The difference is so stark between our hair before Wonder Water, and after, that we wouldn’t blame you for thinking the images have been Photoshopped. We can confirm, categorically, that they have not – and we were as surprised as you are.
We can’t get over how easy Wonder Water is to use, how much of a difference it makes, and how cheap it is. We’ve been desperately searching for a catch and we can’t find one.
There is one caveat. While we have noticed an improvement in the health of our hair over time, if your hair is especially damaged – particularly from bleach or heat damage – Wonder Water isn’t a miracle treatment for repairing it entirely. You may need something more intense (we highly rate Olaplex’s range), or even need a full salon treatment once salons open again.
It will, however, leave it looking smoother, at least masking some of the damage until you can repair it properly. It can also make your colour look brighter (as you can see in our before and after images) and give the appearance of healthier hair. All for the absolute bargain price of £9.99!
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| Amazon | £9.99 |
| Boots | £9.99 |
| Lookfantastic | £9.99 |
Despite the fact you can pick up some of the best hair masks for less than a fiver, giving our parched locks some well-needed TLC always feels like the height of luxury. The downside is that to get the best from traditional hair treatments, you have to wait. At best five minutes, at worst overnight. That may be about to change with the launch of L’Oreal Elvive’s Wonder Water.
L’Oreal Elvive promises that not only does this hair treatment restore your hair, it takes just eight seconds to work its magic. That’s not a typo, it literally takes eight SECONDS.
FURTHER READING: How does the lamellar hair treatment work?
This is because it uses a game-changing process known as lamellar technology, and which is why Wonder Water is often referred to as lamellar water.
You can read more about the history of lamellar water and the Kerastase version, K Water (only available in salons) in our lamellar hair treatment guide, or keep scrolling to read our Wonder Water review.
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The L’Oreal Elvive 8-second Wonder Water comes under the brand’s Dream Lengths range
As we explain in more detail in our lamellar hair treatment guide, lamellar water was developed by NeoPharm.
It combines oil and water in a way that mimics the “lamellar structure” found naturally in our bodies. This structure is what gives our skin and hair their natural barrier and helps them work more effectively.
Wonder Water is the brand name that L’Oreal Elvive has given to its own version of lamellar water (pictured)
It contains molecules that are up to 10 times smaller than those found in regular conditioners and when these molecules come into contact with water, they form a topcoat over the hair.
FURTHER READING: What does shampoo and conditioner actually do to your hair?
Despite its name, it doesn’t actually contain any water and instead uses so-called lipid compounds and cationic derivatives. In particular, it uses an anhydrous formula of glycol, amino acids and other agents which make it ideal if you’re trying to reduce the amount of water in your routine. You can learn more about waterless beauty in our clean beauty guide.
These form layers around hair fibres that need treatment, but they stay away from healthier hair.
In particular, it creates lamellar structures that are made up of fine, alternating layers of molecules that form an even bond with the hair. This instantly adds shine to your hair, it locks in any active ingredients from your shampoo or conditioner and acts as a barrier to protect your hair from pollution and damage. Including heat damage, to an extent.
Kerastase describes its own version, as a “suit of armour” and it goes behind simply making your hair *look* shiny, it also protects it from within.
So, does it work? In summary, yes. Very, very much so.
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To help you manage your Wonder Water treatment, the bottle has markers along the side. It advises you only need 20ml per treatment to get the desired effect, although if your hair is particularly long you can use more.
This doesn’t look like very much but we were surprised how little we used each time. Even when it felt like we were pouring loads out during our tests for this Wonder Water review.
You’re only really meant to apply it to the ends of your hair. If you get it on your roots, it’s not a big deal but it’s better suited to older hair; the hair that’s been out of your head the longest (which is the hair at the ends) because those have experienced more pollution and heat damage.
The way we apply it is be brushing our hair into a centre parting, placing sections of hair in the palm of our hand and then squirting the Wonder Water over the hair. This means any excess is caught in your palm and can be worked through the hair.
We then massage it into our hair for a minimum of eight seconds before moving to the next section. We have mid-length hair and divide our hair into four – front left, back left, back right and front right.
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mamabella/Victoria Woollaston-Webber The first thing you’ll notice as soon as you start massaging the Wonder Water into your hair is that it feels warm. This is normal (apparently) and shows that the lamellar water is working.
The heat comes from the reaction as Wonder Water mixes with the water.
As much as this sounds odd, it’s a really pleasant sensation and it shows that something is happening. Otherwise, it would just feel like pouring water onto your hair.
The Wonder Water doesn’t lather, but it does make the hair feel much smoother to the touch, immediately. As you massage it through, it detangles and makes it easier to coat each strand.
It’s so smooth, you don’t necessarily need conditioner after using this Wonder Water treatment. Mainly because the treatment creates a barrier that would stop your conditioner working as effectively, but that doesn’t mean you can’t, or shouldn’t.
FURTHER READING: Best conditioner and best hair masks
You can then either leave your hair to dry naturally or blow dry it. Blow drying will create a smoother effect, but the Wonder Water still manages to reduce frizz without blow-drying. This is particularly useful if you’re trying to cut back on how much heat damage you do to your hair.
The images below show you how well the treatment works.
The image on the left shows what our hair looked like after being roughly blow-dried before using Wonder Water. The image on the right shows what it looked like being roughly blow-dried after using Wonder Water.
mamabella/Victoria Woollaston-Webber The image on the left shows what our hair looked like after being roughly blow-dried before using Wonder Water. The image on the right shows what it looked like being roughly blow-dried after using Wonder Water
As you can see, the difference was both significant and highly impressive. We knew as we were blow-drying our hair, after carrying out our first Wonder Water review, that it definitely felt smoother than it normally does. It wasn’t until we compared the two images directly that we saw just how well it worked. Our hair also remained soft and had a lightweight nature to it for at least two days after.
The effect obviously wears off, unless topped up. You can think of Wonder Water as a hair moisturiser; moisturising once won’t keep your skin moisturised for good; you need to apply it regularly. The same goes for lamellar water.
This means that the next time you wash your hair, the protective barrier will largely be removed and the shine won’t be as strong. Yet over time, we’ve noticed an improvement in the health and movement of our hair.
The difference is so stark between our hair before our Wonder Water review, and after, that we wouldn’t blame you for thinking the images have been Photoshopped. We can confirm, categorically, that they have not – and we were as surprised as you are.
We can’t get over how easy Wonder Water is to use, how much of a difference it makes, and how cheap it is. We’ve been desperately searching for a catch and we can’t find one.
There is one caveat, though. While we have noticed an improvement in the health of our hair over time, if your hair is especially damaged – particularly from bleach or heat damage – Wonder Water isn’t a miracle treatment for repairing it entirely. You may need something more intense (we highly rate Olaplex’s range), or even need a full salon treatment once salons open again.
It will, however, leave it looking smoother, at least masking some of the damage until you can repair it properly. It can also make your colour look brighter (as you can see in our before and after images) and give the appearance of healthier hair.
L’Oreal Elvive’s Wonder Water is available from Amazon, Boots, Lookfantastic and more. We picked it up for just £5 when we bought it for this Wonder Water review, so you may also be able to get an even better bargain.
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Victoria is founder and editor-in-chief of mamabella, freelance journalist and Mum. She has a passion for empowering people to feel beautiful whatever their age, size, skin type and budget
