Finding the right shampoo and conditioner can feel like an overwhelming task when you’re faced with aisle upon aisle of choices. Some are cheap, some are expensive, but only a few are beloved by beauticians.
Pantene, also known as Pantene Pro V, is not one of the hair care brands recommended by beauticians. In fact, Pantene is one of the most disliked hair care brands around, especially by professionals.
There are a number of reasons Pantene isn’t up to par with salon quality hair care products, but the reasons might be more nuanced than you think. Why do beauticians hate Pantene?
The Origen of Beauticians’ Hate to Pantene
While not all the Beauticians hate Pantene, some of them do because of a few ingredients contained in their shampoos and conditioners; sulfates and parabens.
As with many products we use on our hair and body, the simpler the product is, the healthier it will be for us. Pantene is a mid-range drug store brand that sells shampoos, conditioners, body washes, and other hair products. It is relatively inexpensive, most products costing less than $6.00 a piece.
Americans spend, on average, $77 on hair care products, so it’s easy to see why people are looking for the best price when it comes to things like shampoo. Pantene might be easy on the wallet, but beauticians seem to think it is anything but when it comes to your hair.
Most beauticians recommend high-end hair care products that are sold in their salons, like Paul Mitchell or Nexxus brands. These products are great for your hair, but they can be almost double the cost of the same Pantene product. The biggest draw for salon-specific shampoos is that they are paraben and sulfate free.
Pantene has recently released some products that are also paraben and sulfate free, which is great news for those that love the brand.
Let’s look at these two dastardly ingredients:
- Paraben – Parabens are preservatives found in some shampoos and conditioners. Examples are methylparaben, butylparaben isobutylparaben, and ethylparaben.
- Sulfates – Sulfates are harsh cleansers found in shampoo and conditioners. The most common are sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate.
Pantene as a Bad Shampoo
Let be clear, Pantene is NOT a bad shampoo, but the fact that it contains sulfates, parabens, and silicone make many of their products not ideal for healthy hair.
Pantene definitely isn’t a beloved shampoo choice by beauticians, but at least the cleansers in it aren’t too harsh, and it’s unlikely to do any actual damage to your hair.
The problem with Pantene is that it uses things like silicone to make hair appear shiny and smooth, but in reality, the silicone is only a coating on the hair strand. There is no real damage fixing happening.
Sulfates are the main cleansing agent in Pantene, and it doesn’t always do a great job in getting hair completely clean and removing buildup like sprays and gels. Combined with the smoothing silicones and the unpleasant preservatives present in Pantene, this shampoo doesn’t rank well with professional hair stylists.
That being said, it’s far from the worst shampoo on the market. Pantene is simply average, or maybe slightly below average. It’s mostly safe for colored hair and there are products in the Pantene line for sensitive scalps. If Pantene works for you, there’s nothing wrong with continuing to use it.
Pantene and Hair Damage
For those who ask themself if Pantene will damage your hair, No, Pantene will not damage your hair, but some of the shampoos contain alcohol, which sometimes can strip dye from colored hair.
Pantene has an extensive line of shampoos and conditioners for all types of hair and hair needs. There are formulas for thick hair, dry hair, thin hair, oily hair, and even colored hair.
If you’ve paid to have your hair colored, then you’ll definitely want to avoid prematurely stripping that haircolor with the wrong type of shampoo. To keep your color pristine, always choose a color safe shampoo, even if you have to choose Pantene.
Besides the possibility of stripping color, Pantene is unlikely to cause any real damage to hair. Instead, the worst it can do is mask damaged hair, so it’s harder to tell when your hair needs help.
Pantene can hide damage because of the silicone in it. Silicone will coat strands of hair and make it appear smooth and healthy, but this can unintentionally cause someone to not notice how damaged their hair really is.
This becomes a problem especially when combined with harsh hair modifications like bleaching and coloring. If a beautician thinks they’re applying bleach to healthy hair, but the hair is actually damaged, the hair might break off irreparably.
This becomes a problem especially when combined with harsh hair modifications like bleaching and coloring. If a beautician thinks they’re applying bleach to healthy hair, but the hair is actually damaged, the hair might break off irreparable.
Pantene is a Good Hair Product
While Pantene will never be a favorite for some beauticians, they have released some products more recently that are sulfate, silicone, and paraben free. These shampoos and conditioners are free from the problematic ingredients that have made it a notoriously disliked brand of hair care products.
Here are just a few of Pantene’s new shampoos and conditioners that are sulfate, silicone, and paraben free:
- Pantene Miracle Moisture Boost with Rose Water
- Pantene Illuminating Color Care
- Pantene Gold Series
- Pantene Nutrient Blends Rosemary
- Pantene Hydrating Glow Baobab Essence
Bad Ingredient in Pantene
The bad ingredients in Pantene are sulfates, silicones, and parabens.
Pantene doesn’t have a bad reputation for no reason. While it isn’t a terrible choice when it comes to drug store shampoos and conditioners, it does contain some not-so-nice ingredients.
The 3 ingredients that get the most scrutiny are:
- Parabens: Preservatives
- Sulfates: Cleansers
- Silicone: Rubbery polymers that adhere to hair
Conclusion
Most beauticians aren’t a fan of Pantene because it is a drugstore brand of hair care products that just doesn’t live up to professional, salon hair products. Pantene contains sulfates, parabens, and silicones, 3 unpleasant ingredients that salon hair care products don’t have.
That being said, Pantene isn’t all that bad. As far as cheaper hair care products go, Pantene won’t damage your hair at all, and will get it pretty clean. The worst that can happen is some dye stripping from using the wrong product on colored hair.
Pantene has also released some higher-quality products as of late, so maybe it’s time to give this maligned brand a second chance.
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