23 Best Sulfate

Aug 22, 2023

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"Sulfate-free" has become something of a buzzword in the world of hair care. And though it might seem like a fad, sulfate-free shampoos and conditioners do have a number of benefits.

Sulfates are detergents that lift dirt, grime, oil, and product buildup from your hair. They’re also responsible for forming a rich lather. These might sound like good things. But the problem is that sulfates are a little too good at cleaning. They often over-strip the hair's natural oils, leaving the hair dry and dull. And often, sulfates can cause significant scalp irritation.

For many people, sulfate-free shampoos are the perfect way to cleanse hair without drying it out. If you’re looking to get on the sulfate-free bandwagon but don't know where to start, check out some of the best sulfate-free shampoos and conditioners.

First on our list is Blu Atlas Shampoo, a great-smelling option that perfects the art of gentle cleansing. It does so with natural ingredients—coconut-derived surfactants take the place of harsh sulfates, and aloe juice cleanses your hair while moisturizing it, too.

We like that this is a clean shampoo that keeps your hair clean, too. It's free of phthalates, parabens, synthetic dyes, preservatives, and of course, sulfates. It's vegan and cruelty-free, too!

Simply Clean is another shampoo that goes back to nature for its ingredients. Its main ingredient is moisturizing and great-smelling rosemary essential oil. The shampoo contains no sulfates, phthalates, or synthetic fragrances, so it's a great option if you have a highly sensitive scalp.

As a bonus, even though it's sulfate-free, this pure and simple shampoo still forms a rich lather! You can follow it up with the coordinating conditioner from L’Oreal. But if your hair needs repair or a little extra nourishment, L’Oreal recommends using its Elastic Fiber Masque afterward.

An apple cider and vinegar blend might seem like an odd combination to include in a shampoo but believe it or not, apple cider vinegar has several benefits for your scalp and hair. It improves the health of your scalp and can even combat dandruff and itching. It can increase the shine of your hair, and some people say it even supports hair growth.

Apple cider vinegar has another surprising benefit: it regulates the pH of your hair. That might sound odd, but hair that's dull, dry or frizzy tends to have a higher (alkaline) pH. Since apple cider vinegar is acidic, it can balance out your hair's pH to reduce dryness and frizz.

This conditioner is gentle enough to be used daily, especially when you use it alongside its coordinating shampoo. It doesn't include sulfates, but it has plenty of natural cleansers and moisturizers to keep your hair in good health. Aloe vera helps lift dirt and grime while delivering moisture. Keratin helps strengthen each hair and argan oil and jojoba oil hydrate, moisturize, and restore bounce and shine.

Love Beauty and Planet is a brand committed to natural, ethically-sourced ingredients. This shampoo comes from 97% natural ingredients, and it's free of phthalates, dyes, sulfates, and parabens. The 5-in-1 in the name refers to its five benefits: cleansing, hydration, strengthening, adding fullness, and adding softness and shine. One of its key ingredients is coconut oil, an outstanding moisturizer and softener for hair.

We love this shampoo's uplifting scent, too. The refreshing and invigorating mandarin orange scent comes from all-natural, ethically-sourced mandarins.

If you want to add volume to your hair while soothing your scalp and protecting color treatment, this gentle volumizing shampoo from VERB might be just right. Since it volumizes without adding weight, it's ideal for hair that's fine and flat. That said, it can be used for all hair types.

Like some other sulfate-free shampoos, this one lathers well despite its lack of sulfates. It's the perfect choice if you want to keep color-treated hair clean without any effect on the color. It's cruelty-free, too!

Sulfates tend to cause scalp irritation because they disrupt your scalp microbiome, stripping moisture and altering the pH. If you want to keep your scalp (and hair) healthy, this scalp-friendly shampoo is a great choice. Root Purifier has the unique ability to cleanse your scalp without removing beneficial microbes or over-stripping skin oil. It also balances out your scalp's pH and regulates the production of sebum.

This physician-formulated shampoo harnesses the power of wild Australian berries, vegan proteins, and prebiotics that keep your scalp comfortably balanced. Nutrafol claims that in one clinical trial, all participants noticed a reduction in scalp dryness and flakiness after using Root Purifier.

