Hair Revolution: Wen vs. Hair One

Disclaimer: No one pays me to review their products.  Oh how I wish they would.  Oh how I wish Chaz Dean would knock on my door, get down on one knee, offer me a 32 oz bottle of Fig Wen, and ask me to be his Wen Girl.  But no, no one is doing that.  I just have a lot of time on my hands.

I've finally had a chance to test out and compare Wen to Hair One.  Both are cleansing conditioners.  I started out with Hair One, so I might have a fondness for it because it came first, but thanks to a good friend I got to borrow some Wen and now I have a fairly good idea what sets them apart.

Price:  If price is your issue, go with Hair One.  A 12 oz bottle of Hair One will cost you $11.99.  You can purchase a kit from Wen for $29.95 that includes (I think) a 12 oz conditioning cleanser plus the deep conditioner, texture balm, styling creme, and a comb for $29.95.  For just the Wen cleanser, a 16 oz on QVC will cost you $29, and on Chaz Dean's website you'll pay $32 for a 16 oz.  Just something to think about, when I get the 12 oz of Hair one, I go through it in about three weeks (if you imagine half the bottle is just shampoo, half is conditioner--so six ounces of each, you'll get an idea of how much you use.  I have a lot of hair.)

I've decided through research I need to try the Fig Wen.  I have no idea what it smells like.  Fingers crossed for Fig Newtons?

Quality: Product wise, they feel about the same.  I like the texture of Hair One because to me Wen feels a little thinner, however, I think Hair One sometimes can leave residue if you don't rinse well enough, but Wen didn't seem to do that.  I've only tested two scents of Wen and two scents of Hair One.  Hands down, I like Hair One's sweet almond better than Wen's sweet almond mint.  However, Wen's pomegranate has pretty much the rest of Hair One's line beat.  I'm using Hair One's argan oil right now, and it smells like a man's cologne. 

Hands down best smell.  So tempted to just start buying two of these instead of one 30 oz. of the others... why isn't there a 30 oz of this at my Sally??

Results:  I feel like the results are pretty similar.  If you're on the fence, try Hair One (it even comes in 6 oz bottles if you're afraid to get that much product).  That way you can tell if a cleansing conditioner is something you're even interested in.  My hair is softer, easier to manage, no tangles, my scalp is not oily, nor does it itch.  My very wiry section of hair is way calmed down and feels very soft.  I do think it might be a little lighter and not weighed down as much when I use Wen.

Accessories:  Wen has a styling creme, finishing creme, deep moisture mask, texturizing balm, and refreshing spray.  These products are designed to work with your cleanser, so whatever you put in will wash clean.  Hair One has a volumizing spray (I don't need volume) and some oils, but nothing else.  If you use a lot of product, you have to be careful to find stuff that doesn't cause build up.  That's why I love the fact Wen has accessories--same scent, all meant to work together, and washes clean.

The $29.95 kit.  I always liked accessories... hmmm....

Actual Feelings:  If I had the money, I'd be a Wen girl.  For my money, getting all their products and using them exclusively would be the easiest choice to keep things simple.  However, I don't have that kind of money just to drop exclusively on Wen.  In a perfect world, I'd catch Wen sales on QVC (this friday, fyi!!) and switch out Wen and Hair One to make the good stuff last. I'd be happy to stick with just Hair One, especially if I find a good balance of gentle styling products that don't build up.  I'm a big Hair One fan.

Either way, if you're having hair problems--lifeless and flat?  Frizzy and out of control?  Maybe it's not you, maybe it's not your hair, maybe it's just your shampoo.  I ran the gamut of shampoos (a future post) and I'm quite pleased using a cleansing conditioner.  Please don't judge my day-to-day looks as I'm still trying to find the best styling techniques.  What you should judge is my CLEAN hair.  Come touch it.  I'll let you touch my "kitchen" even (if you ask real nice, of course).  You'll see.  My hair is plenty clean and I've shampooed... twice... three times maybe... in the last month.  Every day without shampoo is helping your hair.  Trust me, whether you invest in Wen or run out to Sally (and I've got a discount card, if you want company and a few bucks off your purchase), I think you'll be impressed with cleansing conditioner.  No suds in 2013!!

