KeraTriplex keratin protein technology
A protein or amino acid appears in the ingredient list.
- Keratin
- Hydrolyzed Keratin
- Oxidized Keratin
The named ingredient is really there.
Sizes & containers
5.1 fl oz · No store price at this size yet
Mask / Protein treatment, lean
Add it to your products. We’ll tell you if it’s ever recalled.
Scent:
The ingredient list declares fragrance. What it smells of is not stated, and we do not guess.
Strength: Light
Manufacturer page: paulmitchell.com
Personal fit
Complete the consultation to see how well this product fits your hair and your goals. With 6,000+ products in our library, we can match you to the right ones.
$49 with 60 days of follow-up questions and plan updates
$99 with 12 months. Pay once; the year renews only if you choose.
The rest of what your plan weighs on this product.
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.
Your avoid-list
Same job for less elsewhere
$8.40/oz at 2.5 oz, more than 88% of the 576 masks and treatments , which mostly run $1.80–5.62/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.
No oils or butters in the list.
Water-first and light: unlikely to flatten fine hair.
Protein high in the list: a strengthening formula, not a moisture one.
Humectants near the top: binding water is one of its main jobs.
Conditioning agents sit high in the list, so this is a detangling formula.
A short wait that fits inside an ordinary shower.
Water-insoluble silicones or waxes: a detergent wash is what removes them.
Fragrance is listed; it sits below the working ingredients.
Ingredients that matter
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| WaterWater (Aqua, Eau) | solvent | The base everything else is dissolved in | Neutral |
| Cetearyl Alcohol | fatty alcohol | Thickens and conditions (not a drying alcohol) | Softens |
| Isohexadecane | solvent | The base everything else is dissolved in | Softens |
| Behentrimonium Chloride | conditioning agent | Conditions and softens so hair combs through | Detangles |
| Glycerin | humectant | Pulls water into the hair | Moisturizes |
| Isopropyl Alcohol | drying alcohol | Speeds drying but can leave hair feeling dry | Drying |
| Cetyl Esters | light ester | Light slip without much weight | Softens |
| Hedychium Coronarium Root Extract | botanical extract | A plant extract, there as much for marketing as for function | Neutral |
| Keratin | protein | A small amount of protein | Protein |
| Hydrolyzed Keratin | film former | A supporting film former | Protein |
| Oxidized Keratin | protein | A small amount of protein | Protein |
| Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein PG-Propyl Silanetriol | film former | A supporting film former | Protein |
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.
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.
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 light, quickly evaporating carrier that spreads silicones and oils thinly, then leaves.
Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.
Emollients fill and smooth the surface of the strand, which lowers the friction that lifts the cuticle and reads as roughness.
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.
Glycerin, also called glycerol, attracts moisture and mixes completely with water.
Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.
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 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.
Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.
Evaporates on contact, which is how a spray sets almost instantly and leaves no weight behind it.
Porous hair gives water up easily as it is; a fast-evaporating solvent high on the list accelerates that.
It evaporates quickly and takes some water with it. On hair already short of moisture, a formula built on a lot of it can finish drier than it started.
A waxy ester blend that replaces spermaceti in creams. It thickens and leaves a smooth, non-greasy finish.
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.
White ginger lily extract, used at low levels for scent association and label appeal.
Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.
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.
Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.
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.
The protein hair is made of. On the outside of the strand it fills gaps and firms up the feel for a few washes.
Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.
Unhydrolysed protein is too large to enter the strand. It sits on the surface, which is a coating effect rather than internal reinforcement.
Fragments of the same protein hair is made of. They fill gaps on damaged strands and make hair feel firmer for a few washes.
Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.
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.
Size decides where it goes. In fibre testing, fractions around 221 and 2,577 Da reached the cortex while a 75,440 Da fraction stayed on the surface. A label prints the name, never the size, so a protein line is a claim about the ingredient rather than about the depth.
Keratin treated to make it water-soluble so it can be formulated. It deposits on damaged areas and firms the feel for a few washes.
Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.
