Kristin Ess is a popular hair care brand that has great packaging and reasonable prices. 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 shown in research studies to improve hair appearance? Does it contain any unhealthy ingredients? And how does Kristin Ess Shampoo compare to other popular women's shampoo brands in terms of ingredient quality?

In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in two of Kristin Ess' most popular shampoo products to give our take on whether or not they're likely to be effective for improving hair appearance, and whether or not they're healthy.

We'll also compare Kristin Ess to other popular shampoo brands in terms of ingredient quality, to pick our winners.

Key takeaways:

• Signature Shampoo contains fragrance
• Purple Shampoo contains artificial dye
• We do not currently recommend Kristin Ess Shampoo

Kristin Ess Signature Shampoo Review

The ingredients in Kristin Ess Signature Shampoo (which is one of the brand's best-sellers) are shown below:

Glycerin was shown 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.

This ingredient was shown in a 2020 medical review to reduce levels of pathogenic bacteria on the scalp, making it a healthier option than commercial antifungals in our opinion.

There are three inactive ingredients in this shampoo that we consider unhealthy.

Fragrance is a broad categorical descriptor that could refer to any number of chemical compounds.

A 2016 medical review described the potential for “serious risks” to human health from fragranced consumer products. 

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.

Sodium benzoate is another synthetic preservative.

Overall, we believe that Kristin Ess Signature Shampoo can support scalp health, but we don't consider it likely to improve hair appearance as we can't identify any clinically-backed ingredients for that outcome.

We do not currently recommend this product due to the inactive ingredients discussed above.

Kristin Ess vs. Popular Shampoo Brands

Here's how Kristin Ess shampoo compares to other popular women's shampoo brands in terms of ingredient quality, in our opinion:

Olaplex

Similar formulations to Kristin Ess: large ingredient lists with multiple research-backed active ingredients and several inactive ingredients we consider unhealthy.

None of the Olaplex shampoo products we reviewed contained synthetic dyes like Kristin Ess Purple Shampoo.

Winner: Olaplex

Viori

A new-generation shampoo bar brand, Viori contains a simple formulation with research-backed active ingredients for protecting hair health.

Contains fragrance, but as we documented in our Viori Shampoo review article, that's the only inactive ingredient that we consider unhealthy (whereas Kristin Ess Shampoo has several).

Winner: Viori

Ouai

One of the least healthy shampoo brands we've reviewed to date on Illuminate Health.

Kristin Ess has better formulations in terms of potential efficacy, and fewer unhealthy inactive ingredients.

As one example, Ouai Detox Shampoo ironically contains benzophenone-4 which is clinically shown to be toxic to natural ecosystems.

Winner: Kristin Ess

Kristin Ess Purple Shampoo Review

The ingredients in Kristin Ess Purple Shampoo are shown below:

Violet 2 and Basic Red 51 are artificial dyes.

A medical review published in the Alternative Therapies In Health And Medicine journal documents how artificial dyes can be absorbed through the skin and may have harmful effects in the body.

Fragrance is included, and we discussed in the Signature Shampoo review section why we consider this ingredient to be unhealthy.

Methylisothiazolinone is a synthetic preservative which is banned or prohibited by Health Canada due to safety concerns.

Overall, we consider Kristin Ess Purple Shampoo to be significantly more unhealthy than Signature Shampoo due to the use of artificial dye. We do not currently recommend this product.

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.

Kristin Ess Shampoo Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Great packaging
• Mostly positive online customer reviews
• Both formulations we reviewed contained some research-backed active ingredients
• Affordable
• Widely available in stores
  

Cons:

• Some formulations contain fragrance
• Purple Shampoo contains artificial dye
• Contains synthetic preservatives
• Doesn't appear to be clinically tested

Conclusion

Both of the Kristin Ess shampoos that we analyzed in this article (Signature Shampoo and Purple Shampoo) contained some research-backed active ingredients that may support hair quality.

However, both shampoos also contained several inactive ingredients that we consider to be questionable from a health perspective.

Purple Shampoo in particular contains both artificial dye and a synthetic preservative with restricted use provisions in Canada.

Kristin Ess offers fragrance-free versions of some of their products, and for consumers planning on purchasing from the brand, we would recommend purchasing those versions.

We consider Kristin Ess shampoo to be healthier than Ouai, but inferior to shampoo brands Olaplex and Viori in terms of ingredient quality.