Hair Revolution: No More 'Poo!

I met a lovely girl a few years ago who was student teaching in my building.  She had the cutest ringlets.  I wondered if it was natural or how you make hair like that--I assumed some kind of perm (oh, what a naive white girl I am).  She just smiled and said it was natural.  I told her I had some curl in my hair, but all I really had was frizz with curl underneath.  She told me she used to have frizzy hair, too, before she stopped washing her hair. 

Say WHAT?  She hadn't used shampoo in over two years.  But her hair looked so clean! 

Talk to your old people, and you'll probably find out they didn't shampoo daily back in the day (and many don't now, either).  It wasn't a "dirty" thing.  We've been programed to believe we have to shampoo every day now thanks to new marketing and advertising.  It's actually bad for our hair.  Well, I couldn't go without shampoo--Fistfuls of glorious foamy bubbles coursing through my long thick hair.  Could I?

I've seen the infomercials and QVC spots about Wen cleansing products.  That's a conditioning cleanser--not shampoo.  I'd love to be a Wen girl.  But Wen girls need a lot of money when the product costs that much.  So I found an alternative at Sally Beauty Supply (where I hang out all the time now, it seems).  It's called Hair One.  What's the big deal though?  What is the difference between washing my hair every day with this stuff and washing my hair with Pantene? 

Hair One vs. Wen... Money Wise

 They're called sulfates: Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (the worst) and Sodium Laureth Sulfate (not as bad, but  not great).  These are detergents that strip your oils from your hair... and everything else (hence that lovely clean feel).  But sometimes your hair LIKES its own oil.  Our hair has a way to take care of itself--its own oils make it happy.  But every time we shampoo, we wash our natural oils away, and when we shampoo every day, sometimes our hair wants to fight back. Hair might be frizzy, overly oily, or just dull and lifeless.

My daughter has lovely ringlets and curls.  I've marveled at the fact that she doesn't have frizzy hair.  That's because we use baby shampoo.  Baby shampoo has some form of coco betaine (feel like a chemistry lesson?  Because this research has been awful because I hated chemistry).  It doesn't have sulfates. 

Hair One (which I love) doesn't contain any of these products.  It has an astringent and a lot of natural oils to help remove dirt and distribute your natural oils.  There's no bubbles, no suds, just a thick conditioner (hence conditioning cleanser).  It's a real process, but basically you're manually washing your hair--scrubbing for a certain amount of time, leaving it on for a certain amount of time... rinsing for a certain amount of time (Wen is the same).  I literally set a timer to make sure I do every step long enough.  But it allows your natural oils to work with these added oils to moisturize.  Your hair is clean because you scrubbed away the dirt and dead cells.

My favorite is the Sweet Almond Mint.  I'm starting the one with Argon Oil though.  Fingers crossed!

The benefits?  The frizz starts to go away.  My hair looked darker, shinier, richer, and of course, my curls started to pop up much better.  Think I'm lying?  I switched back to shampoo this week because of a pinched nerve and a hair gel issue, and my hair got a thin layer of frizz all over.  My curls were weaker.  After three shampoos.  So I'm going back to Hair One tomorrow.

My first day trying out real curls.  Notice the non-frizzy waves.  Oh yes.

So, if you're having hair issues like me, start investigating.  What does your hair really want?  Turns out mine just really wanted to be left to take care of itself, like an unruly teenager with a freezer full of Totino's Pizza Rolls.  I'm excited to share more research, but for anyone interested, look into the "no poo" movement or "low poo" products.  I'm not saying Hair One is your key to success, and there are a bunch of similar products out there like DivaCurl products and Wen.  Some women even just buy really cheap (bad) conditioners and scrub using those and it works just fine.  But maybe it's time you let your hair take the wheel and provide for itself.  Just maybe. 

