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Side by side

dpHUE Cool Blonde Shampoo vs dpHUE Gentle Brightening Shampoo

57% function match · 6 of the 13 functions we compared match Formula overlap 80%. dpHUE Cool Blonde Shampoo and dpHUE Gentle Brightening 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.

  • Cool Blonde Shampoo — colour-treated hair
  • Gentle Brightening 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
dpHUE Cool Blonde Shampoo — 8 oz container dpHUE

Cool Blonde Shampoo

  • Shampoo
  • Salon
  • Sulfate-free
  • Lightweight
dpHUE Gentle Brightening Shampoo — container dpHUE

Gentle Brightening Shampoo

  • Shampoo
  • Salon
  • Sulfate-free
  • Silicone-free
Price, size & price per ounce
$27–28 8 oz · $3.50/oz
$28 8.5 oz · $3.29/oz
Value / price positioning
Same job for less elsewhere $$$$$ Salon tier · costs more than 80% of the 817 shampoos we’ve priced
Same job for less elsewhere $$$$$ Salon tier · costs more than 79% 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
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 Differs
Moderate Removes oil and product; leaves some conditioning behind. 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
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 Differs
Minor Protein appears, low enough to be a supporting ingredient. Your hair
None No protein or amino acids in the list. Your hair
Silicone / wax buildup Differs
High Water-insoluble silicones or waxes: a detergent wash is what removes them. Your hair
None Nothing here needs a detergent wash to remove. Your hair
Clarifying wash needed
Moderate 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 Same
Chelators present Chelators are present — they bind hard-water and pool minerals. 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
  • Hard waterand swimmers dealing with mineral deposit
  • Fine hairthat flattens under most products
  • Very dry hairno fast-drying alcohol in the list
  • 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
  • Curly-method routinesno sulfates and no water-insoluble silicones
Why you might skip it
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a strong scent
  • Curly-method routinesthese silicones need a detergent to remove
  • Vegan and cruelty-freeour record does not support both claims here
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
  • Dry or damaged haira strong detergent system strips as it cleans
  • Hair that needs proteinthere is none in this list
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
Cool Blonde
Gentle Brightening
Where to buy
Brand website · Ulta
Brand website
Free of
  • sulfate-free
  • sulfate-free
  • silicone-free
  • protein-free
  • curly-method compatible
Vegan
Not vegan · ingredient list
—
Scent
FloralStrong
Amber & spice · Floral

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

IngredientCool Blonde ShampooGentle Brightening Shampoo
Water
Neutral
#1Leading
#1Leading
Sodium Lauroyl Methyl Isethionate
Cleanses
#2Leading
#2Leading
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleanses
#3Leading
#3Leading
Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate
Cleanses
#4Supporting
#7Supporting
PEG-150 Distearate
Stabilizes
#5Supporting
#6Supporting
Citric Acid
pH balancer
#8Below the 1% line
#18Below the 1% line
Fragrance
Fragrance
#13Below the 1% line
#15Below the 1% line
Glycol Distearate
Softens
#10Below the 1% line
#8Supporting

What only one of them carries

Cool Blonde Shampoo

Gentle Brightening Shampoo

Full ingredient list — Cool Blonde Shampoo (24)
Full ingredient list — Gentle Brightening Shampoo (18)

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.

VerdictsCool Blonde ShampooGentle Brightening Shampoo
Supported
0
1
Partly supported
1
0
Stated by brand
1
0
Potential conflict
0
0

Cool Blonde Shampoo

  • Neutralizes yellow tones and brassiness in blondes as it cleanses hairStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.
  • Silk Proteins help strengthen hair, increase brightness, and improve lusterPartly supportedSupports the surface, not a treatment.

Gentle Brightening Shampoo

  • This gentle chelating cleanser works like a magnet to remove metals, chlorine, minerals, and product residueSupportedHandles mineral-heavy water.

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.

Cool Blonde Shampoo

Strong repeat-purchase loyalty; some reviewers stock up on multiple bottles at once

general reviewers

Several reviewers with naturally curly or coarse hair say it does not dry hair out despite being a purple/toning shampoo

curly/coarse-textured blonde hair

Reviewers report the violet-pigment formula effectively neutralizes yellow/brassy tones and restores a cool icy blonde

blonde-toned hair, repeat buyers

Fragrance is described as strong on first use but becomes pleasant with continued use

general reviewers

Gentle Brightening Shampoo

Reviewers like the scent, describing it as a pleasant floral/musk fragrance

general reviewers

Reviewers describe a squeaky-clean cleanse that still leaves hair feeling nourished, not stripped

general reviewers

Reviewers with color-treated or highlighted hair report it revives dull color and brightens between salon visits

reviewer with highlighted/color-treated hair

Repeat buyers use it as a maintenance step between color appointments, often alongside the matching conditioner and powder

reviewer maintaining color between salon visits

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.

$3.29/oz vs $3.50/oz — within about the same cost per ounce.

$0.00/oz median $1.48/oz $17.29/oz $3.50/oz Cool Blonde Shampoo $3.29/oz Gentle Brightening Shampoo

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

Value readCool Blonde ShampooGentle Brightening Shampoo
Label
Same job for less elsewhereYou are paying above the range for a formula close to several lower-priced options.
Same job for less elsewhereYou are paying above the range for a formula close to several lower-priced options.

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.

Cool Blonde Shampoo vs SUNSET BLVD Blonde ShampooR+Co · 95% function matchGentle Brightening Shampoo vs Color Fresh ShampoodpHUE · 100% function matchCool Blonde Shampoo vs EverPure Sulfate Free Purple ShampooL'Oreal Paris · 91% function matchGentle Brightening Shampoo vs Ultimate Color Sulfate-Free ShampooWella Professionals · 100% function matchCool Blonde Shampoo vs Cool Brunette ShampoodpHUE · 89% function matchGentle Brightening Shampoo vs Illuminating Color Care Biotin Sulfate Free ShampooPantene · 100% function matchCool Blonde Shampoo vs Forever Blonde ShampooPaul Mitchell · 89% function matchGentle Brightening Shampoo vs Colour Shield Shampoo with Camu-Camu BerriesChristophe Robin · 98% function match

Cool Blonde Shampoo · Gentle Brightening 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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