Side by side
Head & Shoulders Head & Shoulders Bare Sensitive Scalp Care Shampoo vs Paul Mitchell Clear Essential Shampoo
87% function match · 11 of the 13 functions we compared match Formula overlap 15%. Head & Shoulders Head & Shoulders Bare Sensitive Scalp Care Shampoo and Paul Mitchell Clear Essential Shampoo share 1 ingredient 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.
- Head & Shoulders Bare Sensitive Scalp Care Shampoo — flaking scalps
- Clear Essential 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”.
Head & Shoulders
Head & Shoulders Bare Sensitive Scalp Care Shampoo
- Shampoo
- Drugstore
- Sulfate-free
- Silicone-free
- Flaking scalpsthis carries an over-the-counter active
- Fragrance-freeno fragrance (parfum) on the label
- Unscentedfree of strong smells
- Colour-treated hairthat fades faster in a sulfate wash
- Fragrance-freeno fragrance (parfum) on the label
- Colour-treated hairthat fades faster in a sulfate wash
- Protein-sensitive hairthat stiffens when protein is added
- Maximum slipfor hair that tangles the moment it is wet
- Hair that needs proteinthere is none in this list
- Hard waterno chelator here to bind the minerals
- Non-medicated routinesthis is an over-the-counter drug as well as a cosmetic
- Hair that needs proteinthere is none in this list
- Hard waterno chelator here to bind the minerals
- 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
What only one of them carries
Head & Shoulders Bare Sensitive Scalp Care Shampoo
Clear Essential Shampoo
Full ingredient list — Head & Shoulders Bare Sensitive Scalp Care Shampoo (7)
-
1
Water
- solvent
-
2
Lauramidopropyl Betaine
- amphoteric cleanser
- secondary cleanser
- cleanser
-
3
Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate
- mild anionic cleanser
- cleanser
-
4
Polyquaternium-10
- conditioning agent
- film former
- polymer
-
5
Acrylates Copolymer
- film former
- polymer
- Below about this point, order stops being meaningful — these are typically used at 1% or less.
-
6
Sodium Benzoate
- preservative
-
7
Citric Acid
- pH adjuster
- hard-water chelator
Full ingredient list — Clear Essential Shampoo (8)
-
1
Water
- solvent
-
2
Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate
- mild anionic cleanser
- cleanser
-
3
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
- amphoteric cleanser
- secondary cleanser
- cleanser
-
4
Cocamide MIPA
- secondary cleanser
- nonionic cleanser
- thickener
- Below about this point, order stops being meaningful — these are typically used at 1% or less.
-
5
Ethylhexylglycerin
- preservative
- emollient
-
6
Polyquaternium-10
- conditioning agent
- film former
- polymer
-
7
Citric Acid
- pH adjuster
- hard-water chelator
-
8
Phenoxyethanol
- preservative
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.
Head & Shoulders Bare Sensitive Scalp Care Shampoo
Sulfate-Free, For All Hair Types, Basic Cleansing
SupportedGentler on colour and coils.0% sulfates, silicones, and dyes
Stated by brandOnly the brand’s testing shows this.Fragrance Free. Minimal Ingredients Dandruff Protection
SupportedSafer for scent-sensitive scalps.
Clear Essential Shampoo
Made Without Gluten
Stated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.Sulfate Free
SupportedGentler on colour and coils.Color Safe
SupportedLess fade per wash.Vegan
SupportedMatches our researched record.Made With Just 8 Essential Ingredients
Stated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.Dermatologist and pediatrician-tested
Stated by brandOnly the brand’s testing shows this.Recognized by the National Eczema Association with the Seal of Acceptance™
Stated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.Fragrance-free and dye-free
SupportedSafer for scent-sensitive scalps.
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, how it cleanses, and how gentle it is. Head & Shoulders Head & Shoulders Bare Sensitive Scalp Care Shampoo draws complaints about irritation; Paul Mitchell Clear Essential Shampoo draws complaints about dryness and weight.
Head & Shoulders Bare Sensitive Scalp Care Shampoo
Reviewers describe it as gentle across hair types with good lather and effective flake reduction
general users, all hair typesReviewers with sensitive scalp appreciate the fragrance-free formula, noting it works well without irritation
sensitive-scalp usersA small number of reviewers reported a burning or stinging sensation on the scalp despite the sensitive-scalp positioning
sensitive-scalp usersClear Essential Shampoo
Several reviewers describe the gel-like formula as lathering gently and rinsing to a silky finish that feels like it does not need a separate conditioner.
general reviewers describing texture and rinse-out feelReviewers with sensitive scalps, fragrance allergies or skin conditions say the fragrance-free, dye-free formula does not itch or irritate the way other shampoos have.
reviewers with scalp sensitivity or allergiesSome reviewers with wavy or curly hair say it leaves hair dry, frizzy or limp, and suggest it suits straight hair better.
wavy or curly-haired reviewersA handful of reviewers with oily or fine hair felt it did not lather or cleanse strongly enough, needing multiple washes to feel fully clean.
oily or fine-haired reviewersPrice 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.
$1.47/oz vs $1.97/oz — Paul Mitchell Clear Essential Shampoo costs about 1.3× more per ounce than Head & Shoulders Head & Shoulders Bare Sensitive Scalp Care Shampoo.
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.
Head & Shoulders Bare Sensitive Scalp Care Shampoo · Clear Essential 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.
Still unsure? Take your consultation or browse more products.
Your personalized hair plan
Tell us what’s going on with your hair, see what we understand, and get a plan built around it — with the reason behind every recommendation.
Free to start · $49.00 for your consultation and hair profile · No subscription · Nothing you must buy
Start your consultation