If you like to make your showers double as aromatherapy sessions, then you’ll love this lavender-scented conditioner from Dr. Teal's. The all-natural lavender essential oils help you relax and decompress as rice protein, pea protein, and biotin get to work strengthening and volumizing your hair. Even after you’ve rinsed the shampoo out, you’ll notice that your hair has a light, pleasant lavender scent.

If your hair is dry, brittle, and prone to breakage, the last thing you want to do is subject it to harsh, drying sulfates. REDKEN's All Soft Conditioner is the perfect recipe for hair health. It's made with argan oil, a superb moisturizer that restores your hair's healthy shine.

REDKEN claims that when you use this conditioner with the rest of its All Soft regimen, you’ll notice 15 times more hydration than you would get with just using the non-conditioning shampoo. The All Soft line ensures your hair gets plenty of moisture throughout the day. The product line includes the All Soft Shampoo, Conditioner, Heavy Cream Mask, Argan-6 Hair Oil and Moisture Restore Leave-In treatment.

This great-smelling shampoo aims to thoroughly clean and invigorate your scalp and hair. It's perfect if you have an oily scalp that's easily irritated by sulfates. Rosemary Purify's clarifying formula lifts excess oil and leaves your scalp feeling refreshed, but it doesn't use harsh detergents that can cause itchiness and irritation.

Like many of the best sulfate-free shampoos and conditioners, Rosemary Purify is part of a system. If your scalp is especially congested, start with Pacifica's Rosemary Detox Scalp Scrub. This natural blend of rosemary and sea salt gently yet thoroughly exfoliates your scalp, lifting oil, dirt and product buildup. With the buildup loosened, you’ll get a more thorough clean when you shampoo.

This smoothing conditioner is intended for color-treated, frizz-prone hair, but it's a great fit for anyone who doesn't want to expose their dry hair to sulfates. Its two key ingredients are camellia oil and shea butter. Camellia oil comes from a Japanese flower with a high concentration of oleic acid that allows it to quickly and easily penetrate the hair shaft for incredible hydration.

Shea butter's moisturizing action forms a seal over each hair, preventing it from drying out and losing any moisture. We like this conditioner's complex, perfume-like fragrance—it's a warm, enveloping blend of woods, cocoa, and marshmallow.

If you have hair that's brittle and breaks easily, you can count on this shampoo from SexyHair. Healthy uses a hydrating, moisturizing blend of aloe vera and mango butter to hydrate your hair and seal in moisture. And when you use it regularly, you’ll see your hair start to regain its moisture, elasticity, and shine.

SexyHair claims that this shampoo can reduce breakage up to 52%. And if you really want to improve the look and feel of your hair, you can use Healthy along with Seal the Deal, SexyHair's lotion for mending spit ends.

We love shampoos and conditioners that break the mold, and New Wash certainly does that. This unique product is designed to work as both a shampoo and conditioner, and it even comes with a special scalp scrubber to make sure you get the best exfoliation possible. A quick scan of the ingredients list reveals a whole host of effective natural cleansers and moisturizers. You’ll find aloe, jojoba oil, peppermint oil, keratin, sunflower oil, glycerin, and more. This is the original formula, but New Wash also makes a Deep version (for very oily scalps) and a Rich version (for extra-dry hair and scalp).

Korean skincare and haircare have recently begun to gain traction in Western markets, and this great shampoo is an excellent introduction to the world of Korean haircare. Its key ingredient is green tea, but it's not just any type of green tea. The Green Tea Shampoo is made with white matcha, a variety that has triple the amino acids of regular green tea. Amino acids build proteins, so they can strengthen your hair's structure and promote new growth.

Amos Professional makes a few varieties of The Green Tea Shampoo, and this one is for anyone with a sensitive scalp. No skin-irritating sulfates are added, and the green tea offers soothing and nourishment. A touch of mint leaves you feeling refreshed and invigorated.

Hair Food says it has recipes, not formulas. And Smooth's recipe of avocado and argan oil certainly seems like a fitting meal for dry, hungry hair. It has a refreshingly short ingredient list, and it's made without sulfates, parabens, dyes, or mineral oil.

This medium-weight conditioner is suitable for most types of dry hair, and it won't weigh down finer strands like heavier conditioners do, many of which contain shea butter and similarly rich ingredients. If you battle with frizz or poorly-defined curls, Hair Food Smooth Conditioner is an excellent non-drying treatment to try!

