Best Shampoo: The 2024 List Beauty Awards
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Pick any shampoo off the shelf and it will generally get the job done, leaving you with clean hair. But why settle for just washed, when you can add a few extra benefits into the mix? From hair strength to softness to shine and hydration, the right shampoo can help you to achieve your Rapunzel-esque hair goals without breaking the bank in the process. The 2024 List Beauty Awards presented the perfect opportunity to try out 10 different shampoos that have gained popularity in the beauty world, to see which ones could potentially make a difference in how my hair looked from day to day. After each one, I followed up with the same basic conditioner.
There were no additional styling products used either, giving me a great idea of what the shampoo formula was capable of on its own. Five that I tried were eliminated due to harsh fragrances, which caused hair to be a tangled mess, feel completely stripped, or way too frizzy. One earned a few of these dings, plus a horrible seal that took forever to pry off. The remaining five, though, were chef's-kiss-worthy and made it to the top of The 2024 List Beauty Awards in the shampoo category. There's a best overall, a smoothing option, one that's especially good for repairs, a total bargain with great results, and even a fabulous little something for the vegans in the group.
Best Overall: Kérastase Nutritive Bain Satin Shampoo
Kérastase has a lot of fans (rumor has it that even Kate Middleton's beauty routine includes the brand), and there's a good reason for that: they make great products. When I tried Kérastase Nutritive Bain Satin Shampoo, I immediately understood the hype. The hydrating shampoo promises to quench thirsty strands, and add shine and softness to tresses, and it did just that.
Straight from the bottle, the formula is thick and creamy and feels rich and silky to the touch. There's a light fragrance, floral in nature, which remains throughout the wash but disappears soon after rinsing. Even better, you only need a small amount to create a generous lather, and the product rinses out easily. Tresses feel clean, with no residual product left clinging to strands.
After blow-drying, hair feels soft and is imbued with good volume, as well as some shine power. Bain Satin Shampoo is formulated for fine to medium hair, not to be confused with Bain Satin Riche Shampoo, which is for medium to thick locks. Plant-based proteins and vitamin B3 (in the form of niacinamide) provide nutrients that help with both hair hydration and strength.
Buy Kérastase Nutritive Bain Satin Shampoo for about $40 on Amazon.
Best for fighting frizzies: Matrix Mega Sleek Shampoo
For those who have declared war against fuzzy hair for 2024, Matrix Mega Sleek Shampoo is a weapon of frizz destruction. It works on all hair types to help smooth out strands and, as an added bonus, it offers some protection against humidity, which can cause all kinds of unwanted puffy strands. I found it deserved its "Mega" name during our Beauty Award testing process.
The shampoo is fairly thick, and has a crisp, fresh scent, something I might liken to linen. It lathers up well, and the suds rinsed out easily, taking the fragrance with them — it didn't linger on the hair. Tresses felt cleansed and primed for conditioner. After blow-drying, there wasn't a flyaway to be seen, and locks were definitely in sleeker territory. If you want to add any texture (waves, curls) or if you're looking for volume à la Cindy Crawford in her everlasting Pepsi commercial, you'll need to add some styling products and maybe plug in a big curling iron.
The key ingredient that puts the "sleek" in Mega Sleek is shea butter, which helps seal in moisture and adds smoothness to locks. The butter also contains vitamins A and E, and an antioxidant, which may have the added benefit of seeing fewer strands wash down the drain due to hair loss.
Buy Matrix Mega Sleek Shampoo for about $20 on Amazon.
Best shot at hair repair: Olaplex No.4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo
There's a lot of complex sciencey stuff that goes into making Olaplex No.4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo, specifically the Olaplex Bond Building Technology. According to a scientist video on the brand's official website, it's "an exclusive molecule designed to repair broken disulfide bonds." I'm not 100 percent sure what that means, but based on my trial with this shampoo, it works.
The formula has a lovely citrusy scent and is thick enough to require a good squeeze to get it out of the bottle, but thin enough that actual muscles aren't required to do it. It's quick to lather, and the suds are also thick and creamy. You may need to spend a little extra time under the water to ensure all the product rinses out, but when it's gone, tresses are left feeling clean but not raw.
After blow-drying, my strands were shiny, had some volume to them, and were soft but not frizzy. That patented Bond Building Technology actually penetrates the hair shaft to work its magic from the inside out, helping to repair where needed, but also giving you a bit of immunity against future breakage and those dreaded split ends.
Buy Olaplex No.4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo for about $30 on Amazon.
Best bang for your buck: Aussie Total Miracle 7N1 Shampoo
Seven benefits in one shampoo? That doesn't cost a fortune? Yes, please! Aussie Total Miracle 7N1 Shampoo promises, "strengthening against damage, softness, split-end protection, moisture, humidity control, shine, and smoothing," all in one bottle. And when you break down the tiny price tag, it's about 27 cents per ounce — essentially pennies per wash. But it doesn't feel like it.
The shampoo is thick and creamy, and it doesn't take a lot to create a rich lather, either. The smell is more on the tropical side, which was lovely in the morning when I was trying to wake up under the steady shower stream. The formula rinses out easily, leaving hair feeling refreshed rather than stripped. After blow-drying, I saw only super soft, gloriously shiny hair in the mirror.
Not only is there Aussie in the name and a kangaroo on the bottle, but the product inside has a bit of Down Under, too. The shampoo includes Australian macadamia oil, which boasts many of the same nutrients as the natural oil your scalp produces, meaning your hair already recognizes it and will readily absorb the oil and its benefits.
Buy a four-pack of 30.4 fl oz bottles of Aussie Total Miracle 7N1 Shampoo for just $33 on Amazon.
Best vegan: Attitude Super Leaves Nourishing Shampoo
Attitude specializes in vegan and cruelty-free beauty and household items. They aim to provide "clean, performance-proven products in eco-innovative packaging to deliver the best for the body and the planet," according to the official website. Attitude's Super Leaves Nourishing Shampoo definitely fits into that "best" category, offering a vegan alternative to washing your hair.
In the shower, I was sniffing for the pear and ginger aroma the brand claims that the shampoo has, but I got more of a floral scent, almost like a very faint gardenia. The shampoo is completely clear, and the consistency is between thin and thick; it won't pour out of your hands but it will drip. You'll get a lot of suds that are easy to rinse out, leaving hair feeling clean.
After blow-drying, my tresses were left with light volume and minimal flyaways. In addition to being vegan, 97.9% of the shampoo's ingredients are naturally sourced, meaning their composition has stayed true. They include grapeseed oil, watercress leaves, and olive leaves (that's where the "Super Leaves" come in). The ingredients promise to help strengthen and nourish hair, starting from the scalp and reaching all the way to the ends.
Buy Attitude Super Leaves Nourishing Shampoo for about $13 on Amazon.