Conditioner / Everyday rinse-out, detangling
Scent:
Notes: sweet.
Manufacturer page: dphue.com
Personal fit
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Your avoid-list
Same job for less elsewhere
$4.00/oz at 8 oz — more than 84% of the 689 conditioners , which mostly run $0.91–3.10/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.
Conditioning agents sit high in the list — this is a detangling formula.
Butters near the top: a heavy, softening formula.
Middle of the range — noticeable on fine hair, light on coarse hair.
Humectants in the working part of the formula.
No protein or amino acids in the list.
Nothing here needs a detergent wash to remove.
Chelators are present — they bind hard-water and pool minerals.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| WaterWater/Eau | solvent | The base everything else is dissolved in | Neutral |
| Cetearyl Alcohol | fatty alcohol | Thickens and conditions — not a drying alcohol | Softens |
| Behentrimonium Chloride | conditioning agent | Conditions and softens — this is what makes it comb through | Detangles |
| Neopentyl Glycol Diheptanoate | light ester | Light slip without much weight | Softens |
| Apple Cider Vinegar | pH adjuster | Fine-tunes the pH | pH balancer |
| Isododecane | solvent | Carrier for the rest of the formula | Softens |
| Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter | butter | A little richness, low in the list | Heavy |
| Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride | light ester | A light, silky feel | Softens |
| FragranceFragrance/Parfum | fragrance | The scent | Fragrance |
| Citronellol | fragrance | The scent | Fragrance |
| Eugenol | fragrance | The scent | Fragrance |
| Farnesol | 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 waxy fatty alcohol - nothing like drying alcohol. It gives conditioners their body and leaves a soft, smoothing film on the hair.
In conditioner, cetearyl alcohol gives the emulsion its creamy structure and helps it spread evenly through the hair. Its emollient layer adds slip and a smoother feel.
Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.
May suit dry, coarse, or high-porosity hair that benefits from added slip and a more substantial conditioning film.
Deposits with the cationic conditioners and helps them lie flat along the strand, which is where the detangling actually comes from.
Consider if hair is fine or easily flattened: a formula built heavily around fatty alcohols can feel richer than a lightweight conditioner.
A positively charged conditioning agent that binds to damaged, negatively charged spots on the hair. It is the main detangling ingredient in most rinse-out conditioners.
Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.
Electrokinetic measurement puts the C22 quat ahead of the C16 ones for deposition: the longer chain adds van der Waals stabilisation on top of the charge binding. That extra deposit is what coarse hair usually needs to comb through.
A cationic conditioning agent: it binds to the damaged, negatively charged parts of the cuticle and lowers combing friction there.
Substantive by design. A routine with no detergent wash gives it nothing to leave with.
A very light ester used for a dry, silky finish without silicone.
Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.
A light emollient: it softens the surface with noticeably less weight than an oil or a butter.
Spreads thin and lowers friction between strands without the heaviness of a fixed oil.
Dilute acetic acid from fermented apples, used to bring a rinse to an acidic pH so the cuticle lies flatter. The effect comes from the acid, not from the apples.
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 fast-evaporating carrier that lets oils and polymers spread thinly, then leaves nothing behind.
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.
A rich, solid plant butter used for heavy conditioning on coarse or dry hair. High in the list it makes a product decidedly heavy.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
Coarse, porous hair loses water quickly and can carry the weight; a butter slows that loss more than a thin oil does.
Emollients fill and smooth the surface of the strand, which lowers the friction that lifts the cuticle and reads as roughness.
A solid fat melts onto the strand at body temperature and stays there, which is the heaviest surface moisture-holding a formula can offer.
A light, refined coconut-derived oil that spreads easily and does not go rancid. It gives slip without a heavy feel.
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 light emollient: it softens the surface with noticeably less weight than an oil or a butter.
Spreads thin and lowers friction between strands without the heaviness of a fixed oil.
A light ester used for shine and slip in finishing 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.
A light emollient: it softens the surface with noticeably less weight than an oil or a butter.
Spreads thin and lowers friction between strands without the heaviness of a fixed oil.
