Winter Hair: Pantene Review

This post is written in affiliation with Pantene Pro-V. All opinions are my own.

When it comes to anything beauty, my hair always comes first. Want to give me the best compliment of my life? Skip the eyes, skip the shape I'm in, skip anything and everything. Go straight to my hair. If you compliment my hair, I'm putty in your hands. Seriously.

Husby will attest that I'm borderline neurotic when it comes to haircare. I refuse to use drugstore brands on it, and oh my goodness if we're out of town and I forgot to pack shampoo and conditioner you had better believe we're in search of the nearest beauty store. My hair will forever be the one area I will not skimp on just to save a dime.

As such, when companies approach me to review haircare products on here, I always let them know up front that the odds of the product actually making it up for a review is incredibly slim. So imagine my own shock that I'm posting about Pantene Pro-V, a drugstore line that will actually become part of my everyday haircare now!

But first, [let me take a selfie] <--sorry, I had to. Seriously though, but first, back to my winter haircare routine.

Winter hair, especially here in the Midwest, is harder to manage just because the air is so.dry. If you've been following for awhile now you know I don't wash my hair daily. I'm actually down to washing it twice a week, typically 4-5 days between each wash. I'm a firm believer in this method not only because it saves me time getting ready, but it's less stress on my hair. And in the winter, less drying.

Before you pipe up, here are some of the resistant responses I get regarding this topic every.time I mention it:

1) It doesn't work for me, I have really excessively oily hair. I tried dry shampoo once and it just doesn't work for my hair. (I've heard this from 75% of people who respond on this topic)

2) I really sweat when I workout, so there's no way I could use dry shampoo to fix that.

3) My hair is too thin/fine. Dry shampoo is too much for my hair texture.

Answer #1: Did you know that every time you wash your hair you strip essential oils from your scalp? That is the actual reason your hair seems oily if you wash every day, not because you have naturally oily hair. When you remove the oils, your sebaceous glands go into overdrive to reverse the havoc you're creating and produce more and more oil. I'll go out there and promise that if you gradually add dry shampoo into your routine (start washing every other day), that within just a few weeks your scalp will adjust its oil production as well.

Answer #2: Girl, you don't KNOW sweat until you've seen me during or right after a workout. Girls glisten? No, no, no, I SWEAT. Loud and proud. I literally drip lines of sweat down my arms. I'm not kidding you, even my elbows sweat. My hairline looks like I just dunked my head under water after a good cardio workout. So what gives? Either let the sweat air dry or blow dry it without adding any product to it. Once it's dry add some dry shampoo to your scalp and rub it in with your fingertips. This has worked for me for years.

Answer #3: My hair is fine. No, let me clarify, my hair is extremely fine. I'm talking I literally do not use any finishing product in my hair because it all weighs my hair down. Even a lightweight hairspray. If you're using dry shampoo properly it won't cause build up or weigh your hair down. (This also brings me to the response I often get that people can tell my hair is thicker because of how my braids look. So on that note I'll do a future post on how to make your braids look chunky without having thick hair!)

So now that we've addressed the fact that you can train your hair even if you don't think you can, let's move on to my {new} winter hair routine thanks to Pantene Pro-V. Here's the skinny on anything and everything in relation to my winter haircare:

1) I wash my hair every 4-5 days (duh, repeat, I know).

2) When I do wash, I massage Pantene Pro-V Blow Dry Creme Thermoprotect into my strands (avoiding my scalp) immediately out of the shower & before any comb touches it, then gently comb through my wet hair from end to root.

3) I apply a small amount (pea-sized) of Moroccan oil to my ends every day. After washing I apply it when my hair is still wet, and on the days I don't wash I do it first thing in the morning and right before I go to bed.

4) On days I don't wash I spray Pantene Pro-V Blowout Extend Dry Shampoo on my roots. After each spray I rub that section of my roots to get it all worked in.

5) As often as once a week I use Graham Webb's silk repair deep conditioning treatment.

Moroccan Oil

Guys, I've tried the knockoffs. I've tried and tried and tried anything I could get my hands on to spend less money on a nourishing oil and it's just a waste. Nothing, and I repeat nothing returns moisture to my ends like Moroccan oil. This one is just worth the dollar amount.

Graham Webb Silk Repair Hair Treatment

I've preached about this one before, and nothing can compare. I'm a straight up sucker for deep conditioning treatments. No joke, if you were to dig through my bathroom drawers you'll easily find no less than 5-10 unused packets of the latest and greatest on the market (amidst 15,000 hair elastics. Yes, poor Husby sharing bathroom space with me). If I see a new conditioning treatment one-time use packet I'll buy it, guaranteed.

Why you ask? Aside from being a sucker (see comment above), because I travel. And sometimes deep conditioning treatments are most conducive when you're alone in a hotel room with no Husby to say "oh you have stuff in your hair again?". But with travel comes "3-ounces or less in your carry on bag" rules and those individual packets are so much easier to travel with than the two parts needed for my hearthrob Graham Webb sitting neatly on the shelf in my bathroom cabinet.

Even so, my boy Graham wins out. Nothing makes my hair as silky smooth as that stuff. It's salon grade. It's amazing. Your head will love you.

Pantene Pro-V

This part still shocks me. The Blow-Dry Creme is actually just a leave-in conditioner, which is why I use it even though I probably blowdry my hair less than 10 times a year. Every time I wash I add 1-2 pumps of this to my strands before I comb it out. This step makes it so much easier to comb through the long tangled mess, and adds a nice moisturized feel to my hair after it air dries. I liked this one right off the bat.

Now, the Blowout Extend Dry Shampoo took some time for me to develop my now heavy-lidded infatuation. To be completely honest I didn't like it at all when I first tried it. Unlike other dry shampoos I've used and liked, it almost feels like it goes on wet. When your goal is to remove moisture from your roots, you better believe I almost tossed the bottle right then and there. But since I promised a solid try at the product, I played around with it.

The key to this dry shampoo is rubbing it into your roots after you spray it on. The "wet" feeling goes away quickly, and this dry shampoo smells so.good. It just smells clean and fresh, and once rubbed into the roots it gives my hair just enough added volume that it looks amazing down. Even on day four (I know, right?).

So if you're in the market for a new dry shampoo that's cheap and easy to find, I really strongly suggest Pantene Pro-V. Since I'm just as shocked as you when it comes to this, I think it's worth your $5 to go pick up a bottle and test it out.

Disclaimer: It's been a BUSY winter so far. Between the holidays, family commitments, work and building this house [that's almost DONE!], I'm a little behind on posts here. Stay tuned, because I have a handful of beauty reviews coming up along with some workout gear and, wait for it, house updates!! Husby and I are so excited about how everything is turning out with the house, and since I've received so.many requests for pictures and tips on what's working for us to make the process smooth, I'll have one or more posts in the coming months devoted just to the house. From buidling to decorating, it's proving to be far more fun than stressful. It's hard to believe it will be done in less than a month and we'll be all moved in by the end of February!

Until next time.