Hair Care, Moisture, Shampoo
This is the year! The year that you finally find that one shampoo that works for your curls. What is the best shampoo for curly frizzy hair, you ask? Well that answer is actually up to you. No two heads are alike and as much as we like to test out products to give you the heads up, at the end of the day, you have to find what works for you but we can help give you a start in the process.
Does this sound familiar? You have a vanity cabinet full of shampoos that don’t work and some that you can’t even remember if they work at all? We’ve been there. Well this is the year that you find the one. Add this new year’s resolution to your bucket list. This year, you’re going to find your holy grail shampoo and we’re here to help you get started with this new resolution based on what your scalp and hair needs.
(OVERLY) OILY SCALP
You are a diamond in the rough. A rare gem. The few specks of real moissanite dust left on this planet. You don’t find many curly women with overly oily scalps but we know first hand that they do exist. We get you. You don’t want to battle with your oily scalp anymore. Consider it over as of this list. We are your ReSolution fairy godmother here to help.
First things first before we dish out the products. If your scalp is unusually oily, make sure you’re only washing your curls two to three times a week or less – once a week is usually more than enough for naturally curly hair. If you need to, you can run water through your hair if your hair (not scalp) feels dry between washes. Washing your hair too much can cause your scalp to overproduce oil because you’ve stripped away all of the good oils (sebum) that your scalp naturally produces so it over compensates by producing more oils. Also, make sure you avoid getting conditioner on your scalp which can cause build up and oil and make sure if you use oil to style your hair that you avoid getting it on your scalp as well.
Now, if you’re doing all of that and still have issues, you need a better shampoo. You don’t necessarily need to go out looking for an “anti-oily scalp shampoo.” Instead, you need to think of your shampoo in the same vein of herbs and calming properties – it should be like a toner for your scalp. Look for ingredients like witch hazel, rosemary, lavender, rose, lemon, peppermint, orange and honey. Nature’s Gate Chamomile & Lemon Verbena Shampoo, Eden Body Works Peppermint Tea Tree Shampoo, EO French Lavender Shampoo, Dessert Essence Lemon Tea Tree Shampoo, Aubrey Organics Green Tea Clarifying Shampoo (which is not stripping or drying), Yes to Carrots Scalp Relief Shampoo and Kiehl’s Tea Tree Oil Shampoo are all calming and scalp soothing shampoos that don’t overly strip your hair and help to restore your scalps natural pH level which in turns cuts down on the oil production. You may also want to try our organic shampoo picks at the bottom of this list.
DRY + FRIZZY CURLS
We want you to stop wasting your money. Wasted shampoo bottles means wasted shoes, trips and handbags and takes away from the down payment on your future home. Go count all the bottles you’ve stopped using because they strip your hair or make it frizzy (we’ll wait here until you’re done) and tally it all up. What could you buy a Louis? Prada? Coach? A G6?
We want you to have that bag and that hair you’ve always wanted which is why your personal resolution means thinking outside of the box and stepping away from traditional shampoo. Buh bye Herbal Essence (yeah, we know, “but it smells soooo good!”)! Underneath all that frizz, dry, crunchy hair may be a oil-based shampoo or cleansing cream girl and it’s time you stepped away from the sulfates and let her free.
Cleansing creams and oil-based shampoos don’t strip your hair like regular shampoo but do they define your curls and if you’re worried about build-up, don’t be. They leave your scalp feeling fresh. Hair Rules Daily Cleansing Cream is an excellent choice (our current top cleansing cream) as is L’Oreal Evercreme Cleansing Conditioner. If your hair is always dry, start with your shampoo because it could be the culprit. After washing your curls, if they aren’t soft and supple and you didn’t just clarify your hair, you’re doing something wrong.
We’ve tested a lot of cleansing cremes and we’re almost certain that in addition to the two listed above, you’ll fall in love with some of our favorites including: Nothing But Cleansing Conditioner, New Wash by HairStory, As I Am Coconut CoWash Cleansing Conditioner, Jessicurl Hair Cleansing Cream, L`Oreal EverCurl Hydracharge Cleansing Conditioner and Carol’s Daughter Hair Milk Conditioning Co-Wash.
As for oil-based shampoos, which we consider a step below cleansing creams in terms of moisture, we love Ouidad Ultra Nourishing Cleansing Oil, Beautiful Textures Tangle Taming Moisturizing Shampoo, Redken Diamond Oil Shampoo, Organix Renewing Moroccan Argan Oil Shampoo, Shu Uemura Art of Hair Cleansing Oil Shampoo and Rahua Shampoo.
DRY SCALP AND/OR DANDRUFF
Flakes are not pretty or comfortable to talk about but they are normal and happen even to the best of us. We grew up on Head and Shoulders commercials, but now it’s time to put on your big girl dandruff and dry scalp fighting panties.?Jason Dandruff Relief Shampoo is going to be your first stop. Remember when we told you it was sulfate and paraben free, low lather (score for curls and naturally dry hair) and is formulated with jojoba and olive oils leaving your hair soft and supple feeling? Okay, so you may have forgotten, but we did (read about it here). The active ingredient is pyrithione zinc which helps to control dandruff and itchiness and it smells so good and no one will even be able to tell you used “special” shampoo. Actually they may ask you what that wonderful smell is and notice how your curls fall over your black tee without a flake in sight.
