Ojon Restorative Hair Treatment review

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Happy Earth Month! That’s right, what began as Earth Day in 1970 has now become a whole month dedicated to increased green awareness. We’re going to kick it off with one of my personal favorite Natural hair lines; Ojon and their iconic product, the Restorative Hair Treatment.

If you’ve ever been interested in trying this product, now is the time! Because during the month of April, Ojon will donate 10% of Treatment sales at Sephora (in store and online) to their partners at the Rainforest Alliance.

This partnership, and the product whose sales they chose to benefit it, makes perfect sense. The main ingredient in the Restorative Hair Treatment (and the product in their line that has the largest concentration of it) is what they’ve dubbed Ojon oil. It’s a palm nut oil that can only be found in remote tropical rainforests of Central America. The nut that produces the oil is harvested and extracted by the Miskito Indians (or Tawira, in their native language), as they have done for over 500 years. The delicate method continues to be done entirely by hand to help ensure the protection and sustainability of the natural environments of Honduras.

But here’s the thousand dollar question, does it work? Because as you may know, it isn’t cheap ($55 for 4.5 oz). Here’s a hint, they don’t call the Tawira “the people of beautiful hair” for nothing!

The Restorative Hair Treatment contains no water or silicones. It’s pure, rich, and highly concentrated in a thick, hard butter form. With the enclosed wooden comb, you scoop a small bit into your palm and rub to emulsify it. Then, run it through your hair from roots to ends, treating both your scalp and hair (and your hands! Mine felt fabulous afterward.) You leave it on for 20 minutes and can even heat it with a hair dryer for extra moisturizing. Or better still, wear it to bed with a shower cap.

The results? Nothing short of amazing. My color-treated, desperately in need of some TLC hair felt softer than it has in ages and looked noticeably healthier after just one use. It may just be the deepest conditioning I’ve ever given myself. Expensive, yes. But I found the result to be well worth it.

And then there’s the scent…

There’s 2 camps on this: people who love the scent, people who hate the scent. If you’ve tried Ojon, you know what I mean. Due to the Ojon oil, all of the products have a very distinct smell to them. Because the Restorative Hair Treatment has the highest concentration of oil, it also has the most concentrated scent. Those who like it (I’m one of them) will liken it to chocolate or cocoa, coffee, incense, even soil. Those who don’t seem to pick up on a smokiness. Regardless what notes you pick up, there’s no denying it’s a rich, earthy scent. And personally, with these results, even if I didn’t like the smell, I’d use it!

we heartsters, have you tried this or any Ojon products? Tell us your thoughts!

Buy the Restorative Hair Treatment HERE and support the Rainforest Alliance.

Author

  • Stef Andrews

    Stef is a plethora of things. Amongst them: co-founder of we heart this, photographer, condiment connoisseur, Philly girl in the California desert, borderline hoarder and a hardcore beauty junkie. She also has a touch of wanderlust and, arguably, the cutest dog in the whole world... skin tone: NC 25/30 skin type: oily with a fear of rosacea favorite beauty product: high end skincare and lip products

18 Comments

  1. Um, yeah, this stuff WORKS. Whenever my hair starts to get really weight-down, too much product build-up, greasy five minutes afterwashing it…I just slather up this oily, muddy wonder and leave it in for about 30 minutes before hopping in the shower and rinsing out and then shampooing and conditioning as usual.

    After you’ve used the Restorative Treatment – people ask about your hair…in a good way…why is it so shiny, how do you get it so soft, what kind of shampoo do you use etc. It’s awesome.

    And then there’s the scent.

    For a long time, I refused to even try it because I think it smells like an ashtray in a cigar shop. But after you put the mud in your hair, you sort of think, oh it’s not so bad. And after you’ve rinsed and shampooed and styled again, you think…Hey! My hair smells awesome!

    Nothing but a 5 Star Endorsement from me for the Ojon Restorative treatment!

