Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Put The Breaks On Hair Breakage

You know that line, "Break yourself, fool!" from Superbad? Well, my hair was taking that euphemism literally.



My hair has been delicate, dry, and damaged – thanks to 25 years of chemical relaxers and a recent dependence on hot tools. As a result of my hair abuse, my ends were breaking off left and right. Every time I brushed or styled my hair, it was a sorry sight – little, broken hairs all over my shirt, bathroom counter and floor. Every day, I was pulling a Jay-Z and brushing my shoulders off.

My hair was, basically, breaking off as quickly as it was growing – which explains why my hair hasn’t gotten longer in the past seven years. And let me tell you…it was like salt in the wounds when a well-meaning friend suggested I "grow my hair out."

Obviously, if I stopped straightening, blow drying and using a flat iron on my hair, it would be in much better shape. But let’s get real – that’s not going to happen. Lucky for me, Pantene solved my catch 22 conundrum by developing a line of products that spoke to my issue. Seriously, the product description reads like it should have been prefaced with "Yo…listen up, Daneen."

The Pantene Pro-V Relaxed & Natural Breakage Defense collection is designed to strengthen hair against damage and provide 90 percent less breakage in one month.

The Present: Hair that you notice everywhere - on your brush, clothes and bathroom sink. The Future: Resilient, strong, healthy hair that has less shedding due to breakage.

Pantene Pro-V Relaxed & Natural Shampoo, Breakage Defense thoroughly cleans hair with a rich, airy lather without weighing hair down. It has a unique conditioning formula that makes hair easier to comb, helping to prevent breakage. And it leaves hair strong against damage, hydrated and healthy-looking. Pantene Pro-V Relaxed & Natural Conditioner, Breakage Defense has a Pro-Vitamin formula that is specially designed for women of color to help strengthen and moisturize each hair strand - from root to tip. It also shields each hair strand from future damage.

I've been using this shampoo/conditioner combo for the past two months and have noticed a decrease in shedding. I’m hoping that if I keep this up – and lay off the ole flat iron a bit – mermaid hair might be in my future. I've always dreamed of mermaid hair…

Anyway, if you're like me and you want to put the breaks on hair breakage, I recommend you give these products a try.*

*I believe Pantene is doing some re-formulation and discontinuing these products, so they are a little bit hard to find. Online shopping would be your best bet.