Plumps up fine strands so hair looks and feels clean, full and healthy
This is a marketing claim; an ingredient list cannot speak to it.
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Can’t be confirmed from label.
Shampoo / Clarifying, deep-cleaning
Scent:
The ingredient list declares fragrance. What it smells of is not stated, and we do not guess.
“Sundrenched citrus breeze over notes of wild sage, crushed rosemary and coastal lavender with a hint of delicate florals, warm amber and sheer musk” — Brand page
Manufacturer page: paulmitchell.com
Personal fit
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The rest of what your plan weighs on this product.
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Your avoid-list
Upper-mid price for a shampoo
$1.98/oz at 10.14 oz — more than 62% 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 are present, lower in the list.
Humectants in the working part of the formula.
No over-the-counter scalp active.
Chelators are present — they bind hard-water and pool minerals.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| WaterWater (Aqua, Eau) | solvent | The base everything else is dissolved in | Neutral |
| Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate | olefin sulfonate cleanser | — | Cleanses |
| Sodium Lauryl Sulfate | sulfate cleanser | — | Cleanses |
| Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine | amphoteric cleanser | — | Cleanses |
| Cocamide MIPA | secondary cleanser | Softens the main detergent | Cleanses |
| Melaleuca Alternifolia (TEA Tree) Leaf Water | botanical extract | A plant extract, marketed as much as functional | Neutral |
| Citrus Limon (Lemon) Fruit Extract | botanical extract | A plant extract, marketed as much as functional | Neutral |
| Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Extract | botanical extract | A plant extract, marketed as much as functional | Neutral |
| Methylchloroisothiazolinone | isothiazolinone | — | Stabilizes |
| Methylisothiazolinone | isothiazolinone | — | Stabilizes |
| FragranceFragrance (Parfum) | fragrance | The scent | Fragrance |
| Tetramethyl Acetyloctahydronaphthalenes | 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 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 high-foaming, strongly cleansing detergent. It clears build-up thoroughly and is the harsher of the two common sulfates.
Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.
A sulfate detergent removes deposited silicone, wax and styling films in one wash, which is what resets a routine before build-up is visible.
Fine hair that goes limp under conditioning films usually reads a full detergent wash as volume returning.
Coarse and high-porosity hair loses water quickly on its own; an efficient detergent removes the surface oils that were slowing that down.
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.
A coconut-derived thickener that stabilises shampoo foam and gives the liquid its body.
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.
A sugar-derived non-ionic detergent, among the gentlest in use. It cleanses with little foam of its own and little sebum removal.
Gentle cleansing leaves water-insoluble deposits largely in place; they come off with a stronger wash, not this one.
Tea tree water used in place of some of the plain water, for scent and label appeal.
Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.
A lemon fruit extract used at low levels; it contributes a little natural acid and label appeal.
Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.
An extract of Sage (Salvia Officinalis). 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.
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.
A panthenol derivative used for the same softness and shine effect, with a lighter feel.
Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.
Deposits a lubricating layer that makes combing easier, which is most of what stops mechanical damage adding to frizz.
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 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.
Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.
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.
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.
A strong base used in trace amounts to raise pH; fully neutralised in the finished product.
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 alkali half of a pH-adjusting pair, used in small amounts to bring a formula up to its target rather than to make it alkaline. Alkaline conditions raise the fibre's surface charge and lift the scales — but the finished pH is not on the label.
A cellulose-based conditioning polymer that leaves a thin, static-reducing film. Very common in shampoos as the ingredient that keeps them from 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.
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.
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.
Binds the metal ions in hard water so they cannot dull 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.
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 synthetic musk or woody-amber note used as a fragrance base.
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 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 cold-pressed citrus oil used for a fresh scent; 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.
Ingredient list captured 2026-09-08. Formulas change — check the package in your hand when an ingredient matters to you.
Price · 10.14 oz
Priced above the products that do the same job. Stores sell it above the $15 line; products that do this job typically go for about $19 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 shampoos, 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, 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
Hair that stiffens on protein, looking for a protein-free formula and a proper reset wash
Worth skipping for anyone sensitive to fragrance, sulfate-free routines and fresh keratin treatments, or dry or damaged hair
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.
Plumps up fine strands so hair looks and feels clean, full and healthy
This is a marketing claim; an ingredient list cannot speak to it.
—
Can’t be confirmed from label.
Color Safe
It uses a sulfate detergent, which is the usual cause of fast fade.
Likely to pull colour faster.
Vegan
Our researched record has this brand or product as vegan.
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Matches our researched record.
Paraben Free
No parabens appear in the ingredient list.
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Preserved without parabens.
Made Without Gluten
This is a marketing claim; an ingredient list cannot speak to it.
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Can’t be confirmed from label.
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.
Many reviewers with fine or thinning hair say it adds noticeable volume and body without weighing hair down.
fine or thinning-haired reviewersReviewers frequently call out the citrus and herbal scent as invigorating and pleasant.
general reviewers commenting on fragranceA large cluster of long-time users are upset about a reformulation, saying the scent shifted from a fresh lemon-sage-tea-tree tingle to a more perfume-like smell, with several also reporting less volume, lift and the original cooling tingle.
long-time repeat buyers reacting to a formula/scent changeA couple of reviewers say it otherwise works well but leaves fine hair slightly dry.
fine-haired reviewers, one following a stylist's recommendation