Pantene Myth Busted!

[bunnylake]

Sorry if this is old news... but I thought I'd share this info with you all about the rumor that Pantene is "bad" for your hair.


"P&G, makers of Pantene, have a HUGE research budget. Certainly larger than any salon company. That means they can afford to dedicate resources to developing and testing the best formulas possible. We’ve seen Pantene formulas beat the pants of salon products in blind consumer testing."
-http://thebeautybrains.com/2006/07/04/is-pantene-good-or-bad-for-my-hair/

"Pantene Shampoos and Conditioners do not contain wax. Although Pantene has unique and proprietary ingredients based on recent technological advances, the classes of ingredients (silicones, fatty alcohols, cationic polymers and cationic surfactants) are used consistently across the hair care industry."
-http://thebeautybrains.com/2009/01/18/pantene-is-bad-for-hair-myth-busted/ (http://thebeautybrains.com/2009/01/18/pantene-is-bad-for-hair-myth-busted/)


This really makes me happy, because I used to use Pantene when I was younger and I LOVED it. The only reason I stopped using it was because of that myth that it coated the hair in wax/made it fall out.

I was looking at the Pantene site and they actually have their own hair myths page. Interesting stuff:
http://www.pantene.com/en-US/hair-science/pages/hair-myths-exposed.aspx
(http://www.pantene.com/en-US/hair-science/pages/hair-myths-exposed.aspx)
Of course Ice Shine is now on my shopping list.
xo!

[akilina]

Very interesting!
I am not anti pantene too badly. I used to use it when I was a teenager.The only reason why I do not like it is that It really does not work for me anymore personally, and I have seen people with horrifyingly nasty hair that they "just washed with pantene".
They may not contain wax but I always wonder..why does it get such a nasty waxy feeling buildup for some people?

For me...its not an issue of being a stylist and having to "push expensive product". I am really not even concerned about product as much as I "should be" probably :)
I worked at a hair mill and my evil old Satan/Hitler/nasty woman/ disgrace manager I had before our buy out was always on my case complaining at me, about me >_<

Most of the time it was not even appropriate to mention product because they could hardly afford the $13 haircut, and its pretty obvious to read someone and tell they do *not* want to hear about product. *not sure why I am justifying myself lol*

I always tell people if something works for them, then why not keep using it? Even if it is something I don't like and if they ever want to try something new I would be happy to help them :)

Thanks for the info!! Its pretty interesting.
Hoping and "praying" this doesn't turn into "Man, hair dressers are sooo stupid" thing >.<

[Iolanthe13]

Very interesting!
I am not anti pantene too badly. I used to use it when I was a teenager.The only reason why I do not like it is that It really does not work for me anymore personally, and I have seen people with horrifyingly nasty hair that they "just washed with pantene".
They may not contain wax but I always wonder..why does it get such a nasty waxy feeling buildup for some people?


Do you reckon it could be protein build-up, or panthenol, which apparently gives some people problems? I had some really awful waxy build-up from a Garnier shampoo and conditioner years ago, though I never figured out what it was. I guess maybe people who are less knowledgeable than LHC members about hair might do better with the guidance of a stylist, since they'd be less likely to know whether to avoid protein or not, for instance.

[bunnylake]

Do you reckon it could be protein build-up, or panthenol, which apparently gives some people problems? I had some really awful waxy build-up from a Garnier shampoo and conditioner years ago, though I never figured out what it was. I guess maybe people who are less knowledgeable than LHC members about hair might do better with the guidance of a stylist, since they'd be less likely to know whether to avoid protein or not, for instance.

Yeah, I can't imagine what it could be about Pantene that is so unique it causes more build up for people than other products. Other products contain way more cones. It could be the panthenol, which keeps protein from leaving the hair.

[Henrietta]

Thanks a lot for sharing this. I like their myths page. Simple language of science for humanists, yaay! :)
The whole "Pantene is bad" thing never convinced me. I like it! The smell, effects... I only miss the old bottle design.

[akilina]

Do you reckon it could be protein build-up, or panthenol, which apparently gives some people problems? I had some really awful waxy build-up from a Garnier shampoo and conditioner years ago, though I never figured out what it was. I guess maybe people who are less knowledgeable than LHC members about hair might do better with the guidance of a stylist, since they'd be less likely to know whether to avoid protein or not, for instance.
I just don't know. I have had a waxy feeling too from that, as well as Herbal Essences.
I will say though, that I learned much much more about chemicals and ingredients from here in LHC and research on several different cosmetic databases online than I did in school. They only taught the basics really.. about silicones, protein, moisture, basics like that :( My old text book has quite a bit of great into though too.

