Rio Sulfate-Free Shampoo and Conditioner for Blond & Bleached Hair

• What it is: the complete Rio home-care routine, for blonde hair
• In the set: Rio Sulfate-Free Shampoo 500 ml, Rio Conditioner 500 ml
• The design: pH 5.0/5.5 in the wash, pH 3.0/3.5 in the close
• Both carry: cupuaçu butter and a violet pigment (CI 60730)
• The shampoo: no sulfates, no salt, the two things that shorten a smoothing
• The conditioner: silicone and paraffin, which is what a prolonged straight effect is made of

Why the pair is the product

Buy the shampoo on its own and you get half a routine. It gently cleanses without sulfates or salt at pH 5.0–5.5, the right wash for a smoothed blonde, and carries violet pigment to counter brassiness. Washing, however, slightly lifts the cuticle — something must close it again.

That’s the job of the conditioner, and the number on its label is the point: pH 3.0–3.5. The shampoo’s mild acidity prepares the hair; the conditioner lowers the surface pH further so the cuticle lies flat. A flat cuticle is true shine: light reflecting off a smooth surface instead of scattering from a rough one. The pH effect only happens when both bottles are used together, which is why this system is sold as a complete set.

What is in each bottle

• In both: cupuaçu butter, Brazil nut oil, copaiba, carnauba and a violet pigment (CI 60730).
• In the shampoo only: coconut-derived amine oxide and betaine. No sulfates, no salt.
• In the conditioner only: cyclopentasiloxane and cyclomethicone, which evaporate, and dimethiconol and paraffin, which stay.
• Citric acid in both: holding 5.0/5.5 in the wash and 3.0/3.5 in the close.
• Silicones: the conditioner carries three, plus mineral oil. The shampoo carries none. Both of those are deliberate.

What to expect

Lather that is lower and slower than you are used to, because that is what a sulfate-free cleanser does. Hair that combs out while it is still wet. And a smoothing that holds longer than it would under a supermarket routine, because the two things most likely to shorten it, sulfates and salt, are not in the wash. Expect a slight weight on the lengths from the conditioner's film: that is what a smoothed head wants. What you should not expect is volume. This routine is on the side of gravity, on purpose.

Who it is for

• Blonde, highlighted and bleached hair carrying a Rio smoothing.
• Anyone told to switch to sulfate-free who does not want to give up toning to do it.
• Anyone who bought the shampoo alone and wondered why the ends still feel rough.
• Coarse, thick or frizz-prone hair that a film suits.

Who it is not for

• Fine hair that goes flat easily: the conditioner's film adds weight. Use less, and stay on the ends.
• Anyone avoiding silicones or mineral oil: the conditioner has both. The shampoo has neither, and is sold on its own.
• Curly-girl routines: a film is not what that method is looking for.
• MCI/MI sensitivity or a tree-nut allergy: both bottles are preserved with methylchloroisothiazolinone and methylisothiazolinone, and both contain Brazil nut oil.