Shampoo

• The Amazon link is the 400ml bottle. The 5L refill and its price are from Holland & Barrett.

Aqua, Ammonium Laureth Sulfate, Maris Sal, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycerin, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Citric Acid.

Anti-dandruff shampoo as an everyday shampoo (e.g. Head & Shoulders). It is a treatment for a condition. Its long-time active, zinc pyrithione, was banned in EU cosmetics from March 2022 as a reproductive toxicant (category 1B), so EU formulas were changed. If you have dandruff, use a medicated shampoo on purpose; if not, you don't need the active or the heavy perfume.

"Sulfate-free" as a selling point on its own. Sulfate-free formulas swap in other cleansers and often add more fragrance and conditioning polymers. Gentleness depends on the whole formula, not one word on the label.

Head & Shoulders. An anti-dandruff treatment sold as an everyday shampoo, with heavy perfume. Its classic active, zinc pyrithione, was banned in EU cosmetics from March 2022 as a reproductive toxicant (category 1B), so formulas were changed. Use a medicated shampoo only if you have dandruff.

Green People Scent Free Shampoo. A good formula with no fragrance, but £18.50 for 200ml is about 10 times the default per ml, and it also uses sodium coco sulfate.

Nizoral (ketoconazole 2%). The right choice if you do have dandruff. It's a medicine, not a daily shampoo.

• Cleansing without compromise: the impact of cleansers on the skin barrier and the technology of mild cleansing, Dermatologic Therapy 17 Suppl 1:16-25 (2004)
• EU ban on zinc pyrithione in cosmetics in force from 1 March 2022 (Regulation (EU) 2021/1902), CIRS Group (2022)
• Green People Scent Free Shampoo, ingredients and price, Green People