The Comparison
| Product | Price | Size | Sustainability | Sulfates | Synthetic Fragrance / Dye | Clean Factor | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Wash | $48 | 8 oz | Vegan Leaping Bunny Certified | No | No | 100% | Cleans with fatty alcohols and essential oils instead of detergents. No separate conditioner needed. |
| Aveda Be Curly Advanced™ Co-Wash | $50 | 11.8 fl oz | Vegan Leaping Bunny Certified | No | Yes (Fragrance) | 86% | Uses a sugar-derived, sulfate-free detergent. Contains synthetic fragrance and several fragrance-allergen compounds. |
| Curlsmith Curl Quenching Cleansing Conditioning Wash | $26 | 12 oz | Vegan Leaping Bunny Certified | No | Yes (Fragrance) | 71% | Uses a mild detergent. Brand directions recommend a separate conditioner for very dry hair. Preserved with a synthetic chelating agent (EDTA). |
| DevaCurl Deva No-Poo Original Shampoo | $28 | 12 oz | Vegan Leaping Bunny Certified | No | Yes (Fragrance) | 71% | Uses mild, sulfate-free detergents. Preserved with synthetic chelating agents. |
| Briogeo Avocado and Quinoa Co-Wash | $32 | 16 oz | Vegan Leaping Bunny Certified | No | Yes (Fragrance) | 71% | Uses conditioning agents to cleanse. Preserved with synthetic ingredients alongside fragrance. |
| Davines LOVE Curl Cleansing Cream | $33 | 5.1 fl oz | Vegan Not Certified | No | Yes (Fragrance) | 57% | Uses mild, sugar-derived cleansing agents in a rinse-out formula. Preserved with a synthetic chelating agent (EDTA). |
| As I Am Coconut CoWash Cleansing Creme Conditioner | $8.99 | 16 oz | Vegan Not Certified | No | Yes (Fragrance) | 57% | Uses a synthetic emulsifier and conditioning agents to cleanse. Preserved with a synthetic preservative. |
| Ouidad Coil Infusion Drink Up Cleansing Conditioner Co-Wash | $30 | 12 oz | Vegan Not Certified | No | Yes (Fragrance) | 43% | Uses conditioning agents to cleanse. Preserved with several synthetic preservatives and a synthetic chelating agent (EDTA). |
| Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Lavender Mint Moisturizing Cowash | $38.50 | 16.9 fl oz | Vegan Not Certified | No | Yes (Fragrance) | 43% | Contains silicones. Preserved with ingredients classified as contact allergens under EU regulation. |
| Cantu Shea Butter for Natural Hair Complete Conditioning Co-Wash | ~$7 | 10 oz | Not Vegan Not Certified | No | Yes (Fragrance) | 29% | Uses conditioning and emulsifying agents to cleanse; no true detergent surfactant. Preserved with a synthetic chelating agent (EDTA). |
The Breakdown
Cantu Shea Butter for Natural Hair Complete Conditioning Co-Wash — ~$7 / 10 oz
Cetrimonium Chloride and Stearalkonium Chloride are the formula's primary conditioning agents, built to soften hair rather than lift residue off it. PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil and Ceteareth-20 round out the formula as emulsifiers, not amphiphilic cleansers designed to rinse residue away. The formula also contains Benzyl Benzoate, a fragrance ingredient flagged as a contact allergen on EWG's Skin Deep database, and Tetrasodium EDTA, a synthetic chelating agent.
Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Lavender Mint Moisturizing Cowash — $38.50 / 16.9 fl oz
Two silicones show up here, Trimethylsiloxyamodimethicone and Silicone Quaternium-3. Silicones aren't water-soluble, and a 2021 review in Skin Appendage Disorders found they require a stronger surfactant to remove fully, so each wash can leave another thin layer on the hair shaft. The formula is also preserved with Methylchloroisothiazolinone and Methylisothiazolinone, ingredients linked to allergic contact dermatitis in peer-reviewed research, alongside Disodium EDTA and Trisodium HEDTA.
