Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Wen Review

I'm sure most of you guys have seen those infomercials for Chaz Dean's Wen Cleansing Conditioner. I've watched them myself for a few years. I didn't bite mostly because I'd tried Conditioner Only cleaning and it simply hadn't worked for me.

Wen seemed like an overpriced conditioner. For those who CO works well, why pay so much when VO5 is like, $1? Chaz Dean's face kind of freaked me out, too. I think he's had a lot of cosmetic surgery or something.

Anywhoodle, I figured it wasn't fair to judge Wen without trying it out. (Although admittedly, I made that same mistake with the Twilight series.) I ordered the starter package directly through Chaz's website (did I mention Chaz and I are on a first name basis yet?)

The starter package comes with a bottle of Cleansing Conditioner, Styling Creme, Re Moist Hair Treatment, Texture Balm AND.... a wide tooth comb. This starter package will put you back about $30. If you order, be sure to call right after you order to cancel the automatic shipments unless you're ready to commit to a long-term relationship with Chaz, which comes with baggage.

Okay, now down to the nitty-gritty. I was really skeptical of Wen since CO doesn't work for me. I pumped what seemed like an obscene amount into my hands. This "Cleansing Conditioner" is really thick and was really easy to work through my hair and scalp. It tingles, too, although I attribute that to the Lavendar EOs (I ordered the Lavendar scent.) The amount I have to use is actually less than the directions say to use, which was a pleasant surprise.

I combed through my hair with my usual wide toothed comb, although I really have no complaints about the one that came with the package. Then, I rinsed. To my surprise, my hair felt really different. It felt like it feels after I just shampoo. It felt clean, but didn't have the slick feeling I get after I condition. I was really worried at this point.

When my hair was mostly dry, I grabbed my brush and went to work. The brush went straight through my hair- no tangles! I mean NO tangles. My hair was silky-smooth and shiny.

I used it on my daughter's thick, coarse hair. I used it on the baby's silky-fine locks. My mom even used it on her color-treated thin hair. My oldest daughter's hair was so smooth, she brushed her own hair with no tangles or complaints. My mom commented that my daughter's stacked bob style lay even better than usual.

The baby's hair really worried me. You want to talk about tackling gross hair? Winnie has it. She has the horrible habit of using her hair as a napkin. When I used the Wen on her hair, she had spaghetti sauce in it. By the time I was finished rinsing her hair, it was actually clean!

My mom even liked it, although she commented that Wen made her hair too soft. She likes texture and volume, while I prefer sleek and smooth.

I did go through the bottle fairly quick, but everyone was using it and I was washing every day, which is not the norm for me. I went directly to QVC's website and ordered the big bottle. I recommend ordering from QVC because you can opt out of the automatic delivery straight from the order page. If you want to try the other stuff, though, the $30 package might be your best bet, even if you have to deal with the hassle of cancelling the auto delivery.

Since I started using Wen, I have not used regular shampoo on myself or my daughters. I've tried the Revitalizing Spray and the Volumizing Spray on my daughters' hair without any greasiness or residue. I like the texture balm for my bangs, but seriously, a little of this stuff goes a long way.

The big bottle came with a catalogue of other Wen products and includes pictures of naked people with fabulous hair. (Don't worry- you can't see any of the models' bits.) There's even a picture of Chaz with a puppy! Who doesn't love puppies?

In conclusion, if you can afford it (I spend at least that much on shampoo and conditioner, so it's not out of my budget,) I recommend it at this point. We'll see how well it works in the long run. I'm expecting to have to clarify my hair at some point, but right now, my hair is clean, shiny and bouncy.