Shampoo / Clarifying, deep-cleaning
Scent:
The ingredient list declares fragrance. What it smells of is not stated, and we do not guess.
Manufacturer page: paulmitchell.com
Personal fit
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The rest of what your plan weighs on this product.
The consultation builds your hair profile, then reads every factor in this table against it — and tells you where this product fits, or what to use instead.
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Your avoid-list
Upper-mid price for a shampoo
$1.60/oz at 8.5 oz — more than 52% of the 805 shampoos , which mostly run $0.81–3.01/oz. The cost less.
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 oil, buildup, and most residue — a reset wash.
Thick foam that spreads quickly through the hair.
Conditioning agents sit high in the list — this is a detangling formula.
Humectants near the top — water-binding is a headline mechanism here.
No over-the-counter scalp active.
Chelators are present — they bind hard-water and pool minerals.
Water-insoluble silicones or waxes: a detergent wash is what removes them.
Protein appears, low enough to be a supporting ingredient.
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 |
| Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate | olefin sulfonate cleanser | — | Cleanses |
| Sodium Cocoamphoacetate | amphoteric cleanser | — | Cleanses |
| Glycerin | humectant | Pulls water into the hair | Moisturizes |
| Silicone Quaternium-22 | silicone | Smooths the cuticle and adds shine | Buildup |
| Cocamidopropyl Betaine | amphoteric cleanser | — | Cleanses |
| Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil | oil | Coats and softens the strand | Softens |
| Verbascum Densiflorum Flower/Stem Extract | botanical extract | A plant extract, marketed as much as functional | Neutral |
| Avena Sativa (Oat) Peptide | protein | A small amount of protein | Protein |
| PEG-12 Dimethicone | emollient | A softening touch, low in the list | Buildup |
| Caprylyl Glycol | preservative | Keeps the product from spoiling | Moisturizes |
| Phenoxyethanol | preservative | Keeps the product from spoiling | Stabilizes |
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 strong non-sulfate detergent used in "sulfate-free" shampoos. It cleans about as thoroughly as a sulfate despite the label difference.
Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.
A strong detergent with no sulfate on the label. It removes deposited films about as completely as a sulfate does.
Sulfate-free on the label is a naming fact, not a mildness one: this is an efficient detergent, and hair short of moisture can feel it.
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 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.
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 conditioning silicone used for durable smoothing and slip.
Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.
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 coconut-derived co-cleanser that boosts foam and softens the effect of stronger detergents. It appears in most shampoos, gentle or not.
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.
The mildest detergents are also the least complete: a routine that deposits films needs something stronger periodically.
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.
A heavy, coating oil traditionally used for deep conditioning.
Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.
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.
Near the top of a list an oil is weight before it is anything else, and fine hair shows that first at the roots.
An extract from the stem of Verbascum Densiflorum. 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.
Flaxseed gel. A natural polysaccharide that gives soft, flexible hold in curl products.
Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.
A polysaccharide film stays softer than a synthetic one as it dries, which is what leaves a curl defined but still able to move.
A soft film binds neighbouring strands together, which is most of what keeps flyaways lying down without stiffness.
Gum films stay soft. A style that needs firm fixation usually wants a synthetic polymer doing the holding.
A short-chain oat protein used for conditioning and a soothing claim.
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 gel-forming thickener that also keeps oils suspended. It contributes a little hold.
Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.
A set polymer film is a physical barrier to humidity, so a style keeps its shape longer in damp conditions.
Synthetic film formers dry into a continuous film, which is what holds a shape against movement and against humid air.
Some acrylate copolymers rinse with water and some need a detergent; the label alone does not say which one a formula used.
A cellulose-based conditioning polymer that leaves a thin, static-reducing film. Very common in shampoos as the ingredient that keeps them from stripping.
Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.
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 water-soluble silicone that smooths without the build-up concern of standard silicones.
Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.
The PEG- and PPG-modified silicones disperse in water, so ordinary washing carries them off instead of leaving a film to accumulate.
A surface film slows how quickly humidity reaches the cortex, which is what limits swelling-driven frizz in damp air.
Delivers the slip and surface smoothing of a silicone without needing a detergent wash to remove it afterwards.
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 wax that gives shampoo its pearly look and a slightly richer 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.
A fatty ester. Esters give slip and a smooth after-feel; lighter ones read dry and silky, heavier ones read rich.
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.
An emulsifier that also softens, often added to make a cleanser feel less stripping.
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.
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 rose-scented alcohol that acts as both a mild preservative and a fragrance note.
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.
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 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.
Ingredient list captured 2026-09-12. Formulas change — check the package in your hand when an ingredient matters to you.
Price · 8.5 oz
Priced above the products that do the same job. Stores sell it above the $6 line; products that do this job typically go for about $12 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. and 1 listing we don’t count — grey-market or unverified sellers.
Formula
The formula carries the systems a shampoo is built around, and it sits in the middle of the range for shampoos per ounce.
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
Colour-treated hair — for washing without sulfates and a proper reset wash
Less suited to anyone sensitive to fragrance, curly-method routines, or dry or damaged hair
Marc Anthony Argan Oil Hydrating Shampoo — 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.
Moisturizing shampoo hydrates and soothes the scalp for softer, healthier and more manageable hair
Humectants or rich emollients sit in the first eight ingredients.
Helps hair feel hydrated.
Sulfate-free formula (without SLS, SLES, ALS)
No sulfate detergents appear in the ingredient list.
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Gentler on colour and coils.
Color safe, vegan, paraben-free, gluten-free
No parabens appear in the ingredient list.
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Preserved without parabens.
77% natural origin ingredients
A brand-run study. We report it as stated and do not repeat the number as fact.
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Only the brand’s testing shows this.
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.
A minority of reviewers report the opposite result, saying it left their hair dry as straw or made their scalp itch.
Several reviewers say it lathers well and cuts through hard-water mineral buildup even though it is sulfate-free.
Reviewers with thick, coarse or dry hair repeatedly describe strong hydration without weighing hair down.
