I just saw one of the Pantene Relaxed and Natural commercials (the one where the lead has like a thousand ringlets and they are having a “picnic” or something) and I’m asking the question…is that the lead model’s real hair? Sure, sure I know they use fake hair in all kinds of hair care product commercials for all races. I mean…I’ve seen very few women who have hair the reflects light like a mirror. However, when it comes to black women, I’d love to know if that’s a wig, half a head of weave, a few pieces for fullness…what??
One or two times I’ve seen that Pantene tries to be true to the natural in the title of their products, relaxed and natural. I’ve seen older models with very short hair cuts and models with kinky weaves. However, I’m a black woman who loves hair…I know a weave when I see one. I may not know the number of bags of hair or the color (1B is my fave when it comes to braid hair), but I know about texture and sheen. Nothing says weave like you real permed hair being kinda lack luster or dry and your weave being “just permed” shiny.
I’d be interested to know any black women out there like the line. I’ve read a few bad reviews. Hair care products can be a very particular thing when it comes to black women. My mom used the same comb for years and years, and would be pissed when it got misplaced. I’ve talked to sisters about perm strengths and hot oil treatments vs. cream conditioning treatments. The opinions abound in hairland. I think Pantene just wants a piece of the black hair market pie…and that’s a huge pie. I’m not mad at them.
23 Comments
January 14, 2008 at 9:33 pm
The conditioner was okay as long as i was wearing my hair curly, although i found Pantene’s conditioner for color treated hair (really, any conditioner for color treated hair works well on my hair- curly or straight) worked much better than this specialized line.
The cream oil treatment made my hair feel like a heavy, greasy and stiff mess. When i flat ironed, which i haven’t done for almost a year, i used a little cholesterol and my hair felt like hair.
January 14, 2008 at 11:19 pm
yuck…I hate products that leave your hair heavy and greasy. I’ve found that so many products that are marketed to black women just seem to be reformulated products that these companies already sell…they just add more grease to the mix and call it black hair care.
January 15, 2008 at 2:49 pm
I love their intense conditioner that comes in the little jar. Other than that, their products are crap.
January 16, 2008 at 3:01 pm
LOL, just giving my two cents I would have to say I think that her real hair. There is another Pantene comercial where the lead model is wearing her hair straight, and it is absolutely beautiful and shiny. It wouldn’t be that uniform in texture if it wasn’t. There are black women with long hair that is their own, I’m one of them. There are black women with long hair that’s super shiny ,what some would call “good” hair. I personally don’t agree with that term, becoming more enlightened as a black woman it equates “good” hair with being straight and “bad” hair with being tight curls which is most African-American’s hair in it’s natural state. And again, I said most. Some African-Americans have hair that is that texture without chemical processing, usually do to some multiracial parent/grandparent/great-grandparent. I had to laugh, because all my life I’ve had people constantly asking me if I have a weave just because I have brown skin and long hair. I still get it even though, to me, it my hair doesn’t look like a weave. I’ve had to tell people like “Yes we do exist, there are black women who have a lot of hair that is their own.”
January 16, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Oh, and I do use Pantene products. I use the “Midnight Expressions” for color treated hair. It intensifies my black shade and makes it very luminous and shiny. I’ve always had black hair, but relaxer’s have pretty much stripped my color making it kind of brownish. So periodically I use semi-permanent black rinses to bring me back to black.
January 16, 2008 at 6:34 pm
Cami, i have long hair too, thick and coarse. And when it’s flat ironed, it’s pretty shiny like you said. It used to get pulled when i was a teenager and people still ask if it’s mine. (Although, even if it was a weave, it’d still be mine because i’d've paid for it.
)
i hate that whole “good hair” ideology. It is a symptom of the effects the establishment has on our folks. Before i discovered the deep conditioning found in products for color treated hair, i was forced to choose those for “dry damaged” hair.
But my hair was not damaged, just different.
January 17, 2008 at 11:21 am
Re: C
Giiiirrrrl, I feel you on that. My hair is long, thick and coarse/frizz prone too after I first wash and dry it. Then once I flat iron it (I loooove my ceramic flat irons) it is very silky and shiny. And it cracks me up every time I get questioned as to whether or not my hair is a weave.LOL as if I have to be pale and almost white in order to have long hair that’s mine!
January 17, 2008 at 11:30 am
It may sound silly but I find myself wondering sometimes what I’m going to do with my hair when I’m an old lady. I don’t know if I’ll still be putting relaxer’s in my hair, whether I’ll let my hair go all gray or what. I don’t know that I’ll be up to putting relaxers in then, maybe I’ll have my daughter’s or future grand-daughter’s do it for me. And by then I don’t know if I’ll still have the mentality to care about my hair being straight. There’s a part of me, becoming more enlightened to the fact that having straight hair is conforming to European standards of beauty. And that part of me wants to go back to my natural hair state. But I think I’m still too young to be able to make such a drastic change. Superficial or not, I’ve grown accustomed to being the brown girl with the “long pretty hair”. And though I’m sure it would still be pretty if it wasn’t straight, even if it was dreaded into mini locks, it would be a different kind of pretty I’m not quite ready for. But really, I have plenty of time to ponder that one as I’m only 24. Maybe I’ll just brush my hair back into an old granny bun when I’m old. Lol
March 8, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Does anyone know if Pantene makes a pro-v relazer for black hair, and if so is it any good. pls rsvp to the hotmail address.
