Monday is a hair care brand with beautifully designed products. The brand sells shampoo and conditioner, has won several beauty awards including Glamour’s award for “Best Drugstore Shampoo and Conditioner for Frizz.”
But does Monday use research-backed ingredients for improving hair quality? Are there any unhealthy additive ingredients in the shampoo or conditioner? Do Monday products cause hair shedding? And which retailer sells this brand for the best price?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Monday shampoo and conditioner to give our take on whether or not the products are likely to support optimal hair quality and appearance.
We'll also feature unsponsored customer reviews including discussions about hair shedding, and provide a cost comparison to show which retailer sells this brand for the best price.
Shampoo Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in Monday Smooth Shampoo are shown above.
This formulation includes active ingredients shown in clinical studies to improve hair quality.
Hydrolyzed wheat protein was shown in a 2018 medical review to be non-toxic and to effectively condition hair.
Dimethiconol is a compound derived from silicone that's clinically shown to protect hair color, and to protect hair from UV damage, as we documented in our article on is BioSilk good for your hair.
Glycerin can improve skin barrier function and reduce dandruff according to a 2014 clinical trial.
There are also a number of ingredients we recommend avoiding.
Fragrance is included, and a medical review on fragranced consumer products published in the Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health journal concluded the following:
“Results of this study provide compelling evidence that everyday fragranced products can impose serious risks to human health, environmental quality, businesses, and society.”
Sodium benzoate, phenoxyethanol and ethylhexylglycerin are synthetic preservatives, and at least one of them was shown to be toxic to human cells in a clinical trial.
Cocamidopropyl betaine is a synthetic detergent ingredient that won an award called Allergen of the Year in 2004 according to a medical review on the ingredient, due to how frequently it caused skin sensitivity reactions.
We consider Monday Smooth Shampoo likely to support optimal hair quality given its active ingredients.
However, we don't currently recommend this shampoo overall due to our concerns about the health effects of some of its inactive ingredients discussed above.
A YouTube creator who claims to have hair damage and dry hair tried Monday Shampoo for two weeks:
Does Monday Cause Hair Loss?
A TikTok user named Lexi Freeman made a video including before-and-after images of her hair after using Monday for seven months. Her video suggests that Monday products caused hair loss:
@lexifreemannn ever since I started using #mondayshampoo my hair has been doing this. 👀 anyone else??? #fyp #LikeAMonarch #greenscreen ♬ Oh No - Kreepa
A TikTok creator named "imsimplynessa" claims to have experienced hair loss using Monday shampoo:
@imsimplynessa DO NOT BUY THIS 😭 literally scalped me over a period of two months smh #greenscreen #BALD #dontbuy #mondayhaircare ♬ Mii Music but It Makes You Uncomfortable - lukeitslukas
Conditioner Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in Monday Smooth Conditioner are shown above.
Like the shampoo, this formulation contains some research-backed active ingredients.
Coconut oil is one of the best botanical ingredients for hair, as it was shown in a medical review published in the Journal of Cosmetic Science to prevent hair damage and reduce hair protein loss “remarkably” in both damaged and undamaged hair.
Shea butter is a moisturizing ingredient that has anti-aging effects, according to a medical review published in the Molecules journal.
Fragrance, ethylhexylglycerin and phenoxyethanol are all inactive ingredients we recommend avoiding when used in combination, for reasons described in the previous Ingredient Analysis section of this article.
It's also notable that ethylhexylglycerin and phenoxyethanol are clinically shown to be more toxic in combination than when used separately, as we documented in our is Cantu bad for your hair article.
Overall, we consider Monday Smooth Conditioner likely to improve hair quality due to its active ingredients.
We do not currently recommend this conditioner because of the inactive ingredients discussed above.
A YouTube creator named “SummerNicole” reviewed Monday Smooth Conditioner in an unsponsored video and explained why it didn’t work for her:
Customers Rate Monday
Amazon is a better resource for unbiased customer reviews than a brand's website in our opinion.
Monday Shampoo + Conditioner set has been reviewed over 2,400 times on Amazon, and has an average customer review rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars at the time of updating this article.
A top positive review from a verified purchaser comes from a user named “Holly” who gave the product a 5/5 rating, and claims it improves the texture and smell of hair:
“my hair smells AMAZING still 24 hours after washing and conditioning. It also made my hair super soft and manageable which is a big deal for me because I have really long hair that’s not usually easy to brush through. I love that this shampoo/conditioner is very lightweight but still leaves your hair nice and soft”
A top negative review from a verified purchaser is written by a user named “Seaira Rose” who gave the product a 1/5 rating, and claims it caused hair loss:
“I never write reviews because most of the things I buy are great products. However, this is the WORST shampoo and conditioner I’ve ever used. Suave would be better than this. I starting using this late July and stopped around end of August. Between then and now I had chunks of hair falling out and my hair was so dry.”
Monday Smooth Shampoo currently has an average review rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars on Google.
Where to Get the Best Price
Monday shampoo and conditioner are sold at a variety of online retailers.
Here's a price breakdown for a one-time purchase of a 12 ounce (oz) bottle of each at the time of updating this article:
Monday Smooth Shampoo
Target: $6.99 (plus shipping, link)
Ulta: $5.99 (plus shipping, link)
Amazon: $5.99 (free shipping, link to official Amazon listing)
Monday Smooth Conditioner
Target: $6.99 (plus shipping, link)
Ulta: $5.99 (plus shipping, link)
Amazon: $5.99 (free shipping, link to official Amazon listing)
Prices on Amazon are currently around 50% cheaper than other online retailers when factoring in shipping fees.
Our Clean Hair Care Picks
Ingreendients Daily Shampoo is our top shampoo pick, because it's formulated 100% from plants and contains research-backed active ingredients like acetic acid, derived from apple cider vinegar (ACV), which researchers suggest "can condition hair making it softer, silkier, shinier."
Happy Head Topical is our top hair growth solution.
This formulation uses FDA-approved hair loss ingredients like minoxidil which is clinically shown to increase hair count by 11%.
The brand also publishes the percentage concentration of each active ingredient, which is a sign of quality and transparency.
Monday Pros and Cons
Here are the pros and cons of Monday shampoo and conditioner in our opinion:
Pros:
- Great branding
- Affordable
- Contains research-backed active ingredients
- Both products should support hair quality
- Both products should support hair appearance
- Brand has slightly improved formulations since our initial review
Cons:
- Contains fragrance
- Contains phenoxyethanol and ethylhexylglycerin
- Contains other synthetic preservatives
- Some online reviewers report hair loss
