Warning About Pantene Shampoo and Conditioner for Women of Color

I was in a similar situation! my hair was to the center of my back now
it is chin length dry & brittle,the first time I washed it clumps &
clumps of hair came out,now it didn't get tangled or anything like
that bu strips of my hair literally came straight off my head it was
the scariest thing that I have ever seen I also called & complained
but didn't get a chance to talk to anyone because all they did was
transfer me three different times & then hung up I sent them a very
angry email but I doubt that's going to help..good luck with
everything I hope your hair situation gets a little better

I've been using pantene shampoo and conditioner since 1996 and when
they came out with pantene relaxed and natural I was so excited that
was until about two years ago when they changed something with the
shampoo and conditioner it's not the same at all the conditioner is
now the same as it is for none colored women trust me there is a big
difference and I don't like it at all it don't smell as good as it use
to smell either I also use the daily oil moisturizer which I loved
when it first came out it's not the same as well I really hate the new
tubes that the moisturizer is in because the color or whatever is
designed on the outside of the tube comes off onto my hand and fingers
when I squeeze the tube then it gets into my hair this is very
annoying and frustrating I really wish u all would go back to the
original product and the original bottle for the moisturizer over the
years I have recommended pantene products to all of my friends and
family even to women I see shopping for shampoo and or conditioner I
have become very dissatisfied with pantene products please fix these
problems because I purchase a lot of pantene products even the hair
spray .....

I'm sorry to hear about your experience. As a licensed hair stylist,
I would like to think that you had an allergic reaction to the
chemicals in this product. If you have sensitive skin it is always
best to do a patch or skin test to see if the product is going to be
problematic for you. I'm just taking a guess but it looks as if you
may have had a recent chemical process done to your hair just prior to
using Pantene or that you may have had some braids and did not comb
them out before shampooing. It just seems that there is more to this
than you're writing about.

I say this because I have used the dandruff shampoo and conditioner
Pantene for Women of Color as a personal, at home, (over-the-counter)
product for over 2 years now and I have had no issues. I have 11
years of locks that come down to my waist. I have to use alot of
shampoo to cleanse my hair. I can easily use half a bottle at one
shampooing and Pantene is a lot less expensive than what I would
normally use on my clients. Pantene leaves my hair clean with no
build-up and the conditioner is the best over-the-counter conditioner
I've ever used - and I've tried plenty.

Having sensitive skin, I too have broken out from different shampoos
in the past. I have found Pantene to be one of the safest products to
use and I use it on all of my family members who have natural hair.
If you relaxed your hair or colored it Pantene is not the product to
use after these chemical treatments. It will cause hair to knot up
and become brittle. Neutralizing shampoos are recommended for
relaxers and color safe shampoos are recommended for color treatments.
A licensed stylist is trained to know that certain chemicals cannot
be placed together. These special shampoos bring the hair back to a
normal pH balance and without them the hair is sure to sustain damage.


Lastly, if one has been wearing braids for months, takes them out, and
immediately tries to shampoo the hair without gently combing it out
first, they are in for a world of breakage. The knots that are
created by braids do not like to be shampooed. If the hair is going
to be wet after taking down braids it's best to use a conditioner
first followed by a gentle comb-out. However, I recommend combing the
hair out dry to avoid extra breakage.

OMG I am so sorry to hear that! I am horrified!! The same thing
happened to me but not at all close to your experience. I have used
pantene for the longest time but in the last year my hair is actually
falling out. My hair use to be thick and healthy but over time I it's
become limp, thin and brittel....I thought it was stress but the
minute I stopped using it I got some volume back and it's not breaking
as much. What the hell is wrong with Pantene!!! I hope you do hear
from them soon!!!

Jenn

I am not a woman of color, and I certainly sympathize with your
experience, Danita. No product on the market should produce these
horrible results; I believe the makers of Pantene should have been
more sympathetic and compensatory. However, I have had less than
satisfactory results using one of their products, also; I, too, wish
to air my views. I picked up a large bottle of Pantene Dry to
Moisturized Shampoo (mistake/bad move!) I tried the shampoo a couple
of times, and couldn't get it to lather; I thought the first time, my
hair was really dirty, or I didn't really give it a chance, so I tried
it again, with the same results. My hair, when dried, was really
greasy and seemed still dirty. I reported my results to the company,
and they never bothered to reply. The website seems to encourage your
feedback, but it is apparent that they don't really care. I won't be
buying any of your junk anymore, Pantene.

