Shampoo chemicals
Written: Oct 07 '02 (Updated Mar 14 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: cleans, faint fragrance, SLS-free
Cons: no UV-absorbing or conditioning agents, which may be desirable
The Bottom Line: This is a clarifying shampoo that cleans without leaving a lot of residue or fragrance. For best results use a separate conditioner.
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| snsh's Full Review: Suave Daily Clarifying Shampoo |
I have short hair and moderately hard water. I usually mix my own shampoo (using starting formulas from chemistrystore.com). I don't like retail/salon shampoos because they contain a lot of added ingredients (such as fragrance) that don't do anything to clean my hair. This approach works fine for me. But last time I ran out of shampoo, I felt lazy and bought a bottle of Suave Daily Clarifying shampoo at Walmart for about a dollar. I ended up liking it.
Then a few weeks ago I ran out of hand soap and refilled the pump with Suave shampoo instead of Softsoap. It works okay. It should work -- the active ingredients are all the same.
What's outside the bottle:
Suave comes in a clear PET (coke bottle plastic) bottle with a tilt-spout cap. I've seen 16 oz. and 22 oz. sizes, typically selling for about $1.00 and $1.30.
What's inside the bottle:
Water, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Ammonium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamide MEA, Ammonium Chloride, PEG-5 Cocamide,
Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Fragrance, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Tetrasodium EDTA, DMDM Hydantoin, Citric Acid, Dimethicone Copolyol, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, FD&C Blue #1, D&C Red #33, D&C Violet #2.
note The older formula (pre-2004) was salmon color contains Orange #4 instead of Blue#1 and Violet #2. The older, older formula (pre-2001) contains Ammonium Xylene-Sulfonate (a surfactant) and Benzophenone-4 (UV-absorbing dye) but no PEG-5 Cocamide (a surfactant). I do not know why they would change surfactants, and I find it curious that they stopped adding the UV-absorbing dye.
What's inside the bottle, categorized by their presumed function:
Cleans:
Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate - surfactant
Ammonium Laureth Sulfate - surfactant
Cocamide MEA - foam stabilizer, thickener
PEG-5 Cocamide - surfactant
Cocamidopropyl Betaine - foam stabilizer
Dimethicone Copolyol - foaming agent
Such cleaning agents are typical for all shampoo formulas, even the natual, herbal, and salon ones.
Rinses out without doing much:
Water
Ammonium Chloride - thickener
Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose - eyedrops
Tetrasodium EDTA - preservative, chelator
DMDM Hydantoin - preservative
Citric Acid - preservative, pH adjuster
Methylchloroisothiazolinone - preservative
Methylisothiazolinone - preservative
FD&C Blue #1, D&C Red #33, D&C Violet #2
Similar preservatives are also typical for all shampoo formulas.
Deposits on hair:
Fragrance - barely
This is less residue than they put in most other shampoos, including a few that claim to not leave buildup (which I find misleading because by definition any residue is actually buildup).
As far as I can see, Suave is mostly water and surfactants. Other ingredients are there for marketing appeal -- foaming agents to create suds, preservatives to increase shelf life, thickeners to increase viscosity, an opthamalic additive, and a limited amount of fragrance/dye. But mostly it's just the same surfactants found in most shampoos, without the residue.
Also, other reviews write that Suave shampoo is bad for color-treated hair. This confuses me because I am aware of no specific ingredient (besides UV-blocking agent which prevents sun-induced fading) that makes shampoo safe/unsafe for color-treated hair. If I had to guess, I would guess that color-safe shampoos just contain more water than ordinary shampoos.
My experience:
Out of the bottle, Suave Clarifying shampoo is almost clear in color, thick, and not runny. It creates a lot of suds. Unlike other Suave shampoos I've tried, the fragrance is faint and seems to fully rinse out. ("if you can smell yourself, you put on a tad too much.")
However, I shampoo twice a day, and my hair eventually started feeling too stiff. Using a conditioner (cetrimonium chloride solution) at night solved that problem for me. My hair is short otherwise I would want to use a detangler (glycerine) too. I don't like using conditioner in the morning because it makes hair too limp, but at night I don't mind.
This Suave shampoo actually seems very watery. By watery I don't mean runny -- all shampoos contain chemicals that make them viscous and thick -- I mean it contains more water than usual. I've gradually found that I need to use a good-sized squirt out of the bottle, suggesting that it's not very concentrated.
I prefer Suave to Softsoap for handsoap. Softsoap seems to contain lotion-like ingredients that feel greasy, while Suave rinses clean.
Conclusion:
Suave Clarifying shampoo seems to be formulated for cleaning hair. It works well for me. It's inexpensive though somewhat dilute. A typical person would probably benefit from occasionally using a separate conditioner/detangler.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
snsh
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Location: New England
Reviews written: 16
Trusted by: 7 members
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