Wen user question

bargainsgirl · ‎01-13-2012

I have been using WEN for many years but I do alternate with Carol's Daughter and when I do I use WEN as a conditioner or I just use Nick's serum which I love. If is use WEN 3 or more times in a row, my scalp just feels too oily.

Do most users actually use the leave in (seems like alot) and then use the styling or mouse after as well? Seems like so much product. No way can I go more then every other day shampoo!

World Traveler · ‎02-02-2015

@bargainsgirl I suggest you pose your question/concerns on the WEN forum where more people will see it and respond. They are very helpful on that forum.

Alison Wonderland · ‎02-05-2018

@bargainsgirl wrote:
I have been using WEN for many years but I do alternate with Carol's Daughter and when I do I use WEN as a conditioner or I just use Nick's serum which I love. If is use WEN 3 or more times in a row, my scalp just feels too oily.
Do most users actually use the leave in (seems like alot) and then use the styling or mouse after as well? Seems like so much product. No way can I go more then every other day shampoo!

You may have low-porosity hair. Low porosity hair gets coated in product without absorbing it and it's easier for low porosity hair to feel greasy or weighed down by product.

I used to use WEN and no longer do, but I've been using a leave-in conditioner since the 1980s. My hair is naturally dry, curly, and tends to be normal to high in pososity. It needs a lot of moisture and I use leave-in conditioner, a styling cream, and a gel over that. My hair doesn't feel greasy or weighed down unless I use products with ingredients that don't work well for me. Shea butter tends to leave my hair feeling greasy and limp.

I'm following the Curly Girl Method, which means no silicones. Most WEN products have at least one silicone, so I avoid them now. I also live in a humid climate and none of the WEN styling products ever worked for me, so I didn't use them even while I was using WEN. If Chaz eliminated the ammodimethicone, I'd use WEN again because I did like the Fig. I still haven't been able to find a deep conditioner I like as much as I loved the Remoist. That stuff is excellent.

More info on hair pososity:

All About Low Porosity hair
https://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/learn/6-things-you-cant-do-when-you-have-low-porosity-hai...

The basics on porosity: What it means, how to identify, what to do/avoid for each type
https://www.ouidad.com/blog/curly-hair-routine-101/all-about-porosity

x Hedge · ‎08-18-2016

Hi @bargainsgirl .

I always use a generous amount of Wen cleansing conditioner (or WEN Remoist) as my leave-in base.

I add other WEN products to the base, (not styling creme or mousse for me, though). That doesn't just sit on the surface of my hair, it disappears into my hair as long as my hair was wet enough when I applied it.

Remember to froth up a mix of WEN & added water on the scalp while washing your hair.

That oily scalp you experience comes from not enough WEN, not enough water, or not enough of both.

It should be frothy and soppy, bubbly and drippy, looking like white foamy liquid as you're washing your hair and scalp.

And try not to have to rush through it. These are mild cleansers and can't clean as fast as detergent shampoos do.

☺

Alison Wonderland · ‎02-05-2018

@bargainsgirl wrote:
I have been using WEN for many years but I do alternate with Carol's Daughter and when I do I use WEN as a conditioner or I just use Nick's serum which I love. If is use WEN 3 or more times in a row, my scalp just feels too oily.
Do most users actually use the leave in (seems like alot) and then use the styling or mouse after as well? Seems like so much product. No way can I go more then every other day shampoo!

@bargainsgirl , I just looked up the Nick Chavez Mesquite seum and the ingredients. Of the first 6 ingredients, 5 are water-insoluble, which means they need to make sure your cleanser has the ingredients to really remove and prevent build-up. I've bolded the water-insoluble silicones for you:

Cyclopentasiloxane, Cyclotetrasiloxane, Cyclohexasiloxane, Dimethicone, Alcohol Denat.,Dimethicone Crosspolymer.

These aren't bad ingredients, but they can prevent moisture from getting into the hair if you aren't using a a cleanser with the right surfactants to remove them. They can also leave your hair feeling greasy or limp. WEN won't remove them, which may be another reason you start to feel greasy if you use WEN 3 or more times in a row. Carol's Daughter shampoos will remove those siliicones. Alternating the two products is a good idea.

Since you love the serum, you should keep using it, but make sure you use a cleanser that has the ingredients to dissolve the silcones every few washes. Any sulfate-based shampoo will remove them, but you can also look for these ingredoents in sulfate-free shampoos, like Carol's Daughter:
cocamidopropyl betaine, coco betaine, cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine

Here's a list of all kinds of ingredients to check for to make sure you're getting those silicones wash out for a fresh start wash: http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.com/2016/05/detergents-which-remove-silicones.html

It's hard to find a product you love, so I hope that helps you work with the ones you love and make them work even better for you.

VaBelle35 · ‎03-10-2010

With WEN, you have to focus on your scalp, not your hair. That is something people don't realize. We are used to scrubbing our hair and focusing on the hair that we forget the scalp.

With WEN, I focus entirely on the scalp. The hair still gets clean.

And you also have to rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse and rinse again.

As an aside, I forgot to pack my WEN on a trip last year and I bought Carol's Daughter at the drug store. That was the worst stuff and felt no better than any other shampoo or conditioner. And it stripped my color.

===================================
QVC Shopper - 1993

# IAMTEAMWEN

Catstamper · ‎03-10-2010

I got WEN once, and found that I didn't have enough water in my well to rinse it out. I have wavy/curly hair, with the hair being dry and my scalp being oily. I used it once and thought I had used too much, or something. Tried it again with about half the quantity, and still couldn't rinse it clean. Rather than keeping my hair clean longer, I found that I needed to use shampoo, which I hadn't used in years, wash it twice per shower for 3 days in a row before my scalp and hair felt clean again.