The 22 Best Shampoos for Every Type of Hair

Pros: Adds softness and shine; ideal for people with locks according to reviews; treats dry, flaky scalps; has a nice floral scent
Cons: Might be too harsh for dry hair types
Size: 3, 10, or 32 ounces
Key Ingredients: Chelating agents, apple-cider vinegar, hydrolyzed keratin

When shopping writer and editor Hanna Flanagan has gone three or four days without washing her hair, she reaches for this shampoo. It’s formulated with apple cider vinegar to help buff away dirt, oil, and product buildup. She says it’s a great shampoo to use after applying a thick hair mask or wearing your hair in a slicked-back bun. It also contains keratin to help strengthen the hair.

Pros: Moisturizing and helps repair hair
Cons: May weigh down finer hair
Size: 3.3 or 8.5 ounces
Key Ingredients: Olaplex’s patented bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate technology

Damaged, brittle strands aren’t a concern anymore now that Olaplex has entered the chat. Made with patented bond-builder technology that actually relinks the broken hydrogen-sulfur bonds causing hair damage, this product brings real results and works on all hair types no matter the texture. It restores the pain your hair has felt from heat to bleaching to chemical treatments.

Pros: One of the top shampoos for those with sensitive skin and eczema—ideal for your scalp and your body
Cons: Some reviewers said they felt their hair was a little greasy after using
Size: 8.6 oz
Key Ingredients: Hemisqualane and bisabol

Dr. Iris Rubin founded the hair-care brand SEEN with a mission to create a product that not only promotes healthy hair and skin. So if you’re in the market for a good hair-growth shampoo, this award-winning sulfate-free shampoo — praised by the National Eczema Association as one of the best shampoos for sensitive skin — is formulated with ingredients like hemisqualane, a plant-sugar-derived alternative to silicone that reduces frizz, and bisabolol, which helps to smooth skin properties.

Pros: Tames frizz; leaves hair hydrated, shiny, and revived 
Cons: Bottle is only 10 oz., those with longer or thicker hair may run through it quicker
Size: 10 ounces
Key Ingredients: Japanese moringa-oil extract, Japanese red micro-algae extract

Hairstylist and colorist at Serrano Salon in Los Angeles, Ali Sherry, and Colin McCarthy, a hairdresser at Mark Ryan Salon in New York City, both recommend the brand Shu Uemura, so you know it’s worth a try. This specific formula cleanses and moisturizes just the right amount, according to Sherry. She says it’s great for fine hair, thanks to its lightweight nature, but it also works for those with average to thick strands. It contains moringa and red-algae extract for a boost of hydration and protection from outside pollutants. The 4.5-star rating (out of five) on Sephora’s site means our beauty-loving peers can’t get enough of it either.

Pros: Leaves hair feeling soft, hydrated, and silky smooth
Cons: People with thinner or finer textures found that the shampoo can leave hair feeling a bit oily
Size: 8.5 ounces
Key Ingredients: Chia-seed extract, bio-fermented bamboo leaf, plant-based proteins

If you’re looking for another stylist-approved shampoo for hydration, Bianca Rodriguez, hairstylist at Mark Ryan Salon, always reaches for this Oribe shampoo: “Wintertime is when hair is driest and lacks elasticity. This shampoo reinforces and strengthens hair from the inside out, without being overly heavy. It’s non-stripping, color-safe, and great for all hair types.” A bonus? It smells fabulous.

Pros: Formulated with silk proteins to add softness and help prevent breakage, can be left on like a mask for extra toning power
Cons: Some reviewers say it’s not clarifying enough for their liking
Size: 8.5 ounces
Key Ingredients: Purple pigments, silk proteins

If you lighten your hair, this product should be a staple in your at-home routine. “It’s one of the few blonde shampoos I’ve found that effectively neutralizes brassy and yellow tones without drying out my hair,” Flanagan says. Another benefit? The violet formula won’t stain your shower like other deep-purple-colored shampoos.

Pros: Fully nourishes hair and rejuvenates curl textures
Cons: Some reviewers said it can be drying to certain textures
Size: 9.8 ounces
Key Ingredients: Aloe vera, honey, and coconut oil

Give your curls life again with the popular Pattern Hydrating Shampoo. The award-winning, biotin-infused shampoo removes buildup without stripping away moisture thanks to its creamy, hydrating formula “that leaves the hair soft, nourished, and ready for styling,” according to Pattern’s Pattern Brand educator and stylist, Ebony Bomani. Plus, the blend of aloe vera, coconut oil, and honey makes every wash day feel like a spa day for my scalp and strands.”

Pros: Great smell; leaves hair soft; lathers with a small amount of product
Cons: Not the best for colored hair
Size: 8.5 ounces
Key Ingredients: Plant-based proteins, niacinamide

If touching your hair throughout the day reminds you of straw rather than silk, you may need something that does a little more than cleanse. While thinking all your shower thoughts, this nutritive shampoo infuses each strand of hair with glucose proteins and nourishing lipids so you get that soft, slo-mo commercial hair-flip shine even before you move on to conditioner.

