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Herbal Essences

Jojoba Oil & Lavender Curls Conditioner

Conditioner / Everyday rinse-out, detangling

  • Conditioner
  • Sulfate-free
  • Protein-free
  • Moisture-rich
  • Cruelty-free · PETA-listed
Size9.2 fl ozusual store size · 2 sizes
Price$6.97seen at one store · 13.5 oz · from $0.38/oz in the 33.8 oz
Price / oz$0.52/ozat 13.5 oz
Where to buy3 stores · 2 sizes

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

Scent:

Notes: lavender.

“A floral bouquet of lavender scent mixed with jojoba oil gives you a feeling of relaxation and beauty” (Brand page)

Manufacturer page: herbalessences.com

Personal fit

Is this right for you?

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Lower cost than most conditioners

$0.52/oz at 13.5 oz, less than 90% of the 1119 conditioners , which mostly run $0.94–3.41/oz. The cost less.

Price and stores

Great for

Protein-sensitive hairthat stiffens when protein is added
Maximum slipfor hair that tangles the moment it is wet
Dry, thirsty hairhumectants and emollients both sit up front
Very dry hairno fast-drying alcohol in the list
Cuticle-smoothing pHa pH adjuster brings it to the acidic range hair prefers
A wide range of haira middle-of-the-range weight

Maybe skip if

this product has a scent
Curly-method routinesthese silicones need a detergent to remove
Hair that needs proteinthere is none in this list
Dry or very humid airwhere heavy humectants work against you

Whether this much richness suits you depends on your strand thickness, porosity and how easily your hair goes flat. We work that out in the consultation.

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.

Slip and detangling High

Conditioning agents sit high in the list, so this is a detangling formula.

Oils and butters Present, high in the list

Oils sit high in the list: a softening, coating formula.

Weight on the hair Medium

Middle of the range: noticeable on fine hair, light on coarse hair.

Water-binding (humectants) Moderate

Humectants in the working part of the formula.

Protein None

No protein or amino acids in the list.

Needs detergent to remove Yes

Water-insoluble silicones or waxes: a detergent wash is what removes them.

Hard-water defence Chelators present

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

Fragrance Present

Fragrance is listed; it sits below the working ingredients.

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.

IngredientWhat it doesWhy it mattersChip
Water solvent The base everything else is dissolved in Neutral
Stearyl Alcohol fatty alcohol Thickens and conditions (not a drying alcohol) Softens
Behentrimonium Methosulfate conditioning agent Conditions and softens so hair combs through Detangles
Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil emollient Softens and smooths the strand Buildup
Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Flower Extract botanical extract A plant extract, there as much for marketing as for function Neutral
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice humectant Pulls water into the hair Moisturizes
Cetyl Alcohol fatty alcohol Thickens and conditions (not a drying alcohol) Softens
Bis-Aminopropyl Dimethicone silicone Smooths the cuticle and adds shine Buildup
Fragrance fragrance The scent Fragrance
What the list leaves out, and what it carriesNo sulfates or drying alcohols. Protein-free: this is built for moisture rather than for strengthening. Contains fragrance. The silicones here need a detergent wash to come off.
Full ingredient list (15)

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 Stearyl Alcohol
    General function

    A fatty alcohol that thickens conditioners and helps them coat the hair evenly.

    Leading ingredient

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

    May suitDry, coarse, or high-porosity hair

    The waxy solid that gives a conditioner its body. It deposits a soft lubricating layer, which is most of what makes hair feel smooth after rinsing.

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

    Deposits with the cationic conditioners and helps them lie flat along the strand, which is where the detangling actually comes from.

    DependsFine or easily flattened hair

    Near the top of a conditioner it is doing most of the conditioning, and most of the weighting, at the same time.

    PubChem
    • fatty alcohol
    • emollient
    • thickener
  • 3 Behentrimonium Methosulfate
    General function

    A mild cationic conditioner known for heavy detangling with a light rinse-out feel. Common in curly-hair conditioners.

