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Your locks will stay healthy and shiny.
By Aly Walansky — Written on Nov 15, 2019
Women with curly hair know that washing and styling can take a long time. So, the best way to streamline the process is to use the right curly hair products. That means washing your hair with a shampoo formulated specifically to work well with this hair type.
The best shampoo for curly hair is hydrating or moisturizing, and infused with essential oils and butters. You don’t want clarifying or deep cleansing because it just strips your hair of moisture — and that means more frizz!
1. Fairy Tales Hair Care Curly Q Shampoo
An all-natural line of hair care that helps detangle knots, define curls, and tame frizz, all while hydrating hair. Fairy Tales Curly Q is made with ingredients like quinoa and aloe, and all Fairy Tales products are gluten-, dairy-, soy-, nut-, sulfate-, and paraben-free.
(Target, $29.95)
2. Bouclème Curl Cleanser
All Bouclème products are sulfate-free and silicone-free and will leave your curls moisturized, soft and manageable. This non-foaming curl cleanser is gentle enough for daily use. Cream-based, it cleanses hair without stripping away moisture, leaving curls with maximum hydration. Perfect for medium to thick curls, or very dry hair.
(Check prices and reviews on Amazon)
3. PHYTO Phytospecific Curl Hydration Shampoo
Designed to address all types of curly hair looking for an extra dose of hydration. This curl hydrating shampoo delivers intense hydration to curly hair. It fortifies and revitalizes hair, protecting it from external aggressors, leaving you with bouncy, hydrated, healthy-looking curls.
(Walmart, $15)
4. Ouidad Ultra-Nourishing Cleansing Oil Shampoo
Ouidad Ultra-Nourishing Cleansing Oil mimics hair's natural oils to replenish essential moisture, as it removes dirt and build-up. Its sulfate-free formula wraps delicate curls in nutrient-rich CR-4 Repair Complex, a cushiony coating of concentrated fatty acids that helps nourish, rebuild, and protect curls in need of repair.
(Ulta, $26)
5. Miss Jessie's Super Slip Sudsy Shampoo
A gentle, lathering shampoo that moisturizes, protects and detangles curly hair, while removing dirt and product build-up. It eliminates tangled and knotted strands, leaves curly hair slippery smooth, and has an enticing green apple scent, making it a delightful addition to your shower regimen.
(Target, $11.49)
6. LUS Gentle & Moisturizing Shampoo
Infused with the right amount of shea butter and moringa oil, it's designed to leave curly, wavy and kinky-coily hair types feeling clean and moisturized with every wash. A sulfate-free, light lather formula will gently yet effectively cleanse your scalp and hair.
(LUS Brands, $16)
7. CHI Aloe Vera with Agave Nectar Curl Enhancing Shampoo
No matter if hair is fine, thick, lifeless, unruly, dry, or brittle, CHI Aloe Vera helps to create and maintain bouncy, healthy-looking curls that feel soft like silk. This shampoo features Aloe Vera, Agave Nectar and a Super Hydration Blend.
(Ulta, $20)
8. BioSilk Hydrating Therapy Shampoo
This sulfate-free cleanser rids curls and waves of impurities while hydrating. It contains moisturizing agents of quinoa, and the strengthening elements of silk for strong smooth hair. Expect instant results including improved control, and smooth, shiny, moisture-rich locks.
(Ulta, $15)
9. Kinky-Curly Come Clean Shampoo
A moisturizing sulfate-free shampoo with sea kelp that deep cleans your curls without drying them out. Come Clean shampoo is formulated with Phytic Acid to prevent hard water build-up and create clean, shiny hair.
(Target, $10.99)
10. Keune Care Curl Control Shampoo
Keune Care Control creates soft, bouncy and frizz-free curls. Keratin proteins rejuvenate the hair fiber, while raspberry seed oil, which is rich in vitamin E and omega fatty acids, moisturizes and soften curls while reducing frizz. The innovative Curl Bounce System intensifies curls, while wood-derived ingredients reactivate the curl pattern.