Ouidad Coil Infusion Drink Up Cleansing Conditioner Co-Wash — $30 / 12 oz
The formula is built on conditioning agents, not amphiphilic cleansing molecules, so "cleansing" here means loosening what's already loosely attached to the hair, not lifting it away with a rinse. It's preserved with BHT, Chlorphenesin, and Phenoxyethanol, three separate synthetic preservatives, along with Disodium EDTA and Tetrasodium EDTA.
Davines LOVE Curl Cleansing Cream — $33 / 5.1 fl oz
This one is a rinse-out formula: directions call for massaging it into damp hair, leaving it on for a few minutes, then rinsing thoroughly. It does contain genuine mild cleansing agents, Coco-Betaine and two sugar-derived surfactants (Capryloyl/Caproyl Methyl Glucamide and Lauroyl/Myristoyl Methyl Glucamide), alongside conditioning agents Behentrimonium Chloride and Cetrimonium Chloride. It's preserved with Disodium EDTA, a synthetic chelating agent.
DevaCurl Deva No-Poo Original Shampoo — $28 / 12 oz
This is one of the few on this list with true detergents in the formula: Laureth-4 and Cocamidopropyl Betaine, both milder than sulfates. It's preserved with Tetrasodium EDTA and Phenoxyethanol, and formulated with Isopropyl Alcohol and Menthol for a cooling effect.
Aveda Be Curly Advanced™ Co-Wash — $50 / 11.8 fl oz
Coco-Glucoside, a sugar-derived detergent, does the actual cleansing here, gentler chemistry than a sulfate. The formula still carries a synthetic fragrance blend alongside Citral, Citronellol, Eugenol, Geraniol, Limonene, and Linalool, all six recognized fragrance allergens under EU cosmetic regulation.
Curlsmith Curl Quenching Cleansing Conditioning Wash — $26 / 12 oz
Cocamidopropyl Betaine is the mild detergent doing the cleansing here. Curlsmith describes its own formula as "a conditioned base with a little cleansing," which is why the brand still recommends a separate conditioner for very dry hair. It's preserved with Disodium EDTA, a synthetic chelating agent.
Briogeo Avocado and Quinoa Co-Wash — $32 / 16 oz
Behentrimonium Methosulfate conditions the hair here instead of cleansing it, the same conditioning-not-cleansing chemistry found in several other co-washes on this list. It's preserved with Dehydroacetic Acid and Benzyl Alcohol, alongside a synthetic fragrance blend.
As I Am Coconut CoWash Cleansing Creme Conditioner — $8.99 / 16 oz
PEG-40 Castor Oil, a polyethylene glycol derivative, functions as the synthetic emulsifier here, alongside Cetrimonium Chloride as the conditioning agent. Neither is an amphiphilic cleanser. Phenoxyethanol is the preservative.
New Wash — $48 / 8 oz
New Wash sits at a higher price point, and that's by design. It occupies the middle of what Hairstory calls the cleansing-to-conditioning continuum: strong enough on the oil-loving side of its cleansing molecules to lift grease, product buildup, and dirt, weak enough on the water-loving side to leave the scalp's natural protective oil barrier intact.
One ingredient worth being transparent about: trace Phenoxyethanol, present at well below 0.001% as part of a botanical extract blend, within the safety thresholds set by the EU, FDA, and other international regulators. It's there to keep the formula stable and prevent microbial growth over the product's shelf life.
New Wash is vegan and Leaping Bunny Certified. It cleans with fatty alcohols and essential oils instead of detergents, replacing both shampoo and conditioner in one step. To understand why that distinction from the co-washes above matters, read everything you need to know about detergent and sulfates in shampoo: are they bad for your hair?
The Bottom Line
Most co-washes on this list clean the way conditioners do, by conditioning, not cleansing. That's a different place on the cleansing-to-conditioning continuum than shampoo or New Wash, not automatically a flaw, but it does mean the "cleansing" language on the label doesn't always match what the formula is doing. New Wash sits in the middle of that continuum: an amphiphilic system strong enough to lift buildup, gentle enough to leave the scalp's protective oils intact, without a separate conditioner step.
Ready to see the difference for yourself? Shop New Wash.
