Throughout my entire experience in retail, regardless of the store I worked at, there were always those items that customers would pine over yet never actually purchase because the price was so exorbitant. While I was working at Ulta, those items were the shampoo and conditioner that constitute Pureology’s NanoWorks line; I am not exaggerating when I say that customers would come in, stare longingly at the display, and walk away with intense yearning in their eyes. I decided to take one small step for my hair and one giant step for product junkies and purchased both the shampoo and conditioner, and let me tell you, the results do not disappoint!
If you are trying to be budget friendly with your haircare routine, you may want to read on with caution because the NanoWorks line is by far one of the most expensive collections in the industry – the shampoo runs about $54 and the conditioner $58 for a full size, though both can be purchased for about $15 each in travel sizes at Ulta, and are eligible for coupons.
I actually bought this set long before I started working at Ulta; in fact, this set was one of my first purchases in an attempt to prevent the damage that I knew my hair was inevitably about to experience after one too many dye jobs, even though it was not at its worst at that time (the real damage didn’t set in until about a month after I bought this stuff). I had heard about NanoWorks on a forum for damaged hair and how the line supposedly restored hair to its natural state of silky softness and completely reversed damage, and even though I cringed at the price, I took the plunge and bought a travel size of the shampoo and a full-size of the conditioner, which ran me about $55 after using a 20% off coupon and my rewards points at Ulta.
Pureology claims that the NanoWorks line is actually meant for aging, color treated hair, but from what I’ve seen and experienced it is primarily used to restore damaged hair and retain color. The line boasts claims of containing green tea, sugar cane, citrus, apple, and wine extracts, all of which are incredibly nourishing ingredients which combined together create a super-cocktail of hair-restoring properties.
After using both products routinely for about 9 months, I am finally ready to weigh in on NanoWorks and sing the praises of what I consider to be the Rolls Royce of haircare:
- Shampoo: The NanoWorks shampoo hardly feels like a shampoo – it feels more like a conditioner mixed with a treatment. This is the thickest shampoo I have ever used and, even though it’s sulphate-free, it lathers beautifully. It is pale gold in color and is extremely concentrated, so for someone who normally uses a nickel-size amount of shampoo, only a dime size of NanoWorks shampoo is needed to completely saturate and cover the hair. Because this stuff contains so many damage reversing ingredients, I used it the way I would use a treatment and left it on for 3-5 minutes to really allow the shampoo to sink in and work its magic. When I finally rinsed out, my hair felt like I just used conditioner and had incredible slip and smoothness, and I almost felt like conditioner wasn’t needed, but with results like this just from a shampoo, how could I skimp on conditioner?
- Conditioner: After my great results with the shampoo, I was ecstatic to use the accompanying NanoWorks conditioner, though I was a bit nervous as I thought maybe the combination of both would weigh my fine hair down. This is not at all the case, thank goodness! This is one of those rare haircare lines where both the shampoo and conditioner are the same color and consistency, so I had to double check to make sure I hadn’t bought two shampoos or two conditioners. I followed the same routine as with the shampoo, although I let the conditioner sit for 10 minutes instead of 5, and when I rinsed out, my fried tresses felt better than they ever had before in my entire life (even better than when I was a child).
Oh, just a quick bit on the scent: this line smells like heaven in a bottle. If you are a fan of Vera Wang’s Princess or Pureology’s HydraCure/HydraWhip deep conditioners, you will absolutely adore this scent. In fact, I liked it so much that when I heard Princess smelled exactly like it, I rushed out and bought that too!
Having used plenty of good shampoos and conditioners, I knew the real test of seeing how well NanoWorks performed would be not in the shower while my hair was wet, but after blow drying and heat styling my brittle when dry, gummy when wet locks. After styling, my hair looked like I had just come out of the salon, and had major swing, body, shine, and just a lustrous look of overall health. At this point I had a panic attack because I tried thinking about what my life would be like without these products when I was broke, but I figured I would enjoy them while I could and reap their benefits for as long as possible. I’m happy to say that I got a little over 9 months of mileage out of these babies, which was ample time to restore my hair back to normal, especially because I rotated this set with other shampoos and conditioners in my collection.
My final thought on NanoWorks is this: this line is without a doubt the most luxurious and repairing shampoo/conditioner set that I have ever used, and even though the price is faint-worthy, travel sizes of both shampoo and conditioner will probably last you around 3 to 4 months if you use them sparingly and remember that they are concentrated to an extreme degree.
Pureology deserves a million medals for this line, and I will sing the praises of NanoWorks till the end of my days!
