17 Best Shampoos for Thick Hair in 2023
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Everyone wants thick hair, but people who have it understand how difficult it can be to maintain. There’s just so much hair everywhere (and it always ends up in your drain), it can be difficult to style, and you can’t air dry it or else you end up looking like you’ve been electrocuted.
Taming your thick hair starts with the products you use. Thick hair needs to be soft and well moisturized to stay down and not frizz all over the place. Look for ingredients like aloe leaf juice, peppermint, and coconut oil that hydrate hair while healing the scalp and strands.
There are tons of shampoos on the market for thick hair, so to make it easy for you, we’ve rounded up the 17 best shampoos for thick hair in 2023.
1. Blu Atlas Coconut Apricot Shampoo
Blu Atlas’s Coconut Apricot Shampoo is an invigorating and strengthening formula designed to repair stressed-out strands and heal the scalp. Anyone with thick hair that’s dry or difficult to manage should try this shampoo to soften waves and generally make a mane easier to style.
This shampoo is composed of 99% natural premium ingredients from sources such as plants, fruits, and minerals. Aloe barbadensis leaf is a natural moisturizer because it contains critical antioxidants to promote hair health, including beta carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin E. Jojoba oil is the other moisturizing agent that functions just like your skin’s sebum to work water and other hydrating elements deep into the skin.
Two other helpful ingredients for thick hair include saw palmetto, which helps prevent hair loss due to blocking the hormone DHT, and vegan biotin, which fortifies the hair and replenishes hydration so that your locks are tamed yet full.
Blu Atlas’s Coconut Apricot Shampoo is safe for all hair types and is made without any harmful chemicals, including parabens, phthalates, sulfates, preservatives, or synthetic dyes. This shampoo is proudly made in the USA without any animal testing. For the best results, use the matching Coconut Apricot Conditioner.
2. Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Special Shampoo
Tea tree shampoo is a fantastic solution for anyone struggling with thick hair and dandruff. Tea tree oil has been proven to curb the growth of Malassezia, a yeast-like fungus that results from not shampooing enough or certain medical conditions. Tea tree oil also manages other dandruff problems, including an itchy scalp, extra grease, or other irritation.
The best shampoo for thick hair for men and women who struggle with extra dandruff is Paul Mitchell’s Tea Tree Special Shampoo. This shampoo promises to wash away dirt and impurities and tingle the scalp so you feel refreshed after a wash.
The main ingredient is Paul Mitchell’s proprietary Tingle Complex, which is a blend of tea tree, peppermint, and lavender. Tea tree curbs dandruff and other scalp conditions, peppermint improves hair growth and can prevent hair from falling out, and lavender also has microbial properties to heal the smell. Plus, all three of these ingredients smell great!
Use the shampoo three to four times weekly to wash your hair, and follow up with the Tea Tree Special Conditioner. If you have an infected or sensitive scalp, talk to your dermatologist before trying this shampoo.
3. Shu Uemura Art Of Hair Cleansing Oil Shampoo
Shu Uemura is a legendary Japanese beauty expert. In 1955, he was the only male student at the Tokyo Beauty Academy. He started working as a makeup artist on Hollywood movie sets and rose in the ranks. In 1965, he opened a makeup atelier at his home in Tokyo, and it became a brick-and-mortar store in 1983. Now, the Shu Uemura brand spans all types of personal care products.
A great option for people with thick, coarse hair struggling with dryness, Shu Uemura’s Art Of Hair Cleansing Oil Shampoo calms the scalp and creates soft, supple hair. This product has many helpful ingredients, but a few stand out.
Neroli essential oil is a moisturizing treatment that aids your hair and scalp maintain the proper balance of their natural oils. Salicylic acid buffs away dry skin and dandruff on your scalp to unclog hair follicles. Safflower glucoside conditions skin, making it less likely to get dry or age prematurely.
