My regular readers know I’m a big fan of Wen haircare — it’s a product that has proven its worth to me (more on that in a bit.) Wen can be pricey if you don’t watch for deals on it, and some of the best ways to get a low per-bottle price on it is to buy a multi-bottle assortment from QVC or order directly from Wen when they have a specially-discounted package.
I’ve found that while I have favorite Wen formulas and scents, most of them work well for my hair. Some of the scents, though, are just not my favorites when compared to others. The scent does stay in your hair after your hair dries, so hey — smell is important! I really love the Mango Coconut and Apple Spice formulas, but Pomegranate is just “okay” for me. I think the Fig formula is my least favorite — it is definitely the most moisturizing of all the Wen varieties I’ve tried, but the scent is just terrible to me — it smells like extremely medicinal cough syrup with musty undertones. Yuck.
Here’s how I make my favorite Wen formulas last longer. Washing with Wen is a two-step process. You wash your hair with Wen, rinse it out, then do a second wash with Wen (typically, from the same bottle) to condition it. I keep two bottles of Wen in my shower, pairing a not-my-favorite scent with another one that I really like. Right now, I’ve got Fig and Honey Peach on tap! I’ll wash with Fig first, rinse it out, then wash with the Honey Peach. The second wash is the scent that lingers on your hair after it’s dry.
It’s a simple trick, but it also allows me to enjoy my favorite Wen scents for a longer period of time. Instead of going through one bottle in about 30 days, it takes about two months to go through the pair of bottles, and I can enjoy the good scents for two months instead of one.
I try to pair the scents somewhat so they are complementary to each other — Pomegranate and Mango Coconut is a pairing I like, as is Tea Tree and Gardenia Green Tea.
Some people may wonder why I would bother buying scents I’m not terribly a fan of. The answer? Price! 16-ounce bottles of Wen retail for around $30 each. My “buy” price is $16 or less per bottle. QVC does a great assortment around Christmas time each year where you can get five bottles for $79 – about $16 per bottle — but you cannot pick which scents go into the assortment. If you order directly with Wen, you also get on their mailing lists for special offers. The last time I ordered from them, they were offering a special on the Pomegranate scent only – four bottles for $49.90, which dropped it under $12.50 per bottle .
This is probably a good time for a “Wen update” too! I’ve been using Wen cleansing conditioner for more than two years now (28 months to be exact) and the change in my hair has been remarkable. I used to have extremely dry, brittle hair. In June of 2013, I decided to try Wen for 30 days to see if it lived up to the hype. For my first year, I blogged about my experiences with Wen, along with many before-and-after pictures.
This set of photos shows the most remarkable transformation. I took the first picture one month after beginning to use Wen. The second photo was taken 16 months after I began using Wen. My hair is thicker, shinier, and no longer brittle.
It’s October 2015 now, and I continue to be thrilled with my Wen hair. I haven’t really seen any results as dramatic as the transition from 2014 to 2015 — it just continues to be healthier, thicker, softer and shinier than it was pre-Wen. (It is a little darker than it was last year though, as I’ve continued to color it a deeper shade of brown after my orange-hair mishap!)
I realize that even at $16 per bottle, Wen is expensive, but I’ve never gotten results like these with any other hair product. Is this difference in my hair worth about .50 per day? To me, it is.
Calibabydolly says
I actually like your hair in the picture here on this site with the green turtleneck on. When was that taken? I especially like the color, a reddish hint with that lighting. I realize it is shorter there but I think it looks very healthy! I am a licensed hairdresser and about ready to chop my hair off, I just need to get the courage to trust someone else to do it since my friend/stylist moved away! Hair stylists make the worse customers!!!
Coupon Maven says
I believe that photo was taken in 2009, so it’s a few years old (and my hair was definitely shorter!) A photographer friend took that and some other promotional photos for me in the same session. Having a professional hair & makeup person on hand was a plus :)
MICHELE says
Have you tried Sally Beauty’s knock off called Hair One. I’ve been using that alternating with the Wen. I use the jojoba scent specifically for color treated hair. Right now they have one of their rare buy 1 get 1 deals so I got 2 liters for less than $26 (Sally card price – cost for card $5 & you a $5 coupon plus I just got a choice of product – chose sulfate free leave in conditioner spray) & if you don’t like no hassles to get your money back (no shipping required). I also find the staff their extremely knowledgeable & helpful. It’s where many hairdressers seem to go.