May 22, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Hi,
I have long, thick naturally curly hair that looks shiny like the models hair on the commercial. Becuase my hair is like caucasian hair( have to wash it everyother day because it oils up on its own), I use only caucasian products. The Pantene line I live by. I absolutely love it. But, the only product I use from the relaxed and natural line is the break defense conditioner. Otherwise, I use the line for curly hair or the sleek and smooth.
July 8, 2008 at 3:32 am
I’m biracial, but you can’t really tell. I’m dark to be mixed I’m about Tyra or Beyonce’s complexion. My dad is VERY DARK, so I don’t look like Alicia Keys or Jasmine Guy. Though I’m dark, I came out with naturally wavy hair that grows and grows and grows. I model professionally and I was chosen by a casting company to audition for Pantene. The requirement was that the model have real hair which was below the shoulder. I have hair below my shoulder blades and I’m constantly harassed because they think my hair is fake. I don’t care for Pantene’s products for women of color because it is a one-size fits all product. Sorry, I hate to say it, but African American women don’t all have the same type of hair! Perhaps we have some similar concerns, but why only designate a few cookie-cutter products to an entire population? I do use Pantene products which were meant for all hair types though. I find that it’s less heavy and it doesn’t build up in my hair.
July 23, 2008 at 5:01 am
this is addressed to “girl with real hair”
I am that same skin color that you are describing and in the black race that is not considered dark skin. Dark skin is someone similar to michael jordans color. Maybe someone white taught you that but not true dear.
August 6, 2008 at 4:55 pm
i just purchased a conditioner and SHaMPoo from the Pantene RelAxed and NAtURal
i hope it works i just cut off my relaxed hair and have no clue what to do NExt LOL..
August 9, 2008 at 1:17 pm
I am an african african with relaxed hair and i am chocolate brown. Hair is below shoulder length and sometimes people think its a weave. A friend recently gave me Pantene’s relaxed and natural shampoo, conditioner and intensive moisturizing oil lotion( it is not sold in the UK as far as i know). Am quite happy with the shampoo cos it washes greese out well with just two lathers. Conditioner is ok though i still don’t believe it can’t reduce hair breakage. I love the lotion because it makes my hair feel real smooth and adds shine but thats only when i use curlers or tongs , not just blow dry. The thing with long hair is that it is too time-consuming to maintain! However having said all that the best product for me ever since i started relaxing is the Dark and Lovely cholesterol conditioner. Somehow it changes my hair texture to sort of mixed race and it becomes really soft. What do you think? Probably will go back to that when Pantene runs out!
August 16, 2008 at 9:55 am
Sometimes my hair annoys me because it’s not like Caucasian hair and trendy like all my white friends so I know what you mean, no black person I know will have hair like that – unless it’s a weave.
Pantene doesn’t know about Afro hair, if they see a black woman with long shiny hair they won’t know it’s a weave and that black people’s hair doesn’t grow like that.
I’ve tried Pantene before and it just left my hair dry and broken.
But does anyone know any good hair treatments for my hair besides relaxing and perming (I don’t want my hair to break as it’s quite a length for a black person) and hair extensions/weave/wig (I’m not allowed to wear them)?
It’s almost impossible to get my hair right these days, it’s always “unstylish” and “not trendy” but what can we do?!
August 16, 2008 at 5:12 pm
i don’t think trends are good to follow. That’s just my opinion. Often, trends don’t consider different textures. There are caucasions that have dry or frizzy hair. Keep it neat, clean and easy and i guarantee, you’ll look beautiful!
i recently started using the TRESemmé Flawless Curls line and i love it. My older daughter has longish, tightly curled hair that was dry and hard to get through. We fought every time i had to comb it. But with the Flawless Curls, i can comb right through it! And her curls are shiny and soft.
Even with that recommendation, i’ve found that finding the right hair products is a trial/error process. i’ve had to try several products over the years to find what works for me and my girls.
August 18, 2008 at 6:05 am
Thanks for the tip
August 22, 2008 at 12:33 pm
I am a senior in high school and I see many hair trends within my generation. A lot of girls (not all) chose to wear their hair in a wrap or freestyle braids. I strongly dislike when people compare hair textures to good and bad. African-American hair is a gift that we should appreciate no matter what the “type” may be. We can do so much with our hair and have a variety of styles therefore I experiment with it all.
Two years ago I went natural so that my hair would grow. What were the results of this daring stunt? My hair is very thick, curly, and hard to manage. It has grown a lot considering I had to cut off most of it but there are not that many natural hair styles that I like. Therefore, I am switching back to a relaxer.
