Unwash (Hair Care): First Impression Fridays

So, for today's First Impression Friday, I'm going to do something a little different. I want to talk about a hair care brand called Unwash. Now, I want to be totally upfront here, I don't know much about hair care. I don't know how to style my hair, I don't know how to make my hair behave, everything I do with my hair is trial and error.

However, I do know that I have somewhat challenging hair. My hair is very dry, brittle, frizzy/curly, and somewhat damaged. I only wash my hair once in a blue moon because it's so dry, but, when I do wash my hair, I often feel that traditional shampoos are a little harsh on my hair. I've been wanting to delve into the world of clarifying shampoos and co-washing for a while. One day, Ulta was having a 50% sale on Unwash products, so I thought I might as well try them out.

I've actually had these products for approximately two weeks now, but I've only used them once because, as I said, I rarely wash my hair...which is why this is a first impression blog and not a review blog. If I was to review these products, I'd have to use them consistently to form an opinion, and that might take like a year.

Unwash bills themselves as "a new movement in haircare and the first Professional Co-Washing System." According to their website, Unwash was developed to serve the needs of modern women who don't style their hair as much or use as much product in their hair as previous generations. They say that traditional shampoo and conditioner "has become outdated and is too harsh for today’s carefree, fuss-free hairstyles. Women are going longer between shampoos for fear of losing color and damaging hair. As the attitudes and need for conventional haircare has changed – so have the products."

So, they clearly talk a big game, but do their products live up to their claims? This was my experience:

Bio-Cleansing Conditioner ($29) - According to what I've read, this conditioner is supposed to be your main cleansing product. Basically, the idea of co-washing is to remove build up and dirt without completely stripping your hair. This is a great concept for my hair type because my hair is so dry that I can't afford to lose all my natural oils. After washing my hair with traditional shampoos, I usually have to lather my hair in argan oil and serums in order to get some shine and moisture in my hair. If I waited for my natural hair oils to do that, I'd be waiting a long time. I don't think the idea of co-washing is for everyone. 

If you have naturally oily hair, you would probably hate co-washing. The thing to remember with co-washing is that co-wash cleansers don't have a lot of oomph to them. They tend to be very gentle cleansers, so if your hair is very oily or you have a lot of product in you hair, co-washing probably isn't going to do anything for you. 

Even though I have super dry hair and even though I knew what to expect, co-washing kind of took me by surprise. After I washed my hair, I was kind of like "wait, was that it?" While my hair was wet, I didn't feel like it had made much of a difference, but, once it was dry, I really liked the texture of my hair. My hair felt clean, but it didn't feel as dry or frizzy as it usually does after using a traditional shampoo. I did use the conditioner with the Anti-Residue Cleanse (which is kind of shampoo). You're not supposed to use the Anti-Residue Cleanse every wash, but I wanted to try it out to get a sense of what the system could do. So, it's difficult to say if it was the conditioner or cleanse that really delivered for me, but I liked the end result, which is all that matters.

This product isn't cheap. I know that $29 is a ridiculous amount of money to spend on shampoo or conditioner. Fortunately, I got all of this stuff 50% off, but, even if you have to pay full price, I think this product is worth it. This isn't the sort of hair care product that you use every day, so I think it will take you a long time to go through this. Plus, it's on par (or cheaper) with other speciality, high-end shampoos, like Pureology and Living Proof.

Anti-Residue Cleanse ($24) - This product is the "shampoo" (for lack of a better word) in this hair care system. You're not supposed to use this product every time you wash your hair; it's supposed to give you a deeper clean when you need it. I imagine that you'd use this product after two or three washes with the Bio-Cleansing Conditioner. You're supposed to use this product in place of the conditioner. For the sake of trying everything out, I actually used both of these products together, which worked out pretty well for me. I think you just have to play around with these products a bit before figuring out how to make this product work best for your hair.

Even though this is billed as deeper clean than the conditioner, it's still not as harsh or cleansing as traditional shampoo. That's great for me because I don't need something super cleansing or harsh for my hair. However, if you have oily hair or you just like your hair to feel really clean, this probably isn't going to cut it for you. My impression is that this is a more intense version of the Bio-Cleansing Conditioner. Obviously, the formula is different, but it's essentially doing the same thing: removing build up and dirt without stripping your hair of it's natural oils.

If you have slightly oily hair but really want to try co-washing, you might want to try this product out on its own. If you're concerned that co-washing isn't going to get your hair clean enough, but you still want to use something less harsh than traditional shampoo on your hair, this would probably be the perfect product for you. 

As I said above, I enjoyed this product when I used it with the Bio-Cleansing Conditioner. It left my hair feeling clean, but not dry, frizzy, or stripped. In the future, I'll probably use this product on its own every two or three washes. 

Another thing to note about this product is that it comes in a slightly smaller bottle. However, it is less expensive, so I think the size is fair. Also, you're not supposed to use this as often as the conditioner, so this bottle will probably last a long, long time.

Dry Cleanser in Travel Size ($9) - Let's be real, this product is dry shampoo. Basically, this product is designed to absorb excess oil when you can't wash your hair (I don't know why I'm explaining how dry shampoo works; you guys know how dry shampoo works). 

I've only used this cleanser once, but I have to say that I liked it. I felt like it really did absorb a lot of my oils and it bought me another day or two of not having to wash my hair (which is the name of the game for me; if I had the option, I would never wash my hair again). What I really, REALLY like about this cleanser is that it doesn't leave a white cast. I have so, so much deep appreciation for clear dry shampoos; it just makes my life five thousand times easier. There's nothing more embarrassing than walking around all day without realizing that you have a big white smudge on the back of your head (well, I'm sure that there are more embarrassing things, but I'm trying to make a point here). Anyway, I don't understand why all dry shampoos aren't clear; even the tinted dry shampoos are annoying. You don't want to touch your hair and come away with brown stuff on your fingers. 

Anyway, for that reason alone, I think this dry shampoo is great. Also, it's apparently made out of natural volcanic ash, it's sulfate free and paraben free, and it's not tested on animals. Not to mention that the travel size version of this product is actually quite big for travel size, and it's relatively cheap. I highly, highly recommend this product.

To summarize, my first impression of Unwash is very positive. I think these are effective products that do what they say they're going to do, and they really meet my hair needs. If you're interested in co-washing, I highly recommend checking out this brand. 

However, I will say that co-washing doesn't work well for everyone. So, you really should do your research before going out and buying any of these products. The exception is the dry cleanser; I really think anyone with any hair type could use the dry cleanser.

So, the next time you're shopping for hair care product, I recommend considering Unwash.