Side by side
Nioxin Age Defense Shampoo vs Nioxin Nioxin Scalp + Hair Thickening System 1 Shampoo
69% function match · 7 of the 13 functions we compared match Formula overlap 25%. Nioxin Age Defense Shampoo and Nioxin Nioxin Scalp + Hair Thickening System 1 Shampoo share 3 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
- 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.
- Age Defense Shampoo — colour-treated hair
- Nioxin Scalp + Hair Thickening System 1 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”.
- Colour-treated hairthat fades faster in a sulfate wash
- Protein-sensitive hairthat stiffens when protein is added
- Fast-oiling scalpsthat need a real reset wash
- Curly-method routinesno sulfates and no water-insoluble silicones
- Fragrance-freeno fragrance (parfum) on the label — scented
- Fast-oiling scalpsthat need a real reset wash
- Hard waterand swimmers dealing with mineral deposit
- Fine hairthat flattens under most products
- Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
- Dry or damaged haira strong detergent system strips as it cleans
- Hair that needs proteinthere is none in this list
- Scents bother youthis product carries a strong scent
- Sulfate-free routinesit uses a sulfate detergent
- Dry or damaged haira strong detergent system strips as it cleans
More facts about each one
- sulfate-free
- silicone-free
- protein-free
- curly-method compatible
- silicone-free
- fragrance-free
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
Age Defense Shampoo
Nioxin Scalp + Hair Thickening System 1 Shampoo
Full ingredient list — Age Defense Shampoo (22)
-
1
Water
- solvent
-
2
Sodium Cocoyl Methyl Isethionate
- mild anionic cleanser
- cleanser
-
3
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
- amphoteric cleanser
- secondary cleanser
- cleanser
-
4
Sodium Methyl Oleoyl Taurate
- mild anionic cleanser
- cleanser
-
5
Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate
- mild anionic cleanser
- cleanser
- Below about this point, order stops being meaningful — these are typically used at 1% or less.
-
6
Fragrance
- fragrance
- declared fragrance
-
7
Malic Acid
- pH adjuster
- exfoliant
-
8
Sodium Benzoate
- preservative
-
9
Sodium Chloride
- salt
- thickener
-
10
Salicylic Acid
- active
- exfoliant
-
11
Sodium Hydroxide
- pH adjuster
-
12
Niacinamide
- vitamin
- conditioning agent
-
13
Oleic Acid
- emollient
- emulsifier
-
14
Sodium Citrate
- pH adjuster
- hard-water chelator
-
15
Sodium Cocoate
- cleanser
-
16
Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate
- hard-water chelator
-
17
Caffeine
- active
-
18
Polyquaternium-10
- conditioning agent
- film former
- polymer
-
19
Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil
- botanical extract
- essential oil
- fragrance
-
20
Menthol
- fragrance
- active
-
21
Mentha Arvensis Leaf Oil
- fragrance
- botanical extract
-
22
Citric Acid
- pH adjuster
- hard-water chelator
Full ingredient list — Nioxin Scalp + Hair Thickening System 1 Shampoo (42)
-
1
Water
- solvent
-
2
Sodium Laureth Sulfate
- sulfate cleanser
- cleanser
-
3
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
- sulfate cleanser
- cleanser
-
4
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
- amphoteric cleanser
- secondary cleanser
- cleanser
-
5
Cocamide MEA
- secondary cleanser
- nonionic cleanser
- thickener
- 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
-
8
Sodium Chloride
- salt
- thickener
-
9
Salicylic Acid
- active
- exfoliant
-
10
Mentha Arvensis Leaf Oil
- fragrance
- botanical extract
-
11
Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil
- botanical extract
- essential oil
- fragrance
-
12
Tetrasodium EDTA
- hard-water chelator
-
13
Methylparaben
- paraben
- preservative
-
14
Propylene Glycol
- humectant
- solvent
-
15
Glycerin
- humectant
-
16
Sodium Hydroxide
- pH adjuster
-
17
Limonene
- fragrance
- named fragrance allergen
-
18
Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf Extract
- botanical extract
- antioxidant
-
19
Cystine Bis-PG-Propyl Silanetriol
- amino acid
- protein
-
20
Niacinamide
- vitamin
- conditioning agent
-
21
Panthenol
- humectant
- conditioning agent
- vitamin
-
22
Biotin
- vitamin
-
23
Lecithin
- emulsifier
- emollient
-
24
Tocopheryl Acetate
- antioxidant
- vitamin
-
25
Citrus Paradisi (Grapefruit) Peel Extract
- botanical extract
-
26
Humulus Lupulus (Hops) Flower Extract
- botanical extract
-
27
Urtica Dioica (Nettle) Leaf Extract
- botanical extract
-
28
Blue 1 (CI 42090)
- colourant
- direct dye
- blue dye
-
29
Acer Saccharum (Sugar Maple) Extract
- botanical extract
-
30
Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Extract
- botanical extract
-
31
Saccharum Officinarum/Sugar Cane Extract
- botanical extract
-
32
Vaccinium Myrtillus Leaf Extract
- botanical extract
-
33
Yeast Extract
- botanical extract
-
34
Propylparaben
- paraben
- preservative
-
35
Phenoxyethanol
- preservative
-
36
Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Fruit Extract
- botanical extract
-
37
Potassium Sorbate
- preservative
-
38
Maltodextrin
- absorbent
- film former
- binder
-
39
Sodium Citrate
- pH adjuster
- hard-water chelator
-
40
Ethylparaben
- paraben
- preservative
-
41
Butylparaben
- paraben
- preservative
-
42
Sodium Xylenesulfonate
- solubilizer
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.
Age Defense Shampoo
Formulated without sulfates and silicones.
SupportedGentler on colour and coils.
Nioxin Scalp + Hair Thickening System 1 Shampoo
85% of consumers noticed a thickening effect
Stated by brandOnly the brand’s testing shows this.80% noticed an increase in hair density
Stated by brandOnly the brand’s testing shows this.80% noticed an increase in hair fullness (230-person, 2016 survey)
Stated by brandOnly the brand’s testing shows this.
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.
Age Defense Shampoo
No review themes researched for this product yet.
Nioxin Scalp + Hair Thickening System 1 Shampoo
Perceived to balance oily scalp/hair and leave hair feeling clean with added volume
oily-scalp usersReviewers, many identifying as stylists, report visible hair thickening/growth and reorder for salon clients
stylist/salon users, repeat buyersSome reviewers with scalp eczema or sensitivity report it calms irritation without over-drying, and less menthol-forward than other Nioxin-type products
sensitive/eczema-prone scalp usersA minority report drying effects or increased shedding, especially those with fine hair
fine-hair usersStrong minty/eucalyptus-menthol scent noted, described as refreshing by most but off-putting to some
general usersPrice 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.
$2.33/oz vs $3.57/oz — Nioxin Age Defense Shampoo costs about 1.5× more per ounce than Nioxin Nioxin Scalp + Hair Thickening System 1 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.
Age Defense Shampoo · Nioxin Scalp + Hair Thickening System 1 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.
- 14 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.
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