A small water-loving molecule that draws moisture into the hair and holds it there. It is the most common softening ingredient in conditioners and leave-ins.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
High-porosity hair loses water fast; a humectant holds some of it in place for longer than the wash itself would.
Binds water into the outer layers of the strand, and water is what makes dry hair flexible again rather than brittle.
Water moves both ways. Measured across concentrations, glycerin solutions give water up in some conditions and take it from the air in others. What it does for you depends on how much of it is there and on the air around it.
A plant-derived polymer that forms a light film and helps hold a style without a stiff feel.
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.
Film formers are what hold a style: they dry into a connected film across the strands so the shape resists movement.
How rigid the finish is depends on which polymer it is and what the formula pairs with it, not on there being one.
A light plant-derived ester used as a silicone alternative for slip and a dry, smooth finish.
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 light emollient: it softens the surface with noticeably less weight than an oil or a butter.
Spreads thin and lowers friction between strands without the heaviness of a fixed oil.
A thickening polymer that gives creams and curl products their bounce and helps them cling to the strand.
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 light, dry-feeling ester that spreads other ingredients and softens without a greasy finish.
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 light emollient: it softens the surface with noticeably less weight than an oil or a butter.
Spreads thin and lowers friction between strands without the heaviness of a fixed oil.
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 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.
A conditioning polymer that improves wet combing and adds body. Repeated use can build up on 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.
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 biodegradable hard-water chelator used in place of EDTA.
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.
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.
Provitamin B5. It draws in water and penetrates the strand a little, which is why it is the standard ingredient for softness and shine claims.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
It hydrates without adding oil or a film, which is the combination fine hair usually needs.
Deposits a lubricating layer that makes combing easier, which is most of what stops mechanical damage adding to frizz.
A humectant that also penetrates the cuticle, so it holds water inside the strand rather than only on the surface.
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.
Argan oil. A medium-weight oil used for shine and softness on the outside of the strand.
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.
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 rose-like fragrance component named separately as a recognised allergen.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
One of the 26 scent components the EU requires to be named individually above a threshold. It is named because it is a known contact allergen, not because it is unusual.
A clove-scented fragrance component listed separately as a recognised allergen.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
One of the 26 scent components the EU requires to be named individually above a threshold. It is named because it is a known contact allergen, not because it is unusual.
A soft floral fragrance component listed separately as a recognised allergen.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
One of the 26 scent components the EU requires to be named individually above a threshold. It is named because it is a known contact allergen, not because it is unusual.
A jasmine-like fragrance component named separately as a recognised allergen.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
One of the 26 scent components the EU requires to be named individually above a threshold. It is named because it is a known contact allergen, not because it is unusual.
Ingredient list captured 2026-08-22. Formulas change — check the package in your hand when an ingredient matters to you.
Price · 8 oz
Priced above the products that do the same job. Stores sell it above the $7 line; products that do this job typically go for about $11 at this size.
Sizes
The sizes cost about the same per ounce.
8 ozmost listed
8.5 ozBest 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
The formula carries what a conditioner is built around, and 6 products we score as close matches cost at least a quarter less per ounce. The difference is buying the label, not a different formula.
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
Hair that stiffens on protein who want a protein-free formula and real detangling slip
Worth skipping for anyone sensitive to fragrance, soft, over-stretchy hair that needs protein, or anyone who wants to pick it up locally
Consider Kristin Ess Ultra Light Balancing Conditioner, 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.
helps protect against breakage and color fading as it detangles and enhances shine without weighing down hair
No protein or bond ingredient appears in the list.
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.
Reviewers pair it with the dpHUE ACV rinse and describe hair left soft, shiny, and hydrated
reviewer using it alongside the ACV rinseReviewers with fine, dense, or oily-scalp hair report it detangles well without feeling heavy
reviewer with fine dense hair and oily scalp, tangle-proneReviewers with thick, coarse, wavy or curly hair report it is not moisturizing enough on its own
reviewer with thick coarse wavy/curly hairSome reviewers say it works well and would like the price to be lower
general reviewers