Hair Revolution: Something's Gotta Give

Confession: My hair takes ten minutes to wash (shampoo and condition) but I prefer to leave the conditioner in until last.  And I use a deep conditioner a few times a week.  And I've been known to pull out the olive oil and some eggs and whip it up and stick it on my head under some saran wrap for a few hours.

Field trip day.  I was so excited/nervous I got up early, plus had 10 extra minutes to get ready since I wasn't dropping off the kiddo at day care.  One of the best hair days I can recall.  Oh the straightness.

I have frizzy, wavy, mostly frizzy hair.  I put on an Aveda straightening lotion most days, trying to help the issue (it doesn't, much, but any help I can get) I blow dry straight in sections.  Four, to be exact.  This takes about 15 minutes (if I'm not too picky about some damp sections).  I can't go out like this.  My hair looks like a giant triangle.  FRIZZZZZ (ironically, that's the noise it makes, I think, every time I whip my hair back after flipping my  head to dry the top section so I have volume).

So after I think it's dry enough, I resection my  hair (the same four sections--bottom layer, middle bottom layer, middle top layer, top layer).  Then I run a thin comb through and straighten each section with my Chi flat iron.  For those who don't know, the Chi's run incredibly hot (and expensive, but when you have hair like mine, you have to have molten-lava hot).  I usually put in some kind of heat protector oil--I have some cheap weird stuff like biosilk.  I have Chi oil.  I also have a Rusk heat activated (some how protective) shine serum spray.  I like the spray because it makes it look like I didn't just cook my hair for breakfast.  Then I start the flat ironing.  The bottom two layers aren't terrible.  The bottom layer of my hair is frizz free, flat, impervious to curl.  Easy to straighten.  The next layer up is wavy.  Not kinky.  It responds like a sullen child.  Except for the back of my head, up by the roots.  This is where it's getting course and kinky.  Just at the roots though, it always seems.

The next layer (mid top) is worst. I have a "kitchen" from what I've read online.  One ugly unruly spot in the back of my head with course, kinky hair that defies all product, heat, and reason.  I spend a long time on this layer.  If you've ever seen the back of my head and noticed a little wave up top, you've seen my "kitchen".  It's peeking through and messing up my flat top layer.  My top layer doesn't take long.  It'd have more curls, but they've all died and turned to frizz or split ends or straw.  I kill that top layer with heat.  And sun.  And blow drying.  And shampoo.  It cries when I reach for the Chi.

This process obviously takes the longest.  And I've sprayed or used whatever I needed to to "save" my hair a little.  So then I brush it, check the back, notice the "kitchen-waves" curse a little, realize I'm running behind, and leave the house.  And run back in and check to make sure I unplugged everything in the bathroom.  Then I leave again.

I can't let my hair air dry.  I will put it up in a messy bun or a roll of some sort partially wet (these are the days I either don't have 40ish minutes to do my hair... or just don't want to take that long to do my hair... or the day before I felt like my hair was burnt to a crisp or something and I somehow think this will give it a nice break).  When my hair air dries naturally, it's about just as bad as the post-blow-dry pre-flat-iron look.  FRIZZZZZ.  And clumps.  And waves.  And straight parts.  Ugly. And sometimes (not sure what caused it) I'd get "hot spots" on my head.  In the back.  Little sores that sometimes itched, but were always sore and wet feeling.  Sometimes I'd think they came from straightening too soon on my hair that didn't get quite dry enough (hot steam burns).  Sometimes I'd swear it was my shampoo and I'd not gotten something out and it caused a reaction. 

Big curl waves--This was achieved by straightening first, then getting out a curling iron.  Think about how long THAT took.

That was my hair history.  Until about two weeks ago.  I decided that something had to give.  I was killing my hair with heat and product and killing myself each morning to make it look right. That's what started my hair revolution.  Can't wait to share with you all I've discovered since I holstered the Chi and started doing some research.  I might never go straight again--and I honestly think I'm okay with that!