Bye Bye Shampoo & Conditioner - hellooooo WEN! WEN Before & After Pics

Hello, Beautiful!

I recently decided to try out the WEN hair care line. I picked up the WEN by Chaz Dean Fig 4-Piece Hair Collection from QVC. It includes a 16 ounce Cleansing Conditioner, a 6 ounce Styling Creme, a 4 ounce Fig Oil and a 4 ounce Texture Balm. I purchased this when it was on special, but you can still pick it up at QVC for $72.

WEN really has changed my view on hair care forever!

I was a huge skeptic going into this. I've seen the infomercials and I've seen multiple demo's on QVC. I watched thinking "yeah, okay... their hair only looks like that because they have a special team of hair stylists". I mean you see shampoo & conditioner commercials on TV and your hair never turns out that silky and shiny after using the product. I really didn't expect this to work.

But seeing as how I'm in a hair rut at the moment (and don't want to get it cut or colored), I thought this may be something new to try that would change my hair for the better. And it did!

First, let me tell you I was really mad. I even almost made a "WTF Beauty" post because of how much product you have to use. For my hair length (down to mid-back) I need to use 48 pumps for ONE use! Yes forty-eight - not 4 to 8 - but 48!! And that's the minimum recommended amount.

I'd say about 3 to 4 pumps of WEN is equal to how much regular shampoo I'd use for one use, and about 2 to 3 pumps is how much regular conditioner I'd use for one use. So that's about 7 pumps for one use of traditional shampoo and conditioner. For WEN you use over 6 times that amount!

Immediately I knew this was going to be expensive if I wanted to keep up with it. The kit was expensive, but now the up-keep and the frequency in which I need to re-purchase would really drain my wallet. The kit I bought included a 16 ounce bottle of the Cleansing Conditioner. If I'm lucky it's going to last 3 weeks using it every day or every other day. But I honestly doubt I'll get to 3 weeks. I'd be happy to get to 2 weeks with the amount of product I need to use for my hair length. A regular sized Cleansing Conditioner (32 ounce) sells for $44.82 on QVC. I would have to expect to pay $44.82 at least every two months. That's A LOT of money!

If you have shorter hair you're going to get more use out of one bottle. My husband's genius idea was to cut my hair so I don't have to buy the Cleansing Conditioner as often. Um.. I don't think so!!!

The other products that were included with this kit (the styling creme, texture balm and oil) will last a whole lot longer, which I'm really happy about. The texture balm will last at least 2 years, the styling creme, maybe 6 months or so (I'm not really sure), and I haven't even used the oil yet - and don't plan to use it except on the weekends, so that will really last awhile.

So are you ready to read how the whole thing works and see some photos?

You're supposed to use the oil at night and wash it out in the morning, but I was too eager to use the Cleansing Conditioner and didn't want to wait till morning. Plus, you need a lot of time in the morning (I'd say at least 15 minutes) just to do the Cleansing Conditioner. That's time I don't have on mornings I take my son to school, unless I want to wake up earlier and right now that's not happening.

For the Cleansing Conditioner (which is the star of this set), you want to rinse your hair with cool water for at least a minute. Then you will apply the Cleansing Conditioner in four sections: top, bottom, left side, right side. For my hair length I apply 12 pumps per section. Massage each section for at least 2 minutes (which will really give your arms a workout).

Once you have it applied to each section you will comb through it with a wide tooth comb (I just used my fingers), and then leave it on for the remainder of your shower. You want to let it sit on your hair for at least 5 minutes. The longer you let it set, the better the results. Your scalp will feel cold and tingly due to the ingredients the product has (I think mint is in each of the Cleansing Conditioners).

Rinsing it out will take some time. There is a lot of product in your hair and you'll need to massage your hair to get it out. I take about 2 to 3 minutes to rinse it out.

After you get out of your shower apply the Styling Creme to soaking wet hair. You apply it all over, except your roots. Then you can style as normal!

All I did was let it air dry mostly, then I blow dried it a little. That's it!

The photo below shows a before picture (the one I took the other day). Then it shows after using WEN for the first time. Then it shows how it looks the next day, after sleeping on it. I only ran a brush through it, that's it, and I was ready to go!

My hair was SOOOOOOO soft and silky. The photos really don't do it a whole lot of justice. If you could feel my hair you would be amazed! It felt so good. I didn't want to stop touching my hair! It also felt really nice and light. If you have long hair you know that sometimes it can feel heavy. After using WEN it feels so light - just like the feeling you get after getting a big hair cut. It just feels so good! Even now as I'm typing out this blog post I keep stopping to run my fingers through my hair! And in the sun light, well get ready to shine, shine, shine! Your hair will look AMAZING!

One other bonus is my hair wasn't full of knots. I usually have a ton of knots in my hair after a shower and I was able to brush my hair without any issues!

The next day it was still super soft and silky. Not as much bounce, but I slept on it! If I actually used a blow dryer to style my hair it would have looked better. But I wanted to give you a real idea of what it looks like when you wake up the next day.

Here are some close-up photos and other pics:

[Sorry for my eyes in the photo above. I was really tired today!]

I am in LOVE with this product! Seriously, after just one use your hair will feel so amazing. I know it's expensive, but once you feel the difference you will want your hair to feel that way always. If I want to keep up with this hair care I'm just going to have to cut back in other areas of spending because we certainly are not rich enough to afford nearly $50 every two months for hair care. Although I guess it's not all that bad. I only go to a salon usually once a year (twice at most). I know some women who go every 4 to 6 weeks. Salon trips are expensive and if you use WEN you could probably drastically reduce how often you need to go to the salon. WEN does help color last longer because it doesn't strip your hair. So if you go to the salon often you may want to think about adding WEN into your life to reduce how often you need to go.

I also used the WEN system on my husband's hair last night. His hair was so soft and shiny too! Plus it was light and airy. He had a lot more volume to his hair too. He even said he felt like he had no hair because it was so light.

The only thing I don't like is the fig smell. My husband likes it, but it's just not my cup of tea. I like almond and I like mint, so I think I'll try the Sweet Almond Mint Cleansing Conditioner next.

I would highly recommend this to anyone and everyone!

Have you tried WEN before? What was/is your experience?

xoxo with love & beauty,

Crystal Valentine B.

- The woman who runs ValentineKisses.com