Pantene for Women of Color or Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition, Which is Better for Black Hair?

After receiving a free sample of Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition shampoo and cream conditioner from a giveaway in the Chicago Loop, I hesitated to give the hair products a shot. For hair like mine, which is thick and will frizz almost immediately when there's rain, finding a shampoo and conditioner that worked for my hair was a lot of trial and error.

However, when Pantene was suggested to me a few years ago, I never looked back. While I've tried a few other shampoos and conditioners, none of them measured up to what Pantene has. However, I did give Garnier a shot mainly because of the ingredients.

Both Garnier shampoo and the conditioner include olive oil, avocado oil and shea oil. While I'ma not familiar with how avocado oil reacts to my hair, I favor olive oil and shea oil quite a bit. However, the 0.34 fl. oz. Garnier test packages barely had enough to fit in my hand. While this may not matter with other test products, the shampoo doesn't lather at all. According to Garnier's site, fruit oil is supposed to nourish hair without weighing it down, but I think the company took that a little too seriously. I put it in my hair, and it just sat there. Even while washing it out, there were minimal bubbles or soapy water. This means that either the shampoo is not very good or I'd have to use the double amount that I usually use with Pantene, which means buying more of the product to get the (same?) effect.

The conditioner also didn't do much. With Pantene conditioner, I could put a dollop of conditioner in my palm, and it'd take care of my whole head. With Garnier, I couldn't use my vent brush to even the conditioner out. With Pantene, that's never been a problem, and since I usually let conditioner sit on my hair for about an hour, it's important that it doesn't tangle while it's semi-drying.

I gave up on this Garnier product. Although it smells great, I'll stick to what I know already works. I rewashed my hair and used Pantene Relaxed & Natural for Women of Color shampoo and conditioner. Pantene shampoo includes jojoba seed oil and coconut oil, two products useful for dry hair. Pantene is a product I've been using for years, and my hair has grown successfully with it.

What's been your experience with Pantene and/or Garnier Fructis products?

For more info:

Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition
Pantene Relaxed & Natural for Women of Color