Got the new oat milk shampoo from Public Goods. The bottle screams ‘clean’ and ‘simple’.
But the ingredient list has 27 items. Since when is 27 simple?
Hydrating Shampoo, $9.50. They claim it’s “clean, effective, and free from over 2,000 questionable ingredients.” That last part got me.
Oat Milk
Supposed to soothe and hydrate the scalp.
Lavender
For a calming scent and feel.
No Sulfates
Promises a gentle, non-stripping cleanse.
Photo: Matthew Tkocz / Unsplash
The first five ingredients are water and standard cleansers. The oat and lavender are way down the list. The real hero? Behentrimonium chloride—a conditioning agent that makes hair soft.
- Sodium Lauroyl Methyl Isethionate: Primary, gentle cleanser
- Oat Kernel Flour: Soothing, but low concentration
- Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil: For scent, mostly
- Behentrimonium Chloride: The detangler doing the heavy lifting
Photo: Ali Pazani / Unsplash
Texture is thin — more like a body wash than a rich shampoo. Smells like a mild lavender candle, not a field.
By week two, my fine hair was flat. Too much of that conditioning agent. Felt coated, not clean.
Photo: Giorgio Trovato / Unsplash
Made my hair soft instantly. But that ‘clean’ feeling? Gone. Weighed down my roots without fixing my dry ends.
Photo: Alexandra Tran / Unsplash
It’s a decent hydrating shampoo hiding in ‘clean’ clothing. Classic greenwashing — marketing over formulation.