Hairstylist Claims Shampoo Made Client’s Hair ‘Smoke’

A hairstylist has claimed that his client’s hair started to burn and smoke while she was getting a light blonde ombré treatment because she had used Pantene shampoo and conditioner. Yikes!

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Patrik Alan Simpson, at Mixed Elements Salon in Gambrills, Md., USA, took to Facebook last week to warn others about the alleged dangers of the brand’s shampoo and conditioner, which he claims create a waxy buildup that can melt during hair coloring. The post has since been shared over 56,000 times.

“For the love of anything holy, please stop using this crap in your hair,” Simpson wrote in the message he called a “Public Service Announcement.”

We reached out to Pantene, which, not surprisingly, disputes Simpson’s claims.

“The people’s trust in the quality of our products and their safety is of our utmost priority. Millions of consumers use and enjoy our Pantene products daily and color regularly as well,” a Pantene spokesperson told Yahoo Beauty via email. “There is no connection between our products and the reaction this hairdresser saw on the client’s hair. We don’t know what caused this; shampoos and conditioners cannot.”

Pantene directed us to an article on Snopes, a research website dedicated to debunking rumors. Its conclusion was that this reaction may have been due to something else used on the client’s hair. It also noted that Pantene’s Daily Moisture Renewal shampoo shares many ingredients with Bumble and Bumble’s Seaweed shampoo, as does its conditioner.

Of particular note is that all of the products (one sold in salons, the other in supermarkets) Snopes compared contain the popular silicon-based polymer dimethicone, (mentioned by Simpson as silicon buildup in his post).

We spoke with New York City-based stylist and dimensional color expert Justin Born, at Bloom Beauty, for some more insight and how to avoid a major hair color mishap.

Born told us that while he’d never had foils get hot or seen lightener liquefy, he has had problems with silicon.

“The issues I have had probably have more to do with the amount of silicon in the products. I had trouble getting color to take or the inconsistent taking of color due to the buildup. The best thing I have found to do is to clarify [what’s in their hair] with the client before said service. Also, it is not only supermarket brands that cause this. I have had a similar experience with ‘professional’ products.”

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Born also had some very specific questions that we don’t have the answers too, as Simpson didn’t share these details in his post, but we have left messages at the salon and with Simpson and will update when we do. “What the [Facebook post] does not specify is what volume of developer, type of lightener, was heat used — what was on the hair already colourwise?”

Bottom line? Talk to your stylist before making any hair color changes. Let them know what products you use and what your expectations are.