In our Hairstory New Wash review, we explain just how revolutionary the shampoo alternative has been for our hair
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What is Hairstory New Wash?
How to use Hairstory New Wash
Hairstory New Wash review: Application and formula
Hairstory New Wash review: Styling
Hairstory New Wash review: Results
Hairstory New Wash review: Verdict
UPDATE: Blonde, grey, and fair-haired people rejoice! Hairstory has released a Purple shampoo Booster that you can add to the New Wash and which helps get rid of yellow and brassy tones to leave your hair looking bright.
The New Wash itself is already great at preserving colour without drying or stripping the hair of its natural oils, and the Purple booster is designed to complement this on hair colours that tend to fade and look dull quite quickly.
It contains:
- 1% Violet Flowers: This is a botanical complex that uses lavender, rosemary, and violet extracts to neutralize brassiness and reduce the yellowing of white, grey, and blonde hair.
- 0.1% Violet 2: This is a high-purity violet dye that physically neutralises brassy tones.
When you buy the Purple Color Boost Set you get a metal tin and a whisk that allows you to mix the purple toner into your New Wash shampoo.
This is a bit of a faff, but it means that you don’t end up overusing the product and allows you to control how far you want to go with neutralising your tones.
We have previously used the Olaplex No. 4P and while it works effectively if you don’t wash it off quickly enough it can turn blonde hair white.
The New Wash Purple Color Boost offers a similar level of impact but puts the control back in our hands.
Original Hairstory review continues below
For all the negatives that have come from lockdown and remote working, one silver lining has been the chance to give our hair a rest from daily washing and excessive heat drying. This also means it’s been the ideal opportunity to carry out an in-depth Hairstory New Wash review.
Set up by Eli Halliwell in 2015 as an alternative to the overwhelming selection of shampoos and conditioners on the market, Hairstory is a sulphate-free shampoo alternative.
For decades, many existing hair products have contained an ingredient called sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS). Yet this ingredient has fallen out of favour recently due to claims it can actually damage your hair and skin. You can read more in our guide to SLS.
The backlash has been so fierce that it’s spawned an entire so-called “no-poo” movement.
READ NEXT: How to make your hair grow faster
In the majority of cases, SLS is what gives your shampoo, cleanser, body wash and even household detergent products their bubbly lather.
As you massage these products into your skin, or put them in your washing machine, the SLS reacts with the water to create bubbles and many of us believe that unless a product lathers in this way, it can’t possibly be cleaning as effectively as a product that doesn’t.
The theory behind the no-poo trend is that washing your hair with a more gentle alternative to shampoos – such as baking soda or apple cider vinegar – or even skipping this stage of hair washing entirely, can help restore the natural oils that harsh shampoos strip away.
This oil, found in your hair’s follicles, is essential for keeping it conditioned and healthy.
Due to the fact many of us have used shampoos for so long, it can take a while for our hair to get used to this new cleansing method.
This creates excess grease and can cause dry ends as our hair attempts to find a balance. As a result, many people abandon the process; seeking solace in their traditional hair products, and continuing the vicious cycle.
This is where Hairstory’s New Wash comes in.
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Hairstory New Wash review
Hairstory recommends using a shampoo brush with its cleanser to help massage the product into your scalp
Inspired by this “no poo” movement, Hairstory New Wash is a sulphate-free shampoo alternative that cleans without detergent.
It uses natural ingredients, including apple cider vinegar, to remove excess oil, dirt, and styling products while leaving the hair’s natural oils and protective barrier intact. This cruelty-free formula also promises to replace both your shampoo and conditioner in a single product, so will – in theory – save you money.
Continuing its commitment to sustainability and ethical manufacturing, the company recently announced that New Wash now comes in fully recyclable pouches. Compared to its old packaging design, the new pouches are made with 30% less plastic, 18% less Co2 and will take up 19% less landfill space.
The changes are said to be so significant, six-and-a-half of the new Hairstory New Wash pouches can be made with the same amount of plastic as a single rigid bottle.
The main benefit of using New Wash, according to Hairstory is “the softest, shiniest, healthiest hair” you’ve ever had since you were a child, which also means you can go days without washing it, it’s frizz-free and fade-resistant. What’s more, it offers three variations designed to suit all hair lengths and types.
