The 17 Best Sulfate-Free Shampoos For A Healthy Head Of Hair - Women's Health
Christine Giordano
Washing your hair may seem simple enough, but sometimes “squeaky clean” can really mean stripped of nutrients—that is, if you’re using a shampoo with sulfates. “Sulfates are salts that form when sulfuric acid reacts with another chemical,” explains celebrity hair stylist and salon owner Julien Farel, chairman and founder of the Julien Farel Group. “It's a broader term for other synthetic sulfate-based chemicals you may be concerned about, such as sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and sodium laureth sulfate (SLES).”
To break down some of those fancy acronyms for you, sulfates are essentially detergents, present in shampoos to help strip oil, dirt, product buildup, and even dead skin cells away from the hair and scalp. When you see a very frothy lather coming from a shampoo, that probably means there’s a sulfate at work in that product. The problem is these compounds can take a lot of beneficial things from your locks as collateral damage during the cleansing process.
In fact, sulfates can cause varying degrees of irritation to the eyes, skin, and scalp, particularly over time and for people with skin sensitivities. “They strip away too much moisture, leaving the hair dry and unhealthy,” says Farel. “They make the scalp dry and prone to irritation.” Specifically, sulfates can be guilty of removing your hair’s natural oils, which are important to maintaining good scalp and hair follicle health.
Unfortunately, if you have sensitive skin, daily use of a sulfate-based shampoo—or repeated improper rinsing of one—could lead to dull, brittle tresses and potentially even hair loss or thinning over time. The good news is plenty of sulfate-free shampoos are available on the market to help you keep your tresses shiny and strong, if you think you might have a sulfate sensitivity. Start your search for a new gentler, more efficacious hair cleanser with these 17 standout sulfate-free shampoos.
1Love Beauty and Planet Indian Lilac & Clove Leaf Sulfate-Free Shampoo
Love Beauty and Planet
$6.94
Go easy on your hair—and the planet—with this sulfate-free shampoo that’s concentrated, so you only need about half the amount of product you’d normally use (and it requires 50 percent less water and 50 less plastic to make and bottle it, too). The light lilac scent will leave your hair smelling fresh and dreamy, while the formula goes to work turning dry locks into shiny, bouncy ones.
2L'Oreal Paris EverPure Moisture Sulfate Free Shampoo for Color-Treated Hair
L'Oreal Parisamazon.com
$6.72
L’Oreal’s EverPure line is especially gentle on color-treated tresses, so your hair can maintain its luster and dimension in between salon visits. Rosemary rounds out this cleanser, which can stimulate scalp circulation and help keep grays at bay—probably a win-win in your book.
3Ouai Medium Hair Shampoo
OUAI
$28.00
Quai’s sulfate-free gel formula is suitable for all hair types—straight, wavy, curly, and textured. If frizz is a concern, this shampoo will be your BFF, since ingredients like kumquat fruit extract and coconut oil work to strengthen split ends and damaged hair, restoring shine and strength. It’s also scented with Quai’s fan-favorite Mercer Street fragrance.
Looking to soothe a particularly sensitive scalp? Aveeno’s oat- and almond milk-powered daily shampoo is your ticket to healthier roots and softer strands. In addition to being sulfate-free, this product is also formulated without dyes and parabens.
5Public Goods Shampoo
Public Goods
$4.50
For a sulfate-free, super budget pick, give Public Goods’ essential oil- and sugarcane-forward shampoo a try. Even though it’s also free of parabens and synthetic fragrances, reviewers note it still lathers well, leaving hair feeling fresh, radiant, and subtly citrus-scented.
6Rahua Classic Shampoo
rahua
$36.00
You might have heard about this brand, which formulates all of its shampoos sans sulfates, from TikTok, as it’s been taking over that platform. Rahua’s Classic Shampoo has the goods to back up all that social media hype though: omega-9 rich Rahua oil for silkiness and shine, coconut betaines to rid hair of dirt, oil, and sebum as well as a cocktail of antioxidants to stimulate growth. Those who like woodsy scents will be into the palo santo oil-derived fragrance the product has, too.
7Beachwaver Co. Good Vibes Moisturizing Shampoo
Beachwaver Co.
