Now, for years and years I have heard all the glamour and horror stories about Pantene and I personally have used Pantene off and on for years and years and I am willing to say
that I never had any issues. However, I am a product junkie and can never seem to commmit to one product for more than a few months (Oh hell, who am I kidding, weeks). Pantene is the only shampoo and conditioner that my husband and daughter will use. I have done alot of researchin the past 10 years and read countless reviews. It seems people either love or hate Pantene and even have some pretty strange beliefs about the product.
Some of the things I have read are "Pantene is the devil"- whatever, "Pantene kills your hair"- hair is dead anyway nothing can "kill" it, "Never use Pantene, it is so bad for your hair"- myth, "Pantene makes your hair fall out"- myth- although alot of people take this as fact, "Pantene contains bad chemicles"-myth, "Pantene contains wax"-lie, better yet "floor wax- lie" "Pantene worked great at first then stopped working and dried my hair out"- myth- it doesn't stop working, however, there is some truth to this- explained later. I have even read the most outrageous lie that "Pantene contains animal urine" this one supposedly came from a hairdresser.
On the other hand I have also read claims that "Pantene saved my hair", "Nothing makes my hair prettier than Pantene.," "Pantene is the best ever". "I have used Pantene for 20 plus years and will never use anything else". "I only get compliments on my hair when I use Pantene."
Now, how can one product have such rave reviews and horrible stories about it at the same time. Lets break it down.
First off Pantene is not a magical potion. It contains ingredients found in virtually every other shampoo and conditioner on the market today. Yes, even some "all natural" and sulfate free shampoos contain ingredients found in Pantene. I mean, really, there are only so many ingredients out there that can clean or condition hair.
What Pantene does contain in both its shampoos and conditioners are silicones. Now, silicones have thier own set of myths and lies regarding them but what it boils down to is this. Silicones are great hair conditioners-fact. However, silicones can cause buildup-fact. Pantene is not the only shampoo/conditioner system to use silicones-fact. Most shampoos (especially conditioning shampoos) and conditioners on the market use silicones-fact. Pantene does however, use alot of silicones in its products.
Silicones are responsible for making hair smooth, soft and shiny but when they build up hair will look dry, dull, feel almost like straw and can possibly cause eventual breakage. Those with thinner, healthier hair will notice build up quicker than those with very dry, damaged ,overprocessed and coarse hair. Dry/damaged/coarse hair needs more conditioning which is why it takes longer for buildup to be noticed. Silicones are not the only conditioning product to cause build up. ALMOST EVERY CONDITIONING PRODUCT WILL CAUSE BUILDUP EVENTUALLY, including oils, which are a big natural conditioning agent. Therefore, a weekly or bi-weekly "deep cleaning" using a "clarifying" or silicone free shampoo will remove this build up. I think a weekly deep clean is needed no matter what shampoo/conditioner you use, unless it is truly silicone/oil free. Or, you can just simply "rotate" different shampoos and conditioners, as the different formulations can assist in removing old build-up but then the cycle starts again. Build up is why many people claim thier shampoo and conditioner "stops working".
Pantene shampoos (the most current formulation as of early 2012) use sodium lauryl sulfate as their main cleansing agent. Again, much like silicone, sulfates have their own myths and lies surrounding them. We could go on all day about sulfates but here is the bottom line.
Sodium Lauryl sulfate is a strong detergent cleanser. IT IS NOT HARMFUL.IT DOES NOT CAUSE CANCER OR ANYTHING ELSE!!!! However, it can cause scalp and hair dryness in SOME people. One way to tell if you are sensitive to sodium lauryl sulfate is if your head starts to itch a few day after continued use. I have this issue so I have learned to avoid ALL shampoos that contain sodium lauryl sulfate as it is NOT only used in Pantene. I only use shampoos that contain sodium laureth sulfate and few to no conditioning agents in conjunction with co-washing (another post). Pantene does try to buffer the effects of sodium lauryl sulfate with alot of conditioning agents in many of its it shampoos, so the shampoos themselves also can cause eventual build-up.
Here's the lowdown. If you want to give Pantene a try go for it. They are, after all, the biggest name in hair care. Pantene conditoners are some of the best on the grocery store shelves for giving you shiny, silky hair. If you really liked Pantene but changed brands because you think it "stopped working" go ahead and use it just use a non-conditoning shampoo once a week or so ( Suave naturals are great for this) to remove build up. If you are sensitive to strong cleansers don't use Pantene shampoo, (or any other shampoo using sodium lauryl sulfate and even TEA-lauryl sulfate, ammonium lauryl sulfate and ammonium xylenesulfonate for that matter).
The best advice I can say it do some research on shampoo/conditioner ingredients, and read the back of the shampoo/conditioner bottle.
For more in depth information on sulfates and silicones visit the beautybrains.com or cosmeticcop.com ingredient list. They are very helpful websites based on science and not myths or personal beliefs about ingredients or scaremongering like some "all natural" websites promote.
