smartskin101

Sometimes in life you have the pure luck of stumbling across something so great that you either want to tell everyone or keep it your little secret.  As it turns out, it’s your lucky day, because I happened to discover something pretty awesome and I decided to let you in on my new must-have.

The summer months in muggy DC had begun to take a toll on my hair.  Frequent showers (all one has to do is stand outside and in minutes the sweat beads swell at your every pore), matched with frequent blow drying began to sabotage any potential for good hair days.  On top of that, my long hair would sweep my neck and back when I went on long, sweaty runs; the salt collecting on the ends of my hair began to really dry it out.  And after trying SO HARD to grow my hair out, I was now contemplating hacking a chunk off in order to have healthy looking hair again!  That was until something happened three weeks ago.

I had been sitting at my desk doing some late night work.  The television was on in the background, and I was so engrossed in my work that I hadn’t noticed the transition of late night programming into later night programming – and you know what that means: infomercials galore.  Excited voices claiming drastic improvement was enough to pique my interest, and I tuned in.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve learned the hard lesson – repeatedly –  that most of that stuff is complete garbage sold in pretty packaging by pretty people.  Sometimes – albeit rarely – there’s a gem in there, and Wen cleansing conditioner happens to be that outlier.

Hollywood stylist Chaz Dean created an innovative way to cleanse and condition hair in one easy step using natural ingredients and no harsh and damaging detergents.

Wen® Cleansing Conditioner is a revolutionary new concept in hair care. A 5-in-1 formula, this one product takes the place of your shampoo, conditioner, deep conditioner, detangler and leave-in conditioner. It cleanses hair thoroughly but without lathering and all the harsh ingredients that may be found in ordinary shampoos—it is designed so it won’t strip your hair and scalp of their natural oils. Your hair is left with sheen, moisture, manageability and better color retention.

Dean went on to use a brilliant analogy that made a lot of sense.  He compared washing one’s hair with shampoo to washing clothes with laundry detergent.  What happens if you wash a black shirt every single day in the washing machine?  It wears down the fabric and fades the color.  Hello!  That’s exactly what the detergents in our shampoos are doing!  Maybe, just maybe this hair guru was onto something.

And after a plethora of celebrity endorsements, I didn’t need any more convincing that this was worth a shot.  I bought a bottle the next day.  I was stoked when my purchase arrived and wasted no time in testing it out.  I didn’t use anything else in my hair and then gave it the real test: air drying.  Not only was my hair shinier than I had seen it in a long time (particularly on the ends), but I was able to get my fingers through my dry ends without getting them stuck in dry, tumbleweed tangles!  Sold.

Some useful tips on use:

• Use as directed!  You’ll use a lot of product, but you should definitely apply the cleanser as described in the directions for the best results.
• If you have dry hair, use a regular conditioner afterwards – I do and it makes my hair even more lush!
• If you skip washing your hair daily, I love this tip provided on the website: Combine 4-6 pumps of Cleansing Conditioner with a quarter-size amount of Styling Crème in a spray bottle with water. Shake vigorously to mix completely. Spritz it on 12-18 inches above hair to provide a light mist. Shake out and restyle or fluff up your hair!
• Use it as a body wash!  It’s less harsh than most body products and it gets you clean!
• Use it as a shaving cream! (Gosh, this really is an all purpose product!)

If you’re not one for purchasing items through infomercials, especially ones that place you on auto-ship, I’m on the same page.  QVC, thankfully, sells it on their website, providing you with several purchasing options.  Additionally, if you’re trying to save on funds – or if you’re like me with crazy, long hair that needs a ton of product, there is a generic formula sold through Sally Beauty Supply.   The generic brand is made by Fiske, called Hair One.  It also has four formulas.

I won’t promise you that you will suddenly have a glorious mane if you’ve been abusing those tresses for some time.  I will, however, tell you that your hair will look instantly better with one use, and over time you’ll see that lessening the stress on your strands will gradually get you to that glorious mane of luscious locks.

To all of my readers, I’m terribly sorry for the lag in posts – I keep asking myself where does all the time go!  I promise there are some really great posts to come!  I have exciting products to review – so keep an eye out for them!

Slider image c/o arteunporro.