Which hair treatment is best for my hair concern? (Updated Oct 2023)

Room
Dec 27, 2021
9 min read

Updated: Jan 24, 2024

Here's a quick guide for your consideration! Please note that our stylists would have to see your hair in-person to determine the best treatment for you.

To tame frizz or/and straighten hair:

In order of gentlest to strongest option, we have:

Option #1: TOKIO San-Netsu Treatment ($250) Tames frizzy hair without straightening it

Suitable for: ✓ Fine hair, medium hair, thick hair ✓ Ageing hair that spreads & bends in unwanted ways ✓ Low - medium damaged hair ✓ Those who want to tame volume & frizz while keeping their natural hair shape as much as possible ✓ Those who prefer non-chemical treatment
Effects: - Improves hair bounce, leaves hair smooth, shiny & silky. - Hair is more manageable, reducing blow-drying/styling time. - Ageing hair spreads less - Fine hair becomes more moisturised & hard (strengthened) - Coarse, curly hair becomes smooth & soft
Not suitable for: X Those who want a straight hair look X Those who have permed hair & want to keep the curls X Highly damaged hair (e.g: previously bleached hair). It is a non-chemical treatment & may be too gentle.
Longevity: ~1 month. depending on original hair condition, lifestyle habits & daily maintainance routine.
Duration: 2.5 hrs subject to hair condition
Can I colour on same day? No, recommended to do treatment first then colour a week later.
How it works: Famous in Japan, Acid-Heat Treatments　（酸熱トリートメント） are widely used to treat frizz. Star ingredient glyoxylic acid forms a cross-linked structure inside the hair to calm down hair swelling and spreading; the cause of frizz. The shape of disordered nutrients in the hair is improved, making the hair sleek & shiny. With Japanese patented technology Tokio Inkarami used as a base, lost protein is replenished, packing each hair strand with different molecule sizes of keratin to moisturise both inside & outside of hair.
Process: Step 1: Pre-shampoo & apply Tokio 0. Contains urea, a naturally occurring component of Natural Moisturising Factor (NMF) in skin & hair. This helps retain large amounts of water, promote penetration of keratin amino acides, ceramides, hydrolyzed silk. Step 2: Apply Tokio 1. Creates keratin base for INKARAMI reaction. Contains fullerene; the world's strongest antioxidant, and keratin of smallest molecule size. Step 3: Apply Tokio 2M. Contains glyoxylic acid to create cross-linking nutrient bonds. Step 4: Heat hair up ~15 mins. Step 5: Apply Tokio 3M. Contains 4 different molecule sizes of keratin to fill remaining gaps missed out. Step 6: Wash with TOKIO IE Inkarami Platinum/Premium shampoo, containing same ingredients as above. Apply Tokio 4M to straighten hair cuticles, and oil around surface of hair. Step 7: Rinse, blow dry & iron hair as finish.

What's the difference between Tokio Inkarami Treatment & Tokio San-Netsu Treatment? While Inkarami focuses on repairing & strengthening hair, San-Netsu focuses on frizz control.

Option #2: Cinderella Treatment ($378) Tames frizzy hair without straightening it

Suitable for: ✓ Fine, medium, thick hair ✓ Low to High Damaged hair ✓ Restores shine & smoothness to Bleached, damaged hair ✓ Texture control to remove existing frizz before perming hair (subject to consultation) Effects: - Hair becomes smooth, glossy & shiny - Tames thick, curly hair - Smoother hair allows for easier & beautiful perm/colouring - Hair is more manageable, reducing blow-drying/styling time.
Not suitable for: X Those looking to fully straighten their hair X Those who wish to keep their natural curls as curly as possible. In removing frizz, some level of curls will be lost.
Longevity: 1.5 to 2 months, sometimes up to 3 months. Depends on original hair condition, Lifestyle habits (e.g: blow-drying daily, UV ray exposure, home-care treatments)
Duration: 2.5 hrs subject to hair condition
Can I colour on same day? Yes!
How it works:

One of the best keratin treatments hailing from Korea, Cinderella Treatment is a game-changer for anti-frizz action. Using 7 kinds of plant (such as onion & organic aloe vera) & wool keratin, this combination oxidises to form fiber protein and penetrate into the hair, allowing hair structure to be straighter, stronger and softer. It is suitable for damaged bleached hair despite the involvement of straight ironing in the process due to its organic ingredients. The lack of parabens ensures safety of hair.

Process: Step 1: Hair is washed once-twice with a pre=treatment clarifying shampoo to remove toxins and build up. As it exfoliates, hair growth potential is improved. Step 2: Keratin is applied on dried/wet hair (subject to hair type) & left to rest. Due to the plant keratin components, a slight stinging sensation in eyes may occur. For those sensitive, please keep eyes closed. Step 3: Hair is dried (Stinging sensation may occur) before straight ironing. Step 4: Rinse hair and apply sealer Step 5: Dry & style hair.

