The Product: Pantene Pro-V Classic Care Solutions Classic Care Shampoo & Conditioner 2-in-1

The Price: $24.99

The Company Spiel: "Pantene's' classic 2-in-1 formula combines gentle cleansing agents with precise conditioning ingredients to infuse your hair with shine from root to tip. In one easy step, this shampoo and conditioner hybrid formula makes hair more manageable, protects against damage and sets the stage for styling. Hair is left healthy and beautifully shiny."

The Real Deal: Those of you with kids old enough to shower and wash their own hair for the first time know what a complete nightmare it is. You want to encourage them to be independent (and, let's face it, you're grateful to be finally liberated from "bath time"), but you also realize that expecting them to be able to master the shampoo -- much less shampoo and conditioner -- by themselves is foolhardy.

The other night after sending my snarly Rapunzel-like daughter back into the shower because she'd forgotten to condition her hair (again) I was beyond annoyed. How complicated is it? I fumed. Then it dawned on me: I could make it easier on my kids by getting a shampoo that had conditioner built into it. Duh.

I harkened back to when I was a kid and my mom had packed me off for summer camp with Pantene 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner in my trunk. And, though I'm pretty sure I only showered a couple of times that month, I remembered that the comb had gone through my hair with relative ease whenever I did wash my hair. The next day I went to the drugstore to see if it still existed and was pleasantly surprised -- a feeling that persisted when, that night, my daughter emerged from the shower in record time with nearly tangle-less hair. Victory!

The Upshot: Buying this product is now a no-brainer for me -- one that I wish I'd thought of about 8 months ago. It does what it says it will, and saves time and money, which must be why it's still around all these years later.

Have you ever used Pantene Classic Care Shampoo & Conditioner 2-in-1?