You know that line, “Break yourself, fool!” from Superbad? Well, my hair was taking that euphemism literally.

My hair has been delicate, dry, and damaged – thanks to 25 years of chemical relaxers and a recent dependence on hot tools. As a result of my hair abuse, my ends were breaking off left and right. Every time I brushed or styled my hair, it was a sorry sight – little, broken hairs all over my shirt, bathroom counter and floor. Every day, I was pulling a Jay-Z and brushing my shoulders off.

My hair was, basically, breaking off as quickly as it was growing – which explains why my hair hasn’t gotten longer in the past seven years. And let me tell you…it was like salt in the wounds when a well-meaning friend suggested I “grow my hair out.”

Obviously, if I stopped straightening, blow drying and using a flat iron on my hair, it would be in much better shape. But let’s get real – that’s not going to happen. Lucky for me, Pantene solved my catch 22 conundrum by developing a line of products that spoke to my issue. Seriously, the product description reads like it should have been prefaced with “Yo…listen up, Daneen.”

The Pantene Pro-V Relaxed & Natural Breakage Defense collection is designed to strengthen hair against damage and provide 90 percent less breakage in one month.

I’ve been using this shampoo/conditioner combo for the past two months and have noticed a decrease in shedding. I’m hoping that if I keep this up – and lay off the ole flat iron a bit – mermaid hair might be in my future. I’ve always dreamed of mermaid hair…

Anyway, if you’re like me and you want to put the breaks on hair breakage, I recommend you give these products a try.*

*I believe Pantene is doing some re-formulation and discontinuing these products, so they are a little bit hard to find. Online shopping would be your best bet.