WEN Cleansing Conditioners: A New Path to Clean, Silky Hair

Most of us wash our hair with shampoos that lather up. But the chemicals that make lather: sodium lauryl and laureth sulfates, make our hair dry, damaged, prone to split ends and hard to style. They strip color, too. Conditioners, even from salons, may soften hair, but they leave a residue after rinsing. And that residue causes damage, too. Hair stylist to the stars Chaz Dean came up with an entirely new way to clean hair. Using no harsh chemicals, just botanical ingredients like aloe vera gel, chamomile flower extract, cherry bark extract, sweet almond oil and more, he created a line of cleansing conditioners he named WEN.

WEN Cleansing Conditioner is literally a conditioner that cleans and conditions your hair in one non-foamy step. It comes in a number of formulations with astringents and antibacterial botanical ingredients. Most treat all hair types, but some are designed for specific hair problems. Sweet Almond Mint (pictured) can clean any hair, but is the best choice for fine to medium hair. Tea Tree Cleansing Conditioner was designed for itchy, flaky scalps and dry, thinning hair. Fig is for medium to coarse hair that's wavy or curly, and for ethnic hair and color-treated or damaged hair. Cucumber Aloe is for oily scalps with dry hair, but is a good cleanser for all skin types, and finally Lavender Cleansing Conditioner (pictured), my personal favorite, is for every hair type but especially good for dry, damaged, and wavy hair.

Using this is both like and unlike using shampoo and conditioner. You apply it to wet hair, starting at the top, then the back of your head, then each side. If your hair is long, work more down through the ends. Work it through all your hair, and massage it into your scalp. Then leave it on for 5 minutes as you finish your shower. Use a wide-toothed plastic comb to comb it completely through your hair, then rinse it out in cool to lukewarm water. Don't use a conditioner; if you feel you have extra-dry hair, work 3-4 pumps of the Cleansing Conditioner through your hair and use it as a leave-in conditioner. Your hair will be clean, soft, and silky.

Style your hair using WEN Styling Cremes in Sweet Almond Mint, Cucumber Aloe, Fig, and Lavender. If you want a spiky style, WEN makes a texture balm that's perfect. They also make a thick mask for treating very damaged hair, Body Cleansing Conditioner, and Body Lotion, all botanical, all good for hair and skin.

You can buy WEN products from QVC, where you can always return it for a full refund (but you probably won't), at www.chazdean.com, or at select salons in Hollywood.

I admit I had some doubts about the products. The 30-day guarantee helped. But once I used them, I was hooked. The first time I went to my stylist after I'd been using WEN products for a couple of weeks, she couldn't believe how soft my hair was. And she's not the kind of woman who says what she thinks you want to hear; she wanted to know what I'd been using! Now she's using it too!

WEN products are good for your hair, scalp and skin. They'll make hair color last longer, and make natural color shine brilliantly. They're also good for the environment, because you're not sending harsh chemicals down the drain and into your water system.

As Chaz Dean says, he's changing the world, one head at a time.

(Resources: http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/view.2/app.detail/params.item.A78116.cm_scid.PROM, http://www.chazdean.com/ , http://www.chazdean.com/t-about.aspx, http://www.chazdean.com/t-aboutwen.aspx )