You can use this shampoo in two different ways. Try shampooing your hair with a quarter-sized amount daily, or use it once a week as a pre-wash treatment before you wash with your regular shampoo and conditioner. If your hair is particularly oily, wash with the shampoo twice before conditioning.
4. Garnier Fructis Sleek And Shine Shampoo
Anyone with thick hair knows that frizz can be such a hassle. Thick and coarse hair tends to struggle with dryness, and with dryness comes frizz. While you can spend a lot of money on products meant to tone down your frizz, Garnier Fructis offers a system of four products that cost around $20.
Garnier Fructis Sleek And Shine Shampoo is ideal for anyone dealing with frizz on a budget. This blend promises to control frizz for up to 72 hours, so you can go a few days between washes if needed.
The two key ingredients are argan oil and plant keratin amino acids. Argan oil is a popular hair care solution because it deeply hydrates and softens dry hair so it’s less prone to breakage and frizz. Plant keratin amino acids improve the conditioning of your hair and make it easier to absorb and anchor proteins, making hair more elastic and less likely to break.
For the best results, use the entire Sleek and Shine system, including shampoo, conditioner, leave-in conditioner, and anti-frizz serum.
5. Oribe Gold Lust Repair & Restore Shampoo
Hairstylist Oribe Canales became a household name in the 1990s due to his work with pop star Jennifer Lopez. He founded Oribe hair care in 2008 with Daniel Kaner to create the type of hair care solutions he always wanted to work with. Oribe blends the newest technology with premium ingredients to make products for people obsessed with their hair.
Oribe’s Gold Lust Repair and Restore Shampoo is one of the best luxury shampoos for thick hair in 2023. It’s designed to take dull, dry locks and rejuvenate them to the healthiest version possible. There are quite a few fantastic ingredients in this blend.
The stand-out is the Oribe Signature Complex. This is a mix of watermelon, lychee, and edelweiss flower. These three natural ingredients protect hair from external elements like oxidative stress and photoaging and curb keratin decay.
Another proprietary Oribe solution, the Bio-Restorative Complex, is a healing combination of plant collagen, caffeine, biotin, and niacinamide. These four work on strengthening each strand from root to tip and healing the scalp to revitalize damaged hair follicles.
Three other critical additives include Mediterranean cypress extract, the Amino Acid Complex, and argan oil.
Reviewers say the shampoo heals frizzy and damaged hair with a nice smell that’s not overpowering.
6. OUAI Thick Shampoo
Ouai’s Thick Hair Shampoo was made for people with thick hair that struggle with frizz, dryness, and damage like breakage or split ends. This natural option is made cruelty-free without any SLS, SLES, gluten, paraben, or phthalate.
Four ingredients do the work behind this luscious shampoo. Marshmallow root softens hair and makes it easier to detangle so there’s not as much breakage. Shea butter contains necessary fatty acids and vitamins to deeply hydrate damaged strands but won’t leave it feeling heavy.
Avocado oil seals cuticle cells to prevent hair from breaking and also offers hydrating properties. Hydrolyzed keratin is a protein that works especially well for people with thick curly, kinky, dry, or damaged hair.
To use, pour out a quarter-sized amount on your hands and massage it until it lathers. Then, gently apply the product to the roots. Rinse so the product works down your hair, and squeeze any extra moisture out of your hair before using the matching conditioner.
Many news outlets have featured Ouai products recently in their articles. One stand-out quote from Refinery 29 attests, “I haven’t used any other shampoo and conditioner since.” Can’t beat a recommendation like that!
7. Mizani Scalp Care Shampoo
The company Mizani was started in Chicago in 1991 by Terri Gardner, the daughter of activist Edward Gardner who helped 120,000 Black Americans register to vote. Growing up, she didn’t see hair care products that aligned with the needs of her Black hair. She started Mizani to create products specifically for Black curls and coils, and now Mizani makes solutions for every texture.
