Side by side
Free & Clear Shampoo for Sensitive Skin vs Vanicream Vanicream Shampoo
13 of 13 functions match Formula overlap 100%. Free & Clear Shampoo for Sensitive Skin and Vanicream Vanicream Shampoo share 4 ingredients among each other's most prominent.
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.
- Shampoo for Sensitive Skin — fragrance-free
- Vanicream Shampoo — 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”.
- Fragrance-freeno fragrance (parfum) on the label
- Unscentedfree of strong smells
- Colour-treated hairthat fades faster in a sulfate wash
- Protein-sensitive hairthat stiffens when protein is added
- Fragrance-freeno fragrance (parfum) on the label
- Unscentedfree of strong smells
- Colour-treated hairthat fades faster in a sulfate wash
- Protein-sensitive hairthat stiffens when protein is added
- Hair that needs proteinthere is none in this list
- If scent matters to younothing is added here
- Hair that needs proteinthere is none in this list
- If scent matters to younothing is added here
- Picking it up locallywe have it recorded in one channel only
More facts about each one
- sulfate-free
- silicone-free
- fragrance-free
- protein-free
- curly-method compatible
- sulfate-free
- silicone-free
- fragrance-free
- protein-free
- curly-method compatible
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.
$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
Full ingredient list — Shampoo for Sensitive Skin (15)
-
1
Water
- solvent
-
2
Lauryl Glucoside
- nonionic cleanser
- cleanser
-
3
Coco-Glucoside
- nonionic cleanser
- cleanser
-
4
Acrylates Copolymer
- film former
- polymer
-
5
Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate
- mild anionic cleanser
- cleanser
-
6
Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate
- mild anionic cleanser
- cleanser
-
7
Glycerin
- humectant
-
8
Sucrose Cocoate
- light ester
- emulsifier
- emollient
-
9
Panthenol
- humectant
- conditioning agent
- vitamin
- Below about this point, order stops being meaningful — these are typically used at 1% or less.
-
10
Pentylene Glycol
- humectant
- solvent
- preservative
-
11
1,2-Hexanediol
- preservative
- humectant
- solvent
-
12
Disodium EDTA
- hard-water chelator
-
13
Caprylyl Glycol
- preservative
- humectant
-
14
Sodium Hydroxide
- pH adjuster
-
15
Sodium Chloride
- salt
- thickener
Full ingredient list — Vanicream Shampoo (15)
-
1
Water
- solvent
-
2
Lauryl Glucoside
- nonionic cleanser
- cleanser
-
3
Coco-Glucoside
- nonionic cleanser
- cleanser
-
4
Acrylates Copolymer
- film former
- polymer
-
5
Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate
- mild anionic cleanser
- cleanser
-
6
Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate
- mild anionic cleanser
- cleanser
-
7
Glycerin
- humectant
-
8
Sucrose Cocoate
- light ester
- emulsifier
- emollient
-
9
Panthenol
- humectant
- conditioning agent
- vitamin
- Below about this point, order stops being meaningful — these are typically used at 1% or less.
-
10
Pentylene Glycol
- humectant
- solvent
- preservative
-
11
1,2-Hexanediol
- preservative
- humectant
- solvent
-
12
Disodium EDTA
- hard-water chelator
-
13
Caprylyl Glycol
- preservative
- humectant
-
14
Sodium Hydroxide
- pH adjuster
-
15
Sodium Chloride
- salt
- thickener
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.
Free of formaldehyde releasers commonly found in ordinary shampoos
pH balanced and dermatologist tested
Shampoo for Sensitive Skin
No claims recorded for this product beyond the ones above.
Vanicream Shampoo
Effectively cleans both hair and scalp
Stated 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 how gentle it is. Free & Clear Shampoo for Sensitive Skin draws complaints about frizz; Vanicream Vanicream Shampoo draws complaints about the packaging.
Shampoo for Sensitive Skin
Effective and calming for reviewers or family members with eczema, scalp issues, and skin sensitivities
Sensitive-skin and eczema householdsSome users find it very drying, describing straw-like hair and even shedding during conditioning
Users with longer or drier hairComplaints that hair is left tacky, gummy, or frizzy and hard to manage regardless of conditioner used
Reviewers focused on hair feel rather than skin toleranceDivided views on value: worth the premium for irritant avoidance, questionable if you don't need the gentle formula
Price-conscious buyers vs. medically motivated buyersVanicream Shampoo
Gentle, low-irritation cleansing appreciated by users with sensitive or allergy-prone scalps
sensitive-skin/allergy-prone reviewersPerforms well in hard water and effectively removes product buildup
Some reviewers report noticeably increased hair shedding or hair loss with use
Thin, watery consistency makes the product harder to dispense and control
Hair left feeling dry, straw-like, or tacky/gummy after use for some 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.
$1.08/oz vs $1.17/oz — within about the same cost per ounce.
Every mark sits on one distribution because these are compared against the same set: 817 shampoos with a computable unit price.
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.
Shampoo for Sensitive Skin · Vanicream 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.
- 11 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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