The Best Gentle Shampoos for Every Hair Type, According to Our Editors

Whether you’re someone who needs to wash their hair daily or the kind of person who can go weeks surviving on dry shampoo alone, it’s important to use a gentle shampoo when the time comes to cleanse your hair. Using a shampoo with harsh ingredients can strip your hair of its natural moisture and make it feel rough and dry. If you’re someone with a sensitive scalp, you might also benefit from a gentle shampoo to avoid irritation. Luckily, there’s no shortage of shampoo options out there. From formulas for damaged and color-treated hair to curls and more, the following gentle shampoos will leave your hair and scalp feeling clean, healthy and happy. 

Carol’s Daughter Wash Day Delight Sulfate-Free Shampoo With Rose Water

Micellar shampoos are great for giving the scalp a deep clean without drying out the hair’s natural oils. This sulfate-free, silicone-free and paraben-free formula smells like roses and is made to nourish kinky and coily hair.

Garnier Whole Blends Repairing Shampoo Honey Treasures

Strengthen dry, damaged hair and prevent split ends from cropping up with this royal jelly- and honey-enhanced shampoo. Honey is a humectant, which means it attracts moisture to parched hair (and makes it smell delectable).

Kiehl’s Amino Acid Shampoo

If your hair is looking a little dull and lackluster, try this mild shampoo to bring back the shine. It’s formulated with amino acids to cleanse and retain moisture, coconut oil to nourish and soften and phyto-peptides to help condition and moisturize.

L’Oréal Paris EverPure Moisture Sulfate-Free Shampoo

For color-treated hair that needs a gentle boost, this vegan formula is made to keep your color vibrant while deeply replenishing dry hair and restoring softness and shine. It’s also sulfate-free, paraben-free and free of salts and surfactants that are known to strip and damage hair. 

Pattern Hydration Shampoo

This Black-owned moisturizing formula softly lathers to cleanse curly and coily hair types, while removing scalp buildup and dirt without stripping away moisture. Made with aloe vera leaf juice, coconut oil and honey, your hair is left feeling hydrated and looking healthy. 

Moroccanoil Moisture Repair Shampoo

Restore shine in damaged and color-treated hair with argan oil, the star ingredient of this nourishing shampoo. A blend of lavender, rosemary and chamomile extracts add moisture while keratin, a naturally occurring protein, strengthens.

Design: Hannah Packer

Read More:

Yes, Hair Sheet Masks Are a Thing — Here’s What to Know

Scalp Scrubs to Remove Buildup

Help! How Do I Help Control My Dandruff?