How to Make Scalp Care a Habit When You're Too Busy to Keep It Up: Keita Suzuki Tries a Scalp D Device

Asked whether they normally use beauty devices or gadgets, Suzuki said that for their birthday the previous month, people at their company had given them a scalp massage gadget. When stress builds up, it tends to show on Suzuki's scalp, which becomes not so much "heavy" as "stiff," to the point that "the scalp doesn't move at all." Suzuki took it that the massager was given out of concern for this. They now use it before going to bed, for about three minutes. Suzuki also mentioned having various health-related gadgets at home.

Next came three questions in a "High & Low" quiz format, in which the answer is whether a figure is higher or lower than a given benchmark.

The first question was: "Is the share of people who spend more than 10 minutes a day on hair and scalp care higher or lower than 20%?" Suzuki immediately answered, "This has to be lower," and the correct answer was indeed low, at 13.3%. Here Suzuki recalled that their father used to use a tool that stimulated the scalp with a brush. At the time, Suzuki watched and thought, "Is it really that important?" Okui responded that the 13.3% are probably people who consider care important and put it into practice.

The second question was: "Is the share of people who keep up hair and scalp care every day higher or lower than one in two?" Suzuki again answered low, and was again correct. The margin was slim, however: 51.1% of people were not keeping it up. Suzuki's reasoning was, "Well, it's a hassle." The conversation also touched on how women with long hair tend to take care of their hair more, but even so find it hard to keep it up every day. Sakuraba shared the impression that while far more men now practice facial skincare, many people give hair and scalp care a lower priority than their face.

When Okui asked, "You use toner on your face every day, but not on your scalp?" Suzuki answered, "No." A hairdresser had suggested that Suzuki's scalp might be lacking moisture and recommended a toner, and Suzuki buys it at the salon but doesn't use it. The reason: "I forget." Okui summed up that the problem is that it isn't built into a routine.

In response, Sakuraba explained that Scalp D recommends a treatment called "Pack Conditioner" to use alongside its shampoo. Treatments are normally applied only to the hair, but this product also has the function of being applied to the scalp to moisturize it. Suzuki praised the fact that it can be done as part of an existing step rather than adding something special: "That's nice."

The third question was: "Among those who couldn't keep it up, is the share who said it was a hassle higher or lower than one in four?" Suzuki answered, "Higher. Because it's a hassle," and was correct, getting all three questions right. Suzuki laughed that this meant they share the same opinions as the general public. The reasons for not keeping it up raised on the program were that it's a hassle, that it isn't part of a routine, that people don't feel the need, and that it's hard to feel results day to day.

From here, Sakuraba introduced the product. Since the brand's launch in 2005, Scalp D has focused on men's hair and scalps. Looking at customer feedback and market trends, Sakuraba senses that more men are investing in their grooming and that demand for hair and scalp care is also growing.

Sakuraba cited two pieces of feedback the brand had received frequently. One was: "I'd like to go to an AGA clinic, but I can't take the first step because of the time, the cost, and the side effects associated with medication." Sakuraba believes that for busy businesspeople, it is hard to set aside time for clinic visits. The other was: "Self-care at home alone doesn't give me much of a sense of results, and I want more noticeable results." Sakuraba said that for impatient modern people, not feeling results from daily care becomes a source of stress and makes it difficult to keep going.

Developed in response to these needs was the home scalp care device "Scalp D Electro Shot Pro." According to Sakuraba, it was developed under the supervision of a doctor at an AGA clinic.

There are broadly two modes. One is BOOST Care Mode, which Sakuraba described as a mode that "delivers the potential of hair growth tonics with clinic-inspired technology." The other is BASE Care Mode, which works to condition the scalp. The idea is to switch between them depending on the condition of the scalp that day and one's goal.

Sakuraba explained the built-in features as follows.

• Electroporation: A feature that temporarily opens tiny gaps in the scalp to help ingredients penetrate.
• EMS: A feature that uses electrical stimulation to soften the scalp, conditioning it so ingredients can more easily reach the stratum corneum.
• Plasma: A feature that emits plasma, the "fourth state of matter" after solids, liquids and gases, and uses its fine energy to condition the scalp environment.
• Red and blue LEDs: A feature that conditions the scalp and creates an environment more receptive to hair growth tonics.

As for how it feels to use, in addition to EMS there is a fine vibration function that gives the whole scalp a pleasant stimulation. Referring to Suzuki's comment about their "scalp getting stiff," Sakuraba said it would pleasantly loosen that kind of condition too. The vibration runs at roughly 7,650 or more times per minute, and according to Sakuraba, each use leaves the scalp feeling loosened and with a sense of improved circulation.

