New Wash has competition, and it's hard to ignore. The ingredients are easier to ignore. So let's talk about them.
One general rule of thumb: anything that starts with sodium is very hydrophilic, which means it loves water so much that it takes too much when it cleans. Most of those ingredients are foaming agents, too. And here's what most people don't know about peptides: they're largely false advertising when it comes to hair. Peptides signal living cells to produce more collagen, which is legitimate science in skincare. But hair isn't alive to receive those messages. It's like sending a text to an inactive phone. Phrases like "strengthening from within" imply an active biological process that simply cannot happen on a dead hair shaft.
With that in mind, here's what's actually in the bottle.
| Product | Price | Size | Sulfates | Synthetic fragrance / dye | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Wash | $48 | 8 oz | No | No | Cleans with fatty alcohols and essential oils instead of detergents. No separate conditioner needed. |
| K18 Peptide Prep Detoxifying Shampoo | $39 | 8.5 oz | No | Benzyl Salicylate | Contains Sodium Hydroxide. Its peptide can only coat the hair shaft, not "strengthen from within," since hair isn't living tissue. |
| Redken Hair Cleansing Cream Clarifying Shampoo | $29 | 8.5 fl oz | Yes (SLES) | Yes (Hexyl Cinnamal) | Contains Sodium Hydroxide and Disodium EDTA. Directions call for a separate conditioner, despite the "cleansing cream" name. |
| Oribe Eternal Curls Cleansing Crème | $49 | 8.5 oz | No | Yes (Hexyl Cinnamal) | No foaming agents, but contains synthetic preservatives and fragrance. |
| Ouai Detox Shampoo | $34 | 10 fl oz | Yes | Yes (3 synthetic dyes) | Contains Sodium Hydroxide, synthetic surfactants, and three synthetic dyes with no functional cleansing role. |
| Kerastase Nutritive Bain Satin Riche Shampoo | $43 | 8.5 oz | Yes (SLS + SLES) | Yes | Contains Sodium Hydroxide, synthetic emulsifiers and fragrance, plus Glycol Distearate, a synthetic opacifier for appearance. |
| Olaplex No. 4 Fine Bond Maintenance Shampoo | $34 | 8.5 fl oz | No | No | Free of SLS, silicones, and proteins, but contains Sodium Hydroxide and synthetic preservatives. |
| Prose Custom Shampoo | $37 | 8.5 fl oz | Varies | Yes ("Fragrance") | Custom formula per hair quiz; ingredients aren't shown until completion. Includes an undisclosed "Fragrance" and synthetic thickener. |
| Unwash Bio-Cleansing Conditioner | $36 | 13.5 fl oz | No | Yes ("Fragrance") | Contains synthetic surfactants, silicones, and MCI/MI preservatives, restricted in EU leave-ins for allergy risk. |
The Breakdown
K18 Peptide Prep Detoxifying Shampoo — $39 / 8.5 oz
While the shampoo claims to be color-safe and non-stripping, the formula contains Sodium Hydroxide, commonly found in oven cleaner, and synthetic fragrances like Benzyl Salicylate. It also contains Caprylhydroxamic Acid, a growing allergen according to the National Library of Medicine.
Then there's sh-Oligopeptide-78. A peptide. A peptide that, again, sends messages to living cells, but hair doesn't have any. You can only deposit peptides on the outside of the hair shaft. Strengthening from within is biologically impossible.
Redken Hair Cleansing Cream Clarifying Shampoo — $29 / 8.5 fl oz
It's name implies contradictory functions. It's advised to use this product once per week, followed by a Redken conditioner, but the whole premise of a cleansing cream is replacing shampoo and conditioner in one step. It also contains Sodium Laureth Sulfate, an aggressive detergent that strips when cleaning, Sodium Hydroxide, the synthetic preservative Disodium EDTA, and the known fragrance allergen Hexyl Cinnamal.
It's affordable, but there's always a cost. It seems like you're not investing in your hair, you're investing in a cycle: one product falls short, so you buy another, then another.
Oribe Eternal Curls Cleansing Crème — $49 / 8.5 oz
It doesn't contain any Sodium Laureth Sulfates or foaming agents, but it does contain a significant number of synthetic ingredients, including Hexyl Cinnamal, similar Redken's formula, and a collection of synthetic preservatives and fragrances. Better haircare doesn't have to cost more. New Wash sits in the same price range as conventional shampoo, yet eliminates the need for a separate conditioner entirely.
