The Ordinary Has Launched More Haircare—These Are My Honest Thoughts

If you’ve ever rolled your eyes at a man for using two-in-one shampoo, then you might have to reserve your judgement, as this is a top-to-toe cleanser. While it seems like the whole haircare world has turned away from sulphates, The Ordinary has put the ingredient at the forefront of its shampoo. The brand highlights sulphates’ cleansing ability, the way it biodegrades and the way it reacts with the skin barrier as reasons it’s a featured ingredient, choosing SLES-2 (sodium laureth sulphate-2) as its sulphate of choice. With a 4% concentration, it’s a gentle amount of sulphate, enough to cleanse the scalp without disrupting the skin barrier. If you see your hairwashing routine as a chance to indulge in a bit of a sensorial experience, this isn’t the shampoo for you, and if you have been avoiding a high-lather shampoo because you have dry hair or a dry scalp, you also might want to avoid. This shampoo is good for a no-frills cleanser if you use a lot of silicone- or butter-based styling products that cause build-up on the hair and scalp.
The haircare range focuses on scalpcare, so if you are using as directed and massaging into your scalp, not your mid-lengths and ends, your hair shouldn’t feel too dry after use. My hair didn’t feel silky-soft when I rinsed it out, but it felt clean and not too tangled, which leads me to the conditioner…

This conditioner is going to be perfect for you if you need something light to make your hair feel hydrated and easy to style. For my natural Afro hair, it wasn’t moisturising enough, especially teamed with a foaming shampoo, but when I used the duo on my European, straight, textured clip-in extensions, they were more than enough of a solid cleanse-and-moisturise pair.

This scalp treatment takes inspiration from The Ordinary Skincare moisturiser that uses similar ingredients to hydrate the skin. This soothes and improves the skin barrier on the scalp without weighing the roots down, so if you suffer from a dry or itchy scalp, then this will be your hero product from the new range. It feels light and easy to apply, and honestly, I’m keeping it for when I have braids in the summer when my scalp is overworked and neglected, but as someone with a healthy scalp in general, I won’t be reaching for it on the regular.
Overall, this range is to haircare what the brand's skincare offering is to your skin routine: simple and effective. It's not indulgent or luxe by any means, but if the formulas work for your hair type and concerns, you'll love it.