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 in clinical studies to be effective for improving hair quality? Does it contain any questionable additives? How do real users rate and describe its effects? And which retailer sells Raw Sugar Shampoo for the best price?
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.
We’ll highlight some questionable additive ingredients, document the cheapest place to buy Raw Sugar Shampoo, and share real customer reviews and ratings.
Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in Raw Sugar The Moisture Smoothie Shampoo, Coconut + Agave + Sweet Almond Milk scent, are shown above.
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, however we don’t currently recommend the brand due to the inclusion of fragrance and two preservatives.
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.
Real People Try Raw Sugar Shampoo
A YouTube creator named Sharese Nicole reviewed Raw Sugar shampoo and conditioner and shared before-and-after images of her hair:
A TikTok user named Kait McCassie shows what her hair looks like in the morning after using Raw Sugar Shampoo, and recommends the brand:
@kaitmccassie Part 2 immediate thoughts dry in the AM. #rawsugarmademebuyit #rawsugar #rawsugarreview #rawsugarshampoo ♬ original sound - Kait McCassie
Where to Get the Best Price
Raw Sugar Shampoo is sold online at a variety of retailers.
Here’s a per-bottle price breakdown for a one-time purchase, at the time of updating this article:
Amazon: $14 (free shipping, link to official Amazon listing)
Brand website: $13.99 (plus shipping, link)
Target: $9.99 (plus shipping, link)
Walmart: $9.97 (plus shipping, link)
Walmart currently has the best per-unit price, but doesn't offer free shipping.
When factoring in shipping fees, Amazon has the best price.
Customers Rate Raw Sugar 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, Raw Sugar Shampoo has been reviewed over 250 times on Amazon, with an average review rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars.
A top positive review from a verified purchaser comes from a user named “Leslie Greeley,” who gave the product a 5/5 rating:
"I absolutely love this product. I have been using this X 6 months or so. My hair frizz , split ends and loss of hair have been reduced significantly. This is the first product that actually works."
A top negative review from a verified purchaser is written by a user named “Cheyenne," who gave the product a 1/5 rating:
"I bought the green hair grow one and it is horrible! My sister, my kids and my husband all said it made their hair dry and gross feeling. It did nothing good for any of our hair types. Wouldn't recommend."
Raw Sugar currently has an average review rating of 3.3 out of 5 stars on Facebook.
Raw Sugar Shampoo Coconut + Agave + Sweet Almond Milk currently has an average review rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars on Google.
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:
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.
Raw Sugar Shampoo Pros and Cons
Here are the pros and cons of Raw Sugar Shampoo in our opinion:
Pros:
- Contains research-backed active ingredients
- May protect hair from damage
- May moisturize scalp
- Affordable
- Positive Amazon customer reviews
Cons:
- Contains fragrance
- Contains synthetic preservatives
- Doesn't appear to be clinically tested
- Brand website charges for shipping
- Mediocre Facebook reviews
