Shampoo was for a long time a bit player in my shower. Of course I used it, but our relationship was always purely functional — the required cleanser before I got to the good stuff. I’ve been through dozens and dozens and dozens of shampoos, and while some had their virtues, nothing ever stood out for anything beyond scent. It cemented my long held belief that while shampoos are pretty much interchangeable, a good conditioner is non-negotiable not only for my own fine curls, but for anyone who wants soft strands that feel hydrated and healthy. Reader, I was wrong, and one sudsing with the Hydrating Cream Hairbath from Innersense is all it took to see the light.
When people comment on my hair, I name drop Innersense and this shampoo specifically. In this review, I’m going into far too much detail to explain why I recommend it for literally everyone.
Pros
- Beyond gentle cleansing, it really, truly hydrates hair.
- It works beautifully on all hair types (and that’s hard to do).
- It’s naturally fragranced and has a delightful herbal-vanilla aroma.
- The company’s sustainability and social commitments are top notch.
Cons
- A 10-oz bottle is $30, so it’s definitely pricey.
Specifications
- Price: $9-$72.
- Sizes: 2 oz, 10 oz, 32 oz, 32-oz refill.
- Best for: Dry, coarse, damaged hair types.
- Key ingredients: Shea butter, tamanu oil, avocado oil.
- Bonus points: Certified B Corp, cruelty free, plastic neutral.
How Can A Shampoo Be This Good?
If you are like me and see shampoo as a boring necessity to complement your favorite conditioner of the moment, do yourself a favor and test drive the Hydrating Cream Hairbath. From the way it lathers to how it feels in your hair before and after rinsing, this formula has completely set a new bar for shampoo. Its stellar performance is matched by the company’s outstanding commitment to sustainability, transparency and what it calls social and environmental philanthropy.
Innersense Hydrating Cream Hairbath
Ingredients, Decoded
Take a deep dive into the ingredients on a bottle of shampoo, and it’s pretty typical to run into a bunch of unpronounceable, multi-syllable words. I used to find myself cross-checking with Google and the Environmental Working Group in a desperate attempt to go past the marketing claims into the nitty-gritty of what’s actually in the bottle. Even then, I’m not always sure if a particular ingredient is worth stressing over.
In a stroke of pure genius, Innersense partnered with a program called ClearForMe, which basically turns ingredient lists into an educational tool. It gives you detailed information (both the definition and the function) on every single ingredient in all of their products, Hairbath included. No clue what sodium methyl cocoyl taurate is or does? Just look it up! Apparently, it’s the salt of a coconut fatty acid used as a surfactant to increase foam and cleanse. In this shampoo, it also has skin conditioning benefits. You can literally zip through all 35 ingredients in a matter of minutes so you know exactly what you’re putting on your head.
And for extra peace of mind, Innersense avoids 3,000 ingredients that don’t align with its commitment to safety and purity. That includes parabens, sulfates, silicones, synthetic fragrances, phthalates and those “proprietary complexes” that are over-used and hide all sorts of troublesome ingredients.
The Perfect Lather
I’ve written so many articles about problematic ingredients in skin and haircare products, and surfactants like sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfates were usually high on the list. These are the chemicals that give shampoos that satisfying lather, but some of them are undeniably harsh and can really dry out your hair. They’re responsible for that squeaky-clean, stripped feeling you probably try to remedy with palmfuls of conditioner.
The Hydrating Cream Hairbath, on the other hand, uses ultra gentle surfactants that are effective cleansers, but they don’t strip away the lipid barrier and natural oils. They bubble up to a dense, creamy, almost buttery foam, but they’re so much nicer to the scalp barrier and strands.
Structurally, surfactants like isethionates and taurates (which is what you’ll find in this shampoo) make smaller bubbles than the big, airy foam you get from sulfates, so the lather feels so much richer. That’s also due in part to the addition of cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine in this formula — it gives it the most perfect glide, so that whole thing feels silky and pillowy as you work it into your scalp and down the lengths of your hair. Honestly, it’s addicting and it gets even better when you rinse.
