WEN Sweet Almond Mint Cleansing Conditioner Review

A few years ago I used to relax my kinky hair straight. As a result I always had a major issue with dryness and most shampoos only seemed to exacerbate the problem. But when I learned about WEN Cleansing Conditioners during that time I was excited to try it because they cleansed the scalp and hair with a blend of conditioners and oils, not with lather or sulfates.

So I purchased a bottle of WEN Fig Cleansing Conditioner and had great results. But since that time I've stopped relaxing and have gone natural so I began to use shampoos again. I recently saw a QVC special with WEN Cleansing Conditioners and after seeing how healthy it made the model's hair look I decided to buy WEN again.

Instead of going for the Fig, I decided to try the Lavender and Sweet Almond Mint varieties. A 16oz bottle costs $28. The Sweet Almond Mint Cleansing Conditioner comes in a dark terra cotta colored plastic bottle with a black pump and it has a slightly faded pale green label.

The WEN booklet that came with my purchase explained that Sweet Almond Mint is a "universal cleansing conditioner that's beneficial for all hair types but it's exceptional on fine to medium hair."

I allowed my hair to get soaking wet and then I applied about 20 pumps of Sweet Almond Mint Conditioner to my hair that was parted into four sections. I added a little bit more water and then I just massaged it into my scalp and into my locks.

I thought that this cleansing conditioner would smell a lot like almonds or cherries, but I was surprised that it smelled mostly like mint. It made my scalp feel tingly, cool and clean, and it got my tresses clean as well.

When I first used the WEN Sweet Almond Mint Cleansing Conditioner my hair was feeling somewhat dry, so I expected it to really hydrate my strands like the Lavender and Fig varieties had, but the Sweet Almond Mint isn't as thick and moisturizing as the other two.

It definitely made my hair softer and less frizzy. It did give my coarse strands some moisture but it was very light so the moisture wasn't too intense. I can see why it's best suited for finer hair textures.

When I styled my hair it was a lot more manageable and less frizzy then it would normally be if I'd cleansed with a shampoo. And when I was finished my coarse texture wasn't as rough or big as it normally is, so I would have to say that the WEN Sweet Almond Mint smoothed and relaxed my strands a lot.

But because it wasn't as moisturizing as the Lavender version l still had a lot of the texture left to my hair so it could hold up a lot of styles. The Lavender version made my hair incredibly soft but my hair couldn't hold natural styles like twists or braid-outs, the only thing I could really do with it is blow-dry it straight.

In the end...

I liked the WEN Sweet Almond Mint Cleansing Conditioner. It didn't dramatically improve my hair like the Fig and Lavender cleansers, but it wasn't drying or damaging like some shampoos can be. I liked that it got my strands clean and kept my natural texture but it wasn't very moisturizing so I'm not sure that it's the best match for my coarse kinky hair.

I'll probably go back to using WEN'S Fig Cleansing Conditioner but I would definitely recommend the Sweet Almond Mint for finer hair textures that get weighed down easily especially if you want healthy, shiny, frizz free hair. I give it 4 out of 5 stars for my hair texture though.