The Herbal Essences line of shampoos from Proctor & Gamble includes a shampoo for nearly any type of hair you can imagine. Each shampoo contains herbal ingredients chosen for a specific hair problem. All of the shampoos also contain inactive ingredients that create foam, prevent mold and bacteria from forming and keep the other ingredients from separating.
Surfactants
Surfactants lower the surface tension of water, allowing it to spread more easily and lift dirt off of your hair. All Herbal Essence shampoos ingredients include sodium lauryl sulfate or ammonium lauryl sulfate as surfactants. The FDA considers both ingredients safe for use in rinse-off products.
Skin Conditioners
Sodium laureth sulfate and ammonium laureth sulfate, found in all Herbal Essence shampoos, are skin conditioners and water softeners. They increase the suds, and make your hair and skin feel softer. The FDA considers them safe for use in cosmetics products.
Preservatives
Some of the inactive ingredients in Herbal Essence shampoos keep them fresh and prevent the growth of fungi and other microbes. Those ingredients include sodium benzoate, sodium citrate and citric acid. The FDA includes citric acid and sodium benzoate on its GRAS---Generally Recognized As Safe---list. Most of the shampoos in the Herbal Essence line also include some form of EDTA---ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid---to keep them from going rancid. The Cosmetics Ingredients Review recognizes EDTA as safe in cosmetics. Other preservatives include methylisothiazolinone and methylchloroisothiazolinone to retard bacterial growth. The Cosmetics Ingredient Review considers them safe in rinse-off products in concentrations up to 15 parts per million.
Sudsing Agents
Most Herbal Essence shampoos contain cocoamide mea, a fatty acid found in coconut oil, as a foaming agent that also helps stabilize foam. Cocoamide mea and other coconut extracts in some Herbal Essence shampoos are responsible for the advertised thick, luxurious suds.
Stabilizers and Thickeners
Some ingredients in Herbal Essence shampoos help stabilize and thicken them. Without ingredients like cetyl alcohol, which thickens solutions, and propylene glycol, which stabilizes emulsions, your shampoo would separate into an unattractive, clumpy, watery mess. The Cosmetics Ingredient Review considers both ingredients to be safe as used in cosmetics.
Dyes
All shampoos in the Herbal Essence line contain FD&C certified dyes. Tousle Me Softly uses blue 1 and red 33. Body Envy shampoo contains yellow 10 and yellow 5. Dangerously Straight contains red 33. Breaks Over and Totally Twisted contain violet 2. None of Your Frizziness uses red 33, red 4 and yellow 10. Hello Hydration uses blue 1, and Drama Clean contains blue 1 and yellow 10.
Miscellaneous
Each shampoo also lists fragrance as an ingredient, but none name them specifically.
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