(Check prices and reviews on Amazon)
11. Verb Curl Shampoo
Verb's Curl Shampoo cleanses curls while preserving their bounce and shape. Formulated with sunflower seed extract, this shampoo is color-safe, has no parabens, gluten or harmful sulfates, and pairs perfectly with the rest of the collection to treat your curls right.
(Sephora, $16)
12. Shu Uemura Art of Hair Shusu Sleek Smoothing Shampoo
An anti-frizz shampoo, free of silicone and parabens, that tames and nurtures the most rebellious, frizzy hair, this shampoo is infused with black cumin oil and is fortified with a high concentration of antioxidants and omegas 3, 6, and 9. It deeply nurtures from root to tip, and disciplines the hair fibers to tame coarse hair.
(Sephora, $48)
13. Rene Furterer Sublime Curl Curl Activating Shampoo
A shampoo that helps your curls regain their bounce and definition, it gently cleanses with a fresh burst of fragrance, restoring the natural bounce and contours to curls.
(Check prices and reviews on Amazon)
14. Kérastase Discipline Bain Fluidealiste Shampoo
A gently cleansing, sulfate-free, hair-smoothing shampoo that delivers optimal nourishment and manageability to hair. This shampoo restores flexibility and weightlessly disciplines hair, taming frizz and protecting against humidity.
(Sephora, $33)
15. Innersense Hydrating Cream Hairbath
A luxurious hydrating shampoo for thick, thirsty hair that strengthens hair from the inside out. Essential oils of sage and tamanu help balance oil for a healthy scalp, while nourishing emollients soften and smooth the cuticle. Deeply hydrating yet lightweight, this silicone-free formula leaves hair bouncy, without residue.
(Check prices and reviews on Amazon)
16. Aveeno Scalp Soothing Almond Oil Blend Shampoo
Oat is the first ingredient in this scalp-soothing, farm-fresh inspired shampoo, infused with almond oil and avocado oil for deep nourishment to help lock moisture into strands.
(Target, $6.99)
17. Virtue Labs Recovery Shampoo
Virtue Recovery Shampoo works to rebuild damaged hair with each use. It gently dissolves daily build-up while filling in cracks of damage to leave hair healthy, soft, and supple.
(Sephora, $38)
18. Ouai Curl Shampoo
A light, hydrating cleanser to purify and hydrate. It cleans strands while replenishing moisture, leaving and waves curls bouncy, buoyant, and soft.
(Sephora, $28)
19. Briogeo Curl Charisma Rice Amino + Avocado Hydrating Shampoo
A moisture-rich shampoo that nourishes and enhances the appearance of curls without stripping natural oils. Ultra-hydrating shea butter and avocado oil work to increase softness and enhance body without weighing hair down.
(Sephora, $24)
20. Amika Vault Color-Lock Shampoo
Give your shade super-staying power with this color-preserving shampoo, filled with UV filters and antioxidants. Preserves color with UV filters and antioxidants to keep hair vibrant.
(Sephora, $16)
21. Pantene Gold Series Moisture Boost Shampoo
Creamy lather gently cleanses to remove product build-up and hydrates rough cuticles. Instantly softens with a paraben-free formula infused with Argan oil.
(Target, $5.99)
22. Wonder Curl Detoxifying Clay Cleanser
The Detoxifying Clay Cleanser makes the detangling process a breeze, cleans the hair and scalp without stripping the hair of its natural oils, and also conditions. Ingredients include Kaolin clay to help remove toxins without drying your hair, aloe vera, avocado butter and olive oil, all to nourish and moisturize.
(Check prices and reviews on Amazon)
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Aly Walansky is a NY-based lifestyles writer who focuses on health, wellness, and relationships. Her work appears in dozens of digital and print publications regularly. Visit her on Twitter or email her.
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