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Side by side

Kristin Ess Kristin Ess The One Signature Shampoo vs Kristin Ess Strengthening Shampoo

93% function match · 11 of the 13 functions we compared match Formula overlap 76%. Kristin Ess Kristin Ess The One Signature Shampoo and Kristin Ess Strengthening 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.

  • Kristin Ess The One Signature Shampoo — colour-treated hair
  • Strengthening 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
Kristin Ess Kristin Ess The One Signature Shampoo — 33.8 oz container Kristin Ess

Kristin Ess The One Signature Shampoo

  • Shampoo
  • Drugstore
  • Sulfate-free
  • Moisture-rich
Kristin Ess Strengthening Shampoo — 10 oz container Kristin Ess

Strengthening Shampoo

  • Shampoo
  • Drugstore
  • Sulfate-free
  • Curly-method
Price, size & price per ounce
about $24 33.8 oz · $0.71/oz
$12–13 10 oz · $1.24/oz

Compared at different sizes — 33.8 oz against 10 oz. Per-ounce prices favour the larger bottle.

Value / price positioning
Lower cost than most shampoos $$$$$ Drugstore tier · costs less than 80% of the 805 shampoos we’ve priced
Priced with its peers $$$$$ Drugstore tier · costs less than 57% 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
Curly–Coily A heavy formula: coarse, curlier strands carry it without flattening. Your hair
Moisture level Differs
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
Medium Middle of the range — noticeable on fine hair, light on coarse hair. Your hair
Rich Heavy butters and waxes in the first eight ingredients. 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
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
Low The silicones here are the water-soluble kind. Your hair
Low The silicones here are the water-soluble kind. Your hair
Clarifying wash needed
Low Your hair
Low 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
  • Dry, thirsty hairhumectants and emollients both sit up front
  • Curly-method routinesno sulfates and no water-insoluble silicones
  • Colour-treated hairthat fades faster in a sulfate wash
  • Fast-oiling scalpsthat need a real reset wash
  • Curly-method routinesno sulfates and no water-insoluble silicones
  • Hard waterand swimmers dealing with mineral deposit
Why you might skip it
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
  • Very dry or damaged hairit contains fast-drying alcohol
  • Dry or damaged haira strong detergent system strips as it cleans
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a strong scent
  • Oily scalp or fine hairthat gets weighed down
  • 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
The One Signature
Where to buy
Target · Ulta
Brand website · Ulta
Free of
  • sulfate-free
  • curly-method compatible
  • sulfate-free
  • curly-method compatible
Vegan
Vegan · label states
Vegan · label states
Cruelty-free
Cruelty-free · PETA-listed
Cruelty-free · label states
Scent
Floral · Fruity
Scented, not described

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

IngredientKristin Ess The One Signature ShampooStrengthening Shampoo
Water
Neutral
#1Leading
#1Leading
Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate
Cleanses
#2Leading
#2Leading
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cleanses
#3Leading
#3Leading
Fragrance
Fragrance
#4Below the 1% line
#4Below the 1% line
Acrylates Copolymer
Holds
#5Below the 1% line
#28Below the 1% line
Glycol Stearate
Softens
#6Below the 1% line
#5Below the 1% line
Panthenol
Detangles
#7Below the 1% line
#30Below the 1% line
Glycerin
Moisturizes
#8Below the 1% line
#39Below the 1% line
Cetearamidoethyldiethonium Succinoyl Hydrolyzed Pea Protein
Protein
#9Below the 1% line
#45Below the 1% line
PEG-12 Dimethicone
Shine
#26Below the 1% line
#54Below the 1% line
Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil
Softens
#14Below the 1% line
#8Below the 1% line

What only one of them carries

Kristin Ess The One Signature Shampoo

Strengthening Shampoo

Full ingredient list — Kristin Ess The One Signature Shampoo (42)
Full ingredient list — Strengthening Shampoo (54)

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.

VerdictsKristin Ess The One Signature ShampooStrengthening Shampoo
Supported
1
3
Partly supported
0
0
Stated by brand
0
0
Potential conflict
0
0

Kristin Ess The One Signature Shampoo

  • lightly clarifying, high lathering, enhances shine, for all hair typesSupportedResets a coated scalp.

Strengthening Shampoo

  • cruelty freeSupportedMatches our researched record.
  • color + keratin safeSupportedThe named ingredient is really there.
  • veganSupportedMatches our researched record.

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.

Kristin Ess Kristin Ess The One Signature Shampoo draws complaints about the packaging.

Kristin Ess The One Signature Shampoo

Signature fragrance (ambrette seed, magnolia, pear water, night violet, orris butter) well liked

Marketed and generally experienced as suitable across a range of hair types

Cleanses thoroughly, works well for oily scalps as part of a regular wash routine

oily-scalp reviewers

Some users report the shampoo fades color-treated hair faster than expected, despite color-safe marketing

color-treated hair

Pump dispenser mechanism is poorly designed and hard to use

Strengthening Shampoo

A number of reviewers did not notice any added strength, thickness, or reduced breakage despite the product's name.

Many reviewers say the shampoo lathers well and leaves hair feeling clean without heavy residue.

Several reviewers find the thick, gel-like texture difficult to squeeze out of the bottle.

Reviewers consistently praise the fragrance as pleasant and long-lasting after washing.

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.

$0.71/oz vs $1.24/oz — Kristin Ess Strengthening Shampoo costs about 1.7× more per ounce than Kristin Ess Kristin Ess The One Signature Shampoo.

$0.00/oz median $1.47/oz $17.29/oz $0.71/oz Kristin Ess The One Signat $1.24/oz Strengthening Shampoo

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

Value readKristin Ess The One Signature ShampooStrengthening Shampoo
Label
Lower cost than most shampoosCosts less per ounce than most shampoos we have researched.
Priced with its peersSits 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.

Kristin Ess The One Signature Shampoo · Strengthening 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.
  • 8 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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