If you’re looking for the best shampoo for thick hair that battles dandruff without using tea tree oil, then try Mizani’s Scalp Care Shampoo. This product was made for every type of texture and curl. The solution cuts through dandruff and relieves issues like itchiness and redness.
Peppermint oil has anti-microbial properties and fights the bacteria behind dandruff. Rosemary oil stimulates hair growth and helps soothe an itchy scalp. Pyrithione zinc treats dandruff and restores balance back to your scalp. Cucumber extract infuses moisture into the scalp and strengthens hair follicles.
Other helpful ingredients include turmeric root extract, rose flower oil, jasmine extract, and lavandula hybrida oil (a hybrid class of lavender).
To use, apply a dime-to-nickel-sized amount of Scalp Care Shampoo on wet hair. Let the formula sit for three minutes before washing out and following up with a conditioner.
8. Maple Holistics Argan Oil Shampoo
Maple Holistics is a great brand with a heartfelt origin story. Founders Ben and Motti grew up together in Cleveland, Ohio. As Ben got older, he started experiencing hair loss early in life due to juvenile arthritis. He tried tons of different solutions but nothing worked.
Ben’s friend Motti learned about how essential oils can help with hair loss, so he and Ben teamed up to create powerful solutions for their friends and family. Maple Holistics quickly moved from Motti’s garage to a modern facility in New Jersey, and they’ve been making natural, holistic shampoo ever since.
With such an inspiring story, everyone with thick hair can benefit from Maple Holistics Argan Oil Shampoo. It was created to clean your scalp and hair without taking away too much moisture so that hair remains healthy and full.
The main active ingredient is argan oil, which is often called “liquid gold” because of its ability to deeply moisturize and heal dry hair. Jojoba oil moisturizes and removes scarring. Almond oil is full of rich fatty acids that plump up hair. Peach kernel oil is easily absorbed by the scalp and avocado oil is full of healthy vitamin E.
Users who implemented this shampoo into their regular hair routine said that it cut down frizz and made hair bouncy and voluminous.
9. SheaMoisture Coconut and Hibiscus Curl and Shine Shampoo
SheaMoisture was founded on the ideas of Sofi Tucker, a Black woman who sold Shea Butter and African black soap in the early 1900s. SheaMoisture continues her tradition by sourcing shea butter made by African women in their hair care products.
Anyone with thick, unmanageable curls (especially types 3A, 4A, 3B, 4B, 3C, and 4C) should try SheaMoisture’s Coconut and Hibiscus Curl and Shine Shampoo. Shea Butter is in all of SheaMoisture’s products because it gently cleanses the hair and scalp while making it shinier than ever before.
There are a few other ingredients that focus on curl care in this blend. Coconut oil works well for thick hair because it replenishes our hair’s natural oil that simply can’t reach every strand. Rosemary has antibacterial properties for scalp health and helps the aloe oil deeply hydrate.
Hibiscus flower fights breakage and split ends by making hair more flexible so it’s less likely to become damaged. Silk protein softens hair and neem oil repairs broken strands.
This product contains no harmful ingredients, and SheaMoisture guarantees that you’ll love this product after one use. It has a 4.5 rating on the product site, and reviewers tend to note how great it smells.
10. Kenra Clarifying Shampoo
Kenra has roots back to Indianapolis in 1929, where the company was founded and created one product: a no-tweeze wax. It moved into the hair care space in the 1950s when it was purchased by a barber, Henry Meyers. Now, it’s a professional salon brand that focuses on innovating current solutions for even better results.
Kenra’s Clarifying Shampoo is the perfect option for those who color their hair often. This shampoo focuses on clearing up dulling deposits, brightening faded hair, and cleaning thick hair without stripping away precious natural oils.
While this is a great option, it’s not free of chemicals that cause hair care issues for some people. This contains sodium lauryl sulfate, a type of additive that many people avoid due to its likelihood to strip hair of moisture. If you know it negatively affects your hair, this isn’t the right option for you.
