WEN Re Moist Intensive Hair Treatment

Guthy-Renker was not a name that meant anything to me, but I’ve just been sent a batch of products which all originate from them, so I thought I’d look into who they are.

It seems that they’re an online distribution company, you can order individual products or become a member for added discounts, free gifts etc, or you can order larger batches of products – skincare kits, three months worth of hair care etc, which you can either pay for in one hit, or by monthly payments. They run TV campaigns in the US, with slick infomercials, and I imagine they shift a lot of products doing so! Many of their brands are celebrity fronted, and the one I’m talking about today is WEN by Chaz Dean (an LA based celebrity hair dresser).

I have troublesome hair. It's my fault, I've been mean to it. It's coloured every five weeks, and I've experimented with every form of straightening treatment out there. The end result is that it's super dry. I'm not just talking the usual sort of dry, I mean so dry that I have to use intensive treatment masques as daily conditioner.

I also have a super sensitive scalp, and many products make it itch and flake.

My currently routine is working pretty well. It goes like this, Kerastase Bain Divalent Balancing shampoo (simply the best shampoo I have ever used), followed by Macadamia Deep Repair Mask (left on as long as possible, twice a week if I have time I wrap it in cling film for 10mins), finishing with Macadamia Healing Oil Treatment (two pumps when wet, then one more once dry). Not only is this complicated, but it's very expensive!

So when I was asked to try a WEN by Chaz Dean hair treatment, I was curious, but not overly confident it could cope with my dry frizzy main. I was sent the Cucumber Aloe Re Moist Intensive Hair Treatment, not the kind of flavours I associate with moisturing, but a lovely smell.

I used it in the shower, so it was probably on my hair for 10mins. It's easy to apply, thick enough that it doesn't just escape through your fingers as you scoop it up (as I've found the Keratase deep conditioners do) and really does smell gorgeous.

When towel dried my hair was easy to brush, but once brushed through I did still use my Macadamia Healing Oil Treatment.

The result? I'm really impressed, my hair was soft and shiny, it still needed a little oil after drying, but then it is really damaged. Most impressive, it stayed moisturised through the day whereas often it gets dryer and dryer as the day goes on. It also smelt fab. I'd definitely use this again.

Chaz Dean's real USP (sorry hate that expression!) is his cleansing conditioner, a whole new approach to hair washing that's detergent and  sodium laurel sulphate free, it's said to form a cream on the hair which cleans and conditions at once. I'm curious about this, so may experiment with it in future.

For more info on WEN, take a look at their website.

I'll be looking at a few other lines from Guthy-Renker over the coming weeks.

WEN by Chaz Dean Re Moist Intensive Hair Treatment Cucumber Aloe £18.95 (112g)

Kerastase Bain Divalent Balancing shampoo (250ml) £14
Macadamia Deep Repair Mask (125ml) £24
Macadamia Healing Oil Treatment (125ml) £27.50
All prices approximate - shop around for the best prices.

UPDATE 18/10/10
I've used up most of this pot now, and I'm not as convinced. Repeated use didn't seem to be improving the condition of my hair, and unless I use a lot (and I mean a lot), my hair is dry again by the evening. So my quest for the ultimate hair treatment continues....until I find something better I'm back on the Macadamia Deep Repair Mask each and every day.

You might also like my review of Philip Kingsley Elasticizer