The Smoothest, Softest Strands
My usual M.O. with shampoo is to apply it and immediately rinse it out so I can apply a mask or my conditioner, which I leave on during the rest of my shower routine. But the very first time I rinsed the Hydrating Cream Hairbath, I couldn’t get over how silky soft and hydrated my hair felt, like I had no need for conditioner at all. It was soft and smooth enough to gently detangle with my fingers, something I would usually never attempt without conditioner.
That’s all thanks to a very precise balance of lightweight emollients and humectants and water-soluble conditioning agents that combine to hydrate and smooth. The ingredient list includes botanical oils like jojoba, avocado and tamanu that are both nourishing and lightly coating on the strands in the best way (they actually mimic the oil our scalp produces naturally, so they absorb really well). It has glycerin to hold moisture in the hair shaft and hydrolyzed quinoa and rice protein that lend strength for smoothness and elasticity.
Of course, my fine curls still dry into soft frizz if I don’t use styling products. But I’m so impressed by how strong, healthy and hydrated my hair feels straight out of the shower. It’s recommended for “coarse, damaged or thirsty hair,” per the brand, but everyone in my house uses it and only two of us have hair matching parts of that description. Between my husband and I and our four kids, we have fine, thick, straight, wavy, curly hair types and dry and oily scalps, and this shampoo works wonders across the board.
The Intoxicating Fragrance
As you might have already guessed, there is no catchall “fragrance” or “parfum” in the Hydrating Cream Hairbath. No, the bewitching scent comes from lavender, orange peel and clary essential oils, along with botanical extracts like vanillin and sage leaf extract. It’s delicate and herbal, like something from a high-end spa.
High Marks for Sustainability and Social Responsibility
Calling Innersense a clean hair brand really doesn’t do it justice. Founders Greg and Joanne Starkman are professional salon stylists, so performance was a must. But they wanted to do it safely, sustainably and ethically, and well, they nailed it. The company is Certified B Corp, Certified Carbon Neutral, Certified Plastic Neutral and partners with 1% For The Planet. Its packaging is made with 100% post-consumer recycled plastic, which is itself recyclable, and there are refill options that use 75% less plastic than the biggest bottles to further limit waste.
Innersense ingredients are sourced ethically and sustainably, with zero animal testing and minimal processing. Plus, the company has an impressive social impact, funneling money to organizations like Feeding America, Williams Syndrome Association, Lipstick Angels, and The Loveland Foundation. According to its 2024 Impact Report, Innersense donated over $40,000 of product to social causes and donated $25,000 to Feeding America for Hurricane Helene relief. The company also supports bills like the Safer Beauty Bill Package, which is about reducing toxic exposure to personal care products. Impressive stuff, right?
So, What Does It Cost?
Clean hair products tend to run on the higher end of the price spectrum, and Innersense is no exception. A 10-ounce bottle is $30, and there’s no way around it — it’s expensive. It might help to learn that the formula is concentrated, so you don’t need a lot of it. It’s designed to be emulsified in your hands and then massaged into the scalp. I use a generous nickel-sized amount, maybe a little more, and that’s plenty to work up that insane lather for a deep clean.
Obviously, there are lots of cheaper shampoos out there. But they’re cheap in other ways too, whether that’s ingredient quality or from an environmental perspective, and that’s worth factoring when you’re choosing any kind of grooming product.
Innersense Hydrating Cream Hairbath
Yes, You Need It
Is it a little silly to be so passionate about a shampoo? Obviously. But there is shampoo, and then there is the Hydrating Cream Hairbath, and the difference is as vast as the Grand Canyon. I had no expectations the first time I used it — it was simply a stepping stone on my way to the conditioner. But forced to choose between the two if I was stranded on a desert island? Well, you can probably guess.