If you have oily hair but find that sulfates irritate your scalp, you might think you’re in a bit of a bind. The detergent action of sulfates is especially effective for lifting excess oil, and some milder cleansers can't adequately clean oily hair.

That's where Peach Not Plastic Purifying Shampoo Bar comes in. This solid shampoo uses coconut-derived cleansers that lather well and easily remove extra oil without drying out your hair or scalp. We like that this shampoo bar is compact enough to take along when you travel, too.

Renpure believes that "anything a chemical can do, a plant can do better," and it illustrates that belief with this all-natural conditioner. This conditioner uses plant-based foaming agents that allow it to lather well without sulfates. And the moisturizing combination of coconut and vitamin E is perfect for reviving dull, dry, lifeless hair. This soothing duo is also perfect for calming irritated scalps. We love the tropic-inspired coconut scent!

When you’re trying to rehabilitate very dry hair that breaks easily, the last thing you want to do is subject it to drying sulfates. This formula gently cleanses damaged hair without causing further irritation or breakage. It also moisturizes while avoiding a common pitfall—unlike some shampoos designed to repair hair, this one doesn't provide so much moisture that it weighs your hair down.

So how does Strength Recovery Shampoo accomplish this difficult feat? One of its key ingredients is squalane, a natural oil that has numerous benefits for skin and hair. Squalane is lightweight and forms a thin coat on each strand of hair. That coat helps seal in moisture and give your hair a soft, silky feel.

If you’ve been putting off switching to sulfate-free shampoos and conditioners because you’re concerned they won't lather enough, this conditioner from Kristin Ess is a great one to get. It forms a lather comparable to that of sulfate-containing shampoos—it just doesn't completely dry out your hair and scalp!

This conditioner is lightly clarifying, so it might not be the best choice if you have extremely oily hair. But thanks to its two key ingredients, avocado oil and castor oil, it's ideal for hair that needs a little help in the moisture department. Your strands will be well-hydrated by the avocado oil, and the castor oil forms a tight seal over each strand to keep the moisture in.

If you want to feel invigorated after shampooing, this is the ideal shampoo for you! It's also a great choice for scalp care for both dry and oily scalps. That's largely thanks to the added tea tree oil's antimicrobial properties. Tea tree oil helps to balance out the microbiome of your scalp, leading to healthy oil production and all-day comfort.

Tea Tree Shampoo is powered by a blend of cleansing and conditioning botanical extracts. It includes rosemary oil, which supports hair growth and scalp health, and it features argan oil as its main moisturizer.

This natural, fragrance-free shampoo is ideal for anyone with highly sensitive skin. And compared to many other all-natural choices, this one is refreshingly affordable. It centers around four key ingredients: pro-vitamin B5, sage leaf, aloe juice, and chamomile. Chamomile and pro-vitamin B5 keep your hair strong and hydrated, sage leaf extract adds just enough natural shine, and aloe juice gently cleanses while bathing your stressed hair and skin in health-promoting antioxidants.

Interestingly enough, the "Jason" name doesn't come from the brand's founder. Rather, it's a Greek word meaning "healer."

This super-hydrating, sulfate-free conditioner is designed with natural curls, coils, and waves in mind. Its main ingredient, shea butter, is among the best moisturizers for curly and textured hair types. By keeping your waves and curls moisturized, this hydrating cream protects hair from breakage on a daily basis.

Best of all, the product contains no harsh chemical ingredients to strip away that moisture! Sulfate-Free Hydrating Cream Conditioner is made without sulfates, drying alcohols, phthalates, parabens, silicones, or mineral oil.

This shampoo's minimalist bottle design isn't the only minimalist thing about it. Its ingredient list is filled with natural, gentle ingredients that cleanse your hair without causing dryness or damage. It's powered by a blend of natural oils and surfactants that moisturize as they cleanse.

We like that this shampoo also has an uncommonly delightful fragrance. It's a blend of grapefruit, mandarin, and Mediterranean herbs. Plus, it's all natural!

Sulfates are chemical cleansing agents that act as surfactants. Surfactants attract both water and oil, so they can easily lift away grime and let it rinse out. Because they’re such effective cleansers, sulfates can be found in various soaps and cleaning products.

Sulfates do more than just clean your hair, though—they’re also responsible for the lather formed by most shampoos and conditioners. That lather helps you make sure you reach each strand of hair, and it also lets you get a great clean while using less product.

