Fortero is a shampoo brand that’s used to stimulate hair growth. The brand claims that “The War Against Hair Loss Just Got Winnable” and that “carbonic acid shampoo stops men’s hair loss.”
But what is carbonic acid and can it really reverse hair loss? Does Fortero Shampoo contain any other effective ingredients? Does it contain any harmful ingredients? And how do real users rate this shampoo and describe its effects?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Fortero Shampoo to give our take on whether or not the shampoo is likely to be effective for weight loss, and whether or not it's healthy.
We’ll explain why we don’t believe Fortero’s claims about carbonic acid, share our concerns about some of the brand’s marketing practices, and feature customer reviews.
Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in Fortero Shampoo Refreshing Cool Edition are shown above.
You will note that there is no listing of “carbonic acid,” the ingredient that the brand makes reference to throughout their marketing materials.
This is because carbonic acid only exists at room temperature for fractions of a second, according to UC Berkeley researchers, and is therefore not a suitable or logical ingredient for a shampoo formulation.
This shampoo does contain some ingredients with research backing for supporting hair growth.
Peppermint oil was shown in a clinical trial published in the Toxicological Research journal to cause hair growth when applied topically.
After 4 weeks, the animals receiving the topical peppermint oil treatment had 740% more hair follicles than the control group, and the treatment was found to be equally effective to minoxidil, which is the drug ingredient in hair growth products like Rogaine.
Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) extract was shown in a clinical trial published in the Phytotherapy Research journal to promote hair growth.
Serenoa serrulata extract has been shown to regenerate hair in clinical research, as we documented in our review of Routine Shampoo and Conditioner.
Caffeine was shown in a 2020 medical review to slow or even stop the progression of hair loss when applied topically.
Overall, we consider this to be a very well-formulated product for supporting hair growth.
It’s unfortunate that the brand makes such strange claims about carbonic acid, because otherwise, this is one of the best-formulated hair loss shampoos we’ve reviewed to date on Illuminate Health.
There are no inactive ingredients in this formulation that we consider to be unhealthy.
Is Fortero Lying About Media Appearances?
Fortero’s website claims that the brand has been “Featured In” four major media brands: GQ, Men’s Journal, GolfDigest and WIRED.
However, at the time of publishing this article, Fortero had never once been mentioned on the GQ website:
Fortero had never once been mentioned on the GolfDigest website:
Fortero had never once been mentioned on the WIRED website:
The brand had been mentioned once on Men’s Journal in a sponsored piece, meaning the brands involved, or their PR firms, paid the journal for this inclusion.
Perhaps Fortero was featured in the print rather than online versions of these media outlets, but we hope the brand clarifies this, because this seems like a red flag.
YouTuber Tests Fortero Shampoo
A YouTube creator named “GQReviews & Style” has a video on Fortero including an unboxing, a product demonstration, and an overall verdict on whether the product is worth the money:
Highly Questionable Health Claims
Fortero claims that “a large reason that men deal with hair loss is that the hair roots are buried under layers of dirt and grime.”
There is no citation for this claim and we have not come across any clinical evidence that male pattern baldness is caused by trapped dirt.
Male pattern baldness is a well-researched and well-understood phenomenon, and is primarily hormonal.
A 2022 medical review describes how hair follicles miniaturize due to the influence of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which is a hormone that testosterone converts into.
As documented in the above-linked study, pattern baldness “is a genetically predetermined disorder due to excessive response to androgens which affects up to 50% of males and females.”
In the “Help Center” section of their site, Fortero claims that “according to the research, our products must be used continuously to see the best results.”
There is no citation for this claim.
Our question is: according to what research? Fortero Shampoo does not appear to have been tested in any clinical trials, so this sounds like a marketing claim disguised as a health claim to sell more products.
We recommend that consumers be wary about health claims made by brands that provide no proof to support such claims.
Customers Rate Fortero Shampoo
Amazon is a better resource for honest customer reviews than a brand's website in our opinion.
At the time of updating this article, Fortero Shampoo has been reviewed over 150 times on Amazon, and has an average review rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars.
A top positive review from a verified purchaser comes from a user named “daniel irizarryponce” who strangely gave the product a 5/5 rating, while claiming it hasn’t worked:
“It feels nice I haven’t seen results yet though”
A top negative review from a verified purchaser is written by a user named “michael simoni” who gave the product a 1/5 rating, and claims it's ineffective for hair loss:
“I used this product every day until the can was empty, zero results other then a coolness on the scalp which did nothing for hair loss!!! And the cost is ridiculous.”
Fortero Shampoo currently has a 3.5 out of 5 star rating on Google.
Our Clean Hair Care Picks
Acure Vivacious Volume Shampoo is our top shampoo pick.
It contains argan oil which is clinically shown to help protect hair from damage.
Happy Head Topical is our top premium hair growth solution.
This formulation uses FDA-approved hair loss ingredients like minoxidil which is clinically shown to increase hair count by 11%.
Ritual HyaCera is our top hair growth supplement.
This supplement contains wheat oil extract, and a 2024 clinical trial reported that a wheat lipid complex had "a reducing effect on hair shedding and a stimulating effect on hair reappearance and growth."
All of the products recommended in this section are entirely free of ingredients we consider to be unhealthy.
Where to Get the Best Price
Fortero Shampoo is sold online at a variety of retailers.
Here’s the price breakdown for a one-time purchase at the time of updating this article:
Brand website: $59 (plus shipping, link)
Amazon: $53.90 (free shipping, link)
Walmart: $49 (free shipping, link)
Fortero Shampoo is currently around 25% cheaper at Walmart than on the brand's website when factoring in shipping fees.
Fortero Shampoo Pros and Cons
Here are the pros and cons of Fortero Shampoo in our opinion:
Pros:
- No unhealthy ingredients
- Effective formulation
- Should support natural hair growth
Cons:
- Carbonic acid isn't stable at room temperature
- Highly questionable health claims
- Questionable media claims
- Expensive
- Brand website charges for shipping on one-time orders
