Review - Pantene Aqua Light - is it worthy of the hype?

Disclosure - PR sample. We also received goody bags and jewellery as a gift from Pantene.

Pantene have stormed the blogosphere with their latest release - Aqua Light. You'll have seen it on pretty much every UK blog, thanks to a wide-reaching social and online media campaign. Pantene are talking to bloggers, and bloggers are talking about Pantene.

Last week Gemma went to meet the new Pantene ambassador, Cat Deeley, who embodies the "hair you can swish!" concept of the campaign with her shiny honey locks. Apparently she was extremely lovely and likeable, and excited about her new mission of getting women to "Swish!" their hair.

Trust us though, readers. We won't be swayed by charismatic Cat, brand attention, or gifts and goody bags. We'll tell you the truth about this new product from Pantene. The hard fact of the matter is...

... it's very good stuff.

Anticlimactic as that might be, this product range definitely does what it says on the tin.

Aqua Light's purpose is to address the needs of the startlingly large percentage of women who do not use conditioner when washing their hair. Apparently many people prefer to skip the conditioning step as they feel that their hair stays cleaner and less weighed down for longer.

At LBR, where some of us use nothing *BUT* conditioner, this way of thinking is totally unfamiliar. Surely conditioner is the best part of a hair wash?

Pantene's answer to this frankly disturbing behaviour is to create products so lightweight that they leave even the finest, limpest hair "virtually weightless" ("virtually weightless" is a key line for Aqua Light and appears at least 3 times on each bottle).

The "science bit" is threefold - firstly, Pantene have minimised the amount of silicone in their conditioner (ask Gemma, silicone is terrible for building up on hair, that's one of the reasons she's given it up altogether). Secondly, they've formulated the products to rinse very clean, choosing ingredients that group together in a loose, layered arrangement that is easily disrupted by water and doesn't cling to the hair. And thirdly, they've implemented "liquid conditioning" - choosing ingredients that are liquid at room temperature and won't turn into solid "gunk" on the hair once it's dried.

So you've thought it through Pantene, we'll give you that. You've also explained your technology in a way that actually makes sense and keeps the PR fluff to a (relative) minimum. But what are the products like to use?



There are four products in the line. Shampoo, conditioner, deep conditioner and a leave-in spray. They come in fairly typical drugstore bottles, not a massive departure from the rest of the Pantene range. They won't wow your guests or give you that high-end smug feeling, but they're usable, robust and gender neutral (good for the fine-haired man in your life). The shampoo is clear, the conditioner translucent and typically conditioner-y (likewise the deep conditioner), while the spray is an interesting two-phase liquid in a clear bottle.

Scent-wise, the familiar parfum-de-Pantene is in evidence. It reminds me of high school. Aaahhh. Nostalgic, but not especially unusual or luxe.

The shampoo lathers readily (it contains SLS) and does rinse very clean. The conditioner spreads easily through the hair and does a fine job of detangling. I leave it on for around 10 minutes, and it also rinses very easily, leaving hair feeling soft and smooth.

A few squirts of the leave-in treatment has taken the place of my usual Bed Head serum while I've been testing this out. It doesn't leave the ends of my hair as silky as the Bed Head does, but since my hair's in such desperate need of a cut I won't judge it too harshly for that.

Once dry, hair is bouncy, shiny and has even attracted compliments at work. I was skeptical at first, expecting that I'd experience silicone build-up after a few days' repeated washing. However it seems that Pantene's formula tweaking has paid off (at least in my case), and these products are fine for repeated use. I haven't noticed any dullness, scalp irritation or loss of volume.

Verdict - a great drugstore staple and well worth trying if you don't like to splash out on haircare. If you prefer a more indulgent experience, stick to the high end brands, but for a functional and effective budget haircare range, this certainly succeeds.

Pantene is owned by Proctor & Gamble, who carry out a small percentage of their testing on animals. Read their animal welfare policy here.