    Leading ingredient

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

    May suitDry, coarse, or high-porosity hair

    A C22 conditioning quat, the chain length that deposits most heavily in electrokinetic testing. It is the slip coarse or porous hair usually needs, delivered by chain length rather than by charge alone.

    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.

    International Journal of Cosmetic Science
    • conditioning agent
    • emulsifier
  • 4 Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil
    General function

    Not chemically an oil: about 97% of it is liquid wax esters, which is why it resists going rancid and sits close to the scalp's own sebum. It smooths without a heavy finish.

    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

    Coats the surface and slows water leaving the strand, which is usually what coarse hair that dries out fast is missing.

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

    A thin oil layer lowers friction between strands and flattens the raised cuticle that scatters light and catches on its neighbours.

    May suitMaximum-hold styling

    A wax holds by staying solid on the strand, which gives grip and separation rather than a set film that cracks.

    • emollient
    • light ester
    • oil
    • wax
  • 5 Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Flower Extract
    General function

    Lavender extract, used at low levels for scent association and a calming claim.

    Supporting ingredient

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

    • botanical extract
  • 6 Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
    General function

    Aloe gel, used for light moisture and slip. High in the list it also contributes a little natural hold.

    Supporting ingredient

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

    May suitCurls or waves needing flexible hold

    Gums thicken and set soft, which gives definition that bends rather than a rigid cast.

    May suitFine or easily flattened hair

    Hydration with no oil attached, so it adds very little weight even high on a list.

    May suitVery dry or highly damaged hair

    Aloe is mostly water carrying sugars that bind more of it, which is why it turns up as the base of moisture-first formulas.

    • humectant
    • botanical extract
    • gum
  • 7 Cetyl Alcohol
    General function

    A fatty alcohol used to thicken creams and add slip. It softens rather than dries.

    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

    The waxy solid that gives a conditioner its body. It deposits a soft lubricating layer, which is most of what makes hair feel smooth after rinsing.

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

    Deposits with the cationic conditioners and helps them lie flat along the strand, which is where the detangling actually comes from.

    DependsFine or easily flattened hair

    Near the top of a conditioner it is doing most of the conditioning, and most of the weighting, at the same time.

    PubChem
    • fatty alcohol
    • emollient
    • thickener
  • 8 Bis-Aminopropyl Dimethicone
    General function

    An amino-modified silicone that binds to damaged spots for smoothing that survives rinsing.

    Supporting ingredient

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

    May suitClimate-sensitive or frizz-prone hair

    A surface film slows how quickly humidity reaches the cortex, which is what limits swelling-driven frizz in damp air.

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

    Amino-functional silicone carries a positive charge, so it binds where the cuticle is worn rather than coating evenly. Damaged areas get most of it.

    May suitMaximum-hold styling

    Film formers are what hold a style: they dry into a connected film across the strands so the shape resists movement.

    • silicone
    • conditioning agent
    • film former
  • 9 Oleic Acid
    General function

    The main fatty acid in olive oil, used to soften and to help emulsify.

    Secondary ingredient

    Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.

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

    Emollients fill and smooth the surface of the strand, which lowers the friction that lifts the cuticle and reads as roughness.

    • emollient
    • emulsifier
  • ▾Below about here, the order stops meaning much. These are usually used at 1% or less.
  • 10 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
  • 11 Benzyl Alcohol
    • preservative
    • solvent
  • 12 Dicetyldimonium Chloride
    General function

    A conditioning agent used for slip in thick creams and masks.

    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
  • 13 Sodium Benzoate
    • preservative
  • 14 Disodium EDTA
    General function

    Grabs metal ions from hard water so they cannot dull the 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
  • 15 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

What the whole list adds up to

  • 4 emollients
  • 2 solvents
  • 2 fatty alcohols
  • 2 thickeners
  • 2 conditioning agents
  • 2 emulsifiers
  • 2 botanical extracts
  • 2 preservatives
  • 2 hard-water chelators
  • 1 light ester
  • 1 oil
  • 1 wax
  • 1 humectant
  • 1 gum

Ingredient list captured 2026-08-22. Formulas change, so check the package in your hand when an ingredient matters to you.