This shampoo also includes good ingredients like blueberry fruit extract to hold moisture in your hair and scalp and lactic acid to exfoliate the scalp and balance the pH. This product is cruelty-free, so they don’t test it on animals.
For the best results, use this shampoo with the Clarifying Conditioner.
11. Vegamour HYDR-8 Hydrate and Repair Shampoo
Vegamour’s founder Hodgdon was inspired to create natural beauty products because of the time he spent during the summers as a child working on his uncle’s dairy farm in Vermont. He saw the symbiotic relationship the animals had with nature and as he grew up, wanted to apply that same belief to how humans treated themselves and the environment.
Every Vegamour product, including their Vegamour HYDR-8 Hydrate and Repair Shampoo, is made with four ideas: bioavailability, 100% vegan ingredients, holistic hair wellness, and science-backed results. These core beliefs have grown Vegamour as a company, and made their products a success. The HYDR-8 Hydrate and Repair Shampoo has an impressive 4.9 out of 5 rating with almost 200 reviews.
This shampoo boosts hydration in strands, making them less likely to break, and taming frizz. The three key ingredients are Karmatin
to make damaged hair less noticeable, magnolia bark extract to soothe and heal the scalp, and aloe vera to bring moisture to the strands.
While this shampoo is a higher-end option, a clinical study proved that this product works. After only one use, 97% of participants said their hair felt healthier and didn’t notice any buildup.
12. Maui Moisture Curl Quench Shampoo
Maui Moisture is a popular brand featured in well-known magazines like Nylon, People, and Refinery 29. They made waves when instead of using deionized, chemically treated water as the first ingredient in their hair care product, they used a special blend of aloe vera and coconut water.
If you have thick curly hair that you want to turn into silky, manageable locks, then you need to try Maui Moisture’s Curl Quench and Coconut Oil Shampoo. Three natural ingredients are the stars of this shampoo. Coconut oil is known for adding moisture to curls to tame frizz and protect it from damage, like hear from styling products.
Papaya butter contains proteins that heal damaged split ends. Plumeria extract cures hair further by nourishing the hair shaft and protecting it from environmental factors including UV rays.
This product is safe to use on color-treated curls and contains no sulfate or silicone. It’s the first step in a three-step series. After washing, condition hair using the Curl Quench and Coconut Oil Conditioner and apply the Curl Quench and Coconut Oil Leave-In Detangler before styling.
13. Moroccanoil Hydrating Shampoo
Morrocanoil focuses on improving sustainability and environmental impact so that we all can enjoy a better world. They prioritize “conscious luxury,” so the containers are made from post-recycled products and make them as recyclable as possible. They also use solar panels on their production greenhouses and manage a voluntary ISO 14001 certification.
The Hydrating Shampoo is a best shampoo for thick hair for its environmental practices and fantastic argan oil shampoo. Argan oil conditions the hair because it’s highly concentrated in nutrients nourishing it, including vitamin E, fatty acids, and antioxidants.
Red algae naturally hydrates the hair strands and scalp so that the cuticle never becomes too dry or irritated. Additional vitamin E is added to repair hair damage so it’s manageable and easier to style.
This product is made for all hair types and is even safe to use on color-treated hair. While it works great for anyone with thick hair, anyone who wants smoother and shinier hair can also benefit from this product. It’s made without sulfates, phosphates, or parabens and can be used as your regular shampoo.
14. Amika Velveteen Dream Smoothing Shampoo
Amika was founded to offer sustainable, environmentally friendly, and clean solutions for personal care products. They don’t use any questionable ingredients, promise to never test on animals, and make all of their packaging 100% recyclable. Amika even supports Hair to Stay, an organization that raises awareness and funds scalp cooling, which helps prevent hair loss during chemotherapy.
