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Side by side

American Crew Forming Pre-Styling Shampoo vs Sun Bum Curls Shampoo

92% function match · 9 of the 11 functions we compared match Formula overlap 59%. American Crew Forming Pre-Styling Shampoo and Sun Bum Curls Shampoo share 4 ingredients among each other's most prominent.

Based on your consultation

Which of these fits your hair?

We check your pattern, moisture need, scalp, fragrance tolerance, weight sensitivity and more against each formula — and say which one lines up.

Your profile at a glance

  • Your answers appear here
  • Your answers appear here
  • Your answers appear here
  • Your answers appear here

When each one is the right call

What each formula is built for, from its own ingredient list.

  • Forming Pre-Styling Shampoo — fast-oiling scalps
  • Curls Shampoo — colour-treated hair

Side by side

Every trait, aligned

One row per trait, read from each product’s own ingredient list and record. A dash means we have not researched that field for that product — it is not a “no”.

Trait
American Crew Forming Pre-Styling Shampoo — 8.4 oz container American Crew

Forming Pre-Styling Shampoo

  • Shampoo
  • Masstige
Sun Bum Curls Shampoo — 10 oz container Sun Bum

Curls Shampoo

  • Shampoo
  • Drugstore
  • Sulfate-free
  • Protein-free
Price, size & price per ounce
$17 8.4 oz · $2.02/oz
$10–11 10 oz · $1.10/oz
Value / price positioning
Upper-mid price for a shampoo $$$$$ Masstige tier · costs more than 62% of the 817 shampoos we’ve priced
Priced with its peers $$$$$ Drugstore tier · costs less than 62% of the 817 shampoos we’ve priced
Best for hair types
All types Nothing in the formula or the claims narrows this to one pattern. Your hair
Wavy–Coily The brand’s own claims name curly or textured hair. Your hair
Moisture level Same
Low Humectants appear, but low enough to be a minor part. Your hair
Low Humectants appear, but low enough to be a minor part. Your hair
Cleansing strength Same
Strong Removes oil, buildup, and most residue — a reset wash. Your hair
Strong Removes oil, buildup, and most residue — a reset wash. Your hair
Slip / detangling Same
Moderate Conditioning agents are present, lower in the list. Your hair
Moderate Conditioning agents are present, lower in the list. Your hair
Fragrance
Prominent Fragrance sits in the first eight ingredients — a larger share of the formula. Your hair
Prominent Fragrance sits in the first eight ingredients — a larger share of the formula. Your hair
Silicone / wax buildup Same
High Water-insoluble silicones or waxes: a detergent wash is what removes them. Your hair
High Water-insoluble silicones or waxes: a detergent wash is what removes them. Your hair
Clarifying wash needed
Moderate Your hair
Moderate Your hair
Weight on hair
—
Medium Middle of the range — noticeable on fine hair, light on coarse hair. Your hair
Protein
—
None No protein or amino acids in the list. Your hair
Expected lather Same
High Thick foam that spreads quickly through the hair. Your hair
High Thick foam that spreads quickly through the hair. Your hair
Scalp active Same
None No over-the-counter scalp active. Your hair
None No over-the-counter scalp active. Your hair
Hard-water defence Differs
Chelators present Chelators are present — they bind hard-water and pool minerals. Your hair
None No chelating agent in the list. Your hair
Formula completeness
out of 10
Complete for its job
out of 10
Complete for its job
Who should choose this
  • Fast-oiling scalpsthat need a real reset wash
  • Hard waterand swimmers dealing with mineral deposit
  • Cuticle-smoothing pHa pH adjuster brings it to the acidic range hair prefers
  • Colour-treated hairthat fades faster in a sulfate wash
  • Protein-sensitive hairthat stiffens when protein is added
  • Fast-oiling scalpsthat need a real reset wash
  • Very dry hairno fast-drying alcohol in the list
Why you might skip it
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
  • Dry or damaged haira strong detergent system strips as it cleans
  • Stretching wash dayswaxes stay until a detergent wash removes them
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
  • Curly-method routinesthese silicones need a detergent to remove
  • Dry or damaged haira strong detergent system strips as it cleans
from the formula stated by the brand reported by reviewers Scale: 1 dot low · 5 dots high, within this product type.
More facts about each one
Type
Shampoo
Shampoo
Line
—
Curls
Where to buy
Brand website
Brand website · Grocery / mass · Target
Free of
—
  • sulfate-free
  • protein-free
Vegan
Vegan · label states
—
Cruelty-free
—
Cruelty-free · PETA-listed
Scent
Scented, not described
Coconut & tropical · Sweet & vanilla

Facts as we recorded them. A dash means we have not researched that field for that product — it is not a "no".

The bottom line

The bottom line depends on your hair

Which of these two suits you is a question about your hair, not about them. The consultation answers it — and tells you what your routine needs around it.

Take the consultation

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The detail behind the table

Where the readings above come from: the ingredient lists themselves, each brand’s claims checked against them, what owners report, and cost per ounce in context.

Shared and distinct ingredients

Shared and distinct ingredients

Computed from the ingredient lists as printed. "Shared" means both lists carry it; where it sits on each label is stated, because position is what tells you how much.

