Herbal Essences Color Me Happy Shampoo — container, alternate view

Sizes & containers

10.1 fl oz

11.7 fl oz

29.2 fl ozValue size

10.1 fl oz · $4.96 at one store · UPC 381519055058

Herbal Essences

Color Me Happy Shampoo

Shampoo / Clarifying, deep-cleaning

Shampoo
Silicone-free
Protein-free
Lightweight
Cruelty-free · PETA-listed

Size10.1 fl ozusual store size · 3 sizes

Price$4.96 Good valueseen at one store · 10.1 oz

Price / oz$0.49/ozat 10.1 oz

Where to buy4 stores · 2 sizes

Add it to your products. We’ll tell you if it’s ever recalled.

Scent:

Reviewers describe it as moroccan rose, rose.

“Luxurious Moroccan rose scent with rose essences” (Brand page)

Strength: Light

Manufacturer page: herbalessences.com

Personal fit

Is this right for you?

Factor Your profile Fit

Best for hair types All types Not in your profile

Moisture level None found Not in your profile

Cleansing strength Strong Not in your profile

Slip / detangling Moderate Not in your profile

Weight on hair Light Not in your profile

Fragrance Prominent Not in your profile

Protein None Not in your profile

Silicone / wax buildup None Not in your profile

Clarifying wash needed Low Not in your profile

Scent FloralLight strength Not in your profile

Show all 23 factors we check

The rest of what your plan weighs on this product.

Sulfates Sulfate detergent Not in your profile

Parabens / preservatives Present Not in your profile

Essential oils None listed Not in your profile

Fast-drying alcohol None Not in your profile

Vegan / cruelty-free Cruelty-free · PETA-listed Not in your profile

Animal-derived ingredients Not yet verified Not in your profile

Heavy humectants Not heavy Not in your profile

Hard-water defence High Not in your profile

UV filter None listed Not in your profile

pH adjusted Adjusted Not in your profile

Ingredient list 24 ingredientsAbout average Not in your profile

Price tier Drugstore Not in your profile

Where to buy it Grocery / mass · Brand website Not in your profile

The consultation builds your hair profile, checks every factor in this table against it, and tells you where this product fits or what to use instead.

Start your consultation

$49 once, with 60 days of follow-up questions and plan updates. Nothing renews, and you never have to buy a product.

Lower cost than most shampoos

$0.49/oz at 10.1 oz, less than 89% of the 1544 shampoos , which mostly run $0.79–3.04/oz.

Price and stores

Great for

Protein-sensitive hairthat stiffens when protein is added

Fast-oiling scalpsthat need a real reset wash

Hard waterand swimmers dealing with mineral deposit

Fine hairthat flattens under most products

Silicone-free routinesno silicones appear in the list

Very dry hairno fast-drying alcohol in the list

Maybe skip if

this product has a light scent

Sulfate-free routinesit uses a sulfate detergent

Dry or damaged haira strong detergent system strips as it cleans

Hair that needs proteinthere is none in this list

How much cleansing you need depends on how fast your scalp gets oily, how much product you layer and your water. The consultation works that out.

What the formula actually does

Read from the label, not the marketing

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.

Cleansing strength Strong

A reset wash that removes oil, buildup, and most residue.

Expected lather High

Thick foam that spreads quickly through the hair.

Slip and detangling Moderate

Conditioning agents are present, lower in the list.

Water-binding (humectants) None found

No humectants, so nothing here pulls water into the hair.

Scalp active None

No over-the-counter scalp active.

Hard-water defence Chelators present

Contains chelators, which bind hard-water and pool minerals.

Needs detergent to remove No

Nothing here needs a detergent wash to remove.

Protein None

No protein or amino acids in the list.

Fragrance Prominent

Fragrance is in the first eight ingredients, so it makes up a larger share of the formula.

from the formula stated by the brand reported by reviewers Scale: 1 dot low · 5 dots high, within this product type.

