Product Review: Pantene Relaxed and Natural Breakage Defense Deep Conditioning Mask

Although I really liked the Neutrogena Triple Moisture Deep Recovery Hair Mask, it has protein in it, and I needed a solely moisturizing deep conditioner. I have been using the Pantene Relaxed & Natural conditioner for years, and have read good things about the mask. It's was little hard to find. I didn't see it at my local CVS, Walgreens or Rite Aid, but Target had it for a little over $5.

Description

Hair Treatment Uses For women of color. The Present: Extremely brittle, dry, damaged hair that sheds excessively. The Future: Resilient, stronger, healthy hair that has dramatically less shedding due to breakage.

Directions

After shampooing, apply desired amount of Deep Conditioning Mask to hair, concentrating on areas that need special attention. Leave mask on hair for desired length of time. Rinse, dry and style as usual. For maximum conditioning, wear a plastic shower cap and sit under a heated dryer. For best results, use with other items in the Breakage Defense Collection.

Ingredients

water, stearly alchohol, amdimethicone, behentrimonium choride, cety alcohol, coconut oil, jojoba seed oil, panthenol, pathenyl ethyl ether, fragrance, lysine hcl, methyl tyrosinate hcl, histidine, benzyl alcohol, disodium edta, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone, sodium hydroxide

My Exprience

Last night, I pre-poo'd with vatika oil and Organix Vanilla Conditioner. I left it in my hair for about 45 minutes while I mowed the lawn. I washed once with Elasta QP Creme Conditioning shampoo and co-washed with V05 Strawberries n Cream. I applied a black rinse from Clairol's Beautiful Collection to my roots and left it in for about 25 minutes- 10 with heat. I rinsed it out, and applied the Pantene R&N Conditioner and combed it through, just to soften my hair up after the color. After I rinsed, I applied about a dime-sized amount of the Breakage Defense Mask to 4 sections of my hair. I covered with heat for about 20 minutes. When I rinsed, I could feel how soft, silky and de-tangled my hair was! I did my usual routine of Giovanni Leave-in, coconut oil/water spray and diluted Dudley's setting lotion to set my hair. Even as I was setting, my hair had so much 'slip' that my hair was sliding off the rollers. When I took the rollers out, my hair extremely silky and soft. I'm 6 weeks post relaxer, and it looks like I'm about 3. This morning when I combed my half-wrap out, my hair had so much bounce! My roots were a little thick, so I pressed them down with a curling iron, re-wrapped and my hair falls much better.

This is definitely a keeper! I've been thinking of creating a regimen for when I'm past 4 weeks post-relaxer, and this product has to be part of it. Maybe I'll be able to stretch longer than 8 weeks. As I walked to the train station this morning, I couldn't help looking at my hair in every car window I passed! My hair usually looks better a day or 2 after I wash it, so it might look even better tomorrow!

I have decided that after my bottle is finished, I'm not coloring my hair black anymore. I like how full and thick my hair looks, but the black seems too severe sometimes, especially in the colder months when my skin is paler. Now that my hair is not as damaged, I think doing a color in the brown/red family will look just as nice.