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Side by side

Nioxin Scalp Recovery Serum vs ORS ORS HAIRestore Hair Fertilizer

70% function match · 6 of the 10 functions we compared match Formula overlap 2%. Nioxin Scalp Recovery Serum and ORS ORS HAIRestore Hair Fertilizer 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.

  • Scalp Recovery Serum — flaking scalps
  • ORS HAIRestore Hair Fertilizer — 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”.

Trait
Nioxin Scalp Recovery Serum — front of package Nioxin

Scalp Recovery Serum

  • Scalp treatment
  • Salon
  • Sulfate-free
  • Protein-free
ORS ORS HAIRestore Hair Fertilizer — container, alternate view ORS

ORS HAIRestore Hair Fertilizer

  • Scalp treatment
  • Drugstore
  • Sulfate-free
  • Fragrance-free
Price, size & price per ounce
$46–54 3.38 oz · $15.59/oz
$9.99 6 oz · $1.67/oz
Value / price positioning
Upper-mid price for a scalp treatment $$$$$ Salon tier · costs more than 66% of the 154 scalp treatments we’ve priced
Lower cost than most scalp treatments $$$$$ Drugstore tier · costs less than 93% of the 154 scalp treatments 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 Same
Low Humectants appear, but low enough to be a minor part. Your hair
Moderate Humectants in the working part of the formula. Your hair
Slip / detangling Differs
High Conditioning agents sit high in the list — this is a detangling formula. Your hair
Some Some slip, mostly from esters or silicones rather than conditioners. Your hair
Weight on hair Differs
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
Present Fragrance is listed; it sits below the working ingredients. Your hair
None listed No fragrance is listed. Your hair
Protein Same
None No protein or amino acids in the list. Your hair
None No protein or amino acids in the list. 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
High Your hair
High Your hair
Oils and butters Differs
None No oils or butters in the list. Your hair
Present, high in the list Oils sit high in the list — a softening, coating formula. Your hair
Hard-water defence Same
None No chelating agent in the list. Your hair
None No chelating agent in the list. Your hair
Formula completeness
out of 10
Complete for its job
out of 10
Covers the core
Who should choose this
  • Flaking scalpsthis carries an over-the-counter active
  • Protein-sensitive hairthat stiffens when protein is added
  • Maximum slipfor hair that tangles the moment it is wet
  • Very dry hairno fast-drying alcohol in the list
  • Fragrance-freeno fragrance (parfum) on the label
  • Protein-sensitive hairthat stiffens when protein is added
  • Coarse or dry hairthat absorbs everything you give it
  • 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
  • Non-medicated routinesthis is an over-the-counter drug as well as a cosmetic
  • Curly-method routinesthese silicones need a detergent to remove
  • Oily scalp or fine hairthat gets weighed down
  • Picking it up locallywe have it recorded in one channel only
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
Scalp treatmentlotion
Scalp treatmentcream
Where to buy
Brand website · Salons · Amazon
Brand website
Free of
  • sulfate-free
  • protein-free
  • sulfate-free
  • fragrance-free
  • protein-free
Cruelty-free
Not cruelty-free · PETA-listed
Cruelty-free · PETA-listed
Scent
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

IngredientScalp Recovery SerumORS HAIRestore Hair Fertilizer
Water
Neutral
#1Leading
#1Leading
Urtica Dioica (Nettle) Extract
Neutral
#49Below the 1% line
#3Leading

What only one of them carries

Scalp Recovery Serum

ORS HAIRestore Hair Fertilizer

Full ingredient list — Scalp Recovery Serum (57)
Full ingredient list — ORS HAIRestore Hair Fertilizer (23)

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.

VerdictsScalp Recovery SerumORS HAIRestore Hair Fertilizer
Supported
1
0
Partly supported
0
0
Stated by brand
0
1
Potential conflict
0
0

Scalp Recovery Serum

  • ANTI-DANDRUFF TREATMENTSupportedA recognised active does the work.

ORS HAIRestore Hair Fertilizer

  • with nettle leaf and horsetail extractStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.

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.

Scalp Recovery Serum

No review themes researched for this product yet.

ORS HAIRestore Hair Fertilizer

Reviewers describe the texture as a thick, somewhat greasy cream-and-grease hybrid, and more than one mentioned the scent could be better.

Many reviewers report visible new hair growth and thicker edges after weeks of use, including some describing postpartum shedding, alopecia-related bald spots or previously slow-growing hair filling back in.

Reviewers with natural and 4c-textured hair say it also softens and makes strands more manageable when applied along the lengths, not just the scalp.

Several reviewers say it gives the scalp a cooling, comfortable feeling and describe it as a staple in their scalp-care routine.

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.

$1.67/oz vs $15.59/oz — Nioxin Scalp Recovery Serum costs about 9.3× more per ounce than ORS ORS HAIRestore Hair Fertilizer.

$1.25/oz median $7.19/oz $55.03/oz $15.59/oz Scalp Recovery Serum $1.67/oz ORS HAIRestore Hair Fertil

Every mark sits on one distribution because these are compared against the same set: 154 scalp treatments with a computable unit price.

Value readScalp Recovery SerumORS HAIRestore Hair Fertilizer
Label
Upper-mid price for a scalp treatmentSits in the middle of the range for scalp treatments per ounce.
Lower cost than most scalp treatmentsCosts less per ounce than most scalp treatments we have researched.

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.

Scalp Recovery Serum vs Scalp-ology Scalp MasqueCHI · 75% function matchORS HAIRestore Hair Fertilizer vs Rosemary Mint Scalp & Hair Strengthening OilMielle Organics · 93% function matchScalp Recovery Serum vs Detox Reset Revive & Restore Scalp & Hair Treatment MaskDrybar · 75% function matchORS HAIRestore Hair Fertilizer vs Scalp Therapy Balancing Pre-Wash OilL'anza · 80% function matchScalp Recovery Serum vs Revitalizing Scalp MaskOmorovicza · 70% function matchORS HAIRestore Hair Fertilizer vs Scalp Care Anti Itch OilDesign Essentials · 79% function matchScalp Recovery Serum vs Scalp Therapy Densifying & Rebalancing Leave-In MistR+Co · 70% function matchORS HAIRestore Hair Fertilizer vs Hair & Scalp Recovery OilAAVRANI · 79% function match

Scalp Recovery Serum · ORS HAIRestore Hair Fertilizer · All scalp treatments 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.
  • 12 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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