Amika’s Velveteen Dream Smoothing Shampoo is one of the best shampoos for thick hair in 2023 due to a single magical ingredient: sea buckthorn. This is a flowering plant found in Europe that naturally sources fatty-acid omega 7.
Usually found in fish oil, this vegan alternative also contains vitamins C and A, all ingredients optimal for a healthy scalp. Provtiamin B5 works to make hair stronger by smoothing and conditioning each strand.
This shampoo is safe to use on colored and chemically-treated hair. To use, ensure your hair is completely wet and massage a healthy amount so each strand is coated. Wash out gently and follow up with the Velveteen Dream Smoothing Conditioner. After washing, a light scent of vanilla, clover, and citrus remains.
15. Kérastase Paris Bain Riche Chroma Respect Shampoo
Kérastase Paris prides itself on making unique formulas and solutions to make exceptional products for every woman’s specific hair issues. They recommend you make an appointment with a salon expert to make the most of their products. Take their online quiz before you go and bring the results with you so your hairdresser can get you on the right hair care plan.
However, if you have thick, damaged hair and just want to try a new shampoo right away, a high-end one to start with is Kérastase Paris’s Bain Riche Chroma Respect Shampoo. This shampoo was featured in Marie Claire’s Excellence in Beauty Awards in 2022. This shampoo is color-safe and even helps your natural hair from fading.
Lactic acid gently exfoliates the scalp and hair surface to remove the grime clogging hair follicles. Centella asiatica is a plant that soothes and heals strands to make frizz go away so that thick hair is easier to style and manage.
This product has been shown to make hair 95% smoother when used with the Masque Chroma Filler and Soin Acide Chroma Gloss, plus it changes the surface fibers on hair so it’s softer. With regular use, reviewers said the shampoo made their hair shiny and they had less falling out in general.
16. T’zikal Deep Hydrating Shampoo with Ojon Oil
T’zikal is headquartered in the Bronx, NY, but uses the time-honored traditions of the Mayan Empire in their hair products. The secret to their powerful shampoos and conditioners is ojon oil. Ojon oil is an ancient Honduran beauty remedy rich in critical hair nutrients, including omega oils.
The T’zikal Deep Hydrating Shampoo with Ojon Oil is safe to use for all textured hair, focusing on curly, wavy, or kinky hair. It gently washes impurities out of the hair without causing further damage. The ojon oil deeply hydrates stressed-out strands, leaving them vibrant and shiny. Extra botanicals make hair healthy so that you can say goodbye to pesky flyaways.
They say that to use this product, you should treat it like a ritual. Squeeze a nickel-sized amount of shampoo into your hands and work it into your hair. Don’t be afraid to spend a few minutes treating yourself during this because massaging the scalp makes more hair grow, cuts out tension, and makes you feel better. Follow with the Deep Moisturizing Conditioning Cream.
You won’t see a huge difference until at least 10 days of use. The shampoo is still working on washing out the buildup your previous shampoo left behind, and most people don’t wash their hair every day.
17. True Botanicals Organic Nourishing Shampoo
True Botanicals is a sustainable skincare brand that branched out into hair care products. With True Botanicals, you can expect clinically proven, environmentally-sustainable clean ingredients.
For the best shampoo for people with thick, straight hair in 2023, try True Botanicals Organic Nourishing Shampoo. This product is packed with antioxidants so that it can clean hair thoroughly without stripping the oils that straight, thick hair needs to stay healthy.
This hypoallergenic option features three main ingredients. Green tea seed oil deeply hydrates the skin and curbs the effects of age on the scalp. Meadowfoam seed oil is full of antioxidants that maximize hair health so it’s easier to comb through and style. Aloe leaf extract prevents water from escaping the scalp, maintaining a healthy environment for hair to grow in.
While this is a fantastic option, True Botanicals does recommend that you wash and condition your hair twice a day to get the full benefits of this product, which may not align with everyone’s personal care schedules.
10 Best Moisturizing Shampoos and Conditioners
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