Pros: Great smell; doesn’t weigh down hair; hydrates and helps hair shine
Cons: Some reviewers said it can take a while to lather or foam up while using
Size: 8 ounces
Key Ingredients: Coconut, Tsubaki Meadows

For those looking to improve hair hydration, the Cut Shop’s senior shopping editor Bianca Nieves has turned to the latest shampoo from Crown Affair. “This hydrating shampoo not only features the brand’s iconic and delightful scent, but its creamlike formula with ingredients like coconut, red algae, and their blend of Tsubaki Meadows really does wonders for dry and damaged hair,” she says.

Pros: Smells amazing; doesn’t weigh your hair down
Cons: Expensive; jar container can be inconvenient in the shower
Size: 3 or 12 ounces
Key Ingredients: Wheat and soy proteins, vitamin B5, eleven amino acids, shea butter, protective silk

The value proposition for using this very expensive shampoo, as Jean Godfrey-June once said, is to ask yourself, “Well, do I need to look especially good today?” If the answer is yes, consider this shampoo, which has the texture and feel of very rich honey and gives you simply much “better” hair. It’s been a secret favorite of beauty editors and rich ladies for years.

Pros: Good for all hair types and textures, prevents color-fading, clean and sulfate-free formula
Cons: Some reviewers say it’s a bit drying
Size: 2.5 or 8.4 ounces
Key Ingredients: Sodium methyl cocoyl taurate, sodium cocoyl glycinate

This product that helps prevent color fading makes my hair feel incredibly soft without leaving residue or causing it to look greasy in between washes. Flanagan loves that she can brush through her damaged, color-treated locks with ease after using this shampoo, which is rare, considering she usually has to apply a leave-in treatment or anti-frizz spray to get the same results.

Pros: Helps regrow hair; strengthens damaged hair; sulfate-free
Cons: Some said it felt drying
Size: 3.2 or 13 ounces
Key Ingredients: Jamaican black castor oil, shea butter, peppermint oil

This nourishing shampoo is the perfect companion on long and winding natural hair journeys, which can be filled with damage from heat styling, perms, dyeing, and so on. It combines the power of things you hear about in home remedies, like omega-rich Jamaican black castor oil and repairing shea butter, conveniently mixed with a touch of peppermint to get your scalp invigorated for all that new hair growth that’s down the road.

Pros: Targets the most stubborn flakes; works quickly 
Cons: Some with thicker, curly hair say it’s hard to get the product to their scalp
Size: 7 or 14 ounces
Key Ingredients: Ketoconazole

This is a great option if you have really serious dandruff but don’t want to get a prescription quite yet. It contains the same active ingredient — ketoconazole — found in many doctor-prescribed dandruff shampoos but in a smaller dose. It has a big fan base on Reddit.

Pros: Best value; great smell; paraben- and silicone-free 
Cons: Some said it made their hair feel waxy
Size: 28 ounces
Key Ingredients: Coconut water and aloe vera extract

When your hair simply requires a hearty cleansing and you don’t have any specific issues you want to address, this is a very pleasant choice for under $10. The fragrance is beachy but not in a way that will make you feel like you’re washing your hair with a piña colada.

Pros: Great smell; cleanses scalp thoroughly but still easy to rinse out
Cons: Some said it felt drying
Size: 10 or 32 ounces
Key Ingredients: Marshmallow root extract, shea butter, avocado oil

For thicker hair, wash day can be a drag, but this shampoo is formulated to deeply moisturize and fight frizz and repair damage. The marshmallow-root extract in this formula provides proteins that soften and moisturize thick hair, while the shea butter helps to lock it all in. And it’s topped off with a signature fresh Ouai scent with notes of Italian lemon, orange, peony, iris, and lily.

Pros: Has a convenient twist cap, made without silicones, works on all hair types
Cons: Some reviewers say it left their hair looking and feeling greasy
Size: 8.4 ounces
Key Ingredients: Pure rosemary oil, ceramides, plant proteins

This strengthening shampoo contains pure rosemary oil to minimize hair thinning, as well as plant proteins and ceramides to help protect hair from breakage. “It refreshes my scalp and always leaves my hair feeling nice and clean, but never dry,” Flanagan says. “Although I don’t struggle with hair loss too much myself, several reviewers say their hair loss has subsided since using this product.”

Pros: Cleansing, smells good
Cons: Some say the product has no slip so curls do not feel soft; inconvenient packaging
Size: 8.4 ounces
Key Ingredients: Argan oil, aloe vera juice, lemon tea tree oil

Sans sulfates, this cleanser helps to gently wash away buildup. It smells like a fruity cereal and “is moisturizing and doesn’t dry out my scalp,” says Chinea Rodriguez, a shopping writer at the Cut.