Okay, so I bleached my hair for the third time this year. Don’t judge me. The point is, my ends felt like straw and looked like a shredded wheat biscuit. I was scrolling Instagram, avoiding my split ends in the camera, when I saw an ad for the West&Month Black Sesame stuff. I was skeptical, but also desperate.
First Impressions & The Smell Test
Listen, the packaging is cute. Very minimalist, which I appreciate. But can we talk about the smell? Honestly, when I first opened it, I was like, “Oh, this smells like… sesame oil and a forest?” It’s not a bad smell, just… unexpected. It’s that rosemary oil mixed with the nutty sesame. After a few uses, I kinda grew to like it. It smells healthy, you know?
How I Actually Used It (Spoiler: Not Exactly Per Instructions)
The bottle says to apply to a towel-dried scalp and hair. I did that sometimes. But honestly? My favorite way to use it was on my dry, second-day hair. I’d take a few drops, rub them between my palms, and just scrunch it into my ends. Like, mid-day, when my hair was looking particularly sad and frizzy. It was a lifesaver. It didn’t make my hair greasy, which is a miracle because my hair is fine but gets oily roots fast.
What I Noticed After Two Weeks
Here’s the thing. This isn’t a magic potion that seals split ends overnight. Anyone who tells you that is lying. But after about two weeks of using it 3-4 times a week, I could run my fingers through my hair without them getting caught on a thousand little broken strands. The dryness? Way better. My hair just felt… softer. More pliable. Less like it was going to snap if I looked at it wrong.
I made a quick comparison chart for you lazy folks who, like me, don’t want to read a novel.
| West&Month Essence | My Old Drugstore Serum | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $$$ ($32.99) | $ ($9.99) |
| Main Stuff | Black Sesame, Rosemary Oil, Vitamin E | Silicones, Fragrance, Some Oils |
| Effect on Dryness | Nourished, less brittle | Coated it, felt slick but not nourished |
| Feel | Absorbs well, not heavy | Sometimes weighed hair down |
The Not-So-Perfect Part (Gotta Be Real)
Alright, I gotta say two things. One, the price. It’s $33. That’s not nothing. A bottle lasts a decent while because you don’t need much, but the initial hit is real. Two, if you’re looking for explosive volume like the ad might suggest… temper those expectations. My hair definitely feels fuller and healthier at the root, which gives the illusion of more volume. But it’s not a root lifter spray. It’s a treatment.
Final Verdict? Would I Buy It Again?
Honestly? Yeah, I think I would. I was binge-watching Netflix last night and absent-mindedly touching my hair, and I realized it just feels… better. It’s not a dramatic, post-haircut level of change. It’s a subtle, “my-hair-is-actually-getting-healthier-from-the-inside” feeling. If your hair is fried, dry, or just generally pissed off at you, this is a really good SOS treatment. It’s become my go-to for taming the daily frizz and giving my ends some love.
It’s not a miracle, but it’s a really, really good product. And in a world full of hair care hype, that’s saying something.
