Frankly, the Men’s Folio Grooming Awards 2022 has not changed much since its inauguration in 2020. Its metrics are still yardsticks that have not shrunk in length — does a product feel and work as they claim to do besides looking good on the table? If we are to play spot the difference, then there are smarter upgrades to the daily staples we use such as serums for the eyes, a greater focus on makeup removal, hydration, and many new solutions to scent oneself.
There are, of course, even more choices this year — roughly 528 nominations were made across 80 brands. We narrowed it down to 286 products from 68 brands, of which were tested by this panel of eight — Managing Editor Asaph Low, Deputy Editor Bryan Goh, Makeup Artists Eric Tan, Larry Yeo, Priscelia Wong, Sha Shamsi, and grooming enthusiasts Smita de Souza and Aiman Haikal — resulting in 68 winners that were deeply vetted, tested, and of course, loved.
Here, the best colour safe shampoo award winner: the Shiseido Professional SUBLIMIC Luminoforce Shampoo available here.
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No matter an Asian’s lineage, genetic makeup, or habits, our hair will always be thicker than our Caucasian counterparts. Our follicles are tolerable to stress and strain and in fact, have more “stretch” to them. Unfortunately, our hair’s darker base colour means it can be complicated to colour over it. This has to do with our cuticle layer, the outermost layer of the hair, that protects the inside of the hair shaft from damage.
It is generally thicker than that of Caucasians or Africans which means that lightening it takes a longer time (and of course, exposes it to more damage) and even the pigment molecules in red dyes are not able to penetrate through.
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Shiseido’s Professional SUBLIMIC Luminoforce Shampoo, however, like its name suggests — sublime for awe-inspiring and luminous and force that makes up a portmanteau — is a shining example of what a fantastic colour-safe shampoo should be. It restores moisture even if one has gone through multiple rounds of bleaching with a Lipid Repair Ingredient and squalene that acts as “cement” for damaged keratin and softens respectively.
It too is formulated with a Color Shield Ingredient that “coats” across the hair surface to “lock” colour in. Arginine and High Brightness Oil within the formulation give a shine and silky post-wash that can be magnified if one uses it in tandem with the Treatment, Mask, and Brilliance Oil.
Arginine, a naturally occurring amino acid found in the hair, fortifies follicles by relaxing the blood vessels which in turn, ups circulation. This stimulates hair growth and repairs the “melanin holes” within it. If one has freshly dyed hair, it prevents said “holes” from getting bigger. If one has just started using the shampoo as a cure, it helps them to stave off a hair colouring session that much longer. As for the High Brightness Oil, the concept is simpler. It is an oil that does not leave the hair feeling greasy and coats each strand evenly to allow it to reflect light.
With that mentioned above, everything comes up roses quite literally with the Shiseido Professional SUBLIMIC Luminoforce Shampoo. It has a fragrance of two photorealistic roses that linger subtly as the day goes by.
The Shiseido Professional SUBLIMIC Luminoforce Shampoo is priced at $38 for 250ml, $58 for 500ml, and its refill costs $44 for 450ml: prices are before GST. It is available here.
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