Shampoo / Everyday cleanser, balanced
Scent:
The ingredient list declares fragrance. What it smells of is not stated, and we do not guess.
Listing used for research: target.com
Personal fit
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Your avoid-list
Priced with its peers
$0.87/oz at 8 oz — less than 72% of the 805 shampoos , which mostly run $0.81–3.01/oz.
Great for
Maybe skip if
What the formula actually does
Each row says where it comes from: F means we derived it from this product’s own ingredient list, S means it is a claim the brand makes that the formula neither confirms nor contradicts.
Removes oil and product; leaves some conditioning behind.
An ordinary shampoo lather.
Conditioning agents sit high in the list — this is a detangling formula.
Humectants in the working part of the formula.
No over-the-counter scalp active.
No chelating agent in the list.
Nothing here needs a detergent wash to remove.
Protein high in the list — a strengthening formula, not a moisture one.
Fragrance is listed; it sits below the working ingredients.
Ingredients that matter
The workhorse ingredients plus anything lower down that changes a decision. These chips name what an ingredient does — they are not safety scores, and no ingredient here is rated good or bad on its own.
| Ingredient | What it does | Why it matters | Chip |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water | solvent | The base everything else is dissolved in | Neutral |
| Disodium Cocoamphodipropionate | amphoteric cleanser | — | Cleanses |
| Polyquaternium-10 | conditioning agent | Puts conditioning back as it washes | Detangles |
| Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract | botanical extract | A plant extract, marketed as much as functional | Neutral |
| Copper Tripeptide-1 | protein | Firms up soft, over-stretchy hair | Protein |
| Aloe Barbadensis Leaf JuiceAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder | humectant | Pulls water into the hair | Moisturizes |
| Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate | mild anionic cleanser | — | Cleanses |
| Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate | mild anionic cleanser | — | Cleanses |
| FragranceFragrance/Parfum | fragrance | The scent | Fragrance |
US labelling rules put ingredients above 1% in descending order of amount; below 1% they may be listed in any order. Annotations keep three readings separate: the ingredient's general function, its role in this product type, and what its position can support.
The base of almost every rinse-off and cream hair product. It carries everything else and is normally the first ingredient on the label.
Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.
A very mild cleanser used in baby and sensitive-scalp shampoos.
Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.
Mild cleansing leaves more surface lubrication in place on hair that dries out quickly.
One of the mildest detergent classes. It is usually there to let a formula lather without a harsher detergent doing the work.
The mildest detergents are also the least complete: a routine that deposits films needs something stronger periodically.
A cellulose-based conditioning polymer that leaves a thin, static-reducing film. Very common in shampoos as the ingredient that keeps them from stripping.
Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.
Cationic polymers hold a curl loosely and stay soft, which is why they turn up in definition products rather than firm-hold ones.
A cationic polymer stays on the hair through rinsing, which is what keeps static and combing friction down after the wash.
Film formers are what hold a style: they dry into a connected film across the strands so the shape resists movement.
An extract from the fruit of Vanilla Planifolia. Plant extracts are used across a wide range of levels, and label order is the best guide to how much is here.
Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.
A copper-bound peptide used in thinning-positioned products. Evidence in hair is limited and mostly from skin research.
Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.
A large surface-depositing protein. If protein reliably makes your hair feel rigid, this is the form most likely to do it.
Unhydrolysed protein is too large to enter the strand. It sits on the surface, which is a coating effect rather than internal reinforcement.
Aloe gel, used for light moisture and slip. High in the list it also contributes a little natural hold.
Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.
Gums thicken and set soft, which gives definition that bends rather than a rigid cast.
Hydration with no oil attached, so it adds very little weight even high on a list.
Aloe is mostly water carrying sugars that bind more of it, which is why it turns up as the base of moisture-first formulas.
A mild cleanser and emulsifier that also conditions slightly.
Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.
The detergent class most curl routines are built around: it lathers and cleanses without stripping the strand back to bare.
A gentler detergent leaves more of the surface oil that slows water loss from coarse or porous hair.
Cleanses with less sebum removal than a sulfate detergent, so hair that is short of moisture keeps more of it through the wash.