Unhydrolysed protein is too large to enter the strand. It sits on the surface, which is a coating effect rather than internal reinforcement.
A plant protein modified to bind more firmly to hair than a plain hydrolysed protein. Used for strength and body claims.
Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.
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.
Wheat protein broken into amino acids, used for lightweight moisture binding.
Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.
Amino acids are the smallest protein fraction and bind water as well, so they add far less stiffness than a hydrolysed protein does.
The lightest option in the protein family, but still protein — worth watching if protein reliably stiffens your hair.
A silicone modified to stick where hair is damaged, so it smooths selectively instead of coating everything. It resists rinsing more than plain dimethicone.
Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.
A surface film slows how quickly humidity reaches the cortex, which is what limits swelling-driven frizz in damp air.
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.
Film formers are what hold a style: they dry into a connected film across the strands so the shape resists movement.
A mild cationic conditioner known for heavy detangling with a light rinse-out feel. Common in curly-hair conditioners.
Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.
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.
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.
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 quick-acting conditioning agent that reduces static and combing force. It also helps keep the formula stable.
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 C16 quat binds mostly by charge rather than by chain, so it deposits measurably less than the C22 ones. Less deposit is less conditioning and also less weight, which is usually the trade fine hair wants.
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.
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.
The most common conditioning silicone. It coats the strand for shine, slip, and frizz control, and needs a detergent (not just water) to wash out.
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 surface film slows how quickly humidity reaches the cortex, which is what limits swelling-driven frizz in damp air.
Lays a smooth film along the cuticle, which lowers combing friction and flattens the surface irregularities that read as frizz.
A conditioning hold polymer used where flexibility and shine matter more than stiffness.
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 silicone that also absorbs UV, used in leave-on products to slow colour fade.
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 surface film slows how quickly humidity reaches the cortex, which is what limits swelling-driven frizz in damp air.
Lays a smooth film along the cuticle, which lowers combing friction and flattens the surface irregularities that read as frizz.
Sunlight oxidises hair pigment, and on gray, silver or lightened hair that shows up as yellowing. A UV filter on the label absorbs some of the light that drives it.
A gentle conditioning agent activated by the acid in the formula. It smooths the cuticle without much build-up.
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 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.
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 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 cold-pressed orange peel oil used for scent. Citrus oils are naturally high in limonene.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
Essential oils are fragrance. Several carry constituents on the EU list of declared fragrance allergens, so a label with no fragrance line can still be a scented product.
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.
A citrus-smelling fragrance component that EU rules require to be named separately because some people react to 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.
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 floral fragrance component listed separately as a recognised contact 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 lavender-like fragrance component, related to linalool and listed for the same allergen reason.
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 pine-scented component of essential oils, declared as part of the fragrance.
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 2026-08-24. Formulas change, so check the package in your hand when an ingredient matters to you.
Price · 2.5 oz
Priced above the products that do the same job. Stores sell it above the $4 line; products that do this job typically go for about $10 at this size.
2.5 ozusual store size
51 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
Sold through salons, and 7 products that do the same job cost less. Part of what you pay for is where it is sold.
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.
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
Soft, over-stretchy hair, for protein high in the formula and real detangling slip
Less suited to anyone sensitive to fragrance, curly-method routines, or hair that stiffens on protein
Consider L'anza Moi Moi Hair Masque, 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 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.
KeraTriplex keratin protein technology
A protein or amino acid appears in the ingredient list.
The named ingredient is really there.
instantly improves texture
This is a marketing claim; an ingredient list cannot speak to it.
—
Can’t be confirmed from label.
color safe
It avoids sulfate detergents, which are the usual cause of fast fade.
Less fade per wash.
paraben-free
No parabens appear in the ingredient list.
—
Preserved without parabens.
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
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.
Mild fragrance, leaves hair smooth and frizz-free
Works well, no more frizz - mild fragrance, leaving my hair smooth and frizz-freeAggregate rating 4.8/5 from 142 ratings on Walmart
Disclosed aggregate retailer ratingReviewers describe intense hydration, shine, and improved hair texture
Multiple reviewer comments on Walmart product page