$24.00
If happiness comes in a bottle, it just might be celebrity hair stylist Sarah Potempa’s Beachwaver brand’s Good Vibes Moisturizing Shampoo. Packed with nourishing ingredients like coconut oil, Abyssinian oil, and shea butter, this vegan formula also contains hydro-ionic alpha bond multipliers to counteract heat and environmental damage. It doesn’t hurt that it smells like a day at the beach either, but trust that washing with this shampoo won’t give your locks any of that crunchy sea salt dryness.
8Sk*p Hydrating Shampoo
Sk*p
$18.00
New to the game, eco-friendly personal care brand s*kip has a Hydrating Shampoo in its range that’s formulated free of sulfates among other nasty list ingredients (looking at you, parabens!). The hero in this natural oil-forward formula? Responsively harvested honey, which helps keep the scalp microbiome in check. The carton packaging is fully recyclable as well.
9Moroccanoil Blonde Perfecting Purple Shampoo
Moroccanoil
$12.00
Maintaining golden locks can be tough, but Morrocanoil’s Blonde Perfecting Purple Shampoo will make things just a bit easier. With this sulfate-free, tone-correcting cleanser, you can de-gunk your scalp and repair damage, thanks to its multi-purpose combo of violet pigments and argan oil. In clinical trials, over 90 percent of respondents said the shampoo revitalized dullness and toned down brassiness in between color treatments.
Farel’s non-lathering, non-foaming two-in-one formula targets the scalp with its rich blend of hyaluronic acid, echinacea, and resveratrol, which together hydrate, stimulate, and protect the hair’s follicles. The goal? Getting your scalp back to its ideal 5.5 pH level, which, in turn, will add bounce, volume, and shine to your tresses. For best results, use this shampoo on natural, non-colored hair.
Another social media darling, SheaMoisture’s Curl and Shine Shampoo, which is a Black-owned beauty brand’s formula, works best on 3A to 4C hair types or dry, transitioning, and natural hair. Shea butter, argan oil, and sea kelp will restore parched strands, so your curls can look their very best.
12Ceremonia Wash Day Shampoo
Ceremonia
$29.00
If you still want a little bit of lather so your hair truly “feels” clean, Ceremonia’s shampoo and conditioner promises some suds sans sulfates. Chock full of natural oils, other standouts in this duo include Guatemala-sourced aloe vera, which soothes the scalp and stimulates hair growth, and babassu oil from Peru for extra moisture and split end repair.
13Bosley BosRevive Non Color-Treated Hair Nourishing Shampoo
Bosley
$21.00
When thinning is a major concern, you definitely don’t want sulfates in your hair products. Try BosleyMD’s Nourishing Shampoo. It’ll target scalp surface buildup and even features pumpkin seed extract and saw palmetto—two DHT-blockers (a hormone responsible for hair shedding)—so your hair can look its thickest and fullest every day of the week. Just note that color-treated hair isn’t compatible with this shampoo.
14Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair!™ Super Moisture Shampoo for Damaged Hair
Briogeo
$36.00
All hair types, including curly and very tightly coiled textures, can benefit from this super hydrating shampoo that almost acts like a conditioning mask when applied to tresses. It’ll also deep clean your scalp and locks, but not by resorting to the harshness of sulfates or other icky chemicals. In fact, this vegan shampoo is composed of about 95 percent naturally-derived ingredients, making it about as “clean” as you can get.
15True Botanicals Nourishing Shampoo
True Botanicals
$34.00
Anyone looking for a luxe lathering experience might want to splurge on True Botanicals Nourishing Shampoo, which also promises foamy suds that’ll remove dirt and grease without sulfates that can strip your hair’s natural oils. This formula is also color-safe and users love the fresh citrusy, ylang ylang-forward scent.
16Prose Custom Shampoo
Prose
$25.00
You can personalize your own blend of Prose Shampoo to address whatever your biggest hair concerns are — strengthening, volumizing, color or heat protection. The one thing a custom Prose shampoo never features, though? Sulfates that could cause irritation.
17OGX Hydrating + Tea Tree Mint Shampoo
Dandruff-suffering Amazon reviewers reported fewer flakes and less itchiness when using this shampoo, which relies on tea milk proteins and tea tree and peppermint oils to treat dry scalp skin. You can’t go wrong with this drugstore favorite, which also has a matching conditioner and works for fine, thick, oily, and frizzy hair types.
Danielle BlundellDanielle Blundell is a New York City-based lifestyle writer and editor who has written on topics ranging from home to health for a variety of publications including Rachael Ray Every Day, Redbook, Family Circle, This Old House, Elle Decor, Esquire, Domino, and Apartment Therapy.
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