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Side by side

Color Wow Color Security Shampoo vs Curlsmith Core Strength Shampoo

91% function match · 10 of the 13 functions we compared match Formula overlap 14%. Color Wow Color Security Shampoo and Curlsmith Core Strength Shampoo share 2 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.

  • Color Security Shampoo — colour-treated hair
  • Core Strength 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
Color Wow Color Security Shampoo — 8.4 oz container Color Wow

Color Security Shampoo

  • Shampoo
  • Prestige
  • Sulfate-free
  • Silicone-free
Curlsmith Core Strength Shampoo — 12 oz container Curlsmith

Core Strength Shampoo

  • Shampoo
  • Masstige
  • Sulfate-free
  • Silicone-free
Price, size & price per ounce
$26 8.4 oz · $3.10/oz
$26 12 oz · $2.17/oz
Value / price positioning
Same job for less elsewhere $$$$$ Prestige tier · costs more than 77% of the 817 shampoos we’ve priced
Upper-mid price for a shampoo $$$$$ Masstige tier · costs more than 64% 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
All types Nothing in the formula or the claims narrows this to one pattern. Your hair
Moisture level Differs
Moderate Humectants in the working part of the formula. Your hair
Low Humectants appear, but low enough to be a minor part. Your hair
Cleansing strength Same
Moderate Removes oil and product; leaves some conditioning behind. Your hair
Moderate Removes oil and product; leaves some conditioning behind. 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
Weight on hair
Light Water-first and light: unlikely to flatten fine 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
Present Fragrance is listed; it sits below the working ingredients. 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
Low Your hair
Low Your hair
Expected lather Same
Moderate An ordinary shampoo lather. Your hair
Moderate An ordinary shampoo lather. 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
  • Colour-treated hairthat fades faster in a sulfate wash
  • Curly-method routinesno sulfates and no water-insoluble silicones
  • Hard waterand swimmers dealing with mineral deposit
  • Fine hairthat flattens under most products
  • Colour-treated hairthat fades faster in a sulfate wash
  • Curly-method routinesno sulfates and no water-insoluble silicones
  • Fine hairthat flattens under most products
  • Silicone-free routinesno silicones appear in the list
Why you might skip it
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
  • Vegan and cruelty-freeour record does not support both claims here
  • Tight budgetsit sits in the upper price tiers
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
  • Hard waterno chelator here to bind the minerals
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
Color Security
—
Where to buy
Brand website
Brand website
Free of
  • sulfate-free
  • silicone-free
  • curly-method compatible
  • sulfate-free
  • silicone-free
  • curly-method compatible
Vegan
Not vegan · ingredient list
Vegan · brand states
Scent
Scented, not described
Fruity

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

$49.00 once, for your consultation and hair profile. No subscription, no required purchases.

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

IngredientColor Security ShampooCore Strength Shampoo
Water
Neutral
#1Leading
#1Leading
Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
Cleanses
#7Supporting
#2Leading
Glycerin
Moisturizes
#8Supporting
#17Secondary
Fragrance
Fragrance
#11Below the 1% line
#27Below the 1% line
Linalool
Fragrance
#32Below the 1% line
#28Below the 1% line

What only one of them carries

Color Security Shampoo

Core Strength Shampoo

Full ingredient list — Color Security Shampoo (33)
Full ingredient list — Core Strength 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.

VerdictsColor Security ShampooCore Strength Shampoo
Supported
1
0
Partly supported
0
1
Stated by brand
1
0
Potential conflict
0
0

Color Security Shampoo

  • Rich lathering, sulfate-free, residue-free formula for all hair typesSupportedGentler on colour and coils.
  • Every ingredient rinses off for optimal hair and scalp healthStated by brandDepends on your scalp.

Core Strength Shampoo

  • A protein-enriched gentle cleanser that melts away dirt and build-up while helping hair feel stronger and more resilient.Partly supportedSupports the surface, not a treatment.

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.

Color Security Shampoo

Some reviewers note the large/refill size as a value driver once they commit to the brand

Reviewers report noticeably softer, smoother hair texture after switching to this shampoo

Repeat buyers describe brand loyalty, saying they abandoned other sulfate-free shampoos to return to this one

Users with color-treated hair credit it with keeping root color from fading or looking dull

color-treated hair

Core Strength Shampoo

Pleasant guava-like scent frequently called out

general reviewer base

Restores a strengthened, refreshed feeling to hair after heat or chemical damage

reviewers with heat/chemical damage

Gentle without over-drying already-weakened hair

international reviewers, damaged hair

Used successfully for gentle daily cleansing on children's and teens' hair

parents of younger curly-haired users

Cited as a go-to for helping curls hold definition longer between washes

general reviewer base

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.

$2.17/oz vs $3.10/oz — Color Wow Color Security Shampoo costs about 1.4× more per ounce than Curlsmith Core Strength Shampoo.

$0.00/oz median $1.48/oz $17.29/oz $3.10/oz Color Security Shampoo $2.17/oz Core Strength Shampoo

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

Value readColor Security ShampooCore Strength Shampoo
Label
Same job for less elsewhereYou are paying above the range for a formula close to several lower-priced options.
Upper-mid price for a shampooSits 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.

Color Security Shampoo vs Hooked 100% Clean Shampoo for Curly HairColor Wow · 100% function matchCore Strength Shampoo vs Scalp Relief ShampooNioxin · 93% function matchColor Security Shampoo vs Sensories Smoother Passionflower & Aloe Smoothing ShampooRusk · 98% function matchCore Strength Shampoo vs Rosemary ShampooAs I Am · 93% function matchColor Security Shampoo vs Nº.4FINE Bond Maintenance ShampooOlaplex · 97% function matchCore Strength Shampoo vs Sensories Smoother Passionflower & Aloe Smoothing ShampooRusk · 93% function matchColor Security Shampoo vs Money Laundering Hydrating ShampooColor Wow · 96% function matchCore Strength Shampoo vs Pureology Hydrate Sheer ShampooPureology · 91% function match

Color Security Shampoo · Core Strength 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.
  • 9 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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