Kristin Ess is a popular hair care brand that has great branding and reasonable prices. It’s available both online and in major drugstores like CVS, Walgreens and Ulta. The brand claims that their shampoo gets hair “super clean” but also “leaves it feeling moisturized and looking shiny.”
But does Kristin Ess shampoo actually contain ingredients proven to have these effects, or is it a waste of money compared to cheaper drugstore brands? Does it have any potentially harmful additive ingredients? And how do real users rate it?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more as we review the ingredients in Kristin Ess shampoo to give our take on whether it’s likely to improve hair quality and whether it’s safe. We’ll also share real, unsponsored user reviews of the product and review the brand’s popular Purple Shampoo.
Kristin Ess Signature Shampoo Review
The most popular Kristin Ess shampoo appears to be their Signature Shampoo – ingredients shown above.
This shampoo does have some research-backed ingredients.
Glycerin was found in a medical review published in the British Journal of Dermatology to improve skin barrier function, hydrate the skin and have an antimicrobial effect, making it an excellent conditioning ingredient.
Chitosan is a natural anti-fungal ingredient derived from the shells of crustacean animals like crabs. It was shown in a 2020 medical study to reduce levels of pathogenic bacteria on the scalp, making it a healthier option than commercial antifungals in our opinion.
However it also contains ingredients we recommend avoiding for health reasons.
Fragrance is an ingredient we recommend consumers avoid. A 2016 medical review described the potential for “serious risks” to human health from fragranced consumer products. Kristin Ess does come in a fragrance-free version, so we’d recommend consumers intent on purchasing from the brand choose that option.
Phenoxyethanol is a synthetic preservative found in at least one clinical trial to be toxic to human cells, as we documented in our Function of Beauty review article (of another popular shampoo containing this ingredient).
Sodium benzoate is another preservative we recommend avoiding (this one single shampoo actually has three preservatives in total, including ethylhexylglycerin).
Overall we believe that Kristin Ess shampoo has the potential to improve hair moisture and quality, but we don’t recommend it due to the additive ingredients.
Kristin Ess Shampoo Real User Review
One of the most popular YouTube reviews of Kristin Ess shampoo comes from a creator named SariReanna. She shares a review of her experience using the shampoo as well as other Kristin Ess products that’s more focused on the cosmetic effects and overall experience than the health benefits:
Kristin Ess Purple Shampoo Review
Another one of the most popular Kristin Ess shampoos is their Purple Shampoo – ingredients shown above.
Unfortunately this product is not colored with natural coloring agents but with Basic Violet 1, which is an artificial dye. A medical review published in the International Journal of Toxicology analyzed data on this ingredient and concluded the following: “The panel concluded that because of the carcinogenic potential of these dyes, insufficient data exist to support the safety of Basic Violet 1, 3, and 4 in cosmetic formulation.”
Carcinogenic potential refers to the potential for an ingredient to cause cancer.
Kristin Ess Purple Shampoo also contains fragrance, and a preservative called methylisothiazolinone which is banned or prohibited by Health Canada due to safety concerns.
We consider this to be the worst shampoo we’ve reviewed on Illuminate Health from a health perspective, and would recommend consumers avoid it.
The most popular YouTube review of this shampoo comes from a beauty creator called Milabu. We’ve timestamped the video below to the point she begins reviewing Kristin Ess Purple Shampoo:
Kristin Ess Shampoo Real Customer Reviews
Kristin Ess shampoos are sold on Amazon which is a more objective resource for customer reviews in our opinion than a brand’s website.
Their Signature Shampoo has been reviewed over 1,400 times on Amazon at the time of writing this article, and has an average review rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars. The product has an “A” rating on Fakespot, which is a software tool that detects potentially fake Amazon reviews, so this suggests that all of the reviews are legitimate.
The top positive review from a verified purchaser comes from a user named “leslie” who claims that the shampoo improved hair quality:
“I have thick straight hair and I love this. Before trying this shampoo, I used Redken All soft shampoo and conditioner and though it worked wonderfully, I wanted to find a cheaper alternative that would do the same job of softening my hair. After the first use I was able to notice how soft my hair was and how great it smelled (smell lasted quite a bit).”
The top negative review from a verified purchaser is written by a user named “Natalie Grones” who claims that the shampoo caused negative changes to hair:
“When I first tried this shampoo and conditioner I was fully out of my last bottles of a different brand I had tried. Because I was using both brands for the first 2-3 weeks of having the product I didn’t notice much of a difference. But now that I’ve been using just this brands shampoo and conditioner I have noticed a huge difference in my hair. I can’t get a comb through it, it’s waxy, and doesn’t feel like it lets my hair fully dry. My end are splitting and my scalp has such bad dander build up.”
Our Non-Toxic Shampoo Recommendation
The shampoo we recommend is Acure Vivacious Volume Shampoo.
This shampoo is formulated with effective and non-toxic plant-based compounds like aloe vera juice and argan oil. It also contains rosemary leaf oil which was shown in a clinical trial published in the Phytotherapy Research journal to promote hair growth.
Most importantly, this shampoo contains no questionable additive ingredients like fragrance or synthetic preservatives. It’s also a few dollars cheaper than Kristin Ess per bottle at the time of writing this article.
Interested consumers can check out Acure Vivacious Volume Shampoo at this Amazon link.