Ingredients that matter

The ingredients that change a decision

The workhorse ingredients, plus anything lower down that changes a decision. The 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
Sodium Laureth Sulfate	sulfate cleanser	—	Cleanses
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate	sulfate cleanser	—	Cleanses
Cocamidopropyl Betaine	amphoteric cleanser	—	Cleanses
Fragrance	fragrance	The scent	Fragrance
Citric Acid	pH adjuster	Fine-tunes the pH	pH balancer
Passiflora Laurifolia Flower Extract	botanical extract	A trace plant extract	Neutral
Passionflower ExtractPassiflora Quadrangularis Flower Extract	botanical extract	A trace plant extract	Neutral
Sodium Benzoate	preservative	Keeps the product from spoiling	Stabilizes
Methylchloroisothiazolinone	isothiazolinone	—	Stabilizes
Methylisothiazolinone	isothiazolinone	—	Stabilizes

What the list leaves out, and what it carriesNo silicones or drying alcohols. Protein-free: this is built for moisture rather than for strengthening. Contains fragrance. Chelators for hard water.

Full ingredient list (24)

In the US, ingredients above 1% are listed from most to least. Below 1% they can appear in any order. Each note keeps three things apart: what the ingredient generally does, its role in this type of product, and what its position can tell you.

1 Water

General function
The base of almost every rinse-off and cream hair product. It carries everything else and is normally the first ingredient on the label.

Leading ingredient
Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.
- solvent
2 Sodium Laureth Sulfate

General function
A strong, high-foaming cleanser and the most common shampoo detergent. It removes oil and product efficiently, which can be more than dry or colour-treated hair wants.

Leading ingredient
Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.

May suitBuild-up-sensitive routines
A sulfate detergent can lift deposited silicone, wax and styling films, which is what resets a routine before build-up is visible.

May suitFine or easily flattened hair
Fine hair that goes limp under conditioning films usually reads a full detergent wash as volume returning.

May not suitDry, coarse, or high-porosity hair
Coarse and high-porosity hair loses water quickly on its own; an efficient detergent removes the surface oils that were slowing that down.

Indian Journal of Dermatology
- sulfate cleanser
- cleanser
3 Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

General function
A high-foaming, strongly cleansing detergent. It clears build-up thoroughly and is the harsher of the two common sulfates.

Leading ingredient
Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.

May suitBuild-up-sensitive routines
A sulfate detergent can lift deposited silicone, wax and styling films, which is what resets a routine before build-up is visible.

May suitFine or easily flattened hair
Fine hair that goes limp under conditioning films usually reads a full detergent wash as volume returning.

May not suitDry, coarse, or high-porosity hair
Coarse and high-porosity hair loses water quickly on its own; an efficient detergent removes the surface oils that were slowing that down.

Indian Journal of Dermatology
- sulfate cleanser
- cleanser
4 Cocamidopropyl Betaine

General function
A mild coconut-derived co-cleanser that boosts foam and softens the effect of stronger detergents. It appears in most shampoos, gentle or not.

Supporting ingredient
Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.

May suitDry, coarse, or high-porosity hair
Mild cleansing leaves more surface lubrication in place on hair that dries out quickly.

May not suitBuild-up-sensitive routines
The mildest detergents are also the least complete: a routine that deposits films needs something stronger periodically.

DependsVery dry or highly damaged hair
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.

Indian Journal of Dermatology
- amphoteric cleanser
- secondary cleanser
- cleanser
▾Below about here, the order stops meaning much. These are usually used at 1% or less.
5 Fragrance

General function
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.

Estimated lower-concentration zone
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.

May not suitFragrance-sensitive routines
Declared fragrance. On a fragrance-sensitive routine this is the line that decides it, wherever it sits on the label.
- fragrance
- declared fragrance
6 Citric Acid

General function
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.

Estimated lower-concentration zone
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.

May suitBuild-up-sensitive routines
Holds hard-water minerals in solution so they rinse away instead of depositing on the hair.