What both formulas carry

IngredientForming Pre-Styling ShampooCurls Shampoo
Water
Neutral
#1Leading
#1Leading
Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate
Cleanses
#2Leading
#2Leading
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleanses
#3Leading
#3Leading
Fragrance
Fragrance
#6Below the 1% line
#6Below the 1% line
Citric Acid
pH balancer
#8Below the 1% line
#32Below the 1% line
Glycol Distearate
Softens
#12Below the 1% line
#4Supporting

What only one of them carries

Forming Pre-Styling Shampoo

Curls Shampoo

  • Ppg-2 Hydroxyethyl Coco / Isostearamide
  • Aleurites Moluccana (Kukui) Nut Extract
  • Gardenia Tahitensis Flower (Monoi) Extract
  • Amodimethicone
  • Dimethicone
Full ingredient list — Forming Pre-Styling Shampoo (38)
Full ingredient list — Curls Shampoo (32)

Claims check

What each brand says, against what each formula shows

Claims are quoted from each brand. We only mark one supported, partly supported, or conflicting when that product’s ingredient list actually speaks to it.

VerdictsForming Pre-Styling ShampooCurls Shampoo
Supported
0
0
Partly supported
1
0
Stated by brand
2
1
Potential conflict
0
0

Forming Pre-Styling Shampoo

  • Formulated as a vegan product without silicones or parabensStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.
  • Contains jojoba oil for hydration and frizz preventionPartly supportedSome hydration, at a low level.
  • Balances scalp microbiome while cleansingStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.

Curls Shampoo

  • Our curly haired crew loves this shampoo that uses Kukui Nut Oil and Monoi Coconut Oil to make every bend, wave, and curl feel a little extra loveStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.

What owners say

What people report

Recurring themes our researchers wrote in their own words from sourced reviews. We do not store or scrape star ratings, and we never balance one product’s themes against another’s by inventing them.

Forming Pre-Styling Shampoo

Many reviewers, several noting the product was gifted by the brand, say it left hair moisturized and reduced frizz.

Reviewers with curly or wavy hair report the cleanser makes curls more defined and manageable.

Multiple reviewers note a pleasant scent that carries into their subsequent styling routine.

Several reviewers say the shampoo cleanses without stripping natural oils compared to typical shampoos.

Curls Shampoo

Curly-haired reviewers report the shampoo helps define and control curls as part of a regular routine

reviewers with curly hair

Reviewers like the tropical kukui nut and monoi coconut scent

general reviewer base

Reviewers following curly-girl-method-style silicone avoidance flag the dimethicone/amodimethicone content as unwanted in an otherwise-liked product

silicone-avoidant curly-hair reviewers

A couple of reviewers with wavy (non-curly) hair reported the shampoo left their hair feeling flat, dry, or not clean, suggesting it suits curl patterns better than looser waves

reviewers with wavy hair

A reviewer perceived the formula as too protein-heavy, leaving hair frizzy and dried out, though the printed ingredient list has no hydrolyzed protein — likely a perception based on feel rather than formulation

individual reviewer, formulation mismatch noted

Price check

Cost per ounce, in context

Cost per ounce against every product of this type we have priced, each at the size it is most often sold in. Value labels are computed from that percentile and from how many products that do the same job cost less; they are comparisons, not judgements about a brand.

$1.10/oz vs $2.02/oz — American Crew Forming Pre-Styling Shampoo costs about 1.8× more per ounce than Sun Bum Curls Shampoo.

$0.00/oz median $1.48/oz $17.29/oz $2.02/oz Forming Pre-Styling Shampo $1.10/oz Curls Shampoo

Every mark sits on one distribution because these are compared against the same set: 817 shampoos with a computable unit price.

Value readForming Pre-Styling ShampooCurls Shampoo
Label
Upper-mid price for a shampooSits in the middle of the range for shampoos per ounce.
Priced with its peersSits in the middle of the range for shampoos per ounce.

Computed from cost per ounce against every product of this type we have priced, and from how many products that do the same job cost less. It is a comparison, not a judgement about the brand.

Compare with something else

Close formulas to each of these, as their own comparison pages.

Forming Pre-Styling Shampoo vs STIMULATE-ME.WASHKevin Murphy · 97% function matchCurls Shampoo vs The Protector Color Protect + Strengthen Shampooamika · 93% function matchForming Pre-Styling Shampoo vs Hair Alchemy Resilience ShampooOribe · 96% function matchCurls Shampoo vs Acidic Color Gloss Sulfate-Free ShampooRedken · 91% function matchForming Pre-Styling Shampoo vs Potion Miracle Daily ShampooIt's a 10 · 95% function matchCurls Shampoo vs Miracle Moisture Daily ShampooIt's a 10 · 91% function matchForming Pre-Styling Shampoo vs Fine Hair ShampooOuai · 93% function matchCurls Shampoo vs High Gloss ShampooKristin Ess · 91% function match

Forming Pre-Styling Shampoo · Curls Shampoo · All shampoos in the library

How this page was made

  • This page is assembled from the same researched records the individual product pages render: identity, each ingredient list as printed, each brand's own claims, dated price observations, and review themes written in our researchers' own words. Nothing on it is written per comparison.
  • We do not rank these against each other. Which of them suits you depends on your hair, and that is what the consultation works out.
  • The formula similarity percentage is a stored, precomputed number: position-weighted overlap of the two ingredient lists blended with agreement on the attributes we derive. It measures how alike two formulas are, not how well either works.
  • The value band is a fixed label over two stored numbers: this product’s cost per ounce as a percentile of every product of this type we have priced, each at the size it is most often sold in, and how many products we score as doing the same job cost at least a quarter less per ounce.
  • The "Is this right for you?" panel reads only your own consultation answers, and it applies exactly the filters our recommendation engine applies. It is computed when you load the page and is never stored on it.
  • 10 sources were consulted across the products on this page.
  • Ingredient order tells you relative amount only above roughly 1%. Prices are observations on the dates shown and change without notice. We do not sell these products and take no placement fees.
  • This is cosmetic information, not medical advice, and nothing here diagnoses or treats a health condition.

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