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Side by side

Joico Defy Damage Protective Shampoo vs Ouai Medium Hair Shampoo

99% function match · 12 of the 13 functions we compared match Formula overlap 66%. Joico Defy Damage Protective Shampoo and Ouai Medium Hair Shampoo share 4 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.

  • Defy Damage Protective Shampoo — colour-treated hair
  • Medium Hair 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
Joico Defy Damage Protective Shampoo — 10.1 oz container Joico

Defy Damage Protective Shampoo

  • Shampoo
  • Salon
  • Sulfate-free
  • Lightweight
Ouai Medium Hair Shampoo — 10 oz container Ouai

Medium Hair Shampoo

  • Shampoo
  • Masstige
  • Sulfate-free
Price, size & price per ounce
about $26 10.1 oz · $2.57/oz
$16–32 10 oz · $1.60/oz
Value / price positioning
Upper-mid price for a shampoo $$$$$ Salon tier · costs more than 69% of the 805 shampoos we’ve priced
Upper-mid price for a shampoo $$$$$ Masstige tier · costs more than 53% of the 805 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
Moderate Humectants in the working part of the formula. Your hair
Moderate Humectants in the working part of the formula. 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
Medium Middle of the range — noticeable on fine hair, light on coarse hair. Your hair
Fragrance
Present Fragrance is listed; it sits below the working ingredients. Your hair
Prominent Fragrance sits in the first eight ingredients — a larger share of the formula. Your hair
Protein Same
Minor Protein appears, low enough to be a supporting ingredient. Your hair
Minor Protein appears, low enough to be a supporting ingredient. Your hair
Silicone / wax buildup Same
High Water-insoluble silicones or waxes: a detergent wash is what removes them. Your hair
High Water-insoluble silicones or waxes: a detergent wash is what removes them. Your hair
Clarifying wash needed
Moderate Your hair
Moderate 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
  • Colour-treated hairthat fades faster in a sulfate wash
  • Fast-oiling scalpsthat need a real reset wash
  • Hard waterand swimmers dealing with mineral deposit
  • Fine hairthat flattens under most products
  • Colour-treated hairthat fades faster in a sulfate wash
  • Fast-oiling scalpsthat need a real reset wash
  • Hard waterand swimmers dealing with mineral deposit
  • Very dry hairno fast-drying alcohol in the list
Why you might skip it
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
  • Curly-method routinesthese silicones need a detergent to remove
  • Dry or damaged haira strong detergent system strips as it cleans
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
  • Curly-method routinesthese silicones need a detergent to remove
  • 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
Line
Defy Damage
OUAI Medium Hair
Where to buy
Ulta · Salons · Target
Brand website
Free of
  • sulfate-free
  • sulfate-free
Vegan
Not vegan · ingredient list
Not vegan · ingredient list
Cruelty-free
Cruelty-free · PETA-listed
Cruelty-free · brand states
Scent
Scented, not described
Sweet & vanilla

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

IngredientDefy Damage Protective ShampooMedium Hair Shampoo
Water
Neutral
#1Leading
#1Leading
Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate
Cleanses
#2Leading
#2Leading
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleanses
#3Leading
#3Leading
Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
Cleanses
#4Supporting
#4Supporting
Glycol Distearate
Softens
#18Below the 1% line
#6Supporting
Fragrance
Fragrance
#40Below the 1% line
#7Below the 1% line

What only one of them carries

Defy Damage Protective Shampoo

Medium Hair Shampoo

Full ingredient list — Defy Damage Protective Shampoo (40)
Full ingredient list — Medium Hair Shampoo (40)

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.

VerdictsDefy Damage Protective ShampooMedium Hair Shampoo
Supported
1
0
Partly supported
0
1
Stated by brand
1
0
Potential conflict
0
0

Defy Damage Protective Shampoo

  • Helps shield and protect hair from daily damage, building resilience and moistureSupportedHelps hair feel hydrated.
  • Lathers without damaging the hair cuticle or stripping hair colorStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.

Medium Hair Shampoo

  • Wash your way to a happy medium with this hydrating shampoo that cleanses, nourishes, and revives shine for medium hair typesPartly supportedSome hydration, at a low level.

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. Joico Defy Damage Protective Shampoo draws complaints about weight and frizz.

Defy Damage Protective Shampoo

Reviewers who switched from a shampoo they blamed for hair shedding report smoother, less frizzy, cleaner-feeling hair and like the scent after switching to this line.

switched from another brand due to shedding concerns

Reviewers recovering from chemical damage (e.g. recent highlighting) report the shampoo, used alongside the line's mask and leave-in, meaningfully cuts frizz without needing to flat-iron.

recently color-treated/highlighted hair

Reviewers pairing this shampoo with the Defy Damage conditioner report their hair stays healthy as part of a routine.

uses shampoo + conditioner together

A subset of reviewers report a waxy/filmy residue that leaves hair feeling greasy and frizzy rather than protected, some noting it was hard to rinse out even in small amounts.

fine-hair reviewers in particular

Medium Hair Shampoo

Lathers well and leaves hair soft yet manageable per multiple reviewers

Refill pouch called out favorably for cost savings by repeat buyers

repeat purchasers

Hair described as clean and soft after washing, without residue

Scent is the most-repeated compliment across reviews

Reviewers with 'in-between' hair (not fine, not thick) report best fit for their texture

medium-texture 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.

$1.60/oz vs $2.57/oz — Joico Defy Damage Protective Shampoo costs about 1.6× more per ounce than Ouai Medium Hair Shampoo.

$0.00/oz median $1.47/oz $17.29/oz $2.57/oz Defy Damage Protective Sha $1.60/oz Medium Hair Shampoo

Every mark sits on one distribution because these are compared against the same set: 805 shampoos with a computable unit price.

Value readDefy Damage Protective ShampooMedium Hair Shampoo
Label
Upper-mid price for a shampooSits in the middle of the range for shampoos per ounce.
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.

Defy Damage Protective Shampoo vs YouthLock Shampoo Formulated With CollagenJoico · 100% function matchMedium Hair Shampoo vs YouthLock Shampoo Formulated With CollagenJoico · 99% function matchDefy Damage Protective Shampoo vs Fine Hair ShampooOuai · 98% function matchMedium Hair Shampoo vs Strictly Curls 3x Moisture ShampooMarc Anthony · 99% function matchDefy Damage Protective Shampoo vs Strictly Curls 3x Moisture ShampooMarc Anthony · 98% function matchMedium Hair Shampoo vs Fine Hair ShampooOuai · 98% function matchDefy Damage Protective Shampoo vs The Protector Color Protect + Strengthen Shampooamika · 96% function matchMedium Hair Shampoo vs Thick Hair ShampooOuai · 96% function match

Defy Damage Protective Shampoo · Medium Hair 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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