Coupon Maven says
I have not tried Hair One. Without actually trying it, I have looked at the ingredients, and there is very little in common between Hair One and Wen. I don’t doubt people have good results with it — I’m just so happy with the Wen that I haven’t really had a reason to try something else…
bridget says
Deal of the day is WEN today on QVC
Coupon Maven says
YES! I put a post up about the deal this morning — it’s a good one: https://jillcataldo.com/four-piece-wen-haircare-kit-59-94-free-ship/
Susan says
Thank you Jill for your in depth updates on WEN – I have finally decided to take the WEN plunge and what really tipped me over the scale was reading through your initial trials with the product and your continued success with WEN. Your hair looks fabulous in the latest pic from 2015. Now that we are in 2018 are you still a devoted WEN user? I am buying through a deal on QVC since I have longer hair and the bottles are double the normal size.
Coupon Maven says
Hi Susan :) Thank you. I really need to update this series of posts, but yes, I am still happily using Wen in 2018 :) I guess I haven’t updated much as my hair hasn’t changed much. It really looks the same as it did in the most recent photos in this series, but I continue to be very happy. I too usually order my Wen from QVC due to their good deals. :)
Susan says
I had one more comment – based on your reviews of WEN – you said you were attempting to grow your hair longer and hoped WEN would help with that – other than the fantastic condition of your hair did you achieve the length you desired as well?
Coupon Maven says
No, unfortunately. I am almost five years (!) into my Wen journey, so if my hair was going to improve to the point that it would grow longer, I think it would be there by now :( It is a lot thicker than it was when I started, and for that I continue to be very thankful.
I’ve done a lot of reading about why some people are able to grow their hair long, while others have hair that, for lack of a better term, seems “pre programmed” to grow to a certain length, then fall out and be replaced with a new hair. I believe I am in the second category. :(
Susan says
I think I am in that 2nd category as well my hair is is just below my shoulder blades but never seems to go much further than that. I have baby fine hair but alot of it and it dries out like straw here in Colordao/Arizona so assuming that it breaks off due to the dryness. So hoping in the least that once I start using WEN that my hair looks as fabulous as yours does. Thank you for your responses – I am eagerly awaiting my 1st shipment from QVC. I’m going to make sure I take before pics so I have something to compare as time goes on. Thanks again!
Jenn says
Hi! I’ve been having a really hard time getting an order of Wen lately at a reasonable price from QVC. It’s almost like they are stopping the 3 bottle program? Do you have any recommendations on where to buy right now, or what is going on in the Wen world?
Coupon Maven says
I like to buy the 16-ounce bottles of Wen for $10-$12 and the 32oz. for under $25 if possible. I also buy ahead whenever I see good deals, so I do still have some on hand.
QVC always has a 2-pack of 16-ounce Pomegranate & Almond Wen for $40 – in the absence of a better price, that’s not terrible, especially if you can combine it with a discount code. The seasonal 16-ounce scents are selling for over $30 right now (!) so the classic scents are a much better deal.
The best deals I typically see are around Christmastime. They used to offer a 5 16-ounce bottle gift pack for $66-$75, which works out to about $13-15 per bottle: https://jillcataldo.com/qvc-5-piece-wen-set-just-13-95-per-bottle-shipped/
Then, instead of that one, the last three years they started offering the larger, 32oz. bottles in a 3-pack for $77, which works out to about $25 per 32oz. bottle (or $12.50 per 16 ounces): https://jillcataldo.com/qvc-3-piece-wen-holiday-set-25-97-per-32-ounce-bottle/
If you catch one of the holiday deals, they have always had an auto-ship option that will send you a second gift set six months from your order date for the same price. So, I usually lock that in too and get twice as many bottles for the same price. Doing this deal once a year usually gives me an entire year’s worth of Wen, just from those two transactions.
Another place to watch is Chaz Dean’s own salon website, https://chazdean.com. Occasionally, they have certain scents on clearance, and you can score the seasonals pretty cheap. Here’s a deal I did on $20 Apple Spice 16-ounce bottles back in 2016 when I was running low: https://jillcataldo.com/half-price-wen-fall-apple-haircare-just-20/
Right now ChazDean.com has a “wheel of discounts” on the homepage that you can spin to get a coupon code for up to 50% off. However, their regular prices are usually much higher than QVCs (they are selling the 16-ounce pomegranate for $32, and you can buy it right now for $20 on QVC in the two-pack.) Their site is kind of a pain to navigate though as you have to go into -each- scent to see if it is on sale — you can’t browse them all on one screen.
If you can stick it out until December when we typically see that best-deal-of-the-year gift box, I’d wait. If not, order the 2-pack of Pomegranate/Almond for $40, and that will put you two months’ closer to December. Here’s a link:
https://www.qvc.com/WEN-by-Chaz-Dean-Sweet-Almond-Mint-and-Pomegranate-Duo.product.A215608.html?sc=NAVLIST
I’ve heard some Sephora locations also carry the classic Wen scents, but I’ve never bought it there. Hope this helps.