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Side by side

Nioxin System 3 Leave In Treatment vs Nizoral Pre-Shampoo Scalp Build-Up Remover

82% function match · 5 of the 7 functions we compared match Formula overlap 1%. Nioxin System 3 Leave In Treatment and Nizoral Pre-Shampoo Scalp Build-Up Remover share 1 ingredient 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.

  • System 3 Leave In Treatment — fine hair
  • Pre-Shampoo Scalp Build-Up Remover — maximum slip

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 System 3 Leave In Treatment — front of package Nioxin

System 3 Leave In Treatment

  • Scalp treatment
  • Salon
  • Sulfate-free
  • Silicone-free
Nizoral

Pre-Shampoo Scalp Build-Up Remover

  • Scalp treatment
  • Drugstore
  • Moisture-rich
Price, size & price per ounce
about $43 6.76 oz · $6.36/oz
$11.99 5 oz · $2.40/oz
Value / price positioning
Priced with its peers $$$$$ Salon tier · costs less than 54% of the 154 scalp treatments we’ve priced
Lower cost than most scalp treatments $$$$$ Drugstore tier · costs less than 88% 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
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
Slip / detangling Differs
Little Nothing here is built to reduce combing force. Your hair
High Conditioning agents sit high in the list — this is a detangling formula. Your hair
Weight on hair
Light Water-first and light: unlikely to flatten fine hair. Your hair
—
Fragrance
Present Fragrance is listed; it sits below the working ingredients. Your hair
Present Fragrance is listed; it sits below the working ingredients. Your hair
Protein
Minor Protein appears, low enough to be a supporting ingredient. 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
Moderate Your hair
Low Your hair
Oils and butters Same
None No oils or butters in the list. Your hair
None No oils or butters in the list. 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
A simple formula
out of 10
Complete for its job
Who should choose this
  • Fine hairthat flattens under most products
  • Silicone-free routinesno silicones appear in the list
  • Very dry hairno fast-drying alcohol in the list
  • Easy to findsold through several channels
  • Maximum slipfor hair that tangles the moment it is wet
  • Dry, thirsty hairhumectants and emollients both sit up front
  • Matte, textured stylesabsorbent powders do the mattifying
  • Tight budgetsit sits in the lower price tiers
Why you might skip it
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
  • Vegan and cruelty-freeour record does not support both claims here
  • Tight budgetsit sits in the upper price tiers
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
  • 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 treatment
Scalp treatmentcream
Where to buy
Salons · Specialty beauty · Amazon
Grocery / mass
Free of
  • sulfate-free
  • silicone-free
  • curly-method compatible
—
Cruelty-free
Not cruelty-free · PETA-listed
—
Scent
Scented, not described
Scented, not described
Use stage
—
Before shampoo (directions incomplete)
Start on
—
dry hair
Label wait
—
not stated on the label
Needs
—
not stated on the label
How often
every wash
—

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

IngredientSystem 3 Leave In TreatmentPre-Shampoo Scalp Build-Up Remover
Water
Neutral
#1Leading
#1Leading
Phenoxyethanol
Stabilizes
#4Below the 1% line
#19Below the 1% line
Fragrance
Fragrance
#16Below the 1% line
#18Below the 1% line
Silica
Stabilizes
#23Below the 1% line
#3Leading

What only one of them carries

System 3 Leave In Treatment

Pre-Shampoo Scalp Build-Up Remover

Full ingredient list — System 3 Leave In Treatment (41)
Full ingredient list — Pre-Shampoo Scalp Build-Up Remover (21)

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.

VerdictsSystem 3 Leave In TreatmentPre-Shampoo Scalp Build-Up Remover
Supported
1
0
Partly supported
1
0
Stated by brand
0
4
Potential conflict
0
0

System 3 Leave In Treatment

  • Thickens the hairSupportedLeaves room for lift.
  • Nourishes the scalpPartly supportedSome hydration, at a low level.

Pre-Shampoo Scalp Build-Up Remover

  • Exfoliates and renews with micro exfoliating technologyStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.
  • Removes scalp build up, dead skin cells & residueStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.
  • Safe to use on all hair types including color-treated, chemically processed and gray hairStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.
  • No sulfates, parabens, artificial fragrances or dyesStated 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.

System 3 Leave In Treatment

No review themes researched for this product yet.

Pre-Shampoo Scalp Build-Up Remover

Reviewers with curly, coily or loc hair report it effectively lifts flakes and leaves the scalp feeling clean.

curly / coily / loc hair

Some reviewers say their hair feels lighter and easier to move or detangle after use.

general reviewers

Reviewers with long hair say the exfoliating grit is hard to rinse out completely and can get stuck in the strands.

long 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.

$2.40/oz vs $6.36/oz — Nioxin System 3 Leave In Treatment costs about 2.7× more per ounce than Nizoral Pre-Shampoo Scalp Build-Up Remover.

$1.25/oz median $7.19/oz $55.03/oz $6.36/oz System 3 Leave In Treatmen $2.40/oz Pre-Shampoo Scalp Build-Up

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

Value readSystem 3 Leave In TreatmentPre-Shampoo Scalp Build-Up Remover
Label
Priced with its peersSits 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.

System 3 Leave In Treatment vs System 1 Leave In TreatmentNioxin · 100% function matchPre-Shampoo Scalp Build-Up Remover vs The Purity CircleDavines · 90% function matchSystem 3 Leave In Treatment vs Youth Juice Collagen Scalp SerumColor Wow · 93% function matchPre-Shampoo Scalp Build-Up Remover vs The Wake-Up CircleDavines · 85% function matchSystem 3 Leave In Treatment vs Women's REVIVE+ Densifying Treatment FoamBosley · 92% function matchPre-Shampoo Scalp Build-Up Remover vs The Scalp Restore Hair & Scalp Mask - Charcoal + MintRaw Sugar · 82% function matchSystem 3 Leave In Treatment vs Scalp & Skin TonerRahua · 92% function matchPre-Shampoo Scalp Build-Up Remover vs System 1 Leave In TreatmentNioxin · 82% function match

System 3 Leave In Treatment · Pre-Shampoo Scalp Build-Up Remover · 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.
  • 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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