Little thing about me: I do not enjoy scalp scrubs. I’d even go so far as to say that I actively avoid them. It’s mostly a texture thing (plopping a cold, sandy situation on my head genuinely sends a shiver up my spine), but my scalp also runs way too sensitive to even think about massaging it with salt, sugar, coffee grounds, cornmeal, or whatever granules someone swears will transform my lifeless locks. Chemical players (salicylic acid and the like) work much better whenever I need to give the skin up top a deep clean, but even those often leave me itchy and inflamed, and still, my flakes persist. What’s a beauty editor with a penchant for glossy, liquid hair to do?
Apparently, she reaches for Rōz’s Salt Scalp Scrub. If there’s one person to completely transform my outlook on the product category, it’s celebrity hairstylist Mara Roszak and her lineup of haircare heroes. Whenever I’m in desperate need of a good hair day, I opt for her salon-grade formulas, and after testing her scalp exfoliator for a month, I now officially add it to my must-have mix. Below, discover how I fell hard and fast for the precious formula. An enemies-to-lovers tale if I ever heard one…
About My Scalp and Hair
Let me just say that my hair is currently, well, going through it. I opted for highlights and a no-frizz chemical treatment before my November wedding, both of which were sublime for photos but, admittedly, not so wonderful for long-term hair health. See, anything that alters the structure of your hair (such as dye and other forms of chemical processing) can lead to dryness and breakage over time, and my ends have definitely seen better days.
It’s also winter, which means my scalp is not loving the constant flux in temperature (warm, cozy indoor environments compared to the dry, arid weather outside) and has decided to bestow me with inflammation and dusting of stubborn flakes. Apologies for the TMI photo I’m about to present, but it’s important to level-set what I was dealing with here.
See all those white dots? As much as I wish they were a result of my spotty camera lens, those are flakes very much scattered across the crown of my head. Despite what you see in the photo above, they’re actually more concentrated near my hairline, where I deal with the most irritation. It doesn’t help that I pile on stylers (a leave-in, oil, and gel every washday) to help my 2c curls look soft and bouncy. I’ll usually swap in a clarifying shampoo every couple of washes to clear the buildup, but many work almost too well, leaving my scalp stripped and itchy—resulting in, sigh, even more flakes.
The Formula: Creamy, Gentle, and Satisfying
Enter Rōz’s Salt Scalp Scrub. As I mentioned, I don’t typically fawn over scrubs, so I wasn’t exactly itching (pun intended) to add one to my routine. The thought of massaging granules of salt into my scalp makes me legitimately wince in pain, and to me, scrubs have never felt that intuitive. Do I use it before shampooing? After? How long do I leave the goop on?
Rōz is thankfully very clear that the scrub is meant to replace shampoo entirely. It’s infused with coconut-based surfactants and is designed to give the scalp and strands a deep clean as it simultaneously exfoliates with Himalayan and Bolivian salt crystals and glycolic and salicylic acids. It further stimulates hair follicles with caffeine and rosemary extract, then to ensure the experience stays moisturizing—never stripping—the scrub features magnesium-rich seawater and the brand’s signature BotaniComplex to soothe and hydrate while you massage. Not for nothing, the scrub also smells incredible. It boasts Rōz’s signature warm, green scent, which softly lingers on your scalp and strands for hours post-wash.
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