Chaz Dean, the founder of the WEN® cleansing conditioner, is an LA-based hair stylist with an impressive celebrity client list. 25 years ago, he came up with the idea of creating a cleansing conditioner, free from harsh chemicals, and has changed the way we protect and style our hair since. His entrepreneurial spirit has enabled him to create lip treatments, candles, and even hair conditioners for kids. Read on to find out more about Chaz Dean:
Why did you start your own hair care line?
The concept for the WEN® Cleansing Conditioner has developed almost 25 years ago and I was inspired by the integrity of my client’s hair. My clients would come into the salon for color and have to return within a couple of weeks because their color would fade. The lather in harsh shampoos would break down their hair making it finer, thinner, and weaker. I decided to create a conditioner that would not weigh down the hair and was free from harsh chemicals. I created the WEN® Cleansing Conditioner” which was free of polymers, fillers, wax, proteins, and alcohols.
What differentiates your products from other organic hair products?
I was the first one 25 years ago to create the concept of a “Cleansing Conditioner”. I will be celebrating 25 years of WEN on May 1st this year. At that time no such concept even existed. It is funny because today there have so many companies that have attempted to recreate the concept of a “cleaning conditioner” and tried to copy what I created.
The WEN® Cleansing Conditioner is special because it is a 5-in-1 product that replaces your shampoo, conditioner, deep conditioner, detangler, and leave-in conditioner. All our clients that have used our products have said that their hair felt more moisturized and hydrated. I believe that until you try WEN®, you will not know what differentiates our products from other hair care products today.
Picture Courtesy: Wen
How should people embrace their natural hair texture?
The easiest way to embrace your natural hair texture is to protect it and keep it healthy. I have gotten so many women of color to stop relaxing their hair and stop lathering it. Their hair becomes softer and healthier and they choose to embrace their natural hair texture and color.
What are future plans for WEN®
I have recently launched my own lip treatment called Bella Spirit (which means beautiful spirit) because I believe that people should not only embrace their hair but their skin and lips as well. I have even branched out to create my own candle line, pet conditioner line, and kids conditioner line. Ultimately, makeup would be the next step, but I do not want to lose sight of my own mission and brand.
