Redken All Soft vs All Soft Mega Curls: Shampoo Differences

Two bronze-toned Redken bottles promise softer hair, but the names hide a practical formula difference. All Soft and All Soft Mega Curls also appear beside older All Soft Mega discussions, making a quick search surprisingly confusing. This comparison focuses on the two shampoos you can buy now, separates shampoo performance from the matching routine, and explains what to watch during washing. The final recommendation matches each one to specific dryness, texture, and ingredient preferences.

The names describe different shampoo formulas

Redken’s All Soft page describes an argan-oil shampoo for dry, brittle hair and explicitly confirms that it contains sulfates and silicones. All Soft Mega Curls has a sulfate-free, silicone-free formula focused on severely dry curly and coily hair.

That is the comparison behind the table. Read the full Mega Curls name on the bottle rather than treating a legacy All Soft Mega article as a direct description of the current shampoo. Matching the name first keeps the ingredient and routine comparisons grounded.

Sulfates and silicones change the ingredient choice

The distinction gives a clear way to narrow the shelf if your routine deliberately includes or excludes those ingredients. It is a formula preference, not a ranking of how carefully somebody looks after their hair. Judge the actual wash and feel alongside that preference.

For example, a person using a familiar conditioner and several styling products has a different routine from someone keeping a tightly controlled silicone-free wash day. Compare the shampoo within the routine you actually follow. Changing every product at once makes a softness difference harder to trace.

If you track ingredients, photograph the label on the bottle you receive and compare it with the exact product page. Keep that check tied to the two names here. A matching bronze bottle or the words All Soft alone leave too much room for another product in the family.

Dryness and curl pattern answer different questions

All Soft’s broad softness brief and Mega Curls’ curl-and-coil brief overlap around dryness. Hair pattern describes the shape you style; dryness describes another part of the wash-day problem. A person with waves and dry ends still has to consider how the complete routine feels.

In Allure’s curly-shampoo feature, editor Deanna Pai describes a positive Mega Curls experience on fine wavy hair. Her experience shows that a formula’s target category and an individual result are different things. It gives useful context without promising the same feel to every fine-haired buyer.

Assess the roots and ends separately after your usual styling. Soft ends with roots that feel coated call for a different adjustment from a clean scalp with ends that still feel rough. Keep your conditioner placement familiar while you compare washes.

The conditioner gets its own share of the result

A shampoo starts the wash routine, while conditioner and leave-in products shape what the hair feels like afterward. Redken’s extended Mega Curls nourishment claim belongs to the full shampoo, conditioner, and HydraMelt system. Applying that whole-system number to shampoo alone would blur the distinction.

This matters when reading enthusiastic curl photos or recommendations. Ask which steps were used before attributing detangling or final shape entirely to the shampoo. A routine with a rich conditioner and styled curls offers different evidence from a shampoo used by itself.

Keep your next comparison manageable: use one shampoo with a familiar conditioner and style in the usual way. Then consider the matching routine if you want to evaluate the system as a separate purchase. Our Redken One United guide covers another distinct leave-in step.

What buyers liked, and what slowed them down

A Naturalhair discussion comparing the lines includes an All Soft user who found it good but less impressive than expected. Another participant liked the Mega Curls conditioner’s slip yet described purchase access and cost as drawbacks. That second comment concerns the conditioner, so it stays separate from evidence about the shampoo.

The same discussion raises difficulty finding a trial format for Mega Curls. Availability changes, but the buying problem is useful: committing to an unfamiliar full routine feels different from trying one familiar shampoo. Check the retailer’s current return terms and the exact product offered.

For All Soft, the concrete tradeoff is its sulfate-and-silicone formula if your routine excludes either. For Mega Curls, the tradeoff is committing to a curl-focused nourishing routine when your main goal is a lighter-feeling wash. Treat those priorities separately from the salon label.

Value starts with the step you are replacing

Compare like with like: shampoo against shampoo, then any conditioner or leave-in as a separate cost. A bundle obscures how much of the purchase is solving the wash-day issue you started with. Consider the whole routine only when those additional steps have a defined role.

Use normal wet-hair application, massage, and thorough rinsing as directed for the shampoo. Keep product concentration around the scalp controlled, and give the back of the head enough attention during rinsing. That overlooked area helps you distinguish a formula impression from an incomplete rinse.

Our Pureology Hydrate comparison explores another dryness-versus-texture choice. Browse haircare offers for the full shampoo name, then check whether an offered item is shampoo, conditioner, or a kit.

FAQ

Is All Soft Mega Curls the same as the older All Soft Mega?

This comparison covers the current All Soft Mega Curls shampoo. Use its current product page and package rather than transferring an older Mega description.

Is Redken All Soft sulfate-free?

The regular All Soft shampoo contains sulfates and silicones. Mega Curls is sulfate-free and silicone-free.

Can people with waves consider Mega Curls?

The brand targets severely dry curls and coils, while Allure reports a positive individual experience on fine waves. Judge the formula within your actual dryness and styling routine.

Does the shampoo alone provide the full-system claim?

Redken’s extended Mega Curls nourishment claim uses the shampoo, conditioner, and HydraMelt system together. Keep that claim attached to those steps.

Verdict

Pick All Soft for a familiar softness-focused wash, and pick All Soft Mega Curls for severely dry curls or coils with a sulfate-free, silicone-free preference. Choose All Soft if your dry straight hair needs a softness routine, your brittle lengths pair well with its matching conditioner, or you already like sulfates and silicones in your wash day. Choose Mega Curls if your coils need a nourishing curl-focused wash, your curly routine excludes both ingredient groups, or you want to evaluate its matching conditioner and HydraMelt system together. Compare the exact shampoos first, then add the other steps for a defined purpose.