Hi all!
I promised in another thread at the beginning of the month that I would do my review on FTP after using it for awhile, and I'm finally ready.
It is my practice to use the new Wen seasonal for a consecutive week every day to see how it performs, but I usually cleanse every other or every third day. This routine usually works very well for me. After that first week, I alternate it out with other flavors. This review encompasses my results for the entirety of my run with FTP.
My hair is BSL, fine in texture but there is a lot of it, and I am a rare Wenner in that all the CC's (except this one) work for me. My hair is also naturally vibrant copper, but is prone to fading so I will occasionally do a vegetable wash or color depositing treatment, albeit only twice a year or so.
To make it easier, I'm going to try and separate the most important aspects so you can find what's most relevant to you without reading through an entire diatribe.
Scent: I absolutely love the scent of FTP. It is so very fresh and inviting. Like I stated in another thread, my boyfriend loves the smell and if he happens to be standing close to me he'll take a whiff of it (he's a TT user so this isn't out of the ordinary - he loves Wen just as much as me). Like many others, I'm not sure why this is considered a "fall" scent - if anything, it reminds me of the spring. Perhaps it's because so many complained about the heaviness of FAS that Chaz tried to make FTP as mild as possible to compensate. Regardless, I find the scent invigorating. Interestingly enough, while I personally find that the scent disappears to my nose as soon as I rinse, others can still smell it hours afterwards. If you are one who is sensitive to scents, this may be a good option for you.
Pumps: FTP has the consistency of SHP (or at least it looks like it does) - however, it does not spread easily at all, so I find I need to use one to two additional pumps (I have the 32oz. bottle). It's almost like it absorbs into my hands before I can really work it in, and not the good kind of absorption. It reminds me of a moisturizer that just kind of sits on top of the skin but is so difficult to work with that you can't apply it to any area of the body since your hands absorb it so quickly. My length demands at least 8 pumps out of the 32oz. bottle, but I feel like I need at least 10 to create that froth that I've come to expect from Wen. I have, as of now, used all of the Wen formulas and this is the first that I have had this issue with. This was my first red flag upon application.
Rinsing: Rinsing is actually my favorite part of the Wen ritual. I adore the silky feeling my hair has after rinsing out all of the CC. With FTP, my hair did not have that silky feeling upon rinsing; in fact, it felt dry. I felt like my ends were parched and like I hadn't rinsed all of it out (even though I did, and I always do), and as such encountered tangles, even when using the Wen comb. I had this result with every application - I even tried using less pumps, more pumps, rinsing longer, leaving the CC on longer, etc. This is another red flag for me.
Moisture: FTP provides me with about as much moisture as a clarifying shampoo would. Yes, you read that correctly. Despite the ingredient deck, FTP leaves my hair feeling stripped yet coated at the same time, and you know what that means: dry ends and oily roots. Usually, regardless of CC flavor, I always get lots of volume at the roots and nice, supple ends. Not the case with FTP. I should also mention that I have very fine hair but a lot of it, so products that are less moisture intensive seem to have a better effect on me, but man did this miss the mark. I thought maybe adding an extra bit of FTP leave-in would help bridge the moisture gap, but no dice. Red flag number three.
Styling: My usual styling routine is one pump SC (currently SHP but I also use SAM, 613, or BGT) and a few drops of oil (also currently SHP) mixed together until completely emulsified. I usually apply the bulk to my ends and mid-shaft and the remainder to my roots, which leaves me with lots of volume, silkiness, and a nice polished look regardless of what styling tool I choose to use; I also get these results when I air dry. With Wen styling products, I can't lose. With FTP as my base CC, however, I lost. The dry ends and oily roots that I mentioned earlier carried over to the styling process, and I am not kidding when I say I could feel how singed my ends were after styling with two different tools (a flat iron on some occasions, a hot air brush on others, and air drying the rest of the time). After styling, my ends looked very unhappy and a tad lighter (my hair is carrot orange and the ends currently look strawberry blonde thanks to my run with FTP). This even happened when I air dried. Ick.
Verdict: I am on this board quite often and I have seen many of you who have yet to try FTP say that you are nervous given the recent feedback - you definitely have reason to be. I am one of the lucky Wenners in that I get fabulous results with all the CC's (including ones not designed for my hair type such as Fig), so for me to be unimpressed, and quite honestly shocked, about the results of FTP is a rarity indeed. I can use 613 every day consecutively for weeks on end with no problem, but I struggled to even get through one week of consecutive use of FTP. I'm really not sure which hair type FTP would work best for - it seems to be too drying for fine or dry hair, yet would most likely coat thick or oily hair.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but if you're on the fence about FTP, save your money. It will be better spent on other fall seasonals if you enjoy those, but I advise you to wait until the re-release of the past winter seasonals since WVM is a fan-favorite and appeals to a mass market.
Sorry Chaz, but I just can't do FTP anymore.
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