Color Wow Color Security Shampoo
by Color Wow · hair_care
Editor's Take
Color Wow gets the wash right: Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate cleans without much stripping, but Quaternium-95 cannot make the throwback preservative package feel current.
Four-pillar formula scores
- Performance: 7.8 / 10
- Innovative Ingredients: 6.8 / 10
- Clean Standards: 1.0 / 10
- Formula Sustainability: 3.2 / 10
The Verdict
The sulfate-free surfactant blend is a strong color-care cleanser, removing residue without the harsh feel of a traditional detergent shampoo. Quaternium-95 adds UV support, while hydrolyzed wheat, keratin, and silk mainly smooth the surface rather than repair damage. The trade-off is unusually dated preservation, including DMDM Hydantoin, MI/MCI, parabens, and BHA, alongside a petrochemical-heavy, poorly biodegradable footprint. Effective for keeping color clear, but hard to recommend when newer shampoos can manage that with a cleaner, more sustainable base.
Is Color Wow Color Security Shampoo clean?
DARE scores Color Wow Color Security Shampoo by Color Wow 1.0 / 10 on Clean Standards, the human-health pillar of the Formulation Architecture Model™. That reading comes from the published INCI list read as a system — preservative, fragrance and surfactant choices in context — not from flagging single ingredients in isolation.
What are the key ingredients in Color Wow Color Security Shampoo?
The formula leads with Aqua, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Sodium Lauroamphoacetate. DARE reads the full INCI list below in order, so position and pairing shape how each ingredient contributes under Performance and Innovative Ingredients.
How does DARE score Color Wow Color Security Shampoo?
Under the Formulation Architecture Model™, Color Wow Color Security Shampoo by Color Wow scores Performance 7.8 / 10, Clean Standards 1.0 / 10, Innovative Ingredients 6.8 / 10, and Formula Sustainability 3.2 / 10. Each pillar is scored from the finished formula rather than from isolated ingredient flags.
Full INCI list
Aqua (Water), Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Sodium Lauroamphoacetate, Sodium Methyl 2-Sulfolaurate, Glycerin, Polysorbate 20, Disodium 2-Sulfolaurate, Parfum (Fragrance), PEG-150 Distearate, Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate, Sodium PCA, DMDM Hydantoin, Propylene Glycol, Polyquaternium-22, PPG-2 Hydroxyethyl Cocamide, Disodium Edta, Citric Acid, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Linalool, Butylene Glycol, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Hexyl Cinnamal, Hydrolyzed Wheat Starch, Quaternium-95, Limonene, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Propanediol, Phenoxyethanol, Hydrolyzed Keratin, Hydrolyzed Silk, Potassium Sorbate, Potassium Benzoate, BHA, Methylparaben, Butylparaben, Ethylparaben, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Magnesium Chloride, Magnesium Nitrate, Isobutylparaben, Propylparaben, Ethylisothiazolinone, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-DI-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate.