Apply a scalp serum on a clean scalp, dry or towel-dried. Part your hair in sections, put the drops right on the skin along each part, and massage with your fingertips for one to two minutes. With my Day & Night Hair Ritual, that's two to four droppers of the Day serum in the morning and two to four of the Night serum before bed.
How do I apply a scalp serum, step by step?
You can do this sitting in front of the bathroom mirror. It only takes a few minutes.
- Start with a clean scalp. Right after you wash and towel-dry, or on a dry scalp on the days you don't wash.
- Part your hair. One part down the middle, then two or three more on each side, about an inch apart. The serum is for the skin, not the lengths, so you want to see scalp.
- Drop it along the parts. Two to four droppers in total, spread out along the lines. Don't put it all in one spot.
- Massage for one to two minutes. Small circles with the pads of your fingers, never your nails, working your way across your whole head.
- Add gentle warmth. The instructions for my ritual include one to two minutes of mild heat after the massage. A warm towel works, or a hair dryer on low. Warm, not hot.
- Leave it in. No rinsing. Style your hair the way you normally would.
How often should I use a scalp serum?
The ritual is meant for every day, in two moments: the Day bottle in the morning and the Night bottle before you go to sleep. Having two bottles means the time of day is right there on the label, so there's nothing to remember. That's also the idea behind what makes a routine a ritual.
What's in the Day and Night serums?
Both come in 120 mL (4.06 fl oz) dropper bottles, and they share the same base. Straight from the ingredient lists:
- Day: water, Tillandsia usneoides (Spanish moss) extract, urea, glycerin, caffeine, biotinoyl tripeptide-1, acetyl tetrapeptide-3, lecithin, xanthan gum, phenoxyethanol.
- Night: the same formula, with melatonin where the Day bottle has caffeine.
Urea and glycerin are humectants. They help the scalp feel moisturized. Lecithin and xanthan gum are there for texture, and phenoxyethanol is the preservative. I describe all of them for what they are, which is cosmetic ingredients. Fertilizante Folicular is the name of the product line, and that's all it is: a name, not a promise.
Should I use a scalp serum before or after shampoo?
After. Shampoo cleans the scalp, and the serum goes on that clean skin and stays there. If your roots get oily fast, the Balancing Shampoo (500 mL) goes well with the ritual. Why roots get greasy by day two talks about how often to wash.
Does scalp massage help?
It helps the serum spread evenly instead of sitting in one place. And honestly, a minute or two of massage turns the routine into something you actually want to do, which is a big part of what keeps a daily habit going. Keep it gentle. Fingertips, no nails, no scratching.
What comes in the ritual?
The Day & Night Hair Ritual comes with both 120 mL bottles and a loofah. The Day and Night bottles aren't sold separately. The rest of my hair care is in Scalp & Hair. One more thing: if your hair starts thinning all of a sudden or in patches, please see a dermatologist. That's a medical question, and a cosmetic serum isn't the answer to it.
Cosmetic products. Not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.