Earth Science • Fragrance Free Shampoo • Shampoo

starfishnet on 2/23/2013 3:19:00 AM more reviews by starfishnet

Age: 36-43   Skin: Sensitive, Medium, Warm   Hair: Brown, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

LOVE LOVE LOVE! I suffer from dandruff build-up and after using this shampoo, I never had to use an anti-dandruff shampoo again. Fragrance Free so that's a billion beauty points in my book. I wish they don't discontinue.

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*TOP REVIEWER* gingerrama on 12/31/2011 10:25:00 PM more reviews by gingerrama

Age: 36-43   Skin: Sensitive, Fair, Cool   Hair: Red, Fine   Eyes: Green    

Decent basic minimalist shampoo for fragile, sensitive etc. skin inc. scalp. It's fragrance-free, doesn't have sodium lauryl sulfate (I can't use this for eczema reasons), has a skin-neutral pH, and doesn't contain any other of my irritants; weirdly, these include aloe vera and unfortunately it's in most other unscented shampoos.

Not the best shampoo I've ever used for actually cleaning hair: I found after about four washes, performance slips. But yes, I would buy it again: alternating it with another shampoo every other week, say; or reserving it for use when my scalp and/or rest of skin are being particularly irritable. Problem: the first couple of washes are lovely. But then things go downhill. Hair gets greasy at the roots and slightly dry at the ends before the end of the day; whereas with a better shampoo ("better" for my hair, anyway), I'll get three days between washes. Still, ES gets a 3.5 bumped up to a 4 because it does basically work; and the issue of longer-term functionality is one I've had with all minimalist gentle shampoos. Some much more so than this.

Skin here: dry, sensitive, fragile (easily irritated and thin . physically delicate), eczema. Hair: long, fine, thick/dense, slightly wavy, untreated, normal to slightly dry.

Results: Scalp is calm. Surrounding skin (face, neck, shoulders, back) too. And hair is clean. Well done that shampoo.

It's a clear gellid substance. Needs a little mixing with water in the palm of the hand before use. Actually, warning: the texture is weird.

Method for use: OK, this is completely teaching granny to suck eggs; but you never know, some of this might be useful to someone out there:
1. Brush hair in the direction it'll be washed (usually, head upside-down). Get in shower. Wet hair (using tepid water throughout, not hot). Pre-wash, usually applying conditioner (with some DIY hair oil mixed in: see NP, currently a mix of argan and avocado) to damp hair, to the lengths below ears. Sometimes I use the oil instead. Sometimes I apply the oil as a treatment, for half an hour or more beforehand.
2. Rinse all that out.
3. Apply a little shampoo, just to scalp. Move it around very approximately: this is just to loosen dirt etc. It'll seem like nothing's happened. Don't worry. Rinse out immediately.
4. Second main wash, just the scalp again, with more massaging--but gently. It'll lather a little. Leave this in for a couple of minutes while cleaning rest of self.
5. Rinse out. I found that without doing the conditioning pre-wash, my hair was tangled and a bit dry and brittle-feeling with almost all shampoos (including this one). But doing the pre-wash, hair's perfectly OK: no straw effects.
6. Condition, below ears again (not scalp) and with DIY hair oil mixed in. Leave that for a few minutes.
7. Rinse out.
8. Final cold rinse, squeeze out water using hands, wrap hair in towel. I leave hair to air-dry and I don't use any styling products; just a bit of argan oil or the DIY mix if hair ends are dry (between washes) or if I'm generally overall drier than usual.

Tangential to its immediate functioning: Earth Science stuff is cruelty-free, cheap (around USD/CAD 5.00-8.00 for 12 fl oz), and readily available (shops, online). I've used quite a few unscented shampoos, here in North America and in Europe, and at a range of prices: this is one of the best. Unreservedly recommended.

UPDATE (2013-04): would also recommend Curelle Hydra shampoo, for another basic bland unscented one; similar issues, though, on being fine for a short period but not for longer-term use.

INGREDIENTS: Water, Sodium Myreth Sulfate, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Wheat Germ Amidopropyl Betaine, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Panthenol, Lactic Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate

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*TOP REVIEWER* salhon on 6/7/2011 1:21:00 PM more reviews by salhon

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Blue    

This shampoo does the job with 2 lathers, but it is very drying. I like the fact that it is fragrance free, but my hair felt stripped of any natural oils. I don't think I would ever get a brush through it if I had not piled tons of conditioner on. I do not plan on purchasing this again due to the snarly mess my hair became, but, I do have longer, color treated hair. Maybe someone with very short hair or someone with super oily hair would find it perfect.

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*TOP REVIEWER* zernelle on 5/18/2011 3:29:00 PM more reviews by zernelle

Age: 30-35   Skin: Sensitive, Fair, Cool   Hair: Brown, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Blue    

My husband and I love this shampoo. We both have sensitive skin, so we appreciate that this product is fragrance free. It lathers well and gets our fine hair super clean.