I used DOO GRO products for about eight years and it actually worked for growth. The Anti-Itch Shampoo works wonders for braids and twists. Their oil also is a must have because it revitilizes the roots without being left thick and greasy. But none of these products did anything for texture (making my hair soft, shiny, etc.) And it is somewhat expensive. I have also tried Motions which was a complete disaster making my hair super dry. The only thing that was somewhat useful was the Leave-In Conditioner which made it easier to pick out my afro. Proclaim has a heat protectant thats works really well whenever I got my hair pressed/flat ironed.
These are just a few of the products I’ve used. I have researched many different ones to find the line that will be most beneficial for relaxed hair. I have never used Pantene Relaxed and Natural but I have a feeling that it is like a used car. Great deal in the beginning but after a while it wears out. But I agree, finding the right products is a trial and error process. I am still searching for a line that will be the whole package. Hope my comments were helpful.
September 2, 2008 at 10:22 am
I have no African-American heritage whatsoever, but I do have Puerto Rican, Italian, and Egyptian. If you think you can imagine what my hair looks like, think again. It’s enormous (and I really do mean huge, I get daily comments about how much time it must take me to get it this big when all I do is step out of the shower), incredibly thick, curly, frizzy, dry, and has a very African-American texture to it. Even black girls don’t know what to do with it! So I understand where you’re coming from. I think that the models in the Pantene commercials are actually sporting their own hair. Between having top-notch stylists on scene, the great cameras and lighting, airbrushing computer technology, and the fact that anyone who is in a hair commercial simply must have great hair, anybody could look that fabulous in a picture or video clip!
I used to use the Pantene products but found that I just needed to use too much of it and it was too expensive to be using half a bottle every time I wanted to condition or wash my hair. I ended up just using the Equate versions made by WalMart, and it works just as well, plus it’s far cheaper.
I’ve never been able to pinpoint a good style for my hair. When I grow it long, (unlike most African-American hair, it can grow quite long without breaking, although I do get split ends) the curl loosens out into more of an S shape, but I can’t handle it. When it’s short, I get a very unattractive white-person ‘fro look. Anywhere in the middle, it looks like someone just hacked at it with a pair of garden shears. Any ideas for what I can do to get a good look and maintain it?
November 3, 2008 at 5:31 pm
I have extremly thick hair that grows long. Just this past Friday one of my co-workers told me he is convinced I’m not “all” blk because my hair is so thick, long, shiny, etc. This is a huge misconception and it is unfortunate that others as well as us feel that our hair can’t grow long and be thick…it must be a weave.
I have found that since I have been doing my own relaxers (reg/mild Bantu) and using Pantene conditioner my hair is the healthiest it has ever been. About 15yrs ago I stopped going to the shop to get my relaxers. I only go into the shop every 6-12 wks to get my ends trimmed. I get complimented on my hair constantly and people can’t believe I do it myself. Pantene (Classic Care) has been a blessing for me. Since my hair is so thick traditional blk poducts weigh my hair down. I have had a couple of stylist tell me Pantene is bad for blk hair but it has been tried and true for me for 15yrs. BTW I don’t like their women of color line my results are from the Classic Care.
January 31, 2009 at 3:42 pm
@ Gabrielle: What you (And others) call “AA hair” is really African/Black hair. People say “AA hair” to talk about the curliest/kinkiest hair texture, but everyone knows that the source is Africa. So, based on the ancestry you listed–Puerto Rican, Italian and Egyptian–you have African ancestry and that explains your hair texture and its similarity to the hair of African-Americans, as people from your ancestral countries have varying degrees of African ancestry.
I agree that the models are sporting their natural hair, but there aren’t large numbers of Black women with that type of hair. That said, Pantene, (and other hair companies) are trying to reel in the average Black woman buy selling the fantasy that using their products will give them hair like the models. I hope sistas don’t fall for the okey-doke.
April 26, 2009 at 1:07 pm
So, I am 16 and African-American (as in I am the first generation of my family to be born in America, the rest of them are all from Cameroon) and I used to relax my hair until about 3 years ago because it REALLY damaged my hair. It was very brown, thin, dry, and quite prone to breakage. So, when I stopped relaxing, I just braided it all the time. It was about shoulder length when I started, and I never actually cut off the relaxed part, it just broke off on its own with time… But anyway, it’s a a bit longer than that now and completely natural, and I still braid it (corn rows mostly, I’m too impatient for single braids/I have to have my hair redone quite often), but now I have found that when I try to leave it natural, I have no idea what to do with it. I do twists sometimes, but I want to have hair that I can just wash, put something in, and go out with a fro/ curls that are managable and not look like a crazy drug addict…. I have tried mousses and curl sprays, but they don’t really work (I assume because they are for white people). Does anyone have any advice for what I can do? I really don’t want to start relaxing my hair again, but I am going to be going to a camp this summer that is 6 weeks long, and there is NO way I can keep corn rows in that long without them looking horrid!
May 11, 2009 at 1:15 am
i actually love the shampoo and conditioner, it makes my hair feel really soft after a wash… my sister not so much on the same page with me. she says it because i inherired the “good hair”… either way ive been using it for almost 2 years and love it, smells good too