Product Review: Ojon Restorative Hair Treatment

I splurged on Ojon Restorative Hair Treatment after having straightened, bleached, permed and dyed my way into a damaged hair nightmare. The Ojon Treatment is described by the company as 100 percent Ojon palm nut oil designed to improve the condition of damaged, color-treated, or processed hair without weighing it down. The hype about this intensive hair conditioner (“fortifying, rebuilding, and nourishing”) led me to seek it out in my local Sephora, and after speaking with a sales associate who raved about its ability to restore friend hair, I decided to make what I thought was a worthwhile investment. I was greatly mistaken.

Much of the hype about Ojon stems from the legend behind it. “Restore your hair's natural beauty with this ancient native secret from the remote tropical forests of Central America.” claims the Ojon company. It goes on to describe how for over 500 years, this secret to remarkably healthy hair has been hidden in the rare oil of the tropical Ojon tree known only to the Tawira Indians who are referred to as "the people of beautiful hair." WOW. With a whole tribe of Indians backing this product, and a history of over 500 years, it’s got to be good, right? Wrong.

Ojon Restorative Hair Treatment is a conjugated oil in solidified form, with a texture that is much like a balm or pomade. As the instructions directed, I warmed a scoop full of Ojon in the palm of my hands until it liquefied. I then applied it on dry hair, working my way from scalp to ends. Since I had some household chores to do, I was able to leave it on for much longer then the minimum 10-20 minutes (I actually had it on for closer to three hours, so the deep conditioning effect should have been greatly amplified). I then hopped in the shower and shampooed the Ojon oil out of my hair, following up with a conditioner. After towel-drying, I applied a very small amount of Ojon as a leave-in conditioner, to subdue any remaining frizziness (as the package instructed).