The above description of sulfates doesn't sound too terribly bad. And for some people, they cause no issues at all. In fact, if you have especially greasy hair or tend to get a lot of built-up product, shampoos with sulfates may work better for you than sulfate-free shampoos.

However, if you have sensitive skin, dry skin, and/or dry hair, sulfates have the potential to cause quite a few problems. In many cases, sulfates lift away too much oil, leaving your hair dry, brittle and prone to damage. If your scalp is sensitive or dry, you might notice redness, irritation, and flaking.

Sulfates can also be bad news if you already struggle with frizzy hair as they can actually cause frizz! That's because when these chemicals contact your hair, they create a negative electrical charge.

If you regularly use hair products that contain sulfates, you may start to notice your hair gradually becoming more unmanageable. That's because studies have linked sulfate exposure to protein loss in hair. Since your hair is made of proteins, protein loss can seriously compromise its structure, which can lead to dullness, dryness, and breakage.

As you can see, many of the best sulfate-free shampoos and conditioners note that they’re free of sulfates on the label. But since some products may not, it's a good idea to know the names of a few common sulfates so you can check ingredient labels:

Even if a given shampoo doesn't contain any of the above sulfates, it may still contain harsh chemical surfactants. Some of these include propylene glycol, hydroxysultaine, and cocamide diethanolamine (cocamide DEA).

Quality natural shampoos and conditioners often use natural, plant-based surfactants, many of which are derived from coconut. These surfactants won't cause the dryness and irritation you get with chemical surfactants. You may find quite a few natural surfactants on a list of ingredients, but coco glucoside, lauryl glucoside and decyl glucoside are a few common ones.

Some sulfates tend to be a little less harsh, so they can still give you an extra-thorough clean without drying out your skin and hair. Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) is a common sulfate, but it's one of the harsher ones out there. If you want something less irritating, try looking for ammonium laureth sulfate (ALS), a gentler alternative.

Generally speaking, if you already have sensitive skin or dry, sensitive hair, shampoos, and conditioners made with sulfates are something to avoid. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) also recommends avoiding sulfates if you have eczema, rosacea, or contact dermatitis.

If your hair has been color-treated or has recently had a keratin treatment, sulfates are something to avoid. They can gradually dull hair color and they may strip keratin-treated hair, canceling out the smoothing benefits of the treatment.

Sulfates can also be more damaging to some hair types than others. Coarse, curly, or textured hair types tend to already be drier than other types of hair, so regular use of sulfates can easily cause too much dryness.

A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself if you can get away with not washing your hair every day. If the answer is yes, you’re a good candidate for sulfate-free shampoo as your scalp probably doesn't make a lot of oil. If you need to wash your hair each day, your hair may be oily enough to actually do better with a shampoo or conditioner that contains sulfates.

You may have heard rumors that sulfates can lead to cancer. However, no evidence has provided a definite link between sulfates and cancer. As far as we know, the main risk sulfates pose is skin irritation.

Most of us don't think about where our shampoo goes after we wash it down the drain. But when sulfate-containing hair products enter the water supply, they can cause environmental harm. Sulfates make water and soil more acidic, and they contribute to the formation of acid rain. They can be toxic to fish and other forms of aquatic life, too.

Sulfate-free products have plenty of advantages. But if you’re considering making the switch to being sulfate-free, it can help to understand potential cons as well. One is that these shampoos and conditioners often don't lather as well as products containing sulfates, so it can be hard to tell if you have thoroughly cleaned your hair.

If your hair is extra oily or if you use a lot of gels, pomades, or other hair products that build up easily, you might find that sulfate-free shampoos have trouble cleaning your hair all the way. Some people with long or thick hair also find that they need to wash their hair more than once when using a sulfate-free shampoo.

Ultimately, the best way to know if a sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner will work for you is to give it a try. In many cases, you’ll find that your hair is softer, stronger, and healthier. If you don't notice any positive effects, you can always try another brand. IF all else fails, you can go back to your old shampoo and conditioner.

When switching to sulfate-free products, most people undergo a bit of an adjustment. Because sulfates strip so much oil, chances are good that your scalp has been overproducing oil to compensate.

When you take the sulfates away, your scalp is likely to keep producing too much oil for a brief period of time—usually about six washes. Most people find that transition period to be entirely worth it. Just make sure you don't switch back to a sulfate shampoo while waiting, as that will only prolong the oiliness!

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