Co-wash / Low-lather cleanser, gentle
Scent:
The ingredient list declares fragrance. What it smells of is not stated, and we do not guess.
Manufacturer page: ouidad.com
Personal fit
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Your avoid-list
Upper-mid price for a co-wash
$2.25/oz at 16 oz — more than 59% of the 94 co-washes , which mostly run $1.08–2.77/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 light dirt and oil without stripping.
Conditioning agents sit high in the list — this is a detangling formula.
Oils are present, but low enough to be a finishing touch.
Humectants in the working part of the formula.
Middle of the range — noticeable on fine hair, light on coarse hair.
Nothing here needs a detergent wash to remove.
No protein or amino acids in the list.
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 |
| Stearyl Alcohol | fatty alcohol | Body and cleansing feel — not a drying alcohol | Softens |
| Sodium Lauroamphoacetate | amphoteric cleanser | — | Cleanses |
| Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate | starch | Soaks up oil and adds grip | Holds |
| Behentrimonium Chloride | conditioning agent | Does the cleaning here — a co-wash cleans with conditioners | Detangles |
| Cetyl Alcohol | fatty alcohol | Body and cleansing feel — not a drying alcohol | Softens |
| Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine | amphoteric cleanser | — | Cleanses |
| Anastatica Hierochuntica (Rose Of Jericho) ExtractAnastatica Hierochuntica Extract | botanical extract | A plant extract, marketed as much as functional | Neutral |
| Caprylyl Glycol | preservative | Keeps the product from spoiling | Moisturizes |
| Phenoxyethanol | preservative | Keeps the product from spoiling | Stabilizes |
| Isopropyl Alcohol | drying alcohol | A small amount, for fast drying | Drying |
| Benzyl Salicylate | 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 fatty alcohol that thickens conditioners and helps them coat the hair evenly.
Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.
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.
Deposits with the cationic conditioners and helps them lie flat along the strand, which is where the detangling actually comes from.
Near the top of a conditioner it is doing most of the conditioning, and most of the weighting, at the same time.
A very mild cleanser common 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 modified starch that thickens and leaves a light, powdery film — often used for body in curl products.
Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.
Adds grip and body with no oil attached, which is what lifts fine hair at the root instead of weighing it down.
How rigid the finish is depends on which polymer it is and what the formula pairs with it, not on there being one.
Starch gives texture and grip rather than a set film; firm hold usually needs a polymer alongside it.
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 positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.
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 fatty alcohol used to thicken creams and add slip. It softens rather than dries.
Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.
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.
Deposits with the cationic conditioners and helps them lie flat along the strand, which is where the detangling actually comes from.
Near the top of a conditioner it is doing most of the conditioning, and most of the weighting, at the same time.
A mild co-cleanser that keeps foam stable in hard water.
Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.
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.
An extract of Rose Of Jericho (Anastatica Hierochuntica). 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 light oil used for shine and slip, often alongside rice-derived proteins.
Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.
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 positively charged conditioning agent. Damaged hair carries a negative charge, so it deposits where the damage is and makes wet hair comb through.
Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.
A cationic conditioning agent: it binds to the damaged, negatively charged parts of the cuticle and lowers combing friction there.
The class that does the detangling in a conditioner. It deposits lubrication where the cuticle is worn.
Substantive by design. A routine with no detergent wash gives it nothing to leave with.
A solvent that keeps other ingredients dissolved and helps preservatives work.
Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.
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 light humectant and carrier that helps extracts dissolve.
Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.
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.
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.
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 fast-evaporating alcohol used as a solvent and to speed drying. Well down the list it is a processing aid; near the top it can leave hair feeling dry.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
Evaporates on contact, which is how a spray sets almost instantly and leaves no weight behind it.
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.
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 2026-08-30. Formulas change — check the package in your hand when an ingredient matters to you.
Price · 16 oz
Usually a good value. Most stores sell it under the $37 line, and products that do this job typically go for about $39 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
A complete read of the format at an ordinary price: mid-range per ounce among co-washes, 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
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 a protein-free formula
Not ideal for anyone sensitive to fragrance, very dry or high-damage hair, or anyone who wants a squeaky-clean feel
Nothing in our library matches it closely 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.
Gently cleanses, conditions, detangles and nourishes curls
Humectants and emollients are present, but lower in the list than the claim implies.
Some hydration, at a low level.
Removes dirt, oil and buildup without stripping hair
The detergent system is gentle; it is unlikely to clear heavy build-up on its own.
Too gentle for real build-up.
Creamy, lather-free formula
This is a marketing claim; an ingredient list cannot speak to it.
—
Can’t be confirmed from label.
Detangles while infusing moisture to encourage definition and add volume without weighing down your curls
A mid-weight formula: it will not flatten fine hair, but lift is not its main job.
Neutral on lift.
Free from Silicones, Parabens, Sulfates, Mineral Oil, Phthalates, Petroleum, Gluten
No sulfate detergents appear in the ingredient list.
—
Gentler on colour and coils.
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 spiral or densely curly hair single it out as the one cleanser that lets them detangle in the shower, and some say it conditions well enough that a separate conditioner step stops feeling necessary.
Ulta reviewers with spiral curls, including the most-helpful positive reviewLong-time repurchasers say the product was reformulated and that the current version no longer performs like the one they had been buying.
Ulta reviewer who calls it a former favouriteThe strongest criticism is that it does not read as a cleanser: the scalp never feels clean, the product is hard to rinse fully, and hair is left frizzy and still tangled.
Ulta's most-helpful critical review, loose curls and waves, returned after two usesReviewers with thick, coarse hair conclude the formula is too light for their density and say it would suit fine or thin hair better.
Ulta reviewer, thick and coarse hairFine, thin-haired wavy reviewers report the opposite outcome: hair feels dry straight after washing yet turns oily again within a day.
Ulta reviewer describing wavy thin hair
