The Best Beauty Tip I Learned from my Mom
This post is sponsored by Pantene. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Writing this post made me extremely emotional, and it's something I didn't expect to happen especially for a sponsored post. But this post is probably one of my favorites to have ever written so far, so before I dive in, I just want to say a huge thank you to Pantene for allowing me to share this story with you.
My mom had the stereotypical Asian hair: straight and black. And for as long as I can remember she always wore her hair just like that: straight, long, and black that was parted in the middle. That was like her signature look. I also vividly remember her barely doing anything to her hair! She always did the bare minimum to the point that she didn’t even brush her hair out! She would just let it air dry and for some miracle, her hair always ended up looking so beautifully straight and shiny.
She used to always say that our hair is our crowning glory, and that my sisters and I must take good care of it.
“massage your scalp when you wash your hair”
“don’t use too much heat on your hair”
“brush your hair 100 times before going to bed”
“drink lots of water”
“your hair is your crowning glory…”
I didn’t really understand that back then, but now that I’m much older, I think I get what she meant. We might not notice it, but part of our identity, our personality, our confidence is low key tied to our hair - how we wear it, how we style it, the condition we keep it in. And I found it so funny that my mom got heartbroken when she saw I had cut my hair short one time! I never really saw my hair as the crowning glory that she used to talk about, but I guess for her, her hair is THAT big of a deal.
So when she got diagnosed with stage-4 cancer, the inevitable happened. She lost her beautiful long black hair: her crowning glory. I don’t know if she cried about it (she probably did), but the one thing I do know and remember is that even when she lost a part of herself and her identity, hope grew big in her heart. She went head first into battle with cancer and she was still joyful, fun, loving, giving, selfless, and just simply beautiful. Unfortunately, she lost her chance to grow her hair back. She lost the fight. She didn’t get the chance to share more in-depth beauty tips with my sisters and I because cancer took her the way it took her hair. But she did leave us with is this:
what’s inside our hearts is truly what makes us beautiful.
My mom’s minimalistic approach to beauty is definitely something I’m aligned with at this point in my life. I’ve definitely been more conscious about what I use on my body and my hair, and I have stopped using products that don’t truly benefit me. I love that more and more brands are taking this same approach when formulating their products and I’m so excited to share with you what I’ve been loving to use on my hair lately!
I don’t know what’s causing my hair to be extremely dry and damaged, but ever since I started using the Fortifying Damage Repair with Castor Oil Shampoo, Conditioner, and Overnight Restoring Serum from Pantene’s Nutrient Blends Collection, my hair looks and feels incredible that I’m able to wear my hair down again! I even got a few comments on my Instagram about how much they’re liking my hair lately since they’ve always seen my hair up in a super messy bun. 😂
It makes me incredibly happy that Pantene is taking the steps to make some of their products safer for their consumers because this collection is free of sulfates, parabens, dyes and mineral oil! The main ingredient in this collection is castor oil, which is known for its strengthening and restorative properties! The shampoo cleanses and protects my hair, the conditioner nourishes and restores my hair with a silky shine, and I use the Overnight Restoring Serum on days when my hair feels extra parched.
If you’ve been wanting to elevate your hair care experience while keeping it simple, be sure to check out the Fortifying Damage Repair with Castor Oil Collection and join me as I make my mama proud and happy with my crowning glory.
You can find the Pantene Nutrient Blends Collection at Rite Aid.
