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Side by side

Herbal Essences Color Me Happy Shampoo vs Kenra Clarify Shampoo

11 of 13 functions match Formula overlap 62%. Herbal Essences Color Me Happy Shampoo and Kenra Clarify Shampoo share 2 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.

  • Color Me Happy Shampoo — fast-oiling scalps
  • Clarify Shampoo — 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”.

Trait
Herbal Essences Color Me Happy Shampoo — 11.7 oz container Herbal Essences

Color Me Happy Shampoo

  • Shampoo
  • Drugstore
Kenra Clarify Shampoo — 10.1 oz container Kenra

Clarify Shampoo

  • Shampoo
  • Masstige
  • Silicone-free
  • Protein-free
Price, size & price per ounce
$5.25 11.7 oz · $0.48/oz
$18.90 10.1 oz · $1.89/oz
Value / price positioning
Lower cost than most shampoos $$$$$ Drugstore tier · costs less than 90% of the 817 shampoos we’ve priced
Upper-mid price for a shampoo $$$$$ Masstige tier · costs more than 60% 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 Same
None found No humectants found — nothing here pulls water into the hair. Your hair
None found No humectants found — nothing here pulls water into the hair. 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
Fragrance
Prominent Fragrance sits in the first eight ingredients — a larger share of the formula. Your hair
Prominent Fragrance sits in the first eight ingredients — a larger share of the formula. 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
Weight on hair
—
Light Water-first and light: unlikely to flatten fine hair. Your hair
Protein
—
None No protein or amino acids in the list. Your hair
Expected lather Same
High Thick foam that spreads quickly through the hair. Your hair
High Thick foam that spreads quickly through the hair. 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
  • Fast-oiling scalpsthat need a real reset wash
  • Hard waterand swimmers dealing with mineral deposit
  • Cuticle-smoothing pHa pH adjuster brings it to the acidic range hair prefers
  • Tight budgetsit sits in the lower price tiers
  • Protein-sensitive hairthat stiffens when protein is added
  • Fast-oiling scalpsthat need a real reset wash
  • Hard waterand swimmers dealing with mineral deposit
  • Fine hairthat flattens under most products
Why you might skip it
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
  • Sulfate-free routinesit uses a sulfate detergent
  • Dry or damaged haira strong detergent system strips as it cleans
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a light scent
  • Sulfate-free routinesit uses a sulfate detergent
  • Dry or damaged haira strong detergent system strips as it cleans
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
Where to buy
Grocery / mass · Brand website
Salons
Free of
—
  • silicone-free
  • protein-free
Cruelty-free
Cruelty-free · PETA-listed
Cruelty-free · PETA-listed
Scent
Scented, not described
Fresh & airyLight

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

IngredientColor Me Happy ShampooClarify Shampoo
Water
Neutral
#1Leading
#1Leading
Sodium Laureth Sulfate
Cleanses
#2Leading
#2Leading
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleanses
#4Supporting
#3Leading
Fragrance
Fragrance
#5Below the 1% line
#8Below the 1% line
Citric Acid
pH balancer
#6Below the 1% line
#11Below the 1% line
Sodium Benzoate
Stabilizes
#16Below the 1% line
#7Below the 1% line
Sodium Chloride
Stabilizes
#15Below the 1% line
#4Supporting

What only one of them carries

Color Me Happy Shampoo

Clarify Shampoo

Full ingredient list — Color Me Happy Shampoo (24)
Full ingredient list — Clarify Shampoo (19)

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.

VerdictsColor Me Happy ShampooClarify Shampoo
Supported
0
2
Partly supported
0
0
Stated by brand
3
0
Potential conflict
1
0

Color Me Happy Shampoo

  • Protects your hair from damage to allow your hair to look radiantStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.
  • Color-safe and pH balancedPotential conflictLikely to pull colour faster.
  • Paraben free, mineral oil free, dermatologist testedStated by brandOnly the brand’s testing shows this.
  • Silicone freeStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.

Clarify Shampoo

  • Removes damaging impurities and dulling deposits including hard water, metal ions, minerals, pollutants and product buildupSupportedResets a coated scalp.
  • Clarifies without leaving hair feeling dry or strippedSupportedResets a coated scalp.

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.

Kenra Clarify Shampoo draws complaints about weight and volume.

Color Me Happy Shampoo

Reviewers praise the pleasant Moroccan Rose scent and the pump dispenser, which several call easy to use in the shower.

Reviewers say it leaves hair soft, manageable and moisturized rather than dried out, including those with hair damaged by frequent box dyeing.

A few reviewers reported bottle or pump mechanical issues, such as an overly thick formula that would not dispense properly.

Reviewers using the Moroccan Rose scent say it does not strip or fade their hair color and several have used it for years specifically for their color-treated hair.

Clarify Shampoo

Concentrated formula with a light, pleasant scent makes bottles last longer

Noticeably brightens hair color and blonde tones after use

reviewers with color-treated/blonde hair; some report salon professionals recommend it for this

Effectively strips accumulated styling-product buildup (mousse, hairspray, dry shampoo)

Cleanses thoroughly without leaving hair feeling stripped or over-dried, a common complaint with other clarifying shampoos

A minority of reviewers with thin or limp hair found it left hair too soft and lacking body

reviewers with thin/fine, limp hair

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.

$0.48/oz vs $1.89/oz — Kenra Clarify Shampoo costs about 3.9× more per ounce than Herbal Essences Color Me Happy Shampoo.

$0.00/oz median $1.47/oz $17.29/oz $0.48/oz Color Me Happy Shampoo $1.89/oz Clarify Shampoo

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

Value readColor Me Happy ShampooClarify Shampoo
Label
Lower cost than most shampoosCosts less per ounce than most shampoos we have researched.
Upper-mid price for a shampooSits in the middle of the range for shampoos per ounce.

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.

Color Me Happy Shampoo vs Herbal Essences Amaya Papaya Strength Shampoo with Papaya + CitrusHerbal Essences · 100% function matchClarify Shampoo vs Herbal Essences Amaya Papaya Strength Shampoo with Papaya + CitrusHerbal Essences · 100% function matchColor Me Happy Shampoo vs Deep Moisture ShampooAphogee · 95% function matchClarify Shampoo vs Deep Moisture ShampooAphogee · 96% function matchColor Me Happy Shampoo vs Dove Men+Care 2 in 1 Thick + Strong Calcium Shampoo and ConditionerDove · 95% function matchClarify Shampoo vs Dove Men+Care 2 in 1 Thick + Strong Calcium Shampoo and ConditionerDove · 96% function matchColor Me Happy Shampoo vs Regenerating Shampoo with Prickly Pear OilChristophe Robin · 95% function matchClarify Shampoo vs Regenerating Shampoo with Prickly Pear OilChristophe Robin · 96% function match

Color Me Happy Shampoo · Clarify 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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