If You Have A Sensitive Scalp, You'll Want To Switch To This Kind Of Shampoo (2024)

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.

What exactly is a sulfate? Sulfates are essentially detergents in shampoos to help strip oil, dirt, product buildup, and even dead skin cells away from the hair and scalp, says celebrity hair stylist and salon owner Julien Farel, chairman and founder of the Julien Farel Group. When you see a very frothy lather coming from a shampoo, that probably means there’s a sulfate at work.

Meet Our Experts: Julien Farel, chairman and founder of the Julien Farel Group, Savannah Fincher, a licensed hairstylist and corporate educator at Blo Blow Dry Bar, Fae Norris, a hairstylist at Rock Paper Salon in Los Angeles

The problem: These compounds can take a lot of beneficial things from your locks as collateral damage during the cleansing process. And 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.

Thankfully, there are plenty of sulfate-free shampoos to keep your tresses shiny and strong. Stylists say these are the best.

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.

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.

Ouai’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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Made with all hair types in mind, this shampoo contains a special ingredient called moringa seed extract that helps get rid of dirt, lock in color, and hydrate all at the same time, says Fincher. As a nice bonus, it functions as a heat protectant, too.

Find yourself constantly fighting frizz? This keratin- and color-safe formula works to fight humidity, expertly smoothing strands—even on the hottest summer days.

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.

Love a good drugstore pick? Who doesn't—especially one that smells as good as thing one does. It's all thanks to a gentle, but pleasing combination of real botanicals, honey, and vanilla, says Norris.

Though widely available, this hardworking formula is free from all of the residue-causing ingredients that can leave hair dull and prone to breakage or even thinning, says Fincher. Because of this, it's great for hair extensions and wigs, too.