Hairstory: The Detergent-Free Wash, Plus Gentle Shampoos and Primers

At 21, Michael Gordon moved to Johannesburg to study yoga. To pay for it, he opened a salon there and called it Bumble and bumble, a joke at the expense of the very serious houses of Renée and Leonard where he had trained. He had left school at 15 to apprentice in a London salon in the mid-1960s. So a man who would go on to found a New York hair brand began with a pun and a sense that hairdressing took itself too seriously.

That sense of humour runs through hairstory. The brand says it launched in 2015 with New Wash, a cleansing cream made without the damaging detergents found in shampoo, and built on what it calls fewer, better things, with working hairdressers informing every formula. Gordon says, in his own words, that detergent is bad for your hair and your scalp. I find it a refreshing position from someone who spent decades selling shampoo. A brand run by a man who thinks the category is over-sold has to earn its place.

The trick is to start with the wash and let the rest of the shelf follow. Wash Original is the hero: a detergent-free cleansing and conditioning cream that the brand says replaces shampoo and conditioner. You work it in with a splash of water until it goes milky, massage, leave it two or three minutes and rinse. Wash Rich is the fuller version for drier hair. Pre-Wash and Bond Serum prepare and repair, while the Massaging Scalp Brush and Microfiber Hair Wrap make the shower feel like a ritual. The Blue and Red Color Boost bottles round out the set.

One rule for a minimal styling shelf: pick the one product that fixes your worst hair day, and then add slowly. Nothing here demands a full routine. That's the whole idea.

Hair Balm is the frizz-control moisturiser from the original four-product line, and it is the one I would take to a dry-weather week. Undressed is the texturising spray, the beachy, lived-in finish that wants tousled hair and a little salt in the air. Primer is the base for anything that follows, and Root Lift is for hair that falls flat by lunch.

Powder and Wax are the texture pair. Powder is for when your hair needs grip, and Wax is for pieces you want to place. Styling Gel gives a firmer hold, and Hair Oil is the finishing touch, a drop through the ends once everything else is dry.

A pairing I like: Hair Balm on damp hair, Undressed once it is nearly dry, and Powder at the crown if you need volume. It's three light layers instead of one heavy one.

What I would skip: wax and gel on a day when you plan to wash your hair at night. They ask for more rinsing than a cream wash likes to give.

Here is how I would choose a gentler shampoo: read what you want it to do, then look at how it lathers. Low-lather does not mean low-clean. A gentle wash asks you to trust your hands and a little more time, which is exactly what a cream wash asks for too.

Nécessaire's The Moisture Shampoo is the plain, gentle bottle, and it sits closest in spirit to New Wash. Kérastase's Discipline and Mizani's Press Agent are smoothing sulfate-free shampoos, the better choice for frizz and heat-styled hair. UNOVE's Frizz-Calming Sleek Hydrating Shampoo is easy to find, and L'Oréal Paris' EverPure pair, Moisture and Bond Repair, are sulfate-free in a familiar bottle.

Wonder Valley's Sandalwood Yuzu Shampoo and Leonor Greyl's Shampooing Crème Moelle de Bambou are the two I would give as gifts. They are the ones that feel like a spa in a bottle, and they turn a wash day into a pause.

A test worth doing: go one week without your usual shampoo and use a gentle one, or the cream wash, in its place. Notice your scalp by day four. Some people find it settles, and some feel it is less clean. Both answers are useful.

What I would skip: switching to a low poo routine the week before a big event. Give your scalp time to adjust.

Start with the damp-hair step. A primer goes on after the wash and before anything else, and its job is to make everything after it easier: detangling, drying, holding a style. I think it's the most underrated category on this shelf.

The detanglers are the friendliest. Amika's The Wizard, Oribe's Run-Through and Bumble and bumble's Prep are the three I would compare, and Oribe's Hair Priming Lotion Leave-In Conditioning Detangler is the softer, lotion-like one. Bumble and bumble's Tonic Lotion with tea tree oil is a nice link back to Gordon's first brand, which he says started as a small New York salon in 1977. Shu uemura's Shiki Worker is a multi-benefit primer for people who want one bottle to do most of the work.

Texture is the second half. Moroccanoil's Texture & Volume Hair Powder and Kenra Professional's Volumizing Texture Powder 14 add grip and lift where a spray would flatten. Use either at the roots, tap it in with your fingers and leave it alone.

A pairing I like: a detangling primer in the shower, a light cream through the lengths, and a pinch of texture powder at the crown once dry. That's a full look in three moves.

What I would skip: powder on hair that is still slightly damp. It clumps, and you will spend ten minutes fixing it.

I think hairstory is the right first stop if you are curious about shampoo alternatives and want a brand that knows why it exists. Gordon's argument is simple, and it is worth testing for yourself over a couple of weeks.

So I would start with Wash Original, add a scalp brush, and keep one styler on the shelf. See how your hair feels by the end of the second week, and be honest about whether your scalp likes it. If it does, add the pieces that suit your hair. If it does not, no harm done, and the gentle shampoos in the third grid are a softer way in. Gordon began with a joke in Johannesburg. You can start with a jar.