Routine Shampoo Review | Worth The Insane Price? - Illuminate Labs

Routine is a high-end shampoo brand that claims their formulation is “safe,” “simple” and “effective.” Their products are very expensive, and at a price point of around $25 per bottle we would expect a superior formulation.

But is Routine Shampoo and Conditioner really a better quality product than the average drugstore shampoo? Does it contain ingredients proven to enhance hair quality? Does it contain unhealthy additives? And is Routine better or worse than popular shampoo brands like Kristin Ess?

In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Routine Shampoo and Routine Conditioner to give our take on whether or not they're effectively formulated.

We'll also explain why Routine agreed to discontinue unproven marketing claims, and compare Routine to other popular shampoo brands to pick our winners (and losers) from a formulation quality perspective.

Key takeaways:

• Contains many research-backed active ingredients
• Contains one inactive ingredient we consider unhealthy
• We do not currently recommend Routine Shampoo

Routine Shampoo Ingredient Analysis

The ingredients in Routine Shampoo are shown below:

image source: https://www.routinecos.com/

There are a number of research-backed ingredients in this shampoo for improving hair quality.

Argan oil was shown in a clinical trial published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology to reduce damage to hair follicles, and also may be effective for reducing breakage due to its hydrating nature.

Saw palmetto extract was found in a 2018 clinical trial to promote hair regeneration and helped repair damaged hair in mice. This compound appears to decrease inflammation of hair follicles.

Caffeine has been clinically shown to reduce hair loss in both men and women.

As we documented in our review Better Not Younger hair serum, topical caffeine use increases the duration of the anagen phase of the hair cycle, which is when hair follicles are generated and grow.

Coconut oil is one of the plant oils with the most clinically-proven benefit to the skin and scalp. A 2003 medical review reported that coconut oil has been shown to prevent hair damage “remarkably,” because it’s able to penetrate inside the hair shaft and reduce protein loss.

Aloe vera is another good choice for a shampoo formulation because this plant-based gel can help moisturize both skin and hair. Its ability to lock in moisture can prevent hair breakage.

Clearly, Routine Shampoo contains a number of research-backed ingredients. However, it also contains one ingredient that may be questionable from a health perspective.

Phenoxyethanol is a synthetic preservative shown to be toxic to human cells in a 2020 clinical trial. This was a test tube study, which is a weaker standard of evidence than a trial with human participants, but we still believe this is worth noting to potential consumers.

There is only one ingredient list published for all four scents of Routine Shampoo, although there is an "unscented, fragrance-free version." This suggests that the other versions contain fragrance, although this is not included in the ingredient list.

We urge Routine to immediately clarify whether their scented formulations contain fragrance, because fragranced consumer products were described as posing a "serious risk" to human health in a 2016 medical review.

Overall, we consider Routine Shampoo likely to improve hair quality and from an effectiveness perspective, consider it one of the better shampoo formulations we've reviewed on Illuminate Health.

We don't currently recommend Routine Shampoo due to the inclusion of phenoxyethanol and our concerns over the fragrance ingredient disclosure.

Routine Discontinues Unproven Health Claims

In 2023, the National Advertising Division (NAD) at the BBB led an inquiry into advertising claims made by Routine Wellness.

Routine was linking to third-party blog articles suggesting their products could help with thinning hair, without any support provided for those claims.

As documented in our Ingredient Analysis above, we were unable to identify any active ingredients in Routine Shampoo that thicken hair.

Routine agreed to discontinue these advertising claims in affiliation with the third-party brand partner.

We consider this to be a red flag about the brand, but we commend the brand for discontinuing these marketing claims after the practice was called out by the BBB.

Routine Conditioner Ingredient Analysis

The ingredients in Routine's conditioner are shown below:

image source: https://www.routinecos.com/

This is a very similar formulation to the brand's shampoo.

Routine Conditioner contains every single ingredient we reviewed in the previous ingredient analysis section, including coconut oil, aloe vera, caffeine, saw palmetto extract, argan oil and phenoxyethanol. 

Jojoba seed oil is an ingredient that's unique to the conditioner, and use of jojoba oil on hair was shown to improve hair fiber, protect hair thread, and improve breakage resistance in a medical review of the cosmetic benefits of jojoba published in the Polymers journal.

Tea tree oil is naturally effective against dandruff, as we documented in our Hair Food reviews article on another brand containing this ingredient.

Like the shampoo sold by the brand, we consider Routine Conditioner likely to be effective for improving hair quality, protecting hair from breakage and improving the aesthetic appearance of hair due to its many research-backed ingredients.

We don't currently recommend Routine Conditioner due to the inclusion of phenoxyethanol.

Routine vs. Popular Shampoos

Here's how Routine compares to other popular shampoo brands in terms of formulation quality, in our opinion:

Kristin Ess

Contains some research-backed, naturally-derived ingredients like chitosan, which is clinically shown to reduce levels of pathogenic bacteria on the scalp.

However, both Kristin Ess shampoos we analyzed contained more ingredients we consider unhealthy than Routine (including synthetic dye and fragrance).

We consider Routine to be the healthier choice.

Winner: Routine Shampoo

BioSilk

BioSilk shampoo contains fragrance, and also multiple individually-named fragrance compounds (like linalool) which we consider to be unhealthy.

Routine Shampoo has the advantage from a health and safety standpoint.

Winner: Routine Shampoo

K18

Contains more fragrance and preservative ingredients than Routine.

Routine is again the safer choice in our view.

Winner: Routine Shampoo

Our Clean Hair Care Picks

Acure Vivacious Volume Shampoo is our top shampoo pick.

It contains argan oil which is clinically shown to help protect hair from damage.

Ritual HyaCera is our top hair growth supplement.

This supplement contains wheat oil extract, and a 2024 clinical trial reported that a wheat lipid complex had "a reducing effect on hair shedding and a stimulating effect on hair reappearance and growth."

Both of the products recommended in this section are free of ingredients we consider to be unhealthy.

Routine Shampoo Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Many research-backed ingredients
• Likely to improve hair health
• Likely to improve scalp health
• Likely to protect hair from damage
• Likely to improve aesthetic appearance of hair
• Offers fragrance-free versions
• Healthier than some competitors

Cons:

• Expensive
• Contains phenoxyethanol
• Brand makes it unclear whether scented versions contains fragrance