  2. Oh, OJON! How do I love thee? Let me count the ways..There are many ways quite frankly. I personlly think that Ojon’s Restorative Treatment is excellent. I have a lot of hair and it tends to be dry and unruly. This does its magic in no time at all. I have loved this product as much as most everything they make. I happen to like the way this product smells. More like a clean ash tray! Very unique, and boy does it stand up to all it claims to do..I had a sample of this giving to me one day at Sephora.. I about flipped after I gave it a go. Good stuff.. worth every penny!

  3. I have been hearing about the magical powers of Ojon for years, but had never tried their products until I received this treatment for review. The price tag may scare a few people off, but all I have to say is, in the case of this wonder-treatment, you get what you pay for.

    First of all, I love the packaging and the beautiful wooden comb that comes with the product. Second, Stef is totally right, when you rub this product into your hands (before you apply to your hair) it even makes your hands feel divine. The scent is something I was prepared for (only because I had heard that Ojon products have a rather unique fragrance) and I have to tell you that it’s not nearly as off-putting as some may say. To my nose, it’s combination of coffee, chocolate, and a deep, rich smoky quality that reminds me of a very high-end perfume. When combined together, I think it’s quite lovely. Yes, it’s a strong, bold fragrance, but even the boyfriend, who sniffed my hair several hours after I used this product, said “Wow, you smell amazing today.” So…be warned that this might be a man-magnet!

    As for the results: Ojon Restorative Treatment gets nothing less than five stars from me. It is the only treatment I have ever used on my hair that provides true *lasting* effects. With other treatments I’ve used in the past, my hair feels soft and moisturized for maybe a day after use (if I’m lucky). With this product? I am still feeling its full effects and it’s been a week since I used it (and fyi, I shampoo my hair every day). My hair feels incredibly more soft, it looks more healthy, it styles more easily, and it just feels a whole lot more light and springy. There was a literal transformation here, and I just cannot say I’ve ever experienced anything like it with products that have similar claims. Like I said at the beginning of this review, you get what you pay for with Ojon. If your hair is in desperate need of a major transformation, I’d try to make some room in your budget for this one. It’s that good.

  4. Definitely want to try this! The reviews sound amazing! Between hair drying and straight irons, my hair can get damaged fast, if I don’t condition it regularly. I am digging through my Sephora samples today, to see if I have this!

  5. I actually like the scent of this product. To me it smells earthy and natural. I absolutely love what it does to my hair. I also reach for this when my hair starts misbehaving. I let it sit for at least 30 minutes to an hour. I stick on a shower cap and relax and let it work it’s magic. Before no time at all, your hair will be softer than you can ever remember. Best of all the results last.

    They do offer a smaller tub of this to try out. I first bought a trial kit which contained the shampoo, conditioner, and the restorative hair treatment. I quickly used up that tub and bought the bigger size! 5 stars from me.

  6. I really do heart Ojon. Every product I try, I like more than the last. Just when I think I’ve found my favorite, another steps up. But I do believe this is the pinnacle product.

    My hair needs deep conditioning, and there’s nothing it loves more than a weekly treatment. Slather it on, wrap it up in Suran Wrap if I’m looking particularly fried, 1 hour later; beautiful moisturized hair. This is, hands down, the best I’ve tried. I was so pleased with the results. My hair felt soft and looked noticeably healthier, less frizzy and even brighter (I swear, my color looked better after. And it really might have been. I would imagine product build up can dull your color). And as Recessionista said, it’s not a temporary fix. My hair looks better, period.

    I was a bit afraid to put what was essentially pure oil on my hair (mainly because I was worried about breaking out at my hairline). But only good things came from the application.

    And yeah, the scent. This def. has the most “ojon” smell of all the products I’ve tried. I love it in their other products, like the Daily Shine Treatment and the Tawaka shampoo and conditioner that I previously reviewed. In the treatment, it is a bit intense. Some sniffs I’d get the yummy coffee/chocolate/soil, some sniffs I’d get burning cigar. But like I said, with results this good I’d use it even if I didn’t like the scent.

    5 bright and shiny stars from me.
    .-= stef´s last blog ..LORAC Multiplex 3D Lip Gloss review =-.

