Hello, my dear friends! February is a month full of festivities, Valentine's Day, Chinese New Year, and fashion weeks all over. While they are all super fun, they are stressful because we want to look our best for them. I've been preparing myself for fashion month since the beginning of the year, not just styling outfits, but more importantly, get myself in shape to wear them. While some fashionistas might make it look super easy, as if they just rolled off the beach drinking margaritas and go straight to the shows looking flawless. The ugly truth is, no one really does that! 

It's even more true with women of older age. After I turned 40, I noticed that weight become harder to manage, my skin is getting drier and worse of all, a noticeable hair graying & loss. This year, I've decided to turn to the pros to help me getting in shape. Besides working out with a personal trainer and work out even more, I also went to see an aesthetician for prescriptions to lighten my skin. The hair loss, actually started last year, was a tough one. Once I consulted my primary care physician on the matter, whom thought it was just because a diet change. I didn't have the evidence to argue otherwise, I know, however, my body is changing and I need to find ways to care for it.

My first action was taking collagen supplements that help to promote healthier hair and skin. No significant improvement. Then I switch to a well-known brand of hair shampoo & conditioner, it improved my scalp dryness briefly but did nothing to reduce hair loss; So I tried out another Amazon highly-rated hair care set which turned out to be disastrous for me. I stopped them after two use.

Just when I was scratching my head (literally) trying to find the next thing to try, I received a sample set of Aveda's new Invati Advanced Treatment targeting at hair loss caused by stress, the most common factor that cause women to loose hair but often get overlooked: stress because of life events, stress because of short on sleep, stress because PMS, stress because hair coloring...! I've been using the Invati line for over 10 weeks now, it is not a magic pill, but it does work! I see much less hair loss when I shampoo my hair these days.

Aveda Invati Advanced is 98% plant-based, no chemicals to stress out the scalp even more. The active ingredient that contributes to health hair is alma, an Indian gooseberry that is known to enrich hair growth and pigmentation. You can learn more about Invati Advanced here on the official website. My personal experience is for the best result, use the shampoo and conditioner every 3-4 days, and apply the revitalizer once a day. Sometimes I forget to use the revitalizer but more frequent use will help see better results sooner.

Since the shampoo is sulfide-free, it looks more like a thick lotion and doesn't lather as much. I found out the best way to get satisfying foam (if you like lots of foam) is use a small amount to prewash the hair, rinse, then use a little bit more to shampoo as usual. Another tip I have, I do this regardless of brand, is leaving the conditioner on during shower, the hot steam will help the conditioner work better. 

This week I went to my local Aveda salon and got a full Invati treatment, besides more knowledge about the products, I also learn a trick or two about blow-drying. You can see it in this short video here, how my stylist rolled and twisted my hair with the brush for a bouncier body. The last tip I have, for a fuller-looking hair, is to turn your head upside down, shake then flip! :D 

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you find this post helpful if you are experiencing similar issues. Please feel free to ask me any related question and I will try my best to answer. If you have an Aveda salon near you, you can actually get a free sample set of Invati to try, or you get them online with a small purchase.