Thanks to Pantene for sponsoring today’s post!
What’s your hairitage? You know…your HAIRitage? Your hair’s heritage?
One of the biggest lessons my mom passed down on hair care was “work with what you’ve got.” Which, in retrospect, is funny since it transcends what’s on your head to what’s IN your head, too, and is a majorly important mindset tweak to make the most of whatever deck of cards you’re holding at any point in life.
And you thought we were just two chicas chatting hair on a Monday. 😉
But really, I think this is a KEY.
How often do we try to force things in life? Force round pegs into square holes and wonder why they won’t work? Whether that’s a romantic relationship or an ill-fitting tank top, sometimes we need someone to shake us back to reality with a healthy reminder that what God gave ya is BEAUTIFUL and it’s worth workin’ with, girlfriend!
Or instead of trying to force things, maybe we fixate on the neighbor’s grass, so to speak.
We see what seems nice and looks good enough, and we make it our mission to match it. But in doing so – in watching the neighbor’s grass – we forget to water our own. And we end up in this no-good place of comparison…with a dead yard to boot.
ALL THAT TO SAY – work with what you’ve got.
Growing up, this meant “mom talks” about the flat iron. I distinctly remember all of the “cool girls” having stick-straight hair courtesy of Chi (and they probably had on a Hollister polo and a jean skirt because this was early 2000s fashion at its finest, folks 😉 ). It was just SO STRAIGHT and shiny and pretty, and mine felt so…not.
Because it wasn’t. My hair has always had a natural wave to it, which at the time felt awkward AF. Namely because I didn’t know which way it wanted to go – was it curly? Was it straight? It was always this weird in-between that needed SOME sort of taming or styling to make sense of it all, so it was naturally my gut instinct to just flatten it between two 400-degree plates because that doesn’t sound horrible for your hair or anything, right? I still thank my lucky stars that my cheap $15 drugstore straightener didn’t work nearly enough to put on repeat in my high school hair ‘do rotation since it probably saved YEARS worth of damage from happening.
Now, as an adult – and more noticeably being postpartum – I’ve got what is referred to as “The Wave.” Specifically, The Ligenza Wave, as it heralds from the Ligenza side of the family. My aunt has it, my cousins have it – it’s just this wave that likes to live SMACK DAB at the front of our faces and nowhere else. It makes styling a bit difficult at times because cowlicks are just fun like that.
But my goal nowadays isn’t to make it disappear, but rather, to work with the natural tendency and heat style WITH it instead of against it. Hence why my most-frequented style is loose curls, since it all but hides the wave in a sea of other waves!
When I worked with Pantene earlier this year, I was STOKED because I was sharing some of my favorite products from their Waterless Collection – specifically, the Never Tell Dry Shampoo Spray and the Mist Behaving Dry Conditioner Mist, both of which are still in rotation in my hair products today.
Now, I HAVE to tell you about this new collection I’ve been testing from Pantene: the Pantene Nutrient Blends Collection. My aunt I mentioned above? I used to spend a week with her each summer on a little “staycation” in the city, and I always remembered the smell of the Pantene Pro-V shampoo duo she had in her shower at all times. I loveloveloved that smell, and it always felt like such a treat to use since my hair seemed to keep the smell long after wash day. BUT, the original bottles back in the day weren’t sulfate-free, so once I started coloring my hair, I had to find other hair-friendlier alternatives.
So you can imagine I was near-ecstatic when I learned that Pantene now has some sulfate,- paraben-, dye- and mineral oil-free options options in the new Pantene Nutrient Blends Collection!
I’ve recently been using the Miracle Moisture Boost with Rose Water shampoo and conditioner. Having color-treated hair and being more cognizant of what products I’m using for bath and body, I’ve nearly entirely removed from my shower that which has the “bad stuff” inside – namely, sulfates. Sulfates (probably listed on your bottle as “sodium laureth sulfate” or “sodium lauryl sulfate”) are actually detergents that work to remove oils, dirts, etc by essentially “de-greasing” your hair (hence why sulfates work in dish detergent to get grease off of plates!). BUT, they can be more irritating to your skin since they’re kinda strong and the actual ingredient in laundry detergent, and our skin is a *bit* more fragile than your best-worn jeans. 😉 In your shampoo, they can actually work a bit TOO well and remove natural oils that don’t need to be removed, which can cause your head to start OVER producing more oil to overcompensate for it.
SO, all that to say, if you’ve made the switch yourself and are on the hunt for affordable sulfate-free options, HERE WE ARE!
Beyond being sulfate-free, the Miracle Moisture Boost with Rose Water Collection is truly RICH in nutrients without any fillers, parabens, dyes or mineral oils inside; they’re made with rose water from the petals + buds of rosa gallica in the Middle East, and their extract is rich in hydrating vitamins B5 and B3. Not to mention…the line smells incredible, just like the “old” Pantene Pro-V I knew and loveloveloved (although it smells totally different, being that it’s ROSE WATER – such a beautiful floral escape on hair wash day!).
In closing our chit chat about our natural hair and hair-itage, I figured I’d share a quick tip on what I do on wash day to let my hair air dry, since I do NOT heat style until day two.
Flip your hair upside down, and gather a ponytail at the top of your head (you can also do it in the back of your head!).
Twist the ponytail until it starts twisting onto itself.
Wrap the ends around it, secure with an elastic.
Voila! An easy way to keep your hair out of your face fuss-free, while letting it air dry naturally – and it enhances natural curl that might be there then, too.
Have you tried the Pantene Nutrient Blends Collection yet?
You can find the Rose Water Collection here at Target!
Which scent combination from the Pantene Nutrient Blends Collection would you try first? 
*Thanks to Pantene, a brand I lovelovelove, for sponsoring this post. As always, all opinions + thoughts presented are entirely my own. Thank YOU for supporting the brands that support Coming Up Roses!