May suitFrizz-prone, damaged, or high-friction 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.

May suitGray, silver, or brass-prone hair
Where a warm cast comes from water minerals rather than from the hair itself, holding those metals in solution is what removes it.

International Journal of Trichology
- pH adjuster
- hard-water chelator
7 Passiflora Laurifolia Flower Extract

General function
A flower extract from the yellow passionfruit vine, a different passionflower species from the more common Passiflora Incarnata, used for light conditioning and fragrance support in shampoos and conditioners.

Estimated lower-concentration zone
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
- botanical extract
8 Passionflower Extract · Passiflora Quadrangularis Flower Extract

General function
An extract of passionflower (Passiflora quadrangularis) used as a soothing, skin/scalp-protecting botanical in volumizing shampoos and conditioners.

Estimated lower-concentration zone
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
- botanical extract
9 Passiflora Incarnata Flower Extract
- botanical extract
10 Zeamays (Corn) Silk Extract
11 Pearl Extract
- botanical extract
12 Sodium Citrate

General function
Used with citric acid to hold the formula at a steady, slightly acidic pH. It also binds a little hard-water mineral.

Estimated lower-concentration zone
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.

May suitBuild-up-sensitive routines
Binds the calcium and magnesium in hard water, which is what stops mineral deposits accumulating on the strand wash after wash.

May suitGray, silver, or brass-prone hair
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.

DependsFrizz-prone, damaged, or high-friction hair
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.

PubChem
- pH adjuster
- hard-water chelator
13 Sodium Xylenesulfonate
- solubilizer
14 Cocamide MEA

General function
A coconut-derived thickener that stabilises foam and gives shampoo its body.

Estimated lower-concentration zone
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.

May suitDry, coarse, or high-porosity hair
Mild cleansing leaves more surface lubrication in place on hair that dries out quickly.

May suitVery dry or highly damaged hair
A sugar-derived non-ionic detergent, among the gentlest in use. It cleanses with little foam of its own and little sebum removal.

May not suitBuild-up-sensitive routines
Gentle cleansing leaves water-insoluble deposits largely in place; they come off with a stronger wash, not this one.
- secondary cleanser
- nonionic cleanser
- thickener
15 Sodium Chloride
- salt
- thickener
16 Sodium Benzoate
- preservative
17 Tetrasodium EDTA

General function
Binds the metal ions in hard water so they cannot dull hair or destabilise the formula.

Estimated lower-concentration zone
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.

May suitBuild-up-sensitive routines
Binds the calcium and magnesium in hard water, which is what stops mineral deposits accumulating on the strand wash after wash.

May suitGray, silver, or brass-prone hair
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.

PubChem
- hard-water chelator
18 Peg-60 Almond Glycerides
- emulsifier
19 Linoleamidopropyl PG-Dimonium Chloride Phosphate

General function
A conditioning agent that carries fatty acids onto the strand for slip without heaviness.

Estimated lower-concentration zone
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.

May suitFrizz-prone, damaged, or high-friction hair
A cationic conditioning agent: it binds to the damaged, negatively charged parts of the cuticle and lowers combing friction there.

May suitVery dry or highly damaged hair
The class that does the detangling in a conditioner. It deposits lubrication where the cuticle is worn.

DependsBuild-up-sensitive routines
Substantive by design. A routine with no detergent wash gives it nothing to leave with.

PubChem
- conditioning agent
20 Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride

General function
A conditioning polymer made from guar bean gum. It deposits during rinsing, which is why sulfate shampoos can still leave hair soft.

Estimated lower-concentration zone
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.

May suitCurls or waves needing flexible hold
Gums thicken and set soft, which gives definition that bends rather than a rigid cast.

May suitFrizz-prone, damaged, or high-friction hair
Cationic conditioners bind to the negatively charged damaged cuticle, laying it flat and cutting the friction that causes combing breakage.