After Jason you can’t go wrong with Redken Dandruff Control Shampoo, Leonor Greyl Bain Traitant Propolis, Neutrogena T/Gel Daily Control 2-in-1 Dandruff Shampoo Plus Conditioner (we like the 2-in-1 best since it’s not as drying), Clear Ultra Shea Cleanse & Nourish Shampoo for dandruff issues and Aveda Scalp Benefits Balancing Shampoo or Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Special Shampoo for dry scalps.
COLOR-TREATED HAIR
You need moisture unlike the average curls need moisture – and boy do we need it too – but you need it much more. There is no point in coloring your curls only to go bald in the process of broken off strands that will surely have you wondering where all you hair went in six months to a year after you have your hair colored or bleached. Your color is fading fast and your hair is snapping, right? If this sounds like you, stop torturing yourself and your curls. This is the year to get your curly color-treated hair together! You need The Best Shampoo For Curly Color Treated Hair (you should really click this link, no really). To recap, we like all of the John Frieda Color Preserving Shampoos as well as EO Sulfate Free Coconut And Hibiscus Keratin Shampoo, KMS California Color Vitality Blonde Shampoo, Herbal Essences Color Me Happy Shampoo and Pureology Colour Fanatic to name a few. To avoid beating this horse again, you should really check out The Best Shampoo For Curly Color Treated Hair where we lay all of it out for you.
ORGANIC AND NATURAL
You planned to going organic. Now you are organic. You’ve been eating a lot of kale and quinoa and you put B12 yeast on everything. Now, you’ve dumped all the chemicals out of your bathroom and you want the best moisturizing, organic shampoo but you don’t know which ones to try. ‘Ish just got real.
The work has been done for you. Here you go. Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Moisturizing Shampoo, John Masters Organics Rosemary Lavender Shampoo, Avalon Nourishing Organic Shampoo, Giovanni Smooth as Silk Deep Moisture Shampoo, TIGI Love Peace & The Planet Eco Awesome Cranberry Orange Mint Moisturizing Shampoo, Desert Essence Organic Coconut Shampoo, Rahua Shampoo and Shea Moisture African Black Soap Deep Cleansing Shampoo and Briogeo Be Gentle, Be Kind Green Tea Shampoo.
THINNING
Thinning hair is something that can be caused by aging, genetics or a medical condition. Unfortunately, we cannot control genetics or aging but we can control how we respond to thinning hair. It’s a frustrating situation to have, but this year you’ll find a shampoo that will help in your styling regimen to build bulk into your hair strands. Even though nothing can permanently change thinning hair if your condition is not reversible medically, you can thicken your hair temporarily with each wash. Oribe Shampoo for Magnificent Volume, Yarok Feed Your Volume Shampoo, Kiehl’s Ultimate Thickening Shampoo for Thinning Hair, Jason Thin to Thick Extra Volume Shampoo, Phylia De M., and Ojon Damage Reverse Thickening Shampoo are all good and effective choices for thinning, curly hair. All of these shampoos are moisturizing and leave your hair soft as well as plumper than before you used it. With use over time, you hair will appear thicker and fuller. Our favorite on this list? Phylia De M. hands down.
GREYING
This is your year for finally embracing your grey. Go, you! As easy as it seems, you may already know that grey hair can get dull really quickly. Your bright whites can start to look brassy, yellow and dingy over time from daily sun exposure and hair product build-up. You’ll need to keep your grey as bright as possible with the natural blue coloring agent cyanocentaurein. Klorane Shampoo with Centaury is our first choice for keeping grey hair looking shiny and white. Ren Furterer Okara Mild Silver Shampoo, Sachajuan Silver Shampoo and Rusk Sensories Bright Chamomile and Lavender Brightening Shampoo all amplify your grey curls by adding pigments to your hair which counteracts and neutralizes yellow and golden tones.
OFF THE BEATEN PATH
For those of you who actually have a shampoo that works but you are itching to try something new just because, we have a few resolutions for you too. Dr. Bronner’s Organic Pure Castile Liquid Soap is an oldie but good economical choice that you can use as a body and hair wash. Two newer products that you may want to try are Motions Naturally You Moisturizing Cleanser which is a gentle and effective and affordable as is the new Alberto VO5 Hydrate + Nourish Salon Series Shampoo which is enriched with 11 100% natural vitamin oils and five essential vitamins. Lastly, if you have never tried a shampoo bar, now is the time. We like them all natural so Aquarian Bath Shampoo Bars are a great choice for a big shampoo bar that lasts forever, smells great and is chock full of moisturizing oils so the use of conditioner afterwards is almost eliminated because they leave your hair so soft.
This list is obviously not extensive as it would be about twenty times longer, but it’s a great starting point for finding your best shampoo since, you know, we did most of the work for you. Here’s to a new year full of fierce curls and the perfect bottle of shampoo.