- New Wash: The original formula which suits the majority of hair types
- New Wash (Deep): This is the formula we reviewed and its targeted at offering greater cleansing properties for hair that is very fine/gets oily super quickly
- New Wash (Rich): A richer formula designed to give greater nourishment for thick, curly, coarse and natural/afro hair
These are bold claims; almost too-good-to-be-true claims. Especially for our thin, limp long hair that somehow manages to look frizzy and greasy at the same time, so does it work as promised?
READ NEXT: What do shampoo and conditioner actually do to your hair?
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How to use the Hairstory New Wash and what to expect
Before we get into the full Hairstory New Wash review, it’s worth explaining how to use it and what to expect.
- The New Wash has the consistency of a conditioner and DOES NOT lather. Instead, you have to really massage it into your scalp and through the lengths of your hair. Hairstory sells a shampoo brush (£11) to help with this, but we found that the “bristles” are a little soft so bought a separate, Briogeo one from Cult Beauty (£13.50).
- You don’t need to leave it on like a conditioner, and if you spend a couple of minutes massaging it in, it does the same job and takes the same amount of time as your regular conditioner would.
- Rinse. And rinse well. Grab your shampoo brush again and massage the product out of your hair and scalp as you wash it off. Use your hands as squeegees to wring and remove the New Wash from the ends.
- You should be able to run a brush through your wet hair easily because the New Wash detangles as it cleans, but if you don’t think it’s clean enough or you’re getting knots, then continue rinsing.
- On the first couple of washes, you may need to double cleanse to thoroughly get rid of the build-up of products. However, the more you use the New Wash, the less you’ll need and use.
- Dry and style as normal.
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Application and formula
The Hairstory New Wash comes in a “bag” rather than a bottle from which you squeeze the white, creamy formula. The first thing you’ll notice is that it more closely resembles the consistency and thickness of a conditioner than shampoo.
It also smells strong – not bad, per se, but not as fresh or light as regular shampoos and conditioners. As you start to massage it in, you’ll start to get a whiff of cider and this smell remains after it’s been washed and dried. Albeit not as strongly.
Hairstory makes such a big deal about how well you need to massage it in, and how well you have to rinse it out, that we spent a good ten minutes from start to finish. We’re not sure this was necessary but we were paranoid!
The first time we used and rinsed, our hair felt rough, and running the shampoo brush through it didn’t feel smooth. It almost squeaked – which we compared on our Insta Story to the kind of squeak you get in your teeth when you eat halloumi – and this wasn’t particularly pleasant.
To be on the safe side, we repeated the above (so by this point, we’d been in the shower for 20 minutes minimum!) and while it felt better after this second cleanse, it still felt similar and we assume that this is just how it’s meant to feel.
Having used the Hairstory New Wash exclusively for months, we can confirm that this is overkill. As long as you rinse it properly, you don’t need to go mad and stay in the shower for almost half an hour…!
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Styling
As promised, we could easily run a hairbrush through our hair and, aside from some heat defence spray, we didn’t put any other products or serums on our hair before styling in an attempt to get a true measure of how well – or not – it had cleaned our hair.
On the first attempt, we weren’t blown away by how our hair looked.
It wasn’t the softest or shiniest hair we’d ever had but, considering we hadn’t used conditioner, we were impressed it wasn’t overly frizzy or dry. We’re also aware it can take a couple of washes to get rid of the product build-up so we hadn’t realistically expected it to be a miracle cure straight off the back.
As your hair adjusts to the new regime, you can use Hairstory’s Dry shampoo powder to go longer between washes
We then left the hair two days before washing it again. In addition to the New Wash, and the shampoo brush, Hairstory sells a natural dry shampoo that comes in a powder form for a staggering £39 a bottle.
The brand recommends using this dry shampoo in between New Washes, particularly as your hair gets used to the new routine and becomes more balanced, and we definitely needed it.
A day after the first wash, our hair was as greasy and limp as it would have been normally and we resorted to sticking it in a ponytail almost immediately. The powder didn’t do much for us on this occasion.
After the second wash and style, our hair definitely had more bounce and didn’t feel as greasy but we certainly couldn’t get to two-three days without washing it again.
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Hairstory New Wash review: Results
We continued to use the New Wash for the next three weeks, washing our hair every few days and using the Hairstory powder in between.
At that point, we never managed to get more than a day’s use out of the wash without needing to either wash it again or put it up, even with the powder. It was something we criticised Hairstory’s New Wash for when we originally wrote this review in July.
