The Best Shampoo Won't Just Clean Your Hair, It'll Make It Better

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Not too long ago, the notion of skipping a shampoo every few showers represented nothing short of heresy. It was several years back, when Robert Pattinson was on the press junket promoting the fifteenth or so Twilight movie and admitted his hair-care regimen mostly involved just, like, not washing it ever, foregoing shampoo entirely for months on end. And let's not forget the tumult that ensued when Jake Gyllenhaal revealed that he showers only seldomly.

Men around the world legitimately lost their shit. Both brouhahas went mildly viral, covered by nearly everyone (including us), leaving a scandalized nation to come to terms with the fact that the best way to look like a celeb is to look grimy. You mean to tell me I, too, can't look like a brooding, sexy heartthrob simply by refusing to shampoo my hair? Them's the breaks, kid. We don't make the rules around here.

R–Patz and Gyllenhaal’s controversial—and, to be clear, still extreme—take on maintaining their manes isn’t completely devoid of logic. You can evoke a little bit of tousled, Chalamet-esque bedhead with hair that hasn't been so much as touched by a cleanser for a couple of days. By which we mean: You shouldn't be shampooing every day. At most, experts recommend shampooing a couple of times a week depending on how oily your hair is. This means when you do lather up, it's super important you choose a shampoo that's right for your 'do. The best of 'em not only work to cleanse your hair of dirt, sweat, and other grime, but will also help your locks maintain their luster down the line.

And as you might expect, not all shampoos are created equal. So to help you on your quest towards a coiffure worthy of a Hollywood type, we've rounded up some of the best shampoos to buy now, no matter your hair type. Clamoring throngs of adoring fans very much not included.

Nourishing Olive Fruit Oil Shampoo

Avocado and olive oil are both well-known for keeping hair and skin silky smooth. Kiehl's formula does exactly that, with no buildup.

Hydrating Hair Wash

Scotch Porter's signature sulfate-free hair wash is a gentle reminder that hair-care doesn't have to be a necessary evil: It could, and should, represent a crucial part of a process you genuinely look forward to. (Including notes of sweet-smelling lavender and cardamom sure doesn't hurt.)

Hydrating Shampoo

Infused with hydrating vitamins and nourishing oils, this creamy shampoo will wash away dirt while moisturizing your scalp and strengthening you hair. And the bottle is made of 100 percent recyclable packaging, too. It's no wonder we named it the best shampoo of 2021.

Peppermint Shampoo

Malin+Goetz's foaming shampoo synthesizes crisp-smelling peppermint extract with amino acid-based cleansing agents to leave your hair feeling fresh and clean without stripping it of its essential elements.

Lemon Sage Thickening Shampoo

Tea Trees' products are designed to home in on common hair problems—namely flaking, dandruff, and thinning issues. (Fittingly, tea tree is widely-regarded as one of the best ingredients for restoring a balanced scalp.)

Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil Shampoo

If your hair tends to gets tangled or knotted throughout the day, Bumble's invisible oil shampoo promotes smoothness. If you're a dude with longer hair, that means you don't have to constantly be on high alert.

The Shampoo

For something simple and reliable, look no further. Nécessaire's shampoo is good for all hair types, but especially those with dry scalps—the gentle formula, with aloe and hyaluronic acid, is especially good for adding moisture and strength.

Pure Clean Shampoo

No matter the price, the most important thing a shampoo can do is, you know, actually clean your hair. This shampoo is clean on several levels; it washes away oil and grime easily and effectively, hydrates and protects your hair with aloe extract and vitamin E, and it doesn’t have any silicones that could leave your hair with a weird film or worse, weigh it down.

Shampoo and Conditioner Set

From the aloe and vitamin E to the tea tree oil and hydrolyzed protein to the pro-vitamin B5 and silk protein amino acids, this shampoo and conditioner has the formula to revitalize your hair.

Vetiver + Neroli Refreshing Shampoo

No matter what hair type you have, this shampoo gives a revitalizing clean without leaving your hair feeling dry. It’s packed with moisturizing shea butter to keep even curly and textured hair hydrated and the fresh vetiver and neroli scent smells bright and fresh but not overpowering.

Gold Lust Repair & Restore Shampoo

If you’re going to shell out this much for a shampoo, you have to make sure it’s a really good one. This gentle shampoo is suitable for all hair types and helps repair damage to your hair and keep it moisturized and healthy-looking all day (which is why it’s been a favorite of hair experts for years).

Hydration Shampoo

Actress Tracee Ellis Ross has stepped into the beauty game with Pattern, a label that offers a wide variety products for those with curly and coily hair—which, even now, is largely lacking in the industry. Her hydrating shampoo bridges this gap, cleansing the head of buildup, while keeping the hair's bounce intact.

All Day Everyday Shampoo

If there's any man you can trust with your hair, let it be Adam Reed, the London-based hair stylist (who also used to do a certain 5-person boyband's hair during their X Factor era). The baobab protein in this new hair line is like a power moisturizer for your scalp, removing product buildup and oil in a flash, and replacing it with soft, fragrant hair.

Perfect hair Day™ Dry Shampoo

If you want that fresh-out-of-the-shower vibe without soaking your head under water, Living Proof's dry shampoo will do the trick. The product's advanced formula leaves no residue and balances sebum levels, meaning you can go even longer between washes.

Waterless Shampoo Concentrate

This is...not your conventional shampoo. The water-activated paste cleanses and softens your hair while deeply cleansing it, leaving you fresh, clean, and fragrance-free.

Clinical Strength Dandruff Defense Sensitive Scalp Shampoo

Included in this formula is 1% dandruff-squashing selenium sulfate—that’s a prescription-strength level of the ingredient that helps control the underlying causes of dandruff and reduce flaking. There’s also aloe vera to help reduce itchiness, irritation and redness.

Nurture Hydrating Shampoo

Thick hair can be unruly; there’s frizz, there’s dry ends, the list goes on. This super hydrating shampoo helps smooth hair from roots to tip and control frizz by giving it the moisture it needs without using icky silicones. Moisturized hair just plain looks better—and is easier to control, too.

Thick Fix Shampoo

This shampoo doesn’t have medications like minoxidil in it (you’ll need a separate product for that), but it does have saw palmetto, which could also help target DHT, a hormone that causes male pattern baldness. Use it as a bonus in addition to another hair loss treatment to help volumize your existing strands and potentially curb more shedding.

Pure Harmony Hairbath

The list of what this natural shampoo doesn’t have is too long to go into here (silicones, sulfates, parabens, etc.) but what it does have is just as important. There’s quinoa and rice extracts to help strengthen your strands and coconut and avocado oils to moisturize. If you’re looking for a gentle but effective natural clean, this one is tops.

No.4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo

Coloring your hair might look great, but it can also damage your strands. Use this shampoo daily to help rebuild the bonds that break during the coloring process and leave your hair shinier and healthier looking without fading the color you worked so hard (or paid so much) to get.

Lemongrass Tea Shampoo & Bodywash

Blind Barber's products fly off the virtual shelves. And with its lemongrass tee formula that's sulfate-free, bolstering hair strength and stripping away dirt, it's not hard to see why. Get this two-in-one bottle while it's available.

Basil Shampoo

Le Labo products always feel luxe, and rightfully so. The brand's shampoo is crafted with premium ingredients like macadamia oil and basil extract (mmm, tasty!) that clean your hair without disrupting its natural flow.

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