I kind of assume that protein build up would be more identified by hair breaking off. I have never personally had protein build up though :/ I have never had build up from panthenol either.
I feel pretty lucky I guess..I tend to never really get build up normally. I just started using "Sebastian: Drench" and I am desperately hoping it doesn't start to build up.

[bunnylake]

I've never experienced any type of build up except for protein. I have no idea what silicone build up feels like! Funny because I used cones without sulfates for years.

[hufflepug]

my hair seems to like pantene and herbal essences best, so I guess this is good news for me. I've tried to go sulfate free but it never seemed to get my hair clean.

[lapushka]

my hair seems to like pantene and herbal essences best, so I guess this is good news for me. I've tried to go sulfate free but it never seemed to get my hair clean.

Same for me. I need the harsher cleansers. I love HE & Pantene.

[bunnylake]

After all the alternative washing methods I've tried, nothing has really wowed me. I think my next experiment will be sulfates and silicones, in that order!

[MrsGuther]

I really like Pantene deep conditioner. When I was younger I used Pantene shampoo and conditioner on a regular basis and it was my favorite!

[virgo75]

Great find bunnylake! :cheer:

I used Pantene for years and years and never had problems with it - until they changed the formula and scent a couple of years ago. :( Only then did I get any kind of buildup from it. But even then, I get worse waxy buildup from "natural" or organic type of products. :shrug:

The myth about it being so terrible always seemed like a joke to me considering: 1)Pantene products have the same ingredients as salon products. All those silicones etc. in the $3 bottles of Pantene are in the $30 bottle of salon products. Don't get me wrong, I like some salon/high end products too, but Pantene doesn't have the monopoly on so called "bad" ingredients. 2)I've seen way too many healthy, long hairs(my mom included) who have waist + length hair that use Pantene exclusively. 3)When my hair was at it's longest and healthiest in the past, Pantene was all I used.

[Rhoward]

Thanks for the info bunnylake, Pantene just made my shopping list:happy dance: Pantene is supposed to be good for preventing spilt ends, which means less trims and longer hair! yay

[Rhoward]

Thanks for the info bunnylake, Pantene just made my shopping list. Pantene is supposed to be good for preventing spilt ends, which means less trims and longer hair! yay :happydance:

[bunnylake]

I just bought the ice shine conditioner. I reeeeally hope it helps my weird frizz! I didn't get the shampoo yet... It's been so many years since I regularly used sulfates and I'm being a chicken!

[raingirl]

I like Pantene but generally won't buy anything by P&G now. I hear they do some pretty severe animal testing. I don't know if it's true though, but I try to stick organic/natural anyway.

[ratgirldjh]

I really like Ice Shine.

And I have had the experience over and over of seeing someone with a beautiful head of LONG hair and asking what they use and it has been Pantene almost every time!!!

Guess it works for some people.

[MasCat]

Well, when I used pantene recently I had a feeling my hair was extremely... I don't know - plastic-like? It was very slippery, but also the static was heavy. It looked really nice though :)

[wendyg]

The Beauty Brains is a very clever site with quite a bit of good information. Nonetheless, that doesn't make Pantene a good choice for everyone. It, taken together with London's very hard water, was *terrible* for my hair, no matter what they think.

wg

[lastnite]

I always wondered why salons/hair stylists said Pantene is bad for your hair... it has the same ingredients as many other drugstore brands. Sounds like it was a rumor or misread, kind of like how they are misinformed on all henna being bad for hair.

that said, I wouldn't trust all the myth buster articles on the Pantene website itself, it's just to promote their products. Their products still have harsher sulfates- saying it's ok to shampoo often might cause some people's scalps to produce even more oil. Cones don't build up- maybe they don't if you are using their shampoos, don't most cones require a sulfate shampoo to remove them? There's no way cones know how to target just the damaged areas of hair?

[bunnylake]

I always wondered why salons/hair stylists said Pantene is bad for your hair... it has the same ingredients as many other drugstore brands. Sounds like it was a rumor or misread, kind of like how they are misinformed on all henna being bad for hair.

that said, I wouldn't trust all the myth buster articles on the Pantene website itself, it's just to promote their products. Their products still have harsher sulfates- saying it's ok to shampoo often might cause some people's scalps to produce even more oil. Cones don't build up- maybe they don't if you are using their shampoos, don't most cones require a sulfate shampoo to remove them? There's no way cones know how to target just the damaged areas of hair?

I've read a lot of conflicting articles about sulfates and cones. A LOT. And I'm thoroughly confused. So, my solution is to just use what makes my hair feel and look good. I think sulfates are only harsh for some peoples scalps. Others do fine with them. Back before I knew anything about hair, I used sulfates every single day and I never had a problem. Never had a problem with cone build up either, even without sulfates. As for cones being removed only with sulfates, I've read conflicting things about that, too! It is really difficult to navigate through so much conflicting information about ingredients.