May suitMaximum-hold styling
A styling polymer dries into a film across the strands, which is what makes a shape hold instead of relax.
- conditioning agent
- polymer
- gum
21 Methylchloroisothiazolinone
- isothiazolinone
- preservative
22 Methylisothiazolinone
- isothiazolinone
- preservative
23 Yellow 5

General function
A certified colour added to tint the product itself. It does not colour hair.

Estimated lower-concentration zone
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.

May suitGray, silver, or brass-prone hair
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.
- colourant
24 Red 33

General function
A certified colour used to tint the product. It does not colour hair.

Estimated lower-concentration zone
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.

May suitGray, silver, or brass-prone hair
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.
- colourant

What the whole list adds up to

4 botanical extracts
3 cleansers
3 hard-water chelators
3 preservatives
2 sulfate cleansers
2 secondary cleansers
2 pH adjusters
2 thickeners
2 conditioning agents
2 isothiazolinones
2 colourants
1 solvent
1 amphoteric cleanser
1 fragrance

Ingredient list captured 2026-09-12. Formulas change, so check the package in your hand when an ingredient matters to you.

Price · 10.1 oz

Seen at $4.96 1 store · checked Sep 13

Good value under $5 Under $0.45/oz it costs less than three-quarters of the 8 products we score as doing the same job

Usually a good value. Most stores sell it under the $5 line, and products that do this job typically go for about $5 at this size.

Sizes

10.1 ozusual store size

$4.96

$0.49/oz

11.7 oz

$5.25

$0.48/oz

The sizes cost about the same per ounce.

Show the price ladder

Price for 10.1 ozlower is better

Where we’ve seen it5 listings · 4 stores

10.1 ozusual store size

BargainSide.Com
$4.96

10.1 oz · $0.49/oz

Sep 13Lowest per oz

11.7 ozBest per ounce

Menards
$5.25

11.7 oz · $0.45/oz

Sep 13Lowest per oz
Herbal Essences (herbalessences.com, MSRP)
$5.99

11.7 oz · $0.51/oz

Sep 12
Fleet Farm
$5.99

11.7 oz · $0.51/oz

Sep 13
Herbal Essences (herbalessences.com, MSRP)
$5.99

11.7 oz · $0.51/oz

Sep 12

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. and 1 listing we don’t count, from grey-market or unverified sellers.

How we work this out

10.1 oz is the size stores list most often; every comparison on this page is made at it. Other sizes are shown in the Sizes row and the store list.
Seen at $4.96 is the price we have observed for the 10.1 oz. We need three stores before we call a price commonly seen.
Good value under $5 comes from the 8 products we score as doing the same job as this one. A quarter of them cost less than $0.45/oz; at 10.1 oz that is $5. Under that line you are paying less than most of them.
Each size is guarded on its own, so a multipack or a marketplace listing at one size cannot move another.
About $5 is what those same products typically cost at this size: the midpoint of their prices per ounce, scaled to 10.1 oz.

Formula

Formula score

8 of 10

This formula covers the systems a shampoo is built around, and it costs less per ounce than most of the shampoos we have researched.

How the score is counted

1 products we score as doing the same job cost less per ounce
Costs less per ounce than 89% of the 1544 shampoos we’ve priced
Covers 5 of the 7 things a shampoo should do
Drugstore tier, sold at Grocery / mass and Brand website

A working detergent systemWhat actually removes oil and product.3 pts
Slip for detanglingReduces the force it takes to comb wet hair.2 pts
A humectantBinds water into the hair.1 pt
A hard-water chelatorBinds the minerals that dull hair in hard water.1 pt
A pH adjusterBrings the formula to the acidic pH hair prefers.1 pt
No detergent-dependent filmNothing that needs a clarifying wash to remove.1 pt
Fragrance kept out of the top eightScent as a finishing touch, not a major share.1 pt

The formula score measures completeness for the job: a weighted share of the systems this product type is usually built around that we find in this list. It does not rate how well the product works or its quality, and it never compares across product types.