My husband switched to this from Paula's Choice Hair and Body Shampoo, which didn't clean as well, leaving his hair looking greasy. I switched to the Earth Science shampoo from Giovanni 50:50. I love the performance of the Giovanni, but the essential oils and plant extracts were causing dermatitis in my ears. I do find that the Earth Science shampoo can be a little drying, even though my hair isn't typically prone to dryness, but following with conditioner solves this problem (I didn't need to use conditioner with the Giovanni shampoo, though I usually used one anyway).



I buy it at a significant discount at luckyvitamin.com or vitacost.com. We'll keep using this product unless we find another fragrance-free shampoo that we like better.



Ingredients: water, sodium myreth sulfate, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, wheat germamidopropyl betaine, chamomilla recutita (matricaria) flower extract, jojoba seed oil, hydrolyzed wheat protein, panthenol, lactic acid, potassium sorbate, hydroxymethylglycinate.

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forya on 7/17/2010 12:38:00 AM more reviews by forya

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Olive, Warm   Hair: Black, Wavy, Coarse   Eyes: Brown    

I'm really impressed with this shampoo. I had a poor experience with it years ago, but apparently they changed the formula. I have wavy, coarse, thick, dry hair that tends to frizz, and I suffer from dry scalp.


I was worried that this shampoo was going to make my scalp and hair really dry, but surprisingly it worked better than any shampoo I've ever used. For years, I used Head & Shoulders because most shampoos made my scalp dry and itchy.


Once I switched to Earth Science, my scalp finally felt normal, no more itching and dryness. I must have been allergic to fragrances all those years! ES also made my hair less frizzy compared to H&S.


Based on the ingredients, I believe ES is the most moisturizing fragrance-free shampoo because it lists jojoba oil sixth in ingredients. Most fragrance-free shampoos don't contain oil or have jojoba oil listed near the bottom.

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twirlygurl on 7/9/2010 12:47:00 AM more reviews by twirlygurl

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Medium, Warm   Hair: Black, Straight, Coarse   Eyes: Brown    

I've been looking for a good unscented shampoo and I've tried a lot of other brands but this one might be my HG shampoo (I've been using it for 1 month as of this review).

It lathers beautifully, leaves my hair and scalp super clean and fresh without any residue nor is it too harsh or drying. I can even skip a few days in between shampoos and my hair and scalp still feel and smell fresh. Decent price point and easy to find as well. Love it!

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DreamWavez on 3/31/2009 9:10:00 AM more reviews by DreamWavez

Age: Unknown   Skin: Other   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

I really love this shampoo. I used Giovanni's 50/50 balanced before and liked it, but this is even better. I have normal/oily hair and this leaves it very soft and shiny. I shower every other day, and with this my hair still looks good the day after I wash it. I find it lathers quite well with a small amount. I've been using it for a month, so as long as nothing changes I'll buy this from now on!

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*TOP REVIEWER* lotusfairy on 8/25/2007 3:36:00 PM more reviews by lotusfairy

Age: 19-24   Skin: Oily, Medium, Neutral   Hair: Brunette, Curly, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

This truly has no fragrance, so if you're looking for a shampoo with this quality, this is it. It has a decent lather, so it doesn't strip, and is full of all kinds of goodies for your hair.

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*TOP REVIEWER* asiawall on 3/29/2007 3:29:00 PM more reviews by asiawall

Age: 25-29   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Brown, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Hazel    

so far this shampoo is really great. you have to use quite a bit to get a decent lather, but it is very gentle on my normal/slightly oily hair. i wash my hair every other day, and since i started using this it seems like my hair is fresher the second day then it used to be. works especially well when i do a second lather and rinse.

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mudfish_qx on 2/23/2007 8:58:00 PM more reviews by mudfish_qx

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Neutral   Hair: Brown, Straight, Coarse   Eyes: Brown    

I've been using this shampoo for about six months now and I really think it's the best. There is absolutely no fragrance, and just because it contains many oils it doesn't mean that it will leave your hair oily! It actually does an excellent job of washing your hair and if you don't use the matching fragrance-free conditioner then your hair will really feel dry at times. I think if Earth Science didn't make the conditioner then it'd probably be too harsh to use daily. At whole foods it's less than $8 but it's worthy the money.

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tarrenae on 11/27/2006 11:32:00 AM more reviews by tarrenae

Age: 25-29   Skin: Sensitive, Fair   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

I bought this product to use on my sensitive and allergic skin,the first couple of washes it made my hair look great,but went downhill after that!My hair became straw like in no time at all...was cracking off and the ends got totally fried,not to mention my scalp started to itch from it.I had to discontinue use.

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ella05 on 3/1/2006 4:54:00 AM more reviews by ella05

Age: 30-35   Skin: Oily   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

My HG shampoo! It doesn't irritate my dermatitis-prone scalp, yet thoroughly cleanses my oily hair. Leaves my hair full and bouncy and clean, clean, clean! ***UPDATE*** Had to stop using because it was causing break-outs along my hairline, and I also noticed excessive residue build-up on my scalp. Still did a great job on the hair, though.

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rdbrown on 5/24/2005 4:44:00 PM more reviews by rdbrown

Age: 19-24   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

Good quality shampoo with no fragrance.

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