Price · 13.5 oz

Seen at $6.97 1 store · checked Aug 30
Good value under $5 Under $0.39/oz it costs less than three-quarters of the 8 products we score as doing the same job

Priced above the products that do the same job. Stores sell it above the $5 line; products that do this job typically go for about $10 at this size.

Sizes

13.5 ozusual store size
$6.97
$0.52/oz
33.8 oz
$12.99
$0.38/oz

The 33.8 oz costs 27% less per ounce than the 13.5 oz.

Show the price ladder
Where we’ve seen it3 listings · 3 stores

13.5 ozusual store size

33.8 ozBest per ounce

  • Target
    $12.99
    33.8 oz · $0.38/oz
    Aug 30Lowest per oz

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.

How we work this out
  1. 13.5 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.
  2. Seen at $6.97 is the price we have observed for the 13.5 oz. We need three stores before we call a price commonly seen.
  3. 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 $0.39/oz; at 13.5 oz that is $5. Under that line you are paying less than most of them.
  4. Each size is guarded on its own, so a multipack or a marketplace listing at one size cannot move another.
  5. About $10 is what those same products typically cost at this size: the midpoint of their prices per ounce, scaled to 13.5 oz.

Formula

Formula score
10 of 10

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

How the score is counted
  • 2 products we score as doing the same job cost less per ounce
  • Costs less per ounce than 90% of the 1119 conditioners we’ve priced
  • Covers 6 of the 6 things a conditioner should do
  • Reviewers mention 3 things they like about how it performs
  • Conditioning agents up frontWhat makes wet hair comb through.3 pts
  • Oils or butters in the working zoneSoftens the strand rather than just coating it.2 pts
  • Slip for detanglingReduces the force it takes to comb wet hair.2 pts
  • A humectantBinds water into the hair.1 pt
  • A pH adjusterBrings the formula to the acidic pH hair prefers.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.

SuaveSame function Moroccan Infusion Shine Conditioner $0.25/oz $0.27/oz less
  • Protein-free
  • Alcohol-free
  • Medium weight
Differs
  • Coconut scent, not floral
  • Value tier
  • 12.6 oz bottle
Compare
TRESemmeLowest cost per oz Bouncy Curls Conditioner for Curly Hair $0.21/oz $0.31/oz less
  • Protein-free
  • Alcohol-free
  • Medium weight
· Same function
Differs
  • Sweet scent, not floral
  • 28 oz bottle
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

Built for wavy to coily hair

Final decision

Should you buy it?

A solid pick for the hair it suits
Best user

Hair that stiffens on protein, for a protein-free formula and real detangling slip

Biggest tradeoff

Not ideal for anyone sensitive to fragrance, curly-method routines, or soft, over-stretchy hair that needs protein

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.

2
SupportedBacked by ingredients
0
Partly supportedSome supporting logic
2
Stated by brandNo clear evidence
1
Potential conflictFormula works against claim
Get soft & smooth curls

Silicones or film formers smooth the cuticle, which is the usual mechanism.

  • Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil
  • Bis-Aminopropyl Dimethicone
Supported

Smoother strands, less frizz.

Infused blend: Jojoba oil, lavender, and aloe vera

This is a marketing claim; an ingredient list cannot speak to it.

—

Stated by brand

Can’t be confirmed from label.

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.

PETA cruelty-free certified

Our researched record has this brand as cruelty-free.

—

Supported

Matches our researched record.

Free of minerals and silicone

A silicone appears in the ingredient list.

  • Bis-Aminopropyl Dimethicone
Potential conflict

A silicone is on the label.

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.

Leaves curls soft, silky, shiny, bouncy, and less frizzy

Exact Walmart/Instacart reviewers

Lightweight hydration and small-dose use avoid weighing hair down

Curly-hair reviewers; 13.5 oz current variant

Creamy conditioner detangles quickly and rinses clean

Exact Walmart reviewers

More from Herbal Essences

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.
  • 5 sources consulted for this product (4 manufacturer or regulatory, 1 retailer, 0 editorial), last checked 2026-08-25.
  • Ingredient references are linked for 6 of 11 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 2026-10-31.

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