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Side by side

As I Am Onion Conditioner vs As I Am Rice Water Conditioner

80% function match · 6 of the 10 functions we compared match Formula overlap 61%. As I Am Onion Conditioner and As I Am Rice Water Conditioner 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.

  • Onion Conditioner — maximum slip
  • Rice Water Conditioner — fragrance-free

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
As I Am Onion Conditioner — 8 oz container As I Am

Onion Conditioner

  • Conditioner
  • Drugstore
  • Sulfate-free
  • Silicone-free
As I Am Rice Water Conditioner — 8 oz container As I Am

Rice Water Conditioner

  • Conditioner
  • Drugstore
  • Sulfate-free
  • Silicone-free
Price, size & price per ounce
$10.99 8 oz · $1.37/oz
$9.99 8 oz · $1.25/oz
Value / price positioning
Priced with its peers $$$$$ Drugstore tier · costs less than 56% of the 689 conditioners we’ve priced
Priced with its peers $$$$$ Drugstore tier · costs less than 60% of the 689 conditioners we’ve priced
Best for hair types
All types Nothing in the formula or the claims narrows this to one pattern. Your hair
All types Nothing in the formula or the claims narrows this to one pattern. Your hair
Moisture level Same
High Humectants near the top — water-binding is a headline mechanism here. Your hair
High Humectants near the top — water-binding is a headline mechanism here. Your hair
Oils and butters Differs
Moderate Oils sit high in the list — a softening, coating formula. Your hair
Low Oils are present, but low enough to be a finishing touch. Your hair
Slip / detangling Same
High Conditioning agents sit high in the list — this is a detangling formula. Your hair
High Conditioning agents sit high in the list — this is a detangling formula. Your hair
Weight on hair Differs
Medium Middle of the range — noticeable on fine hair, light on coarse hair. Your hair
Light Water-first and light: unlikely to flatten fine hair. Your hair
Fragrance
Present Fragrance is listed; it sits below the working ingredients. Your hair
None listed No fragrance is listed. Your hair
Protein Same
Minor Protein appears, low enough to be a supporting ingredient. Your hair
Minor Protein appears, low enough to be a supporting ingredient. Your hair
Silicone / wax buildup Same
None Nothing here needs a detergent wash to remove. Your hair
None Nothing here needs a detergent wash to remove. Your hair
Clarifying wash needed
Moderate Your hair
Moderate Your hair
Hard-water defence Differs
None No chelating agent in the list. Your hair
Chelators present Chelators are present — they bind hard-water and pool minerals. Your hair
Formula completeness
out of 10
Complete for its job
out of 10
Complete for its job
Who should choose this
  • Maximum slipfor hair that tangles the moment it is wet
  • Dry, thirsty hairhumectants and emollients both sit up front
  • Curly-method routinesno sulfates and no water-insoluble silicones
  • Silicone-free routinesno silicones appear in the list
  • Fragrance-freeno fragrance (parfum) on the label
  • Unscentedfree of strong smells
  • Maximum slipfor hair that tangles the moment it is wet
  • Dry, thirsty hairhumectants and emollients both sit up front
Why you might skip it
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
  • Dry or very humid airwhere heavy humectants work against you
  • Dry or very humid airwhere heavy humectants work against you
  • Coarse, very dry hairthis is a light formula for its category
  • If scent matters to younothing is added here
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
Conditioner
Conditioner
Line
Onion
Rice Water
Where to buy
Brand website · Target
Brand website
Free of
  • sulfate-free
  • silicone-free
  • curly-method compatible
  • sulfate-free
  • silicone-free
  • fragrance-free
  • curly-method compatible
Cruelty-free
Cruelty-free · PETA-listed
Cruelty-free · PETA-listed
Scent
Scented, not described
Unscented

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.

