I recently turned 26 years old, and some things never change: long wait times at the DMV, my Asian parents insisting they know best, and the most annoying of all—dandruff and flakes running rampant after a long session of pickleball, tennis, ultimate frisbee, basketball (really, any physical activity). It's rough out here as an Asian male with straight hair. I always tell my barber to cut my hair short to manage dandruff, but not so short that I look like a porcupine. Over the years, I’ve tried remedies like Head & Shoulders and the so-called "no-poo" method, where you avoid traditional shampoos and let your scalp regulate its natural oils. None of these really worked. The Head & Shoulders shampoo dried out my hair, and the no-poo method was horrible—constant washing dried my hair out.
It wasn't until recently that I realized that the hair care solutions out there were not made with the Asian male in mind. Forget the common "wash every 2 or 3 days" advice. When an Asian man sweats, there is no waiting—you have to do something about it or risk feeling like a banana left out in the hot sun. I sweat a lot, and at this point, I know if I don’t wash my hair after a game, I’m going to come to work with dandruff and an itch that makes concentrating impossible. Knowing that I had to wash my hair more often because of my Asian genetics (I'm Filipino-Chinese, by the way), I looked for natural hair solutions that were gentle on the scalp. I wanted shampoos that wouldn’t leave my hair dry after frequent washing. This led me to try hair care brands tailored towards East Asian hair types. For example, I tried Ryo and Dr.FORHAIR shampoos and conditioners. I noticed that there are areas for improvement, particularly with the scent and the way it leaves your hair feeling somewhat dry. Enhancing the fragrance and ensuring it leaves hair feeling more moisturized could greatly improve the overall experience.
