Side by side
Head & Shoulders BARE Itchy Scalp Relief Serum vs Nioxin Diamax Advanced
99% function match · 7 of the 7 functions we compared match Formula overlap 64%. Head & Shoulders BARE Itchy Scalp Relief Serum and Nioxin Diamax Advanced 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
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When each one is the right call
What each formula is built for, from its own ingredient list.
- BARE Itchy Scalp Relief Serum — short ingredient lists
- Diamax Advanced — protein-sensitive 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”.
- Short ingredient listsfifteen ingredients or fewer
- Protein-sensitive hairthat stiffens when protein is added
- Fine hairthat flattens under most products
- Easy to findsold through several channels
- Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
- Very dry or damaged hairit contains fast-drying alcohol
- Dry or very humid airwhere heavy humectants work against you
- Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
- Very dry or damaged hairit contains fast-drying alcohol
- Silicone-free routinesit does contain silicones — the water-soluble kind
More facts about each one
- sulfate-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.
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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
What only one of them carries
BARE Itchy Scalp Relief Serum
- Pyrithione Zinc (0.1%)
Full ingredient list — BARE Itchy Scalp Relief Serum (9)
- 1 Pyrithione Zinc (0.1%)
-
2
Alcohol Denat.
- drying alcohol
- solvent
-
3
Water
- solvent
-
4
Niacinamide
- vitamin
- conditioning agent
-
5
Peg/Ppg-20/23 Dimethicone
- emulsifier
- silicone
- water-soluble silicone
-
6
Glycerin
- humectant
-
7
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
- thickener
- polymer
- film former
- Below about this point, order stops being meaningful — these are typically used at 1% or less.
-
8
Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil
- botanical extract
- essential oil
- fragrance
- 9 Tetrahydroxypropyl Ethylenediamine
Full ingredient list — Diamax Advanced (19)
-
1
Alcohol Denat.
- drying alcohol
- solvent
-
2
Water
- solvent
-
3
Niacinamide
- vitamin
- conditioning agent
-
4
Peg/Ppg-20/23 Dimethicone
- emulsifier
- silicone
- water-soluble silicone
-
5
Caffeine
- active
-
6
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
- thickener
- polymer
- film former
- Below about this point, order stops being meaningful — these are typically used at 1% or less.
-
7
Fragrance
- fragrance
- declared fragrance
-
8
Glycerin
- humectant
- 9 TETRAHYDROXYPROPYL ETHYLENEDIAMINE
-
10
Mentha Arvensis Leaf Oil
- fragrance
- botanical extract
-
11
Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil
- botanical extract
- essential oil
- fragrance
- 12 PEG-30 DIPOLYHYDROXYSTEARATE
-
13
Benzyl Salicylate
- fragrance
- named fragrance allergen
-
14
Hexyl Cinnamal
- fragrance
- named fragrance allergen
-
15
Trideceth-6
- emulsifier
- solubilizer
-
16
Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone
- fragrance
- named fragrance allergen
-
17
Limonene
- fragrance
- named fragrance allergen
-
18
Linalool
- fragrance
- named fragrance allergen
-
19
Citronellol
- fragrance
- named fragrance allergen
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.
BARE Itchy Scalp Relief Serum
Instant cooling relief
Stated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.Absorbs instantly, non-greasy
Stated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.Use on wash OR non-wash days
Stated by brandHow to use it, not a claim.Instantly soothes scalp
Stated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.
Diamax Advanced
FOR INSTANTLY FULLER-LOOKING HAIR
Stated by brandNot something a label can show.
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.
Nioxin Diamax Advanced draws complaints about the price and the packaging.
BARE Itchy Scalp Relief Serum
The pointed applicator tip is called out as making it easy to target itchy or flaky sections directly on the scalp, especially through thick hair.
reviewers with thick or hard-to-reach hairReviewers repeatedly praise the lightweight, non-greasy feel and how quickly it absorbs into the scalp without weighing hair down.
general reviewers using it between washesThe cooling, minty tingle on contact is a divisive sensory trait: most reviewers describe it as pleasant and soothing, but at least one disliked the menthol scent outright.
general reviewersSome reviewers with very sensitive or dry scalps found it only okay, noting mild irritation, and said it soothes itch without visibly reducing dandruff itself.
reviewers with sensitive or dry scalpDiamax Advanced
Users describe the serum absorbing without an oily finish.
Exact Diamax Ulta PDP, separate 410-review corpus. Read first five recent bodies plus helpful positive/critical; excluded EMEA-syndicated review. Product-line historical reviews can span packaging/formula updates; one recent reviewer alleges reformulation, not independently confirmed.Price is a repeated concern, including among users who like the results.
Exact Diamax Ulta PDP, separate 410-review corpus. Read first five recent bodies plus helpful positive/critical; excluded EMEA-syndicated review. Product-line historical reviews can span packaging/formula updates; one recent reviewer alleges reformulation, not independently confirmed.Reports of fuller-looking hair are mixed; some users see added volume, while another recent user reports flat results.
Exact Diamax Ulta PDP, separate 410-review corpus. Read first five recent bodies plus helpful positive/critical; excluded EMEA-syndicated review. Product-line historical reviews can span packaging/formula updates; one recent reviewer alleges reformulation, not independently confirmed.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.
$3.09/oz vs $13.02/oz — Nioxin Diamax Advanced costs about 4.2× more per ounce than Head & Shoulders BARE Itchy Scalp Relief Serum.
Every mark sits on one distribution because these are compared against the same set: 154 scalp treatments 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.
BARE Itchy Scalp Relief Serum · Diamax Advanced · All scalp treatments 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.
- 12 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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