Does the same job, for less

Formulas that do the same things (cleanse, condition, coat or hold) for less per ounce. Scent, texture and where you buy them can still differ.

Old SpiceLowest cost per oz Tea Tree Shampoo for Men $0.36/oz $0.13/oz less

Protein-free
Deep clean
Hard water

· Same function

Differs: 21.9 oz bottle
Sold online

Compare

See more alternatives in the product library

These products do a similar job. We haven’t matched them to you. Find the one that fits your hair, routine and budget

Final decision

Should you buy it?

A solid pick for the hair it suits

Best user

Hair that stiffens on protein, looking for a protein-free formula and a proper reset wash

Biggest tradeoff

Worth skipping for anyone sensitive to fragrance, sulfate-free routines and fresh keratin treatments, or dry or damaged hair

Best alternative if not

Old Spice Tea Tree Shampoo for Men, 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

What the brand says, and what the formula shows

Claims are quoted from the brand. We mark a claim supported, partly supported or conflicting only when the ingredient list speaks to it. Everything else stays "stated by the brand". That isn’t a criticism: most claims can’t be checked from a label.

SupportedBacked by ingredients

Partly supportedSome supporting logic

Stated by brandNo clear evidence

Potential conflictFormula works against claim

Protects your hair from damage to allow your hair to look radiant

Nothing in the list reads as a shine system.

—

Stated by brand

Can’t be confirmed from label.

Color-safe and pH balanced

It uses a sulfate detergent, which is the usual cause of fast fade.

Sodium Laureth Sulfate
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
Cocamidopropyl Betaine

Potential conflict

Likely to pull colour faster.

Paraben free, mineral oil free, dermatologist tested

A brand-run study. We report it as stated and do not repeat the number as fact.

—

Stated by brand

Only the brand’s testing shows this.

Silicone free

No silicones appear in the ingredient list.

—

Supported

Nothing that needs a strong wash.

How to read this

We look at the first 10–15 ingredients and what they do in a formula, not at the marketing. If the list doesn't speak to a claim, we don't assume.

Reviewers

What people report

Themes that come up again and again in sourced reviews, written by our researchers in their own words. We don’t store or scrape star ratings.

Reviewers praise the pleasant Moroccan Rose scent and the pump dispenser, which several call easy to use in the shower.

Reviewers say it leaves hair soft, manageable and moisturized rather than dried out, including those with hair damaged by frequent box dyeing.

A few reviewers reported bottle or pump mechanical issues, such as an overly thick formula that would not dispense properly.

Reviewers using the Moroccan Rose scent say it does not strip or fade their hair color and several have used it for years specifically for their color-treated hair.

How this page was made

Everything above comes from our researched product record: identity, the ingredient list as printed, the brand's own claims, dated prices and review themes our researchers wrote in their own words. No part of this page is written by hand for one product.
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.
Both scores out of ten are defined on this page. The formula score is completeness for the job, computed from a fixed per-format checklist shown beneath the gauge; the price score is cost per ounce against every product of this type we have priced.
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.
4 sources consulted for this product (0 manufacturer or regulatory, 1 retailer, 3 editorial), last checked 2026-09-13.
Ingredient references are linked for 7 of 12 product-aware annotations on this page. Fit notes are general formulation guidance. They aren’t a verdict on the finished product or on you.
We haven’t tested this product in a lab, and we don’t physically test your hair. Formula readings come from the ingredient list. Claims about how it behaves are labelled as the brand's.
Ingredient order tells you relative amount only above roughly 1%. Prices are what we saw on the dates shown and can change.
Ingredient names link to our ingredient library, where each entry shows what it does, which product types use it, and where it usually sits on a label across everything we have researched.
This is cosmetic information, not medical advice, and nothing here diagnoses or treats a health condition.
Formula readings: derivation v23. Record last updated 2026-09-13.