Editor’s Picks: 9 of the Best Sulfate-Free Shampoos for All Hair Types

The kinder, gentler way to wash your hair.

Author:
Michelle Villett
Feb 22, 2016

Being a beauty editor means that you try just about everything that crosses your desk, and for years, I did just that with shampoo. Because shampoo is shampoo, right?

Wrong. It turns out, there’s a BIG difference between regular shampoo and sulfate-free shampoo.

Sulfates are harsh detergents that can cause dryness and irritation—and they can even fade your hair colour. That’s why I made the switch to sulfate-free shampoo almost a year ago.

Keep reading to find out how to choose a sulfate-free shampoo, and the best products on the market.

How to Choose a Sulfate-Free Shampoo

First of all, you’ll want to avoid products that contain sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate or ammonium lauryl sulfate. These are all sulfates!

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Instead, look for sulfate-free formulas with ingredients are derived from coconut oil and fruit sugars, which will give you a gentler clean.

Below are some names that you’ll see on labels:

Coco glucoside
Lauryl glucoside
Decyl glucoside
Caprylyl capryl glucoside
Sodium cocoyl glutamate
Disodium cocoyl glutamate
Sodium cocoamphoacetate
Disodium laureth sulfosuccinate
Sodium methyl cocoyl taurate
Sodium methyl oleoyl taurate
Sodium cocoyl isethionate
Ammonium cocoyl isethionate
Sodium lauryl glucose carboxylate
Sodium lauroyl lactylate
Cocamidopropyl betaine

The Best Sulfate-Free Shampoos

World Clean Hair and Skin Cleanser

World Clean Hair & Skin Cleanser is my absolute favourite shampoo. It’s the creation of Brian Phillips, a Toronto-based celebrity hairstylist and owner of World Salon. This is a salon-quality shampoo that works on all hair types. It’s light yet non-drying, easy to spread and leaves your hair feeling amazingly clean and bouncy. Can’t live without it!

Kérastase Aura Botanica Shampoo Bain Micellaire

Kerastase Aura Botanica Shampoo Bain Micellaire — Kérastase

Kérastase Aura Botanica Shampoo Bain Micellaire gives you all the hair expertise of this famously sought-after salon brand, but in a natural, sulfate-free formula. What could be better?!

Briogeo Blossom & Bloom Ginseng + Biotin Volumizing Shampoo

Briogeo Blossom and Bloom Ginseng and Biotin Volumizing Shampoo — Briogeo

Briogeo Blossom & Bloom Ginseng + Biotin Volumizing Shampoo is a new option that volumizes as it cleans . It uses all coconut-derived surfactants and is an impressive 96% natural. This one makes my hair so bouncy!

Reverie Nude Shampoo

Reverie Nude Shampoo is hand-crafted in small batches and generating a lot of buzz for its pure, hydrating ingredients. This is a super gentle option that all hair types can use.

Kiehl’s Sunflower Color Preserving Shampoo

If you dye your hair, Kiehl’s Sunflower Color Preserving Shampoo is your best bet. It’s specifically formulated to protect your colour, and feels really gentle and hydrating. Just keep in mind that it doesn’t lather up like a regular shampoo.

Yarok Feed Your Volume Shampoo

Yarok Feed Your Volume Shampoo takes a little more work to coat your scalp, but it’s oh-so-heavenly with its mix of fragrant essential oils (just be cautious if you colour, as they may affect fading). This one is more nourishing/softening... so it’s best for normal, not-too-oily hair. There’s also a moisturizing version.

John Masters Organics Evening Primrose Shampoo for Dry Hair

John Masters Organics Evening Primrose Shampoo for Dry Hair is a cult favourite and first sulfate-free shampoo I ever tried. It doesn’t lather, so you do have to take your time getting it onto your scalp to ensure it is doing the job. The scent is amazing, it’s colour-safe and it’s packed with nourishment.

Nature Clean Pure-Sensitive Shampoo

Nature Clean Pure-Sensitive Shampoo is the ideal shampoo for people with sensitivities to perfume and other common shampoo ingredients. I’ve also been using the brand’s Pure-Body Shampoo and it’s great, too!

Josh Rosebrook Nourish Shampoo

Josh Rosebrook Nourish Shampoo would be great for dry and damaged hair (and sensitive scalps) because it’s chock-full of nourishing oils.

For more options, go check out Sephora’s sulfate-free shampoo page. They’re the mainstream beauty retailer with the biggest selection of sulfate-free products, offering both bigger brands and some really cool indie lines. You can also refine your sulfate-free search even further to just natural brands and/or fragrance-free brands. LOVE Sephora’s selection and search filters!

The Bottom Line

In case you couldn’t tell, I don’t think there’s any reason NOT to use a sulfate-free shampoo these days. When I first started out as a beauty editor, that certainly wasn’t the case—I can remember abandoning my fair share of products that didn’t clean well or were just too aggravating to apply.

Now, ingredient technology is so much better, and we don’t have to sacrifice at all on performance or texture. Just about the only thing sulfate shampoos have going for them is that they’re cheap, but you can even find sulfate-free shampoos at drugstore prices nowadays.

Most importantly, my hair seems in MUCH better condition after going sulfate-free, and apparently my scalp is happier, too. Have you made the switch yet?