Donna,
Massachusetts

Thanks Danita for being honest about your experience. I am also very
dis-satisfied with the (new) Pantene for Relaxed and natural hair
Shampoo. I have used the Pantene brand for many years, and was glad
that we finally had a product for our hair type that was not only,
affordable but, made curly hair more manageable. My hair went from
healthy, silky, soft and flowing to dry and brittle. In using the
product my hair tangled badly,knotting at the ends. I have been in
agony all week. I want a resolution to this problem. I have complained
to all the retailers in my area about the new product change. I
attempted to contact Pantene's conern line, but was unable to get a
live representative. The formula has changed, unfortunately, not for
the better interest of the consumer. The new added chemical is harsh,
my hair is suffering. I hope all this attention will cause Pantene and
Proctor & Gamble to take notice, and realize the effects this has
caused to many African Americam women. We deserve to have beautiful
healthy hair too. Lets band together to get the old Pantene for women
of color back on the shelves.

Charlena G.

NEVER THIS IS SO UNTRUE AND I AM SURE YOU HAD OTHER ISSUES AND IT
WASN'T THE SHAMPOO AND CONDITIONER. I HAVE NATURAL HAIR AND SO DOES MY
SISTERS CLIENTS AND WE ALL SWEAR BY IT

Morning, I am not a woman of color but have (had) very thick frizzy
hair. VERY thick until 3 weeks ago. I have lost half my hair and
decided to google hair loss concern. Figured it as hormones or
something...pre menapause. Then I recalled it was about 3 weeks ago I
started Pantene with built in conditioner. My hair has been brittle
now and falling out at huge amounts . I have never had this happen
before and have used many different products. Non with built in
conditioners though. After reading this I am relieved that it
probably is not medical but a producy result. Dumped the entire bottle
a little while ago. My concern is , will the hair I have left continue
to fall out now that I have stopped using it. I used my old Suave
brand this am instead. Has anyone had success at keeping their hair
that is left after this disaster??!!!

I came on here to see if anyone else had the same experience as i did
with this product and I'm glad to find out that it wasn't just me that
this happened to and that it is in fact the product that is the
problem. I already use soft sheen carson optimum care shampoo and it
works wonders for my hair. I heard about pantenes new shampoo and
decided why not give it a try and see if its any better. Bad choice. I
used the shampoo and just like the woman above my hair became dry,
matted together and knotted. At first I thought it was my hair that
was the problem since i have been having trouble with breakage lately,
but then i used the conditioner and the same thing happened. I
normally deep condition for an hour with olive oils deep conditioner
and my hair comes out soft and moisturized, while when i used pantene
i couldn't even run my fingers let a lone a comb through my hair. When
i tried my hair was knotted and then started coming out in clumps,
LITERALLY CLUMPS. I right away re-conditioned my hair with my normal
conditioner and let it sit in so it could some how repair the some of
the damage that had just been done. After that i was able to comb
through my hair but not as well as i used to since it didn't reverse
all the damage. Even when i tired to moisturize my hair with my
detanglers and such nothing would help. In any case, i can say that i
WILL NOT be using this product again and it will be in my garbage very
soon.

This is crazy as hell. Why use something that you are not familiar
with? And, if the shampoo was so horrible, why use the conditioner?
10 hours, really? C'mon now. Either that is a bold faced lie or your
hair must have been near brillo pad texture from the start. I have
very fragile, weak, and over processed hair, and Pantene has worked
lovely. If your salon and stylist are so good, you would have been
recommended something other that what one buys at a convenience
store...vacation or not. Next time, try Design Essentials or
Mizani...and ginseng for a better memory!

I'm sorry for your experience with this product, but it truly works
for me. I've been using the shampoo and conditioner for 2 yrs and the
results is amazing. My hair has less to none shedding, and my hair
has grown tremendously. I've suggest to a few of my friends and
family members to use the products, and no problems so far. I'm going
to continue to use.

