Seems like I can’t turn on the TV lately without seeing commercials for a hair care system called “Wen.”
This product by celebrity hair guru Chaz Dean is actually a 5-in-1 system, replacing shampoo, conditioner, deep conditioner, detangler, and leave-in conditioner. It’s supposed to make your hair shiny and soft, preserve your color and highlights longer, and actually save you money by reducing the number of products you’ll have to buy.
Sounds intriguing, huh?
So when one of my friends said she had some and offered to give me a sample, I jumped at the chance.
‘I’m sharing it around,’ she said. ‘We all want to try it, but we shouldn’t all have to buy it.’ Indeed.
So why didn’t I use it the minute I got home?
Leery, I guess.
Typical Midwestern distrust of anything new, “high fashion,” celebrity-endorsed.
Sometimes that can be good, but it tends to put our region of the country far behind the curve compared to the East and West coasts.
Oh well.
Last night I figured if I was going to use the stuff, I might as well (doesn’t hurt to know I’m going to see her next week and she’s going to ask how I liked the Wen!)
Now in a general way, I’m not unhappy with my hair. It makes up for the “disadvantage” of being stick-straight by being thick and healthy and growing faster than turtles crawl.
But Wen commercials depict women with gorgeous hair, and who wouldn’t want that?
‘How do I use it?’ I asked.
‘Just put it on your hair,’ she told me. ‘Doesn’t matter how.’
She didn’t get that exactly right. I probably should have browsed through the instructional videos online before using Wen, but it seems results take place regardless.
After only one use, I can tell my hair isn’t tangly. It looks shinier. Feels softer. Seems straighter (if straighter is desirable!)
Wen is touted as containing only natural ingredients, nothing like the hair care products on the shelves. And it’s one of those things where you buy it, then they regularly send you another supply until you cancel. Kind of like ProActiv or something.
I’m not sure I want to get locked in to that kind of purchase.
Nor am I sure I’m ready to part with shampoos that lather up and smell wonderful.
Still, if you get a chance to try some, go for it. And do share your thoughts with us!
Musings by an ND Domer's Mom 
Thanks! Sigh. I am so susceptible to infomercials and commercials that all one has to do is pass my on-line or tv screen twice and I’m ready to buy. I mean why not. Sham Wows are a great product. ProActiv helped my kids skin and I still have that set of Ginsu knives. Slice-o-Matic love how it dices. And now you share a hair care product that I want desperately–and you were not even wildly enthusiastic about it. And the moment I buy it–my mom is going to want some because there is not a makeup or shampoo product that she has not tried and she will insist I buy it for her because after all I’m the one that suggest it. This is all your fault. I would get an affiliate link immediately 🙂
ProActiv really helped?? Didn’t do a thing for Domer, not a thing! That’s one reason I’m so skeptical (doesn’t hurt that my mom’s a Scorpio, and they don’t trust ANYBODY, haha!). Seriously, Wen’s not a bad product — I only used it once, though, so that’s hardly a fair trial. And I’d send you the rest of my sample, only I want to give it a go again, just to be sure; besides, my friend simply poured it into a cap, then shoved the cap into a plastic baggie (the P.O. would have a fit trying to get that to you in one piece!)
I have wanted to try Wen for a while now. After some research I saw that some people had the problem that after using it for a while, it stopped having an effect on their hair and everything just went back to normal–no more extra shine or softness. I wonder if it’s true. How does it leave your hair smelling?
http://lushtoblush.com/
Hi, Lushtoblush, and Welcome! I’m glad you brought up the smell aspect. Actually, Wen doesn’t smell great; in fact, it reminds me of the BenGay cream my dad used to use after a particularly strenuous game of tennis! Fortunately, the scent seemed to evaporate because my hair — I hope! — doesn’t smell like that today. As to whether its effects are short-lived, I just don’t know. There are LOTS of product reviews online, though, so I imagine somebody has enough experience to say. Maybe it’s better if it’s used occasionally, though with the purchase plan they use to market it, they probably don’t want customers to do that!
Eek, I hope that smell went away! Maybe I will put this on my list for when I run out of my current shampoo. Thanks for the review!
I just took another whiff, and it still smells like BenGay! Not very pleasant at all; not like regular shampoos.
I’ve never heard of Wen, but i watch very little television. I think I’d be weary of a product like that, too. I like real shampoo!
Wen claims it cleans without sodium lauryl sulfate, which is an “irritant.” A persistent urban legend says SLS is cancer-causing, but the stuff I read disputes that. Probably just another marketing tool.
I’ve seen the commercials for Wen, but I rarely buy any of those “as seen on t.v.” products. I think it’s because when I was a kid, my mom would always dispute that ANY product sold on t.v. actually did what the commercials said it did. As a result, I’ve always been skeptical of products that can’t be purchased in a store.
I generally am, too. But getting a sample for free made it too easy to try it out; I’m not sure it’s all it’s made out to be, though!
I’ve seen the ads for it, but haven’t thought about trying it. With the smell you describe, I can say for certain that I won’t try it. I like the pretty smells! I can’t watch late-night TV and infomercials because some of them work – they get me thinking I have to have whatever it is.
They do a good job of marketing, I agree! Funny how they never mentioned Wen’s scent, though. I thought it smelled a bit odd when I put it on, but I attributed that to its herbs and natural ingredients. Guess I, too, am more inclined to choose something that smells GOOD!
My daughter tried Proactiv and it didn’t work at all for her. We ended up going to see our doctor who recommended a couple of prescriptions that worked like a charm.
As for Wen, I also have not heard of it, and am reluctant to try new stuff that you have to order in the mail. I’m skeptical, too, about products that serve as shampoo and conditioner. Those have never worked for me. But then my hair is extremely thick, curly and unruly. Sigh.
Glad to hear Proactiv isn’t universally successful — for Domer, it did nothing, and we, too, wound up at the dermatologist’s office. I agree about the mail-order stuff. I wouldn’t have bought Wen in the first place, but I figured a free sample warranted a try!
I noticed a day or two ago that Google was recommending Wen in my email box. I couldn’t figure out why until I got to this. I don’t even think I’ve heard of it. I thought it might be some sort of cutting or styling tool. Duh.
I’ve been seeing lots of ads for Wen on my computer, too — isn’t it funny how you can search for something and immediately, your computer “knows” you’re looking for it and shows you where to find it?! Kind of Twilight Zone-y, don’t you think??
Debbie, I’ve never tried Wen, but like you, I’m wary of getting locked into the kind of situation where I have to cancel. I can be very forgetful and I’m afraid once ordered, I may get stuck washing my hair with Wen forever! I’ve tried everything under the sun on my hair, all the way from the expensive stuff to the drugstore variety. I really love the Biolage products. They make my hair soft and manageable and are affordable. Unfortunately, I can’t get them here. The other day I was tempted to buy a product called “Yes to Carrots.” It’s not expensive and they have promote a project called Yes to Hope which sounds wonderful. If I buy it, I’ll get back to you! 🙂
I never heard of that — it’s probably not available here. Let me know if it works for you!