Reduces hair breakage by up to five times
Protein sits in the first eight ingredients.
- Pisum Sativum (Pea) Peptide
- Polyquaternium-10
- Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
Reinforces a damaged strand.
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: dermstore.com
Personal fit
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Your avoid-list
Same job for less elsewhere
$4.88/oz at 8.4 oz — more than 94% of the 817 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 are present, lower in the list.
Humectants appear, but low enough to be a minor part.
No over-the-counter scalp active.
Chelators are present — they bind hard-water and pool minerals.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| WaterAqua/Water/Eau | solvent | The base everything else is dissolved in | Neutral |
| Cocamidopropyl Betaine | amphoteric cleanser | — | Cleanses |
| Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate | mild anionic cleanser | — | Cleanses |
| Pisum Sativum (Pea) Peptide | protein | Firms up soft, over-stretchy hair | Protein |
| Sodium Chloride | salt | Thickens the formula | Stabilizes |
| Phenoxyethanol | preservative | Keeps the product from spoiling | Stabilizes |
| Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer | thickener | Adjusts the texture | Holds |
| Sodium Benzoate | preservative | Keeps the product from spoiling | Stabilizes |
| FragranceFragrance (Parfum) | fragrance | The scent | Fragrance |
| Hydrolyzed Rice Protein | film former | A supporting film former | Protein |
| Hydrolyzed Lupine Protein | film former | A supporting film former | Protein |
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 mild coconut-derived co-cleanser that boosts foam and softens the effect of stronger detergents. It appears in most shampoos, gentle or not.
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.
The mildest detergents are also the least complete: a routine that deposits films needs something stronger periodically.
Among the mildest detergents in use — it is what baby shampoos are built on — but it is almost always the second detergent in a formula. How much a wash strips is still decided by the primary detergent listed above it.
A gentle cleanser that leaves a soft after-feel; often paired with stronger detergents.
Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.
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.
A short-chain pea protein used for strength and body claims in vegan formulas.
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.
Table salt. In shampoo it is used to thicken the liquid, not to treat the hair.
Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.
The most common modern preservative; it keeps the product free of bacteria and mould. It sits well below 1% of the formula.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
A gel-forming thickener that also keeps oils suspended. It contributes a little hold.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
A set polymer film is a physical barrier to humidity, so a style keeps its shape longer in damp conditions.
Synthetic film formers dry into a continuous film, which is what holds a shape against movement and against humid air.
Some acrylate copolymers rinse with water and some need a detergent; the label alone does not say which one a formula used.
A food-grade preservative that works only in acidic formulas, which is why it usually appears alongside citric acid.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
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.
A cellulose-based conditioning polymer that leaves a thin, static-reducing film. Very common in shampoos as the ingredient that keeps them from stripping.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
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.
A conditioning polymer made from guar bean gum. It deposits during rinsing, which is why sulfate shampoos can still leave hair soft.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
Gums thicken and set soft, which gives definition that bends rather than a rigid cast.
Cationic conditioners bind to the negatively charged damaged cuticle, laying it flat and cutting the friction that causes combing breakage.
A styling polymer dries into a film across the strands, which is what makes a shape hold instead of relax.
A light plant protein that adds body and shine, popular in volume products.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
Filling surface gaps evens out the cuticle, which is part of what makes damaged hair comb and reflect light more like undamaged hair.
Film formers are what hold a style: they dry into a connected film across the strands so the shape resists movement.
Hydrolysed fragments are small enough to sit in the gaps of a worn cuticle for a wash or two, temporarily restoring stiffness and cutting breakage in combing.
A protein broken into fragments small enough to cling to the hair. It fills gaps on damaged strands and firms the feel for a few washes; too much reads as stiff.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
Filling surface gaps evens out the cuticle, which is part of what makes damaged hair comb and reflect light more like undamaged hair.
Film formers are what hold a style: they dry into a connected film across the strands so the shape resists movement.
Hydrolysed fragments are small enough to sit in the gaps of a worn cuticle for a wash or two, temporarily restoring stiffness and cutting breakage in combing.
Grabs metal ions from hard water so they cannot dull the hair or destabilise the formula.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
Binds the calcium and magnesium in hard water, which is what stops mineral deposits accumulating on the strand wash after wash.
Copper and iron carried in tap water deposit on the strand and read as a dull, warm cast on gray or light hair. A chelator holds those metals in solution so the wash carries them off.
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.
The oil pressed from Raspberry (Rubus Idaeus). How much weight a plant oil leaves depends on the hair it lands on; coarse hair tends to take more of it than fine hair.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
Coats the surface and slows water leaving the strand, which is usually what coarse hair that dries out fast is missing.
A thin oil layer lowers friction between strands and flattens the raised cuticle that scatters light and catches on its neighbours.
A preservative booster that also holds a little moisture and helps other ingredients dissolve.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
Light and water-binding rather than oily, so it hydrates without contributing weight.
A small water-binding solvent. It holds moisture and helps the rest of the formula spread evenly over the strand.
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 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 colour added to tint the product itself. It does not colour hair.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
A violet or blue colorant sits opposite yellow on the colour wheel, so a trace of it deposited on the surface makes a warm cast read cooler. It washes out over the following few washes.
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 strong base used in trace amounts to set pH; it is fully neutralised in the finished product.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
pH adjusters are how a formula is brought to a chosen acidity, and an acidic formula keeps the cuticle lying flatter than an alkaline one. Which way this one moves the pH depends on the formula, and the finished pH is not on the label.
A strong base used in trace amounts to raise pH; fully neutralised in the finished product.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
The alkali half of a pH-adjusting pair, used in small amounts to bring a formula up to its target rather than to make it alkaline. Alkaline conditions raise the fibre's surface charge and lift the scales — but the finished pH is not on the label.
Ingredient list captured 2026-08-22. Formulas change — check the package in your hand when an ingredient matters to you.
Price · 8.4 oz
Priced above the products that do the same job. Stores sell it above the $14 line; products that do this job typically go for about $18 at this size.
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
Sold through specialty beauty at a price 5 products that do the same job undercut — the counter is part of what you are paying for.
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 — for washing without sulfates and protein high in the formula
Not ideal for anyone sensitive to fragrance, hair that stiffens on protein, or people shopping on a budget
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.
Reduces hair breakage by up to five times
Protein sits in the first eight ingredients.
Reinforces a damaged strand.
Helps to minimize shedding
This is a marketing claim; an ingredient list cannot speak to it.
—
Can’t be confirmed from label.
Leaves hair visibly stronger, resilient, and fuller
Protein sits in the first eight ingredients.
Reinforces a damaged strand.
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.
Reviewers with fine or breakage-prone hair report noticeably less shedding and fuller-feeling hair after using the shampoo as part of the fortifying routine
fine/thin, breakage-prone hairSome reviewers find the shampoo requires more product per wash than other brands and does not lather heavily
general users comparing to other shampoosA subset of reviewers felt underwhelmed for the price point, saying results were minimal compared to other prestige shampoos
price-conscious reviewersMany reviewers evaluate the shampoo jointly with the matching Fortifying Conditioner as a routine rather than reviewing the shampoo alone
reviewers using shampoo+conditioner together