PANTENE DIARIES: Let Me Take You Around Pantene Singapore Innovation Center

I know that Pantene is all about treating hair damage, but I did not know that they take it THAT seriously. I learned about Pantene's dedication to innovating the greatest products for beautiful hair when I visited the Pantene Innovation Center in Singapore last May 2015.

Oh, to get closer to the brands that you support with all your heart. :) This is probably one of the best things about Beauty Blogging. Not only that, I get to discover a lot of interesting things that I probably wouldn't find out about had I taken another path. At this point, I guess I could say that my life is well- lived. :)

Oh, sorry, I thought you asked me to do a monologue, haha! 

I digress. Pantene Innovation Center was built in 2014 to serve as the brand's research and development hub in Asia. It is strategically placed in Singapore, allowing Pantene and its team to access two thirds of the world's population through a 6- hour flight and serve a majority of the world's consumers. The center performs research on every aspect of hair care, from qualitative, quantitative, to sensorial tests in 254 state-of-the-art laboratories. I toured some spots of the center and I'll take you all with me in this blog post.

Upon arriving at the center, we were greeted by one of the scientists of Pantene Hair Research Alliance. PHRA is a partnership between Pantene and some of the world's leading scientists and experts on hair care. Together, they search for the best ingredients, create the most advanced formulas, and unlock the newest secrets to having healthy, vibrant hair.

First stop was inside the hair strand. No kidding, we went inside a hair strand. :) You're seeing here a module that resembles a hair strand. On the inside, you're seeing the microscopic parts of the hair such as the cortex. The hair module, I suppose, inspires the scientists and helps them understand hair better.

We went to two laboratories. First one is the lab where they create formulas for Pantene. In here, Shen, one of the scientists at the Center showed us how crucial a great formula is to any hair care regimen. 

Shen got a hair sample, sectioned it into two, and rubbed two kinds of conditioner on them: Pantene on Section A and another brand on Section B. After dispersing the conditioners evenly on the hair sections, he dipped the hair strands in beakers filled with water. We were asked to check the hair sections closely and we realized that the water where Section B was in turned cloudy and little chunks of white cream began to rise to the surface whereas with Section A, the water just turned a wee bit cloudy, but no evaporating white chunks were seen. 

The point of the experiment is to prove that hair loves a great formula and a truly great formula must be able to penetrate hair strands effectively to treat damage. This is what guides Pantene in the creation of all their hair care products.

The last lab we went to is like a damage testing site where we found almost all sorts of hair brushes on display. Brushing is one of the leading causes of hair damage and this site is dedicated to helping Pantene understand why and how this act damages hair, and how their products can help hair withstand such damage better.

There is also an on- site salon where Pantene does product testing. Told 'ya it was a holistic center!

So that's a quick tour of Pantene Singapore Innovation Center. What do you think? :)

One of the reasons why we were invited to visit the center is because Pantene had shared a very new and important discovery that will further damage care with us. What is this discovery? Revealing it to everyone sometime this week. In the meantime, just visit PANTENE PHILIPPINES on Facebook.