Raw Sugar is a shampoo brand that claims to be made with “cold pressed extracts” that deliver “moisturizing love” to the hair. The company has beautiful branding, and their products are priced relatively affordably for a luxury shampoo brand.

But does Raw Sugar Shampoo contain ingredients proven enhance hair quality? Does it contain any unhealthy ingredients? Are the brand's non-shampoo products better? And is Raw Sugar Shampoo better or worse than popular shampoo brands like Native Shampoo?

In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Raw Sugar Shampoo to give our take on whether or not it's likely to be effective for hair health, and whether or not it's healthy.

We'll also feature a video reviewing all of Raw Sugar's non-shampoo options, and compare Raw Sugar Shampoo to other popular shampoo brands in terms of formulation quality, to pick our winners (and losers).

Key takeaways:

• Contains research-backed ingredients for improving hair appearance
• Contains inactive ingredients we consider unhealthy
• We do not currently recommend Raw Sugar Shampoo

Ingredient Analysis

The ingredients in Raw Sugar The Moisture Smoothie Shampoo, Coconut + Agave + Sweet Almond Milk scent, are shown below:

This shampoo does contain a number of effective, botanical active ingredients.

Shea butter is a moisturizing ingredient that has anti-aging effects, according to a medical review published in the Molecules journal.

Coconut oil is one of the most effective natural ingredients for reducing hair damage.

A 2003 medical review documented that coconut oil reduced hair damage “remarkably.”

Jojoba oil is another effective plant oil which is clinically shown to improve hair fiber and improve hair breakage resistance, as we documented in our Routine wellness shampoo review article.

Almond oil was shown to protect hair against UV damage in a medical review published in the International Journal of Trichology.

Unfortunately, while this shampoo contains a number of effective plant-based ingredients, it also contains a few ingredients that health-conscious consumers may wish to avoid.

Fragrance has questionable health effects, and a medical review on fragranced consumer products concluded by suggesting fragrance can cause “serious risks to human health.”

Phenoxyethanol and benzyl alcohol are synthetic preservatives, the former of which was shown to be toxic to human cells in a 2020 clinical trial.

Overall, we consider Raw Sugar Shampoo likely to be effective for improving hair quality and moisturizing the scalp, due to its research-backed active ingredients.

We don’t currently recommend the brand due to the inclusion of fragrance and the two preservatives highlighted above.

And it’s not just this one product or scent – all of the Raw Sugar Shampoo products and scents we surveyed contained fragrance and phenoxyethanol.

What About Other Raw Sugar Products?

A YouTube creator named “ashmarie fitness” reviewed a number of Raw Sugar products, including conditioner, lotion, shampoo, soap and more:

Raw Sugar Shampoo vs. Popular Shampoo

Here's how Raw Sugar Shampoo compares to other popular shampoo brands in terms of formulation quality, in our opinion:

Native Shampoo

Contains research-backed active ingredients like sodium cocoyl isethionate, which is derived from coconut and is clinically shown to be a safe and effective hair cleansing agent.

Native Shampoo contains fragrance, but the preservatives used aren't as unhealthy as those in Raw Sugar Shampoo, so Native gets the (slight) edge from a healthiness perspective.

Winner: Native Shampoo

Maui Shampoo

Maui Shampoo contains a synthetic preservative which is clinically shown to release a cancer-causing chemical compound.

Raw Sugar Shampoo is the healthier and safer option.

Winner: Raw Sugar Shampoo

Plantur 39

This hair-regrowth shampoo brand contains more inactive ingredients we consider unhealthy than Raw Sugar Shampoo

Winner: Raw Sugar Shampoo

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.

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."

Both of the products recommended in this section are free of ingredients we consider to be unhealthy.

Raw Sugar Shampoo Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Contains research-backed active ingredients
• May protect hair from damage
• May moisturize scalp
• Affordable
• Healthier than some competitors

Cons:

• Contains fragrance
• Contains synthetic preservatives
• Doesn't appear to be clinically tested
  

Conclusion

Raw Sugar Shampoo contains some effective, plant-based ingredients, and we believe the product line is likely to improve hair quality, moisturize the scalp and potentially even have an anti-aging effect.

That being said, we do not currently recommend any Raw Sugar shampoo products because they are fragranced, and because of the inclusion of two synthetic preservatives.

We hope that in the future, the brand offers fragrance-free versions of their popular shampoos.

In this article we featured a video review of Raw Sugar Shampoo's entire product line.

We consider Raw Sugar Shampoo to be a healthier option than Maui Shampoo and Plantur 39, but to be less healthy than Native Shampoo.