If I could only hand someone one wash, it's this one. It's the shampoo and conditioner I'd start almost anyone on, it's half of how I get five days between washes, and it has a minty, refreshing smell I can still catch after my shower over everything else I use. It's also not cheap, and it will not perform miracles — keep reading for both halves.
What it actually is
MONAT's IR Clinical™ Thickening Shampoo and Conditioner — the wash step of their IR Clinical line. "Thickening" is the product name, and what it means in practice: hair that looks and feels fuller because it isn't weighed down, coated, or snapping off. The line's known ingredient is Capixyl™, a red clover + peptide complex that mainstream brands use in their density products too — the same complex shows up in The Ordinary's hair serum, and even in MONAT's own mascara.
My experience, with receipts
- The smell: minty and clean, and it lingers — I notice it hours after my shower, over my other products. If you hate mint, that's a real consideration; I love it.
- Day 5 hair: I regularly go five days between washes, and what you wash with on day one is most of that trick. My day-2 test was five miles of pier wind — took my hood off expecting a knotted mess and it felt freshly washed. I posted the video; it's on my feed.
- I rotate it with Bond IQ (their repair wash) — IR Clinical is my "everyone pick," Bond IQ is my repair-focused wash when my ends are struggling. You don't need both to start.
What I can't promise you
I will never tell you a shampoo will regrow your hair — nobody gets to claim that, including this brand (I wrote a whole fact-check about it). What I can say: my hair looks fuller and breaks less since I fixed my wash. If you have sudden or severe shedding, that's a doctor conversation, not a shampoo one.
And the price is real: it costs more than drugstore. My math is cost-per-wash — washing twice a week instead of daily means a bottle lasts me months. If you wash daily, the math is worse.
Who it's for
Fine or thinning-looking hair, anyone trying to stretch wash days, anyone whose "volume" problem is actually a buildup problem. The full IR system adds the scalp serum — I love the serum, but it's step two, not step one. Start with the wash and see how your hair responds.
the shampoo ↗ the conditioner ↗ the full system ↗
not sure it's your hair type? DM me ROUTINE and I'll tell you straight → @heykayandco