However, since we’ve persevered with it, we most definitely have to take this criticism back. Having been using the New Wash for three months now, we can’t imagine ever going back. We can get one, sometimes two days between washes – and that’s without using the powder or any other form of dry shampoo.
On the occasions when we do want to get an extra day, on top of the days we can already manage, we’ve found that putting the powder on our hair at night (rather than in the morning) an sleeping with our hair in a silk wrap is the best way to go. Our silk wrap is from Tot Knots of Brighton and we can’t rate it highly enough.
Hairstory promises that because the New Wash replaces your shampoo and conditioner, it will save you money. This is part of the reason why it charges £44 for a single bag.
In our test, we managed nine washes with this one bag which is fewer than the number of washes we’d get from a standard shampoo and conditioner.
We used the Hairstory cleanser for nine weeks and tracked the difference in how our hair looked and felt
As a guide, we use the Olaplex range – a bundle including the No4 shampoo and No5 conditioner sets us back £52 – but that lasts us for at least two months at a time, washing our hair every other day.
However, while this may seem like Hairstory is overpriced. If you average these prices out over the course of a year, this means we’d spend around £255 on the New Wash, but more than £310 on Olaplex.
We’ve since signed up for a Hairstory subscription. Every 12 weeks we get sent a 20oz pouch of New Wash and – because we’re now washing our hair less – this lasts us almost the full three months. This subscription comes with an aluminum bottle to use in the shower, as well as a travel container meaning you can take your New Wash with you.
This does cost £98, which over the course of a year pushes the price up to £424. This is pricey and is likely out of reach of some budgets but we’re completely sold on this product that we’re making sacrifices elsewhere to make sure we can get a hold of it!
Towards the very end of the most recent subscription, we ran out and had to revert back to our regular shampoo and conditioner. In this time we’ve also had our hair bleached platinum. Our regular shampoo and conditioner duo just left our hair feeling dry, or lacking in any real movement or body.
It was instantly noticeable and we missed our New Wash terribly! We even resorted to hair masks worn overnight in an attempt to get the same softness and shine we get from Hairstory, and this didn’t cut it either.
FURTHER READING: K18 vs Olaplex: Is Olaplex No. 3 or the K18 hair mask better for repairing your hair?
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Hairstory New Wash review: Verdict
Having previously been hesitant about switching to a new hair care routine, the Hairstory New Wash came along at just the right time for us and provided a happy medium between our current shampoo and conditioner regime and us going all-in on the “no poo” method.
The downsides are that it’s not possible to have a quick shower with the Hairstory New Wash. Expect to be in there for longer than you would be normally.
Hairstory isn’t cheap, either. We know that we use an expensive shampoo and conditioner combo so using it may save us money, but if you’re using cheaper products, New Wash will seem extortionate and not great value for money. Plus, in the beginning, you need to use a lot of product, and this all ties in with New Wash not seeming like very good value.
However, in our opinion, the plus sides we experienced far outweigh these negatives. Once we got through those first few washes and became less paranoid about just how much we had to wash and rinse our hair, our locks looked amazing.
During Facetime and Zoom calls, we regularly got comments on how good our hair looked and it felt extremely soft to the touch. This also made it easier and quicker to style, which goes some way to counteract the extra time you need in the shower.
Our hair looks brighter and more blonde since starting this Hairstory New Wash review and we’re so enamoured by the whole thing that we will never go back. On the occasions we’ve had to revert to regular shampoo and conditioner recently, we’ve been incredibly disappointed. We are completely converted to Hairstory!
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Hairstory range
In addition to the Hairstory New Wash, the brand sells a growing range of hair care and styling products. These include:
- Hair Balm: A balm designed for curly hair that adds moisture while enhancing the natural wave and curl, without weighing the hair down.
- Hair Oil: This hair oil softens hair, add shines, and helps get rid of frizz thanks to a blend of eight essential oils.
- Powder: This hair powder absorbs oil on day two (or three hair), adds texture to braids, adds volume, or just keeps your updo in place.
- Undressed: This spray adds texture and works like a salt spray (but without the drying salt). It’s great for beachy waves and natural looks.
- Dressed Up: A heat protectant that shields hair from straighteners and curlers (up to 230℃). It also stops your hair from fading in the sun.
- Lift: As the name suggests, this spray adds volume and lift at the root of the hair to make it look full of body and movement.
- Wax: This wax is great for shorter hair, or curly styles and creates a flexible, workable, finish that’s never crusty.
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