For me, I have used all kinds of shampoos and even went to the salon
and the recommended a nexxus brand claiming it would work. Before
then I was using pantene for women of color and it was working fine
for me Knowing the other shampoos I was using messed up my hair. The
Lady at the salon told me don't us pantene. After I used the whole
bottle of nexxus it messed my hair up soooo bad I went back to
pantene. It went to work and I saw the huge difference it made. I'm
Hispanic and black so I have a mix of both types of hair which is
really hard to deal with let alone finding the right shampoo to work
with it. Pantene is doing good for me too. I was thinking the person
that made this little article could have been allergic to some of the
products and maybe should figure out what it is that shes allergic to.

I am 24 years old and I just started using pantene for women of color
the anti-dandruff and the anti-breakage conditioner since march 2009.
My hair has grown a lot since then. I even go to a salon to get my
hair relaxed and my beautician even uses a different kind of shampoo
on me and it doesnt effect my hair. Not every shampoo works for
everyone. just bc you are a woman of color doesnt mean that this
shampoo is gonna work for you.

I have read your feedback about the Pantene product and I agree that
the product is not good. As a matter of fact, I think that for anyone,
with any type of non-stick straight hair, the Pantene product line
does a lot of damage to the hair. I don't what it is about the shampoo
and conditioners, it truly makes hair more dry and brittle.

I recall years ago, in the late 90's I tried Pantene and after one use
my dry hair turned to straw. Literally hours after I shampooed and
conditioned. No product benefits everyone, but I was truly surprised
that not only did it not help my already dry hair, but made it worse.
I haven't used it since until last week (September 10, 2009), when I
watched the commercial for their "new" Moisture Renewal and the claim
of how it's guaranteed to fix damaged hair. Well, I bought both the
shampoo and conditioner. I shampooed once, left the conditioner on for
about 5 minutes or so. I applied some Mousse and let it air dry. At
first it looked great and later in the day my hair puffed up and
looked like I had burned it with a chemical. I really thought maybe it
was the dry weather, although it has been dry for weeks and my hair
did not look this way before using Pantene.

So I didn't wash my hair the next day, but the following day I
shampooed again, and this time left the conditioner on longer thinking
it would do more good. Again, followed the same regimen of Mousse, air
dry. I did this in the evening before bed and when I woke the next
morning my hair was so "fried" looking, and when I wet it to style, it
made crunching sounds and the ends started breaking off. I went
outside and glanced in the car mirror because I was worried, and it
seemed like the product actually striped the color from my hair as my
dark hair looked reddish orange. I am not exaggerating, it looks like
I have burned my hair with relaxer or kept a perm solution on too
long.

I have put the two bottles back in the bag and taking them back to
Target. I will never, ever use any Pantene brand product. I don't care
what this company says to change my mind. I am not going to even
bother to call them. I don't want their coupon, I don't want to hear
them apologize, I don't want to explain this really bad experience.

I am sure there are plenty of people who's hair responds well to
Pantene, they have been around forever and have a huge selection of
products, but on thick, course hair, of any ethnicity, it does not
work well. I think it's made for people with already healthy hair that
is straight and long. That's what I think and that is based on my two
experiences several years apart. I didn't use or do anything different
the days prior, during or after using Pantene. I didn't put any
chemicals, or new styling product. I let my hair air dry, didn't over
comb it.

I think their is a problem in how it reacts to certain hair. Again, my
hair is short, thick and course. I do color it every 6 weeks or so and
have for years. I have used many brands of shampoo's and conditioners.
Some do great! Some don't. But none of them made my hair worse, and
break off like Pantene.

I am a Hispanic female and used to relax my hair every three months. I
have been using Pantene products since I was a kid in the late
eighties early nineties. I have recently stopped relaxing one year
ago. I started using Pantene for Women of Color just last month. Let
me tell you, it has done wonders for me and my daughters hair. It
literally made me feel like I have relaxed my hair. After blow drying
and combing our hair out---it made it feel healthy and natural. I also
flat ironed it and it felt GREAT!!! The way its supposed to feel just
as if you were at a salon. Pantene has been in our family for years
and I am sorry this happened to you. But, you do need to find what
works for you.

Zunilda
Flushing, NY

Two months ago I bought Pantene Curly Conditioner and smooth
shampoo... not the product for women of color. My hair was always so
thick that stylists would comment on it. Over two weeks my hair
strands started to feel thinner and pulled out easily. Then it just
began falling out. It took me too long to figure out that the only
change I made was to buy Pantene products.

I threw the bottles out, not even bothering to recycle. I don't want
to put whatever scary stuff is in those bottles into the water system.

