|
?:reviewBody
|
-
On 22 March 2016 a Facebook user published the above-reproduced status update, claiming that Pantene hair products caused a potentially dangerous reaction on the hair of a client who was getting foil highlights. According to the poster, a hair salon client complained that the foils in her hair (under which bleach had been applied) felt hot. The colorist maintained that upon examining the situation, he was shocked to discover that the foils were indeed hot to the touch and that when he opened them smoke [came] billowing out of the sealed foil. The stylist stated that after he asked all the typical question about product interactions, his client admitted that she used Pantene shampoo and conditioner on her hair. Oddly enough, the colorist then recalled two separate instances in which clients experienced adverse reactions to unspecified services, both of which shared a culprit: Pantene hair products. We contacted a colorist with two decades of experience in hair color about this claim, and she reported she had not encountered of such reaction with Pantene products during her years of experience doing highlight foils despite Pantene products' popularity her clients. Several other salon representatives with whom we spoke from a number of high-volume New York City salons stated they'd never seen nor heard of such a thing occurring either. A large number of clients across the U.S. likely use Pantene products daily and and highligh their hair, but social media are not awash in foil fire stories from harried hair salon-goers. We also contacted Pantene to ask about the claim. A customer care representative with whom we spoke said that Pantene's products were safe to use in combination with any typical salon service and reported she was unable to locate any reports of smoking foils despite the enduring popularity of hair highlighting. The representative stated that all Pantene products were thoroughly tested for reactions such ads the one described in the Facebook post, and none of that their testing had suggested any likelihood of a such an outcome. The representative did state that had the described incident occurred, it was possible something else used in the salon could have contributed to the reaction. The original poster referenced plastic and silicones as a culprit in the purported incident. Pantene lists all their product ingredients on their web site, and nothing in the ingredients list of one of their shampoos (Pantene Daily Moisture Renewal) was atypical or unusual: In fact, the drugstore product had many ingredients in common with the pricier, salon-favorite Bumble and Bumble Seaweed Shampoos: Of particular note is the fact that both products (one sold in salons, the other in Walmart stores) contain the popular silicon-based polymer Dimethicone. The ingredient similarities extend to conditioners, as Pantene Daily Moisture Renewal version bears the following list of components: Compared with Bumble and Bumble's Super Rich Conditioner, the formulations have many common ingredients: Of additional interest was the fact that the poster claimed Pantene contains plastic(s) among its ingredients. A chemophobic 2009 Salon item fingered one purportedly common plastic in shampoo as PEG-7M, but that substance is actually a common emulsifier present in the salon (not drug store) product referenced above. Sold on its own, the product is labeled as an all-purpose oil-in-water emulsifier. As it turns out, the plastic in Pantene rumor wasn't a new one in 2016. A 2008 post on the beauty science blog Beauty Brains examined then-swirling rumors around panthenol (a moisturizer and humectant) and panthenyl (used for moisturizing properties). In April 2008, the cosmetic chemists behind that blog fielded a similar question about plastic in Pantene products: The blog responded by suggesting that the plastic claim was started by stylists seeking to discourage clients from using less-expensive drugstore products. The blog also urged readers to obtain information about product formulations from additional sources, not just people trying to sell them things: (Note that the Facebook post quoted at the head of this article concluded by stating There is a difference between cheap and salon quality. Do not let anyone lie to you and try to say anything more ... The original question fielded by Beauty Brains in July 2006 involved a reader who asked whether it was true Pantene coats your hair with plastic or wax to make it seem smooth, soft, and shiny, instead of really moisturizing your hair. Their response explained how that myth got started and why it was easy to debunk: In the near-decade between the first appearance of the plastic in Pantene claim and the highlight foil horror story, none of the likely millions of salon customers opting for highlights apparently reported such a reaction attributed to Pantene in the online world. Ingredients in Pantene are not only identical to most other drugstore formulations but are also were highly similar to salon-brand products. The dimethicone used in Pantene is also present in many other high-priced hair formulations, none of which stand accused of being plastic or causing hair fires.
(en)
|
![[This page as RDF]](http://data.gesis.org/claimskg/static/rdf-icon.gif){kind=icon}