Ouai Detox Clarifying Shampoo — $34 / 10 fl oz
It seems futile to detox your scalp with stripping and drying chemicals. It contains a plethora of synthetic surfactants and preservatives, one of which is Sodium Hydroxide, and three different types of synthetic dyes. Dyes have no functional role in scalp health. To understand how the full sulfate picture plays out, read our guide to types of sulfates in shampoo.
Kerastase Nutritive Bain Satin Riche Shampoo — $43 / 8.5 oz
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate are high on the ingredient list. It also contains Sodium Hydroxide, synthetic emulsifiers, synthetic fragrances, and Glycol Distearate, a synthetic opacifier that gives the shampoo a shiny, pearlescent look.
Olaplex No. 4 Fine Bond Maintenance Shampoo — $34 / 8.5 fl oz
It's formulated without SLS, silicones, and proteins, but it still contains a long list of synthetic ingredients, most notably Sodium Hydroxide, preservatives, and yellow dye. The argument here is simple: why invest in a formula that promotes bond maintenance but keeps your scalp unbalanced with everything else in it?
Prose Custom Shampoo — $37 / 8.5 fl oz
Each hair type shouldn't require that many ingredients. Unlike Prose, New Wash is curated for all hair types. While the full ingredient list isn't made visible until the end of your hair quiz, some of them remain ambiguous. For example, "Fragrance" can most often indicate a hidden cocktail of allergens. It also contains a synthetic thickening agent, Acrylates/Beheneth-25 Methacrylate Copolymer, and a synthetic conditioner agent, PPG-3 Caprylyl Ether.
Unwash Bio-Cleansing Conditioner — $36 / 13.5 oz
As mentioned above, hair cannot be strengthened from within as the visible shaft is dead. So, repair and renewal are biologically impossible. A cosmetic effect is still possible: proteins or amino acids, like hydrolyzed keratin, a top ingredient in Unwash), deposit onto the outside of the hair shaft. Methylchloroisothiazolinone (MCI) & Methylisothiazolinone (MI) are synthetic preservatives and are banned in the EU when used in a leave-in treatment due to their highly potent contact allergens. Similar to Prose, Unwash also contains an anonymous recipe for fragrance. There's Dimethicone and Amodimethicone, which, like all silicones, leave build-up on the hair shaft because they're not water-soluble. Then there's C11-15 Pareth-7, Laureth-9, Trideceth-12 which are all synthetic surfactants that strip when they clean. The routine looks similar to New Wash. The ingredients tell a different story. Cleansing shouldn't come with a list of things that strip.
New Wash — $48 / 8 oz
New Wash is a higher price point, that's for certain. Your investment has two vehicles: relearning haircare so your hair can exist at its optimal state. And, supporting our efforts to reduce waste because our ingredients are 100% biodegradable and our bottles are refillable and made from 100% Post-Consumer Recycled plastics. The mentality is like this: a clean scalp means better haircare. Foam and suds aren't cleaning your scalp despite how right it feels in the shower.
Two ingredients worth being transparent about: the New Wash formula contains phenoxyethanol as part of the ABS Lavender Extract G PET at below 0.001%, which is well within the safety thresholds set by the EU, FDA, and other international regulators. We include it to help ensure the product remains safe, stable, and effective over time, because it prevents the growth of bacteria and mold.
New Wash Original, Fragrance Free and Purple contain phenoxyethanol, but New Wash Rich and New Wash Deep Clean don't. We're not perfect, and we're working to get those levels to none. We just have to be open and honest about where we are.
Hairstory has a whole team dedicated to building the formula. Every ingredient choice is validated through repeated bench testing and consumer testing before anything ships.
We also don't stop at launch. There are ongoing refinement cycles informed by real-world user and hairdresser feedback, so performance continues to evolve post-market.
Above all, instead of detergents, New Wash cleans with fatty alcohols and essential oils, dissolving buildup without triggering the wash-grease-repeat cycle that conventional shampoo creates. To understand why that distinction matters, and why sulfate-free shampoos don't go far enough, read everything you need to know about detergents.
The Bottom Line
The $30 to $50 price range doesn't reliably signal cleaner chemistry. What you're often paying for is the story on the front of the bottle. New Wash costs more, but it does less by design. No foam, no stripping, no correction products required afterward. That's not a limitation. That's the whole point.
Ready to see the difference for yourself? Shop New Wash.
Keep Reading:
- Sulfates in Shampoo: Are They Bad for Your Hair?
- WTF Are Detergents and Surfactants?
- Sodium Lauryl Sulfate Is a Stripper. And Not the Fun Kind.
- What Eight Hair Types Think of New Wash
The information in this article is for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult a board-certified dermatologist or qualified healthcare provider if you have concerns about your hair or scalp health.
