Most girls know the beauty mantra by now - always remove your make-up before you hit the hay.

But I didn't know it applied to hair as well.

I have gone to bed with hair still chockful of styling products, after deciding that getting in a few more hours of sleep is more important than keeping a clean head of hair. And beyond that, I have subjected my short crop to the prerequisite range of chemical treatments to achieve my current chic, spunky do.

Ok, I admittedly have not paid much attention to my hair's state of health, and no, I had no idea what I was in for when I went to TrichoKare for my very first hair spa treatment.

I imagined it would be a good relaxing scalp massage, just like at any other hair studio, and that would be good enough to give my hair a thorough cleansing as well as relieving that heavy head and taut neck after a stressful week.

I got more than what I asked for.

The principal consultant, Audrey Sim, ushered me into a private room and handed me a form to fill up my personal details. Five minutes later, she came back in with a smile and sat in front of me with the air of a specialist. It made me feel like I was in an upscale clinic.

In a way, TrichoKare is. Like a doctor, Audrey asked about my hair condition, my lifestyle habits and my allergies. Then, she proceeded to perform a computerized analysis on my scalp to diagnose my hair and scalp conditions.

I felt a mix of shock and disgust when her handheld machine zoomed in and immediately amplified the pores on my scalp to show a mess of greasy, clogged up pores and hair strands on the attached screen.

"Your scalp is heavily clogged and oily, leaving your hair stringy and limp. You didn't wash your hair last night, right?", Audrey asked.

Right, I didn't.

She recommended a personalised hair treatment that involved a rub-down with the Aloe Vera Peeling Complex for a deep cleansing of my horrific scalp, and a nine-minute Infra Light Therapy to stimulate hair re-growth and accelerate the healing process from scalp disorders.

Another therapist attended to me in a separate cosy room with a nice ambience and a modern chic interior. During my treatment, I received a good head and neck massage. The therapist followed that with the usual shampooing and conditioning ritual, using the in-house mint shampoo and conditioner to wash my hair, that left my head feeling refreshed.

The treatment was rounded off with the Infra Light Therapy. The 60-minute session left me light-headed, literally, as I felt the pores on my scalp unclogged and skin breathing again. And the results were immediate - a different, healthier scalp image appeared on the screen as Audrey brought me back into the consultation room for a review.

Personalised treatments for first time consultation start from $29. The treatment I received was worth $156.

Treatments are tailored to suit individual scalp conditions and hair texture, which will be recommended after a detailed scalp analysis.

But the friendly consultants at TrichoKare are willing to work out a feasible hair treatment programme to suit your budget without having to go through expensive and complex sessions.

TrichoKare is located at #05-09A Wheelock Place and #03-19 Novena Square.