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Side by side

dpHUE Gentle Brightening Shampoo vs Olaplex Nº.4C Bond Maintenance Clarifying Shampoo

94% function match · 11 of the 13 functions we compared match Formula overlap 43%. dpHUE Gentle Brightening Shampoo and Olaplex Nº.4C Bond Maintenance Clarifying Shampoo share 3 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.

  • Gentle Brightening Shampoo — colour-treated hair
  • Nº.4C Bond Maintenance Clarifying 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 Gentle Brightening Shampoo — container dpHUE

Gentle Brightening Shampoo

  • Shampoo
  • Salon
  • Sulfate-free
  • Silicone-free
Olaplex Nº.4C Bond Maintenance Clarifying Shampoo — 8.5 oz container Olaplex

Nº.4C Bond Maintenance Clarifying Shampoo

  • Shampoo
  • Salon
  • Sulfate-free
  • Silicone-free
Price, size & price per ounce
$28 8.5 oz · $3.29/oz
$29–34 8.5 oz · $3.70/oz
Value / price positioning
Same job for less elsewhere $$$$$ Salon tier · costs more than 79% of the 817 shampoos we’ve priced
Same job for less elsewhere $$$$$ Salon tier · costs more than 83% 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
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
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
None No protein or amino acids in the list. Your hair
None No protein or amino acids in the list. 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 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
  • 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
  • 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 scent
  • Dry or damaged haira strong detergent system strips as it cleans
  • Hair that needs proteinthere is none in this list
  • 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
Shampoocream
Line
Gentle Brightening
Where to buy
Brand website
Brand website · Specialty beauty · Grocery / mass
Free of
  • sulfate-free
  • silicone-free
  • protein-free
  • curly-method compatible
  • sulfate-free
  • silicone-free
  • protein-free
  • curly-method compatible
Vegan
Vegan · label states
Scent
Amber & spice · Floral
Scented, not described
How often
weekly

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

IngredientGentle Brightening ShampooNº.4C Bond Maintenance Clarifying Shampoo
Water
Neutral
#1Leading
#1Leading
Sodium Lauroyl Methyl Isethionate
Cleanses
#2Leading
#2Leading
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleanses
#3Leading
#8Supporting
Sodium Methyl Oleoyl Taurate
Cleanses
#4Supporting
#10Secondary
Fragrance
Fragrance
#15Below the 1% line
#40Below the 1% line
Phenoxyethanol
Stabilizes
#16Below the 1% line
#14Below the 1% line
Ethylhexylglycerin
Softens
#17Below the 1% line
#20Below the 1% line

What only one of them carries

Full ingredient list — Gentle Brightening Shampoo (18)
Full ingredient list — Nº.4C Bond Maintenance Clarifying Shampoo (43)

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.

VerdictsGentle Brightening ShampooNº.4C Bond Maintenance Clarifying Shampoo
Supported
1
1
Partly supported
0
0
Stated by brand
0
3
Potential conflict
0
0

Gentle Brightening Shampoo

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

Nº.4C Bond Maintenance Clarifying Shampoo

  • Deeply cleanses buildup, restoring color vibrancy, shine, and softnessStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.
  • Clinically proven to remove chlorine, metals & minerals from hard water, excess oil, product buildup, and pollutionStated by brandOnly the brand’s testing shows this.
  • Free of sulfates, silicones, phthalates, parabens, MIC/MIT, proteinSupportedGentler on colour and coils.
  • Color safe, stylist & dermatologist tested, vegan, extension safeStated 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 how it cleanses. Olaplex Nº.4C Bond Maintenance Clarifying Shampoo draws complaints about tangling and dryness.

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

Nº.4C Bond Maintenance Clarifying Shampoo

Many reviewers note it is gentler than typical clarifying shampoos, leaving hair soft and full of body rather than stripped

general users

Reviewers consistently say a small amount cuts through hard-water buildup and chlorine without stripping hair the way other clarifying shampoos do

clarifying-shampoo users comparing it to other brands

Reviewers note the lather leaves little slip, making detangling harder right after rinsing, and recommend always following with conditioner

general users

A recurring minority of reviewers report increased scalp dryness, flaking or sensitivity, especially with more frequent use

sensitive-scalp reviewers

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 $3.70/oz — within about the same cost per ounce.

$0.00/oz median $1.47/oz $17.29/oz $3.29/oz Gentle Brightening Shampoo $3.70/oz Nº.4C Bond Maintenance Cla

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

Value readGentle Brightening ShampooNº.4C Bond Maintenance Clarifying 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.

Gentle Brightening Shampoo · Nº.4C Bond Maintenance Clarifying 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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