THIS IS SO WEIRD.I WENT ON VACATION LAST WEEK AND I FORGOT TO PACK MY
GOOD SHAMPOO AND CONDITIONER.I WENT OUT AND GOT PANTENE PRODUCTS
BECAUSE I ORDER MY REGULAR HAI CARE PRODUCTS ONLINE.I WASHED MY HAIR
AND IT KNOTTED UP SO BAD I COULDNT GET A BRUSH THRU IT.IM WHITE SO IT
AFFECTED MY HAIR THE SAME AS IT DID WOMEN OF COLOR.I DONT KNOW WHATS
IN THIS PRODUCT BUT I WANT TO FIND OUT.MY NIECE ALSO USED THE PANTENE
AND HER HAIR DID THE SAME THING.MY HAIR STARTED COMING OUT SOME BUT IT
WAS BREAKING OFF MORE THAN FALLING OUT.IF ANYONE HAS INFO ABOUT WHAT I
CAN DO PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

I am so sorry to hear about your experience with using pantene hair
care products. It definitely worked for me and has saved me money in
that I don't go to the hair salon to have my hair done unless I need a
retouch. I've found that when I use the Pantene hair conditioner for
women of color, it softens the new growth which means I can wait an
extra few weeks before getting my retouch. I only wish I came across
this product during the years when I've been trying to save money. I
love this product.

I've been using pantene for two months now, not only on my hair but my
childern and clients hair. The results have been great my
hair,children, and clients hair is growing longer thicker and a shine
that i have never experienced. Every bodies hair can't take certain
products, I had a bad experince with african pride produts and I would
not recommend that produt to anyone. you have to find what works for
you.

I had purchased the Pantene Shampoo for Women of Color for my 4 year
old since she is mixed and most childrens shampoos do not condition
enough. After using it I always noticed there was quite a bit of hair
in the tub after bathing her. I always thought that the hair left in
the tub was from using rubber bands in her hair and it just made the
hair brittle. Recently while in the shower I grabbed my daughters
shampoo on accident instead of mine and from the moment I put it on my
head there was issues. It burned and itched really bad so I rinsed my
hair thoroughly and finished my shower. Well when I got out of the
shower my head was still burning and my roommate covinced to get back
in and rinse it some more. When I got back into the shower my hair
started falling out in clumps and my scalp felt like it was on fire. I
got out of the shower and went to the ER and was told it was a
chemical burn. By this point I had some small blisters and such on my
scalp and over 3/4 of my hair was gone. The hair that hadn't fallen
out was severly damaged and matted/fused together at the scalp. I was
left with no choice but to shave my head the rest of the way.

The next day I contacted pantene by email and their response was to
send me a refund check for the amount I paid for the shampoo and they
would forward my email to their health and safety department. So I
went from having hair a couple inches past my shoulders to being bald
and they didn't even care. We aren't even going into the emotional
trama. I was hysterical for the first 24 hours and then the days that
followed I would burst into tears everytime I looked in a mirror. I
have told everyone I know about this situation and doing my best to
get my story out there so no one else has to go through an experience
like this.

I'm sorry this happened to you. My mom and I have been using Pantene
Women of Color products since last summer, and we love it. It has been
great for our hair. We wash/condition once a week with Pantene, and
every other week we go to the salon.

BUT, one time we bought Pantene products from a new Beauty store in
town, and the bottles looked really old and dusty, we brought it home
any way because we were out of them. When we opened them, it just
didn't look/smell right, so we returned it the next day. I'm pretty
sure if we had used it, the same thing that happened to you would have
happened to us.

Now, we only get our Pantene products from stores we can trust
(usually CVS or stop&shop) to take old bottles off the shelves and
put on the newest ones. Pantene Women of Color has always worked great
for us, and I can't speak for my mom, but I will continue to use them,
I especially like the anti-dandruff shampoo and the intense
moisturizer shampoo & conditioner products. also, make sure to
follow the instructions as on the bottle and not a minute longer.

I have been using Pantene for women of color for the past 6 months and
o have nothing but good results from it. I am not saying what happened
to you is not tragic, which it is, my personal experience has been a
good one. I wish you all the best of luck in resolving this issue that
Proctor and Gamble SHOULD be responsible for.


