I am always on the lookout for the hottest products for my hair. Recently, the buzz around town was a conditioning shampoo called WEN. My two closest friends had ordered it; my sixty-eight-year-old neighbor was trying it, and the young girl in my office had recently mentioned that she was interested in getting it. As luck would have it, I was asked to sample it.

I was given three scents to try: Summer Mango Coconut, Sweet Almond Mint, and Lavender. I was also given a DVD to watch about the product and how to use it. The DVD was very informative and gave clear instructions on applying the product.
Wen Cleansing Conditioner promises to give you shinier, smoother, healthier looking hair. The product claims to be a 5-in-1 formula: it is a shampoo, conditioner, deep conditioner, detangler and leave-in conditioner. Its ingredients are supposed to be more natural than other shampoos; it gives you simple directions to follow and even tells you how many pumps you need for your hair type.

The general directions tell you to drench your hair with cool water. Your hair must be saturated before applying the product. You should then apply the product in sections; massage vigorously and leave in. You can add extra water to make sure it distributes evenly. The hair should feel thick and creamy. Leave in for three minutes and then rinse. The longer you leave in the product, the better it works! My hair is long and thick, so it recommended twelve pumps per section — I used forty-eight pumps! The product does not lather. It took me a while to get used to this since the lathering part of washing my hair was a norm.

Before Using WEN

Needless to say, for the sake of beautiful hair, I was willing to try anything. The first week I used Summer Mango Coconut. I really liked the smell — it was reminiscent of an island vacation. I followed the proper protocol on using the shampoo and I liked the way my hair looked, but was not overly impressed. It seemed like a big investment to section my hair; pump the bottle forty-eight times, and not look unbelievable when finished styling. As luck would have it though, I had two other scents to try.

The Sweet Almond Mint had a nice scent as well. I followed the directions and used it the same way. After a week of testing, again, I was not overly impressed. My hair looked good, but it wasn’t an overwhelming, noticeable change. Truth be told, it actually looked about the same. I was spending a lot of effort sectioning my hair, pumping out the product and putting it in my hair — I expected beautiful, shiny, healthy hair.

After Using WEN Cleansing Conditioner in Lavender

Last, but not least, I tried the Lavender. By this time the excitement had worn off and I really was hoping this would be the diamond in the rough. As luck would have it, it was! The smell was my favorite — the lavender scent just somehow always makes me feel happy and relaxed. By this time, I had the sectioning and pumping down to a science. I used the conditioning shampoo for a week and — lo and behold — my hair actually looked great!

I called the company to find out what was going on. They have a 1-800 number that had a very knowledgeable customer service rep to help answer my questions. She informed me that the different shampoos worked in different ways on different hair types. It took me a couple tries, but looks like it was the Lavender which worked best with my hair texture and type. If you have a lot of patience, and you want to try a new and different shampoo to cleanse your hair, I would definitely suggest trying WEN. The positive thing about the product is if you decide it does not work for you, there are many different scents you can try, and the company has a fair return policy.

GRADE: B

Please leave comments below telling us which scent/formula has or would work best for your hair type. Suggestions will only help everyone in the process of picking out the best scent for their hair type. You can find out more about WEN hair products and pricing at www.wenhaircare.com. Note: WEN hair products usually come in sets, so pricing may vary according to 30- and 90-day supplies.

– Deanna Perl

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