Commercial “Salt‑Free” Shampoos and What They Teach Us About Claims

Welcome to Part 2 in our series on low and no-salt shampoo formulations! In this part we’ll look at how brands bring to life the claims of “salt‑free” and “no added sodium chloride” while still using conventional surfactant chemistry. From a formulation standpoint, they provide instructive case studies in both formula design and claims.

Keratin Complex Keratin Care Smoothing Shampoo is a top salon brand in this space, available on Ulta and in salons throughout the USA. It claims the following benefits:

• Fights frizz and smooths for all hair types
• Helps restore resilience, smoothness, and brilliance
• Locks in moisture and enhances softness, smoothness, and shine
• Formulated without sodium chloride to protect the longevity of Keratin Complex smoothing treatments
• Can be used with or without a smoothing treatment
• No added sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS)

Note the claim regarding Sodium Chloride. Looking at the ingredient list we see:
Water/Aqua/Eau, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Cocamide MEA, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Ammonium Laureth Sulfate, Hydrolyzed Keratin, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, PEG/PPG-20/6 Dimethicone, PEG/PPG-4/12 Dimethicone, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Glycol Stearate, Propylene Glycol, Citric Acid, Tetrasodium EDTA, Imidazolidinyl Urea, Methylparaben, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzyl Benzoate, Benzyl Salicylate, Hexyl Cinnamal, Fragrance/Parfum.
The presence of Cocamidopropyl Betaine indicates one of two possibilities: the claim covers added sodium chloride, ignoring the sodium chloride typically found in the betaine or the product is formulated using Cocamidopropyl Betaine that has been specially treated to substantially remove the sodium chloride byproduct (it is technically impossible to remove it entirely at commercial scale).
The label indicates a higher than typical loading of Cocamide MEA, which is enabling this formulation to be viscous without the addition of sodium chloride.

Acure Simply Smoothing Shampoo, often recommended by bloggers for keratin‑treated hair, does not claim “salt‑free” on pack but is a formula for a similar consumer and the ingredient list indicates no added Sodium Chloride:
Water / Aqua / Eau, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Lauroyl Methyl Isethionate, Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe) Leaf Juice, Glycerin, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Liquid Endosperm, Sclerocarya Birrea (Marula) Seed Oil, Rubus Fruticosus (Blackberry) Fruit Extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Euterpe Oleracea (Acai) Fruit Extract, Rosa Canina (Rosehip) Fruit Extract, Calendula Officinalis (Marigold) Flower Extract, Aspalathus Linearis (Rooibos) Leaf Extract, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Extract, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Eugenia Caryophyllus (Clove) Flower Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Coffea Arabica (Coffee) Seed Oil, Juniperus Mexicana (Texas Cedarwood) Oil, Aleurites Moluccanus (Kukui) Seed Oil, Dipteryx Odorata (Cumaru) Seed Oil, Levulinic Acid, Sodium Levulinate, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Cocoglucosides Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Betaine, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Citric Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Vanillin, Limonene
The high loading of Cocamidopropyl Betaine allows for the formulation to have good viscosity without adding Sodium Chloride.

NYK1 Salt Free Sulphate Free Aftercare Shampoo makes every effort to highlight its formulation claims around salt: “Salt Free and Sulphate Free Shampoo… to protect hair keratin and colour treatments.”
The ingredients tell a more nuanced story:
Aqua (Water), Sodium Lauryl Sulphoacetate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Decyl Glucoside, Glycerin, Polyquaternium-7, Phenoxyethanol, Peg-150 Distearate, Peg-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Parfum (Fragrance), Benzyl Benzoate, Coumarin.
Anionic surfactants themselves are salts and even if you think this is being pedantic then the Sodium Chloride byproduct of the Cocamidopropyl Betaine (even if substantially removed as discussed earlier) or the Sodium Sulfate byproduct of the Disodium Laureth Sulfate must be considered salts. Again, what’s important is that no salts have been intentionally added to build viscosity. A combination of high surfactant solids and Decyl Glucoside can easily account for the lack of added Sodium Chloride to build viscosity here.

Finally, Damila Salt & Sulfate Free Shampoo follows a similar formulation platform closely mirroring the NYK1 product above.
Across these examples, several themes emerge:

• “Salt‑free” in practice almost always means no intentionally added sodium chloride as a separate component, not absence of sodium salts or zero NaCl analytically.
• The surfactant cores are high‑foaming anionic/amphoteric systems (sulfoacetates, sulfosuccinates, isethionates, taurates, amphoacetates, betaines) already familiar to sulfate‑free formulators.
• Rheology is managed with the ratios of surfactants in the formulation, overemphasizing amphoteric and nonionic surfactant additives.
• The product claims focus on protecting keratin and color treatments, aligning with salon and brand narratives that sodium chloride and sulfates prematurely strip treatments, despite limited published quantitative data.

For chemists, these market formulas reinforce that “salt‑free” is first a labeling and communication strategy, then a formulation challenge. Understanding exactly which salts marketing intends to exclude guides raw‑material selection and helps avoid over‑engineering systems where “no added sodium chloride” will suffice as a strategy. Ultimately, the goal should be first and foremost to achieve the claim of hair smoothness and maintenance of a home or salon hair smoothing treatment. Specific “free-from” ingredient claims may distract from this goal, but are important for many consumers and cannot be ignored.

In Part 3 we will more thoroughly explore formulation strategies and ingredient options for formulators trying to achieve claims of “salt-free” or “no Sodium Chloride” or “no added Sodium Chloride”.