How we check

1. Data

We start from the Open Beauty Facts export downloaded on 2026-10-25, keep products tagged as sold in the United States, and keep shampoos, body washes and bar soaps that have an ingredient list.

We also add products straight from brand websites. On 2026-10-25 we read the ingredient list printed on each product page and ran it through the same sulfate check. These products are marked "verified against brand page" and link to the page we used.

A product goes on the keratin-treated hair page only if its own page says it is keratin-safe or safe after a smoothing treatment. We don't infer it from the ingredients. The same goes for every hair-type, scalp and "for women" list: the claim has to be on the product's own page, not in customer reviews.

Conditioners come only from brand pages and go through the same sulfate check.

2. Sulfate rule

A product fails if its list has sodium or ammonium lauryl sulfate, sodium or ammonium laureth sulfate, sodium coco-sulfate, sodium myreth sulfate, TEA-lauryl sulfate or any other sulfate cleanser. Sulfonates, sulfosuccinates and sulfoacetates are different ingredients and are allowed. Mineral salts such as zinc sulfate are not cleansers and don't count.

3. Fragrance-free rule

No fragrance, parfum, aroma, essential or botanical scent oil, and none of the labelled fragrance allergens (such as limonene or linalool) on the list. That is stricter than many labels.

4. Spot checks

On 2026-10-25 we compared 45 products with the brand's site or a US retailer page. 39 matched, 5 didn't and were removed, and 1 was unclear. Products not yet checked are labelled "OBF data only".

5. What we don't do

We don't test products, give medical advice or show prices we haven't checked.