Starting at the root…

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By contributor Allie White.

When was the last time you thought about your scalp? No, really. Tell me: when was the last time you had a good, hard think about the health of your scalp, the products you use on it, the way you treat it. I’m guessing...not recently. No shame and no judgment! Scalps are easy to forget: they’re the midpoint of haircare and skincare, easy to overlook in the shadow of stuff like serums and deep conditioning treatments.

But just because they’re easy to forget doesn’t mean they should be forgotten. On the contrary, my friend! You should treat your scalp the way you treat the rest of your skin: with care, attention, and products formulated specifically for it. After all, healthy scalp = healthy hair, and everyone loves a great head of hair.

If you don’t believe me, I don’t blame you. As an often hidden patch of skin, the scalp is easy to overlook. But that’s a very complex patch of skin we’re talking about! One that contributes pretty substantially to the health and, therefore, appearance of your hair. Like the rest of your skin, the scalp is composed of layers and layers of tissue where the lowest layers are new and healthy, and the top layers are mostly dead cells. Combine those dead cells with pores, follicles, sebaceous glands, and product build up, and you can probably see what I’m getting at: your scalp needs some love.

A great place to start?

A regular scalp massage/treatment, both of which can be achieved seamlessly with Rahua’s Founder’s Blend Scalp & Hair Treatment. If you’ve never cared for your scalp before, think of this little bottle of goodness like a facial for the top of your head:

1. It forces you to concentrate on a part of your body you’ve just admitted to not really paying attention to. Regularly exploring your scalp with your hands also clues you into the topography of the skin up there — maybe you discover a dry patch here, an oil buildup there — and can offer more targeted care as a result. Once you discover what your scalp is like under all that hair, you can better decide on additional treatments and rituals for everything from dandruff to hair loss to breakage to excess oil.
2. The ritual of applying the treatment is soothing and relaxing. We may not realize it, but the muscles in our scalps actually hold a ton of tension; a regular scalp massage helps release it. Massage will also help get blood flowing, which will promote follicle health and hair growth, as well as cell turnover, a key component to maintaining a healthy scalp and mane.
3. It just feels good! Something that feels good releases endorphins. Endorphins make you (and your scalp) happy.

When the time comes for your scalp ritual, the first thing you’ll want to do is prime it with a gentle scrub to loosen debris, stimulate the scalp and promote cell turnover. With your hair down, work the scrub into your scalp with your fingers. Start at the base of your skull and massage vigorously to kick up all the gunk. Work it into your scalp really well and let it sit for a bit. Next, cleanse with a gentle shampoo. More power to you if you want to add a gentle scalp brush with flexible bristles to the mix — it’ll further stimulate the scalp and work the shampoo in.

Now for the main event: Rahua’s Founder’s Blend Scalp & Hair Treatment. Once you’ve primed and cleansed, it’s time to replace the moisture and healing ingredients that may have been washed away during steps one and two. Work the treatment into your scalp and gently pull it through your hair from root to end. This powerful, plant-based, non-toxic blend works to balance your scalp’s microbiome and moisture levels, soothe skin and strengthen hair roots, all in 15 minutes. (Or leave it on overnight! You do you.)

The Founder’s Blend is able to work its magic thanks to a combination of three star ingredients. The first, rahua oil, is an omega 9 power house that strengthens follicles and weak, damaged strands while also moisturizing the scalp and helping it maintain its health. Next, palo santo oil works to balance the scalp’s microbiome — you know, the good bacteria we have crawling all over us that keeps things copacetic — thereby eliminating the bad bacteria that leads to dandruff and dryness. Finally, vitamin- and antioxidant-rich hemp oil acts as an anti-inflammatory to nourish and soothe.

Personally, I love this stuff. And if you need me, I’ll just be over here running my fingers through my glorious, strong, healthy, Rahua-fueled locks.