  7. This product sounds divine! I brutalize my hair with flat ironing it on almost a daily basis and I’ve tried other deep conditioning treatments with unimpressive results. I like how natural this sounds. But mostly my curiosity has been piqued by the descriptions of the scent!

  8. I’m stunned to realize that I have never purchased an Ojon product. I have sampled some shampoos and conditioners when visiting Stef – while I wasn’t wild over the scent, I wasn’t turned off by it either. And I loved the results – super soft, shiny, managebale hair!

    I was worried that my super fine, slightly oily hair would be overwhelmed by this treatment, but after reading the reviews, I can’t wait to try this out! I eyed up the packaging at the tester distribution and wanted to steal one of the cute, wooden combs!
    .-= Tyna Werner´s last blog ..LORAC Multiplex 3D Lip Gloss review =-.

  9. I really like the scent of the Ojon Restorative Hair Treatment, but my husband smells it and just starts repeating “Camel poop!” over and over again. (Something about it smelling like incense and incense used to be made from camel poop or whatever… He’s weird!) It cracks me up!
    The treatment really is amazing and will do wonders for your hair! I have curly hair and those other curly girls will feel me when I say that my hair can be weirdly oily and wire-y dry all at the same time. Ojon makes my hair beautifully moisturized and silky soft.
    For those interested, a little birdie told me there is going to be a Sephora sale soon for beauty insiders, 15% off! That should make Ojon Restorative Hair Treatment just a little bit more tempting ;)

  10. I have tried a little sample pack of this. And initially the scent and the “oiliness” of this threw me off. But the results were pretty great. It is an easy lesson in not judging a book by its cover. Good stuff for my thirsty curls. I would love to try more of it.

  11. I definitely need to try more Ojon products. Everything I hear is great. I think I’ll wait for the Sephora beauty insider 15% off and get some! Thanks for the tip on that sale Amanda!

  12. This post prompted me to pull out my old Ojon products that I tried as sample sizes from a Sephora collection a couple years ago. Back then I wasn’t extremely impressed, but then again I never left the restorative treatment on my hair overnight. So that’s just what I did last night, and then used their Ultra Hydrating shampoo and conditioner on it this morning – and voila! Silky soft voluminous hair! It really does work great. And as I’ve said before, I’m a terrible blow dryer – I just blow it all to he#* without the use of a round brush and then let the curling or flat iron work it out. Well, it looked almost perfect with only a blow dry. Magical stuff – and so exciting to think this will last past today!!

  13. AHHHH! I’d forgotten all about Ojon until this post! I had a sample of this from a couple of years ago and I LOVED it. It did wonders on my curls and I dug every last bit of that treatment out of the jar…

    The smell is something that EVERYONE comments on; I think Stef was spot on with its description. And while I did occasionally get a tobacco scent, as well as chocolate and coffee, don’t let that be a deterrent. (Besides, tobacco or dirt can be a good smell! Fresh and Demeter use those notes all the time…)

    Thanks for reminding me, Stef! Must get more…

  14. I was seduced by the SWA presentation on QVC when it first came out. I blocked the purchase price from my memory, but it came with shampoo, conditioner, treatment spray, ampoules of the SWA oil, and hair spray. This stuff honest-to-god works. I have/had baby fine thinning hair that I used to have to torture to get some fullness out of it. My husband used to make me turn around so he could make sure my scalp wasn’t showing through on the back of my head.

    Six months later, I have grown out my hair from very short to about a 4″ bob. I have switched to the hydrating thickening shampoo and conditioner. I have masses of hair, and the hair itself is noticeably thicker. My color (red) lasts forever, it just looks fabulous.

    As for the scent, I have a girlfriend who cannot stop herself from smelling my hair. My husband loves it, and it reminds me of something really yummy.

  15. Ojon makes really great products! My regular shampoo, conditioner and leave-in are all Ojon and i have used the restorative hair treatment. It is amazing! I use another product to protect my hair when I subject it to heat as well. It really works well with my hair.

  16. This line is awesome.. just used a favorite mine by Ojon Hair- “Leave-in-Glossing Cream.. I love the way it softens and adds a wonderful shimmer and finish! A little goes a long way too!

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