Option #3: Advante Treatment Perm ($421) / Straightening ($486) (includes $40 home-care treatment)

Suitable for: ✓ Fine, medium, thick hair ✓ Low to lightly damaged hair (e.g: hair that has been bleached once) ✓ Those with curled hair (natural or previously permed), hoping to improve texture of curls ✓ Those who love the look of permed/straightened hair, but avoid rebonding/perming due to how dry their hair becomes ✓ Those who want to straighten but have heavily damaged hair (*subject to consultation)
Effects: - Enjoy straightened/curled hair without the adverse affects of a traditional perm/rebonding. - Hair is moisturised, smooth, glossy & shiny.
Not suitable for: X Those who want to perm but have heavily damaged hair (permed looks tend to make hair look drier) X Hair that is too healthy (e.g: strong natural waves in their hair) as it may be too gentle. X Those who want to colour their hair on the same day. It's recommended to colour first, before doing Advante 1-2 weeks later.
Duration: 3-4 hrs, subject to hair condition
Can I colour on same day? No, we recommend to colour first, then do Advante one week later.
How it works:

With the advancement in hair technology, Advante Treatment is considered the "2nd generation" of the long-beloved keratin treatment. A gentler solution compared to keratin, it does not contain formaldehyde. Each step is also formulated to repair the hair, with natural ingredients (e.g:meadowfoam, macademia seed oil) working to maintain hair integrity. As the hair is processed with low heat & without opening the cuticles of the hair, it does not further damage your hair. For more info: https://www.room-salon.com.sg/post/advante-treatment-enjoy-straightened-permed-hair-while-keeping-your-hair-smooth-moisturised

Process: Step 1: Add moisture to hair with Advante shampoo. Step 2: Apply straightening first lotion is first applied, before washing off Step 3: Apply Advante treatment, with different strength options available & carefully selected based on an individual's level of hair damage. Step 4: Use straightening iron to lightly straighten frizz out Step 5: Apply second lotion and rinse hair.

Treat dry/damaged hair:

Option #1: Tokio Inkarami LIMITED Treatment ($194)

Suitable for: ✓ Damaged hair, split ends, caused by chemical services ✓ Hair that tends to curl outwards/frizz due to hair damage (e.g: after dying/bleaching hair) ✓ Heat damage caused by frequent usage of blowdryer/iron ✓ Hair damaged from frequent outdoor environment
Effects: - Strengthens & repairs damaged hair - Hair feels moisturised & silky - Calms down hair
Not suitable for: X None, but for heavily damaged hair it requires continuous treatment and will not recover in one session
Longevity: 1.5-2 months, depending on original hair damage
Duration: 1 hr subject to hair condition
How it works:

Room is one of the few salons offering Tokio Inkarami LIMITED, providing more intensive cuticle and strengthening care in comparison to the typical Tokio Inkarami.

There are two common causes of hair damage. 1) When one does colouring/perming services. This process opens the cuticles of the hair, and causes proteins in the cortex (inside) of the hair to flow out. The hair thus becomes unbalanced, losing its firmness and elasticity. 2) When heat is applied daily/digital perm is done repeatedly. This causes "protein denaturation", where the protein in the hair becomes hard.

Tokio Inkarami LIMITED replenishes the lost protein, interlocking them in the hair using a patented technology called "INKARAMI." By packing the hair strand with different molecule sizes of keratin, maximum moisturising effects on both the outside and the inside of the hair is achieved, resulting in stronger, silkier, moisturised hair.

Process:

Step 1: Shampoo & apply Tokio 0 containing urea. Urea is a naturally occurring component of the Natural Moisturizing Factor (NMF) in hair & skin that helps retain large amounts of water & promote penetration of keratin amino acids, ceramides & hydrolyzed silk. Step 2: Apply Tokio 1 to create a keratin base for INKARAMI reaction. Contains keratin of the smallest molecule size & fullerene, the world's strongest antioxidant. Step 3: Apply Tokio 2MM/2SS by physically pressing inside hair. When combined with 1, they work together within the cortex (inside) to moisturise the hair. Strength & hair elasticity is improved, creating a condition that makes keratin more difficult to flow out of hair. Step 4: Steam hair for effective penetration. Step 5: Apply Tokio 3MM/3SS. Contains keratin of 4 different molecule sizes, to fill the remaining gaps in the hair strands missed out by Tokio 0, 1, 2. Step 6: Shampoo hair with TOKIO IE Inkarami Platinum/Premium Shampoo containing Tokio 1. Apply Tokio 4MM/SS, to straighten the cuticles of the hair & replenish oil around surface of hair. Step 7: Apply Tokio Outkarami Air Treatment & Oil treatment before blow-drying. *It must be noted that in the case of hair damage reason 2), the keratin that has been replenished by Tokio Inkarami LIMITED is easily released in the nature of protein-denatured hair. As such, it is highly recommended to use Tokio Inkarami's home-care products to maintain the proteins and prevent the hair from returning to its original stiff condition.

