
Kyo says
July 5, 2011 at 8:38 pmhmm~ maybe your hair doenst suit Tsubaki or Asience :S
it’s like not everyone’s hair is suitable for all types of shampoo, like last time i used Rejoice. It was fine but it turn out to be dry so i used those hair care products. so it was fine. i’ve just started using Asience for about a few days~ so far so good. i’m about to try Tsubaki ^^” maybe you should try to use those shampoo from saloons. they sell very fine quality type of shampoo because when i didnt choose shampoo to use, my mum bought shampoos from saloon which was very nice to use. Smooth, no dandruffs no itching. but the price is rarely expensive tho
Mimie says
October 12, 2011 at 12:11 pmhye paris,
it happened to me also…i used tsubaki and it gave me itchy scalp
Stanislaus says
December 11, 2011 at 2:23 amI’m a guy from S’pore. Just now, was my first wash with this shampoo. Nice smell, non irritating to the scalp.