Signed,

Annie
Ocala, Florida

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! For taking the time to write this
warning to others. I am SO sorry for your experience!. There was
probably some mishap in the production of the product, which can
happen b/c we are all human, but for Pantene to take no responsibility
for the damage their product caused is OUTRAGEOUS & INEXCUSABLE. I was
actually searching for products by Pantene that I can use for my hair,
but now due to their complete lack of customer concer, especially for
such an appalling situation, I will NEVER use their products again.
THANK YOU & BEST OF LUCK!

Alicia, MASS

Wow, this is a real issue, I can testify to this issue of hair
thinning/falling out and knotting up. My hair too was very thick and
long, now, it is very thin and fragile. I have a small black mark on
my forehead from the shampoo dripping, this is no conincidence.I want
something done about this; as a women of color, I treasure my hair. In
so many ways, my hair defines me, my mood, and my culture. More
testing should have been completed before putting this product on the
market. At first, the product seemed to be nice for my hair. Is there
anything that is going to be done about this drastiv and major hair
loss? I challenge the makers of Pantene to respond, own up for once,
don't ignore our feelings or our concerns, and heartaches. If you do
so, it will show that you don't stand by your product, don't care
about the women of color who purchsed your product and lastly, it will
verify that you are in the business to traumatize women of color by
not accepting responsibility for your actions. Please respond as you
would want someone to so for you.

Sorry about your experience if it's true, BUT.... I love Pantene's
women of color product. They're all very good products and the best
if you ask me. The conditioner leaves my hair very soft and
manageable. Pantene is GREAT!!!!! Maybe it was just the bottles you
purchased.

Earline

Your feedback was probably forwarded to the development department, if
it wasn't it should have been. You speaking directly to someone in a
laboratory is in my opinion unlikely-

Truth is without several complaints; the company will probably not put
resources into investigating your horrible experience. I was actually
shocked when I read your article because I love Pantene for Women of
color, so much so, that I have been having it shipped to me from the
USA. The product that ruined my hair was a L'Oreal Shampoo that is
still sitting bellow my bathroom sink full except for the tablespoon I
used that day.

Get a life! Your issue sounds like it has nothing to do with the
actual product. Or maybe you used a product or relaxer 2 to 3 weeks
prior and the Pantene aggrevated the situation. I've been using
Pantene for over a year and I have some of the most fragile relaxed
hair there is and I have never had an issue with my hair being so
tangled that it took 10 hours to detangle. Burn Marks, Come on! Stop
being a drama queen. I can understand having an allergic reaction to a
shampoo or conditioner because I have had plenty of those. Do you
really expect anyone to believe this nonsense story. If you had such a
bad experience with the products in the past, why be stupid enough to
use them again.

You should be ashamed, not Proctor & Gamble. I wouldn't be surprised
if you worked for the competitiion. This sounds like the type of
nonsense they would write.

Thank you so very much for putting this information out there I am
also a woman of color and I was doing some research on Pantane for
woman of color now I am glad I did and did not just go out and buy it.
I have never used any of their products and because of you and the
pain you had to go through I never will and I too will put the word
out not to use it
again thanks for the warning.

Marie
Milwaukee WI

I've been using Pantene for women of color for six months. I love
their products it has never given me any problems, it makes my hair
soft and gives my hair shine. Pantene has stop my hair from shedding.
My hair is long and healthy and I thank Pantene for that.I would
recommend pantene for all women of color. I'm very picky when it comes
to my hair and don't use just any type of products on it. I love
Pantene Products.

I am sorry to hear about your misfortune with Pantene, because I use
the products and find it to be very good. Yes, there is some tangling
of the hair, after shampooing But by using a extra wide tooth comb and
properly knowing how to comb out your hair I really didn't have a
problem. I check with my beautician and she went through the steps on
how I should wash and conditions my hair. She even compliments me when
I go every 6 weeks for my perm touch-up. I now use the breakage
defense and it is fabulous. I learn to pray before I do any and
everything and the Lord grants me favor.
Be Bless
carlinda@aol.com

My name is Cynthia. I was very sorry to hear what happen to you hair.
I am also a woman of color and I also used the Pantene products for
women of color. I too had complaints about the products that I used
from Pantene. The harsh ingredients that the products contain left my
scab very dry and sore. I no long use any product with harsh
chemicals. I started using a different product and I have had very
good results. I would love to share with you the name of the
products. You can email me at cybrown551@verizon.net.