Option #2: Milbon Treatment ($124 including home care treatment)

Suitable for: ✓ Damaged hair, caused by chemical services ✓ Hair that looks dry on the outside (could be due to genetics) ✓ Those who just coloured their hair & want to reduce damage (A form of aftercare) ✓ Those wanting to grow out their hair longer while minimising hair damage
Effects: Hair is physically smoother & looks shinier
Not suitable for: X Those primarily looking to tame frizzy hair
Longevity: 3 weeks - 1 month, with home-care treatment used weekly
Duration: 1 hr
How it works:

A surface treatment, milbon treatment primarily repairs the cuticles (outside) of the hair. It is typically the go-to treatment for those who feel that their hair is dry after colouring their hair, and acts as a form of immediate after-care. As a coating treatment, it can also protect your newly coloured hair to increase the longevity of the hair colour.

Process:

Step 1: Wash hair & apply coating treatment Milbon #1 is applied. This targets the damaged parts to make each hair strand "uniform" in shape, smoothening it. Step 2: Apply Milbon #2. This moisturises the tips of the hair, by replenishing it with water. Step 3: Steam hair before washing off & applying an aqua smooth creme. Acting as a "veil", this creme smoothens the hair from root to ends.

Step 4: Use home-care treatment weekly. As Milbon is primarily a coating treatment, this coating tends to wear off after a week or so due to regular shampooing. To protect the longevity, home-care treatment is necessary. While Tokio Inkarami works to repair both the outside & inside of the hair, Milbon primarily focuses on the outside of the hair.

Option #3: Advante Water Treatment ($54, Only available as a step-treatment for high-damage hair when bleaching)

Suitable for: ✓ Damaged hair, caused by previous chemical services ✓ Those who primarily want to strengthen the inside of their hair, before doing colour/perm/rebonding ✓ Sensitive skin, as its main ingredient is water & most ingredients are natural extracts
Effects: - Strengthens the inside of the hair to prevent hair breakage, before doing bleach colouring.
Not suitable for: X None, but because it focuses on repairing the inside of the hair, long-lasting effects of smooth & shine on the outside of the hair will not be visible. At Room, we now only offer it as a step-treatment before bleach colouring services, not as an Ala carte menu.
Longevity: Up to 4 weeks
Duration: Additional 0.5 hours alongside other services
How it works: This treatment aims to repair the inside (cortex) and outside (cuticle) of the hair in only 2 steps. When there is cortex and cuticle damage, hair loses smoothness & shine due to outflow of CMC. Hair also becomes brittle & dry due to outflow of proteins. This highly natural treatment utilises electrolysed water as its key active ingredient, to penetrate the hair swiftly and strengthen it within seconds.
Process: Step 1: Section hair & spray Advante 1, before blowdrying. Advante 1 contains 18 amino acids and cortex CMCS to repair the cortex. Hair will start to harden, a sign of the cortex being strengthened. Step 2: Apply Bleach + Colour as per normal. Step 3: During final rinse, apply Advante 2. Focusing on cuticle repair, it contains the world's strongest antioxidant, Fullerene along with 8 botanical extracts (e.g: Macadamia, Lavender, Calendula...etc) Step 4: Blow dry. It must be noted that the while the salon treatment treats both the inside & outside of the hair , it largely focuses on repairing internal damage of the hair. For further smoothness & shine on the outside of the hair, it is recommended to do Milbon/Tokio Inkarami treatment as well. View more of the process in our hair blog article!

I have sensitive scalp/am pregnant, is this suitable for me?

While all treatments are generally safe, we take extra precaution as the treatments do not touch your scalp. Our treatments only focuses on the damaged parts of your hair.

All treatments are certified to be safe for pregnant ladies and we have had no issues with customers coming in to do the treatments, insofar as they can withstand the typical scent of a hair salon & sitting in the salon chair. However, we recommend seeking approval from your doctor as a precaution.

How often should i go for treatment?

Like most treatments, in order to improve the longevity & efficacy, it is recommended to do it once every 4 weeks & use the right home care products. This is especially so for heavily damaged hair, as a single session may not be sufficient to completely treat the hair.

For folks with multiple hair concerns, our stylists will have to analyse your hair type/condition in person, before making the best recommendation for you✨

Booking

Ready to book an appointment? Whatsapp/Call 8814 4360 let our stylists take care of you! Consultation is complimentary :)