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Side by side

Curlsmith Core Strength Shampoo vs Rusk Sensories Smoother Passionflower & Aloe Smoothing Shampoo

93% function match · 11 of the 13 functions we compared match Formula overlap 0%. Curlsmith Core Strength Shampoo and Rusk Sensories Smoother Passionflower & Aloe Smoothing Shampoo share no ingredient among each other's most prominent — which does not stop them doing the same job.

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.

  • Core Strength Shampoo — colour-treated hair
  • Sensories Smoother Passionflower & Aloe Smoothing 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
Curlsmith Core Strength Shampoo — 12 oz container Curlsmith

Core Strength Shampoo

  • Shampoo
  • Masstige
  • Sulfate-free
  • Silicone-free
Rusk Sensories Smoother Passionflower & Aloe Smoothing Shampoo — 35 oz container Rusk

Sensories Smoother Passionflower & Aloe Smoothing Shampoo

  • Shampoo
  • Salon
  • Sulfate-free
  • Silicone-free
Price, size & price per ounce
$26 12 oz · $2.17/oz
$17.99 35 oz · $0.51/oz

Compared at different sizes — 35 oz against 12 oz. Per-ounce prices favour the larger bottle.

Value / price positioning
Upper-mid price for a shampoo $$$$$ Masstige tier · costs more than 64% of the 805 shampoos we’ve priced
Lower cost than most shampoos $$$$$ Salon tier · costs less than 89% of the 805 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
Low Humectants appear, but low enough to be a minor part. Your hair
Moderate Humectants in the working part of the formula. 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
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
  • 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
  • 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
Why you might skip it
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
  • Hard waterno chelator here to bind the minerals
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a strong scent
  • Tight budgetsit sits in the upper price tiers
  • Picking it up locallywe have it recorded in one channel only
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
Where to buy
Brand website
Brand website
Free of
  • sulfate-free
  • silicone-free
  • curly-method compatible
  • sulfate-free
  • silicone-free
  • curly-method compatible
Vegan
Vegan · brand states
Scent
Fruity
Scented, not described

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

IngredientCore Strength ShampooSensories Smoother Passionflower & Aloe Smoothing Shampoo
Water
Neutral
#1Leading
#1Leading
Sodium Chloride
Stabilizes
#6Supporting
#20Below the 1% line
Fragrance
Fragrance
#27Below the 1% line
#16Below the 1% line
Linalool
Fragrance
#28Below the 1% line
#28Below the 1% line
Limonene
Fragrance
#29Below the 1% line
#27Below the 1% line

What only one of them carries

Full ingredient list — Core Strength Shampoo (32)
Full ingredient list — Sensories Smoother Passionflower & Aloe Smoothing Shampoo (29)

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.

VerdictsCore Strength ShampooSensories Smoother Passionflower & Aloe Smoothing Shampoo
Supported
0
1
Partly supported
1
0
Stated by brand
0
1
Potential conflict
0
0

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.

Sensories Smoother Passionflower & Aloe Smoothing Shampoo

  • Calms defiant, unruly hair while preserving moistureSupportedHelps hair feel hydrated.
  • Gently removes unwanted mineral salts and styling product buildupStated 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.

Both praised for the scent and hold.

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

Sensories Smoother Passionflower & Aloe Smoothing Shampoo

Perceived as economical/concentrated - a pump-dispensed bottle reported to last several months of regular washing

frequent-wash user

Reviewers report noticeably softer hair after use, consistent with the product's smoothing claim

general reviewers, some self-describing wavy/frizz-prone hair

Several reviewers are long-term repeat buyers (years of use, active subscription), indicating strong loyalty for this SKU

multi-year repeat customers

Long-lasting, well-liked fragrance is repeatedly called out as a standout feature

multiple reviewers across ratings

A reviewer switching from a discontinued/unavailable "Normal" variant found this formula only average for styling-gel compatibility

buyer using product as a substitute for an unavailable RUSK variant

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.

$0.51/oz vs $2.17/oz — Curlsmith Core Strength Shampoo costs about 4.3× more per ounce than Rusk Sensories Smoother Passionflower & Aloe Smoothing Shampoo.

$0.00/oz median $1.47/oz $17.29/oz $2.17/oz Core Strength Shampoo $0.51/oz Sensories Smoother Passion

Every mark sits on one distribution because these are compared against the same set: 805 shampoos with a computable unit price.

Value readCore Strength ShampooSensories Smoother Passionflower & Aloe Smoothing Shampoo
Label
Upper-mid price for a shampooSits in the middle of the range for shampoos per ounce.
Lower cost than most shampoosCosts less per ounce than most shampoos we have researched.

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.

Core Strength Shampoo · Sensories Smoother Passionflower & Aloe Smoothing 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.
  • 7 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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