The skin care and hair care brand sunal is releasing the "Pre-Wash Scalp Serum" (プレウォッシュスカルプセラム), a product that cleanses the hair and scalp before shampooing. It goes on early release on October 1, 2026, at 3,580 yen (tax included).
Why Hair and Scalp Need Cleansing Before Washing
People cleanse their faces, yet hair and scalp usually just get washed. Just as makeup is removed with a cleanser, hair and scalp need a "removal step before washing" as well.
Buildup from styling products such as wax, spray, and oil mixing with sebum, along with coated hair (known in Japanese as himakumo) caused by daily treatment building up and covering the hair, cannot be fully removed by regular shampoo alone. When these remain, they can contribute to greasiness, frizz, and dryness in the hair, as well as weaker color and perm retention. Washing twice (double shampooing) to remove the dirt, on the other hand, can lead to dryness and squeakiness in the scalp and hair.
To address this, sunal developed the Pre-Wash Scalp Serum, which packs two functions into one bottle: a cleansing function that "dissolves and lifts" dirt without rubbing, and a serum function that "replenishes and provides" the nutrients hair and scalp need. It aims to deliver both the "subtraction" and the "addition" before washing.
A Co-Created Product Shaped by User Feedback
sunal aims to create products that stay close to each person's lifestyle and hair concerns. For that reason, the October 1, 2026 release is positioned as "early test marketing," a chance to hear real experiences and opinions directly from customers who have used the product and to use them to further improve its quality.
Toward a full-scale update planned for around spring 2027, sunal plans to reflect the feedback of users as it builds a new habit of cleansing the scalp and hair together with them.
Four Key Features
1. Proprietary "Sebum Melting" Formula That Dissolves and Lifts Dirt Without Rubbing
Applying skin care cleansing technology, the formula gently dissolves and lifts sebum buildup in the pores and styling products that are hard to remove with shampoo, without rubbing the hair or scalp. While limiting damage to the cuticle, it resets the hair and scalp to a clean, makeup-free state.
2. High-Concentration 3% Hematin Repairs Hair While Cleansing
The serum contains the hair-repairing ingredient hematin at a high concentration of 3%. Here, 3% refers to the cosmetic raw material (water, pentylene glycol, hematin) within the company's own hair care products. While cleansing, the hematin works directly on the hair, supporting the bonds in hair weakened by damage and giving it firmness and resilience that lifts from the roots. It also helps prevent color from washing out and perms from loosening during washing, helping hair keep the color and waves of a fresh salon visit.
3. Selected Ingredients and "Six Free" Formula That Wrap Scalp and Hair in a Veil of Moisture
Three types of human-type ceramides (ceramide AP, ceramide EOP, and ceramide NP; skin-conditioning ingredients) and 11 amino acids (moisturizing ingredients: sodium PCA, sodium lactate, PCA, serine, alanine, glycine, glutamic acid, lysine HCl, threonine, arginine, and proline) moisturize the stratum corneum and the hair (the moisture penetrates as far as the stratum corneum), helping maintain a healthy scalp environment.
The formula also includes niacinamide and dipotassium glycyrrhizate (skin-conditioning ingredients), ectoin (a moisturizing ingredient), and jojoba seed oil (an emollient ingredient), among others.
So that anyone can use it with confidence in any season, the formula contains none of the following six: ethanol, silicone, sulfate, mineral oil, synthetic colorants, and parabens.
4. A Pear and Freesia Scent That Turns Bath Time Into Spa Time
The fragrance blends pear and white flowers (freesia) with cardamom, patchouli, and woody notes for a calm scent that is not too sweet. It turns the care before shampooing into a relaxing moment. The scent is lightly designed so that it does not linger and does not interfere with the fragrance of the shampoo and treatment used afterward.
Product Details
- Product Name: Pre-Wash Scalp Serum (プレウォッシュスカルプセラム)
- Release Date: October 1, 2026
- Price: 3,580 yen (tax included) / 3,255 yen (excluding tax)
- Volume: 150 mL
- sunal Official Online Shop: https://sunal-cosmetics.com/