Suzuki summarized that the gadget they had been given only vibrates, while this product adds a weak electrical current, plasma and electroporation. Sakuraba responded that being able to do multiple kinds of care with one device saves time for busy people, and that being able to do serious care at home is a major feature.

Asked about the shape, Sakuraba said the priority was letting people do serious care easily. Since some men do use brushes, the team thought that combing one's hair after a bath is a relatively easy habit to adopt, so they made it brush-shaped.

In response to a question from Suzuki, it was also explained that the EMS, electroporation and plasma are emitted from the brush's pins. Sakuraba said a lot of thought went into the pin arrangement as well. Much of the scalp is rounded, and if the pins were lined up flat, some areas would not make contact. So the pins form a slight arch when viewed from the side, increasing the contact area even on a rounded scalp so that the EMS and plasma reach more of it.

Sakuraba explained that to use it, after applying your usual hair growth care product following a bath, you simply comb gently over the same area of the scalp with the device about three or four times. Suzuki was surprised: "That's all?" Sakuraba added that there's no need to keep going for 10 or 20 minutes; you just move it slowly a few times while feeling the EMS stimulation. When Suzuki checked, "So it's done in two or three minutes?" Sakuraba said yes. Since it can be done even while drying your hair, there's no need to set aside time and brace yourself to "get down to it."

When Suzuki asked, "Can I do it while using the hair dryer?" and "Could I do it while brushing my teeth?" Sakuraba said both were possible and that "multitasking care" was fine. A dexterous person could get serious care by combing while blow-drying. Okui summed up that this makes it easy to build into a daily routine, so whether you keep it up doesn't have to come down to willpower.

The actual order of use is: after bathing, towel-dry, apply hair growth tonic, and then use the device.

Suzuki tried the device on the spot. Their first impression was, "It's not that heavy," and they pressed and held the mode button to turn it on. The display read BASE, meaning BASE Care Mode, which conditions the scalp environment. After being told that it's normally moved from front to back as if combing the hair, Suzuki applied it and said they could "really feel" the electricity, adding, "It really feels like I'm taking care of it" and "I can feel that two or three minutes would be enough."

The level at this point was 1. There are three levels in total, and Sakuraba explained that people who find the EMS weak should start at 1 and gradually increase it. In BASE Care Mode, the blue LED lights up and plasma is emitted.

Pressing the button again switched it to BOOST Care Mode, and the light turned red. This mode helps hair growth tonic penetrate, with electroporation working in place of plasma. BOOST Care Mode also has three levels, making for a total of BASE 1–3 and BOOST 1–3. Only the EMS strength changes with the level; electroporation and plasma have a constant output.

According to Sakuraba, EMS works to contract the muscles deep in the scalp, so you get a refreshed feeling after use. Suzuki noted that they had applied it more on one side, and said that side felt "a little lifted." They quickly added, however, "In my mind, anyway."

Asked whether it suits impatient people, Suzuki replied, "Seriously, I'm someone who thinks, I can't spend even 10 or 20 minutes on scalp care." Suzuki added that since they had considered their scalp getting stiff to be a negative, being able to do hair care together with loosening it would make them want to use it. Okui added, "For prevention, too."

Okui also presented data on which features people look at when judging trustworthiness by appearance. Among people in their 30s, hair ranked first, and the data apparently suggests that the younger the generation, the more they look at hair. Asked who they would recommend it to in light of this, Suzuki named people of their own generation, of course, as well as managers with subordinates in their 30s. Subordinates looking at their boss's hair could work either against or in favor of the trust between them. So Suzuki's view is that men in their 40s and 50s should probably be using it.

Asked whether they would want to keep using it themselves, Suzuki answered by relating it to their own work in conditioning. Suzuki said they understand well that what matters most is that something isn't a hassle and that it can replace something you already do. Once you have to do something extra on top, the hurdle shoots up. Since after a bath you towel-dry and apply something anyway, if you think of it as doing it during that time, using something like this for care seemed important, Suzuki said.

Asked for final thoughts, Suzuki reflected that until now, scalp care had meant little more than "loosening it up" to them. Suzuki said this was the first time they had encountered a way to loosen the scalp and care for it at the same time, killing two birds with one stone, and that it made them want to try it.

Sakuraba said they would like people who want to start caring for their scalp but don't know where to begin to use it as a first step in scalp care. The fact that it "can be done while doing something else," which Suzuki also mentioned, is what makes this product good. Sakuraba closed by saying they would also recommend it to people who aren't satisfied with their current scalp care, as a product that lets them do serious care easily at home.