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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

IngredientOnion ConditionerRice Water Conditioner
Water
Neutral
#1Leading
#1Leading
Cetearyl Alcohol
Softens
#2Leading
#4Supporting
Cetyl Alcohol
Softens
#3Leading
#5Supporting
Betaine
Moisturizes
#5Supporting
#3Leading
Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil
Softens
#6Supporting
#16Secondary
Brassicamidopropyl Dimethylamine
Detangles
#7Supporting
#7Supporting
Copper Tripeptide-1
Protein
#14Below the 1% line
#14Secondary

What only one of them carries

Onion Conditioner

Rice Water Conditioner

Full ingredient list — Onion Conditioner (39)
Full ingredient list — Rice Water Conditioner (25)

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.

VerdictsOnion ConditionerRice Water Conditioner
Supported
1
1
Partly supported
0
0
Stated by brand
1
3
Potential conflict
0
0

Onion Conditioner

  • Strengthening and deeply moisturizing conditioner that helps promote healthy hair growthSupportedHelps hair feel hydrated.
  • Strengthens Hair by 107%, Moisturizes by 29%Stated by brandOnly the brand’s testing shows this.

Rice Water Conditioner

  • Moisturizes. Strengthen. Helps ease combing.SupportedHelps hair feel hydrated.
  • Strengthens Hair up to 127%Stated by brandOnly the brand’s testing shows this.
  • Moisturizes Hair up to 29%Stated by brandOnly the brand’s testing shows this.
  • Improves Wet Detangling up to 34%Stated by brandOnly the brand’s testing shows this.

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.

Both praised for slip. As I Am Onion Conditioner draws complaints about tangling and dryness.

Onion Conditioner

Most reviewers describe the scent positively and note it is less noticeable once hair dries

general users

Several reviewers describe it as effective for between-deep-conditioning maintenance, moisturizing without heaviness

general users

Reviewers with coily/loc'd hair report the conditioner detangles easily and leaves hair notably softer

coily-hair and locs reviewers

Single available reviewer reported a hard-to-use pump dispenser, poor slip, and hair left dry and very tangled after a 10-minute application; reviewer returned the product.

Single Target reviewer, verified purchase, no hair-type context given

A fine-haired reviewer found the onion scent too heavy for their hair type and disliked the smell

fine-hair reviewer

One reviewer with fine hair wanted more slip from the formula even while liking the hydration and scent

fine-hair reviewer

Rice Water Conditioner

Reviewers across wavy, coily, and medium-porosity hair report strong detangling and reduced frizz immediately after use.

Reviewers with wavy/coily and medium-porosity hair

Reviewers with fine or thin hair specifically call out that it conditions effectively without feeling heavy or weighing hair down.

Reviewers with fine/thin hair

Reviewers consistently report visibly shinier, softer hair after use.

General reviewer base

Several reviewers describe it as a fixture in their regular wash-day routine, used every wash rather than occasionally.

Repeat/regular users

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.

$1.25/oz vs $1.37/oz — within about the same cost per ounce.

$0.09/oz median $1.60/oz $56.25/oz $1.37/oz Onion Conditioner $1.25/oz Rice Water Conditioner

Every mark sits on one distribution because these are compared against the same set: 689 conditioners with a computable unit price.

Value readOnion ConditionerRice Water Conditioner
Label
Priced with its peersSits in the middle of the range for conditioners per ounce.
Priced with its peersSits in the middle of the range for conditioners 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.

Onion Conditioner vs Vivid Color Locking ConditionerRusk · 98% function matchRice Water Conditioner vs Pure Inspiration Daily ConditionerInnersense Organic Beauty · 98% function matchOnion Conditioner vs Vanilla Oat Milk Volumizing ConditionerPacifica · 97% function matchRice Water Conditioner vs Curl Talk Bond Building ConditionerNot Your Mother's · 95% function matchOnion Conditioner vs Creme de Coco Coconut ConditionerBumble and bumble · 97% function matchRice Water Conditioner vs INGENIOUS THICKENING CONDITIONERR+Co · 95% function matchOnion Conditioner vs Royal Treatment Curl Care ConditionerCHI · 95% function matchRice Water Conditioner vs LOVE CURL ConditionerDavines · 93% function match

Onion Conditioner · Rice Water Conditioner · All conditioners 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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