Healthy Life

Everything just feels better after using a face scrub, doesn’t it? Your skin looks smoother, healthier and more radiant and you feel revitalised and re-energised. We might even go so far as to say the sky looks bluer and the trees slightly greener. Just us?! Now imagine that same feeling after exfoliating your scalp. After all, skin is skin and even though it might be masked by a head of hair, trust us when we say the feeling – and benefits – you get from giving it a good scrub are on par with how you feel post-facial. Just like exfoliated facial skin makes for longer-lasting makeup and better performing skincare, a well-looked after scalp also leads to healthy, shiny hair. Delve into the world of scalp exfoliation with us and find out why and how you should be giving the skin on your head just as much attention as the skin on your face.

Benefits of scalp massager

Just like when you exfoliate everywhere else, scrubbing your scalp is beneficial in many ways and helps to right a few vital wrongs. First, there are benefits like increased blood flow and boosted circulation. Then, think about product build-up. For example, in between now and your last hair wash perhaps you sprayed in a bit of hairspray to keep your ‘do in place. And remember that sprinkling of root powder you added for volume? And don’t forget that generous spritz of dry shampoo you applied when you didn’t have time to wash it yesterday. These little sprinklings and second day hair spritzes have got to sit somewhere – yep, your scalp – whilst unfortunately clogging your hair follicles and, in turn, affecting the hair’s eventual quality. And don’t even get us started on the natural stuff, like excess sebum, dandruff and dead skin cells. Exfoliating your scalp ensures these little obstacles are buffed away to encourage cell turnover and make way for fresh skin cells to surface. And we know you wouldn’t let your face be deprived of those!

How to exfoliate your scalp

The proof is in the method, but luckily for us, there’s more than one. The first is to use a scalp scrub (a mask or treatment) which is used just like a normal shampoo and distributed around the scalp. Choose one with a nozzle like Arkive The Crown Scalp Scrub, £14 so that you can apply it directly to the scalp in sections. Then, use The Manta Hair Brush, £25 to gently press it onto and move around the scalp in circular motions. The second option is to do the same method with your Manta brush, only instead of using a scalp scrub, use a clarifying shampoo like Revlon Professional Re-Start Balance Deep Cleanse Clarifying Shampoo, £24.50 for an even gentler experience. There’s nothing wrong with a little dry-exfoliation either which means working your Manta brush around your scalp in circular motions on dry hair. Founder of Arkive Headcare and hair expert Adam Reed recommends dry-exfoliation whilst ‘double brushing’; “This is when you use two brushes at the same time,” he explains. “Use this method on dry hair, before you shampoo, then cleanse and finish with a treatment like a scalp scrub.” But our final suggestion – and our most innovative – is to opt for the Manta Pulse, £59.95. A pulsating brush with two settings that does the hard work for you.

The Manta Pulse

Ever heard of a pulsating brush that causes zero breakage to the hair, stimulates and exfoliates the scalp and relieves stress and tension? You have now. It has two settings – one with 2,000 pulsations per minute and one with 4,000. “I think it’s brilliant,” says Adam. “It feels great and it gives that extra friction through the hair that allows you to detangle the hair easier and quicker.” With a quick press of a button, it can be used to move shampoo through wet hair whilst expertly exfoliating the scalp, or on dry hair for the same exfoliation as well as being your very own head massager for hair growth. The idea is that with regular use, the blood flow and circulation to your hair follicles are boosted giving them some muscle and making them more flexible. This all leads to stronger roots, giving you that healthy, shiny hair we were talking about – and not a flake in sight!

3 Top Tips for Scalp TLC

1. If applying a scalp scrub with your hands, avoid using your fingernails as this could irritate your skin and cause flakes. This is why using the gentle Manta Brush is the perfect alternative.
2. The advice is usually to exfoliate your scalp once every seven to ten shampoos, but the Manta Brush and Manta Pulse are so gentle that they can be used daily.
3. For extra relaxation, Manta ambassador Zoe Irwin says, “I use the Manta Pulse in a downward movement, gently circling along the front hairline and down the nape of the neck.” Altogether now, “mmm…”

Shop the Manta Pulse – Scalp & Hair Massager Brush online now