An amino-acid-derived cleanser, among the mildest in common use, with a low-foam, creamy feel.
Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.
The detergent class most curl routines are built around: it lathers and cleanses without stripping the strand back to bare.
A gentler detergent leaves more of the surface oil that slows water loss from coarse or porous hair.
Cleanses with less sebum removal than a sulfate detergent, so hair that is short of moisture keeps more of it through the wash.
Used to bring the product to a slightly acidic pH, which helps the cuticle lie flat. It is almost always near the end of the list.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
Holds hard-water minerals in solution so they rinse away instead of depositing on the hair.
The acid side of pH adjustment, and the reason it matters is measured: alkaline formulas raise the fibre's surface negative charge, increase friction between strands and lift the scales, while lower-pH ones do the reverse.
Where a warm cast comes from water minerals rather than from the hair itself, holding those metals in solution is what removes it.
A gentle preservative helper that also holds a little moisture.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
Humectants bind water into the strand, and water — not oil — is what makes dry hair flexible instead of brittle.
A humectant follows the air: it holds water in humid conditions and can give it up in very dry ones. Climate decides what it does more than the label does.
A preservative booster that also adds a little softness. Almost always paired with phenoxyethanol.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
Emollients fill and smooth the surface of the strand, which lowers the friction that lifts the cuticle and reads as roughness.
An undisclosed blend of scent ingredients. Regulations let it stay unlisted, so a fragrance-free product is the only way to be certain what is not in it.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
Declared fragrance. On a fragrance-sensitive routine this is the line that decides it, wherever it sits on the label.
Ingredient list captured 2026-08-21. Formulas change — check the package in your hand when an ingredient matters to you.
Price · 8 oz
Usually a good value. Most stores sell it under the $7 line, and products that do this job typically go for about $13 at this size.
8 ozmost listedBest per ounce
Sorted by price per ounce. Dated observations from our research, not live prices. Direct store pages, no affiliate links. We don’t sell this product.
Formula
A complete read of the format at an ordinary price: mid-range per ounce among shampoos, with the working systems present.
The formula score is completeness for the job: the share of the systems this product type is normally built around that we can find in this list, weighted. It is not efficacy, not quality, and it never compares across product types.
Does the same job, for less
Same derived functions — what it cleans, conditions, coats or holds — at a lower cost per ounce. Scent, texture and where you buy it can still differ.
See more alternatives in the product library
These are functional neighbours, not personal recommendations — they are close on formula, not chosen for anyone. Get the one that fits your hair, routine, and budget
Final decision
Colour-treated hair who want washing without sulfates and protein high in the formula
Worth skipping for anyone sensitive to fragrance, hair that stiffens on protein, or very dry or very humid climates
Consider Eden BodyWorks Coconut Shea Moisture Shampoo, for similar results at a lower price
We do not sell products or take placement fees. This page states what the formula and the prices show; the consultation is what matches it to a person.
Claims check
Claims are quoted from the brand. We only mark one supported, partly supported, or conflicting when the ingredient list actually speaks to it; everything else stays "stated by the brand", which is not a criticism — most claims simply cannot be read off a label.
Gentle, tear free cleanser that softens, hydrates, and detangles curls from head to toe
Humectants or rich emollients sit in the first eight ingredients.
Helps hair feel hydrated.
Safe for daily use
This is a marketing claim; an ingredient list cannot speak to it.
—
Can’t be confirmed from label.
We look at the first 10–15 ingredients and what they do in a formula — not marketing. If the list doesn't speak to a claim, we don't assume.
Reviewers
Recurring themes our researchers wrote in their own words from sourced reviews. We do not store or scrape star ratings.
Multiple reviewers specifically call out good slip and moisture for toddler/child hair textures.
Parents of toddlersParents report it leaves their child's hair soft, detangled, and easy to comb through, and note it is gentle on skin too.
Parents washing young children/toddlers hairA parent managing a child's alopecia says it is the only product on the market that works for them and hopes the formula is never changed.
Parent of child with alopeciaReviewers who tried the whole Born Curly line report their baby's or son's hair (and in one case skin) came out soft with a pleasant scent.
Parents using the full product line