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Rarely did I get more requests for a review than I did when I showed you my last minute impulse holiday purchase, the L’Oréal Paris Dream Lengths 8 Second Wonder Water on Instagram.
The main problem was though that I wasn’t able to judge it fairly, seeing what I put my hair through when I was in France – I took up Stand Up Paddle Boarding, with a very flat learning curve to be honest, and pretty much spent half of my day with my head beneath the waves. Not very good for a bleached mane like mine, and very much NOT a regular hair situation.
So I waited until I returned, went for a post holiday cut and color to get rid of the dryness and then gave it another go.
How did the L’Oréal 8 Seconds Wonder Water perform – both under the holiday stress test and under normal conditions? And what is the Lamellar Technology they claim to use?
What the L’Oréal Paris Dream Lengths 8 Second Wonder Water claims
Wonder Water is a revolutionary new rinse-out hair treatment by L’Oreal Paris Elvive that will transform your lengths in just 8 seconds! Powered by Lamellar Water Technology the liquid conditioner formula resurfaces hair fibres for hair that is 10x smoother* with glassy shine and a silky touch- in just 8 seconds. It doesn’t just work- it works wonders!
Facts about the L’Oréal Paris Dream Lengths 8 Seconds Wonder Water
Prize and size
One bottle contains 200 ml and retails for 6,99 € at the German drugstore. Depending on your hair length and how much you use it should last you between one and three months.
Texture and scent
It looks and behaves like water, which makes it quite hard to apply without wasting, and has a strong floral scent that lingers in the hair long after rinsing. The most noticeable thing though is that it gets warm once you apply it to the hair – not hot, but a change in temperature you will notice.
How to use the L’Oréal Paris Dream Lengths 8 Seconds Wonder Water
You are supposed to apply it after shampooing by applying it to the hair, massaging it in for 8 seconds (not 10! – I wonder how they came up with the exact time) and then rinse and apply a conditioner if needed.
I quickly gave up trying to measure the recommended “dose” that is marked on the bottle and just poured some over my hair, focusing on the lengths and then rinsed. While I was able to get away with using just that when I was in a hurry, it was not nourishing enough to replace my conditioner completely.
Ingredients of the L’Oréal Paris Dream Lengths 8 Seconds Wonder Water
amic|solv|vc, Myristyl Alcohol emo|vc 4 2, Aqua/Water solv, Parfum/Fragrance perf, Dicaprylyl Carbonate emo, Tocopherol 
aox 0–3 0–3, Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Hydroxycitronellal perf, Phenoxyethanol pres, Arginine Pca h, Behentrimonium Chloride pres, Limonene perf|solv, Benzyl Salicylate perf, Linalool perf, Benzyl Alcohol pres|perf|solv|vc, Isopropyl Alcohol solv|vc|perf 0 0, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone perf, Geraniol perf, Cetrimonium Chloride amic|emu|pres|surf, Citronellol perf, Coumarin perf, Hexyl Cinnamal perfHover the mouse over an ingredient for short explanation. Read more on INCIDecoder.
First of all, I am not a hair care expert, so please don’t expect a detailed breakdown of the different ingredients. But from what you see you get a few conditioning agents, namely Cetrimonium Chloride, Behentrimonium Chloride and Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein and a whole lot of fragrant ingredients, many of which have to be listed separately due to their allergen potential.
The technology behind the product
So what is this Lamellar Technology L’Oréal claims to use in their product here? I think it refers to the formation of a lamellar crystalline structure by the used surfactant, something that a patent was applied for back in 2013. It supposedly helps with longer lasting hair softness, which sounds like the claims they make. As far as I know (but again, not an hair care expert), this is a pretty common technology used, which would make it more marketing than it making an actual difference in the hair.
Does it live up to its claims? Did the L’Oréal Dream Lengths 8 Second Wonder Water convince me?
No.
Which is probably due to the claims being incredibly exaggerated. I mean, “wonder” is a huge word.
While I have to say that my hair felt very soft and was great to comb through, this smoothness didn’t last longer than the first day after washing if I didn’t follow up with a separate conditioner, and I did not notice a drastic increase in shine.
It is a great quick-rinse-product if you are pressed for time and just want to pour something over, rinse and go, but as I need a dedicated conditioner on the regular, for me it is just an extra step that I really don’t see enough benefit from that I am willing to keep it up. And, but that is personal preference, I really dislike the strong scent.
How does it compare to…
Olaplex Hair Treatment
You simply can’t compare the two, as they are two entirely different products. While Olaplex claims a long-time repairing effect (More info: How does Olaplex work?), L’Oréal has a temporary effect that works quickly. Which one your hair needs more depends on how damaged it is and what better fits your lifestyle.
Would I repurchase?
No.
I liked the extra smoothing effect in times when my hair was under a lot of stress due to the salt water, but for everyday life I just didn’t see enough benefits to be willing to keep repurchasing.
Whom do I recommend it to?
Well, I probably wouldn’t recommend it to anyone as a must-have, but my friend Siobhan from Beautylymin likes it (she compares it to the Kerastase version here), so I guess it is more me not getting along with it rather than the product itself.
My current favorite hair care products can be found here
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