Best Shampoo: The 2023 List Beauty Awards
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While there are many haircare products on the market, ranging from serums and oils to sprays and mists, shampoo is one of the most basic and essential. How often you should wash it depends on your hair, but it's a necessary element of taking care of our tresses.
As Marisa Garshick, MD, a board-certified dermatologist at MDCS Dermatology, tells Allure, "It's important to wash your hair to eliminate the build-up of excess oil, dirt, and debris and hair products to keep the hair looking healthy and refreshed." Beyond this, shampoo can also infuse our locks with good-smelling scents, moisturize our scalp, and give our hair a shiny appearance.
Even though shampooing is an important part of any haircare regimen, that doesn't make finding the perfect product any easier. Factoring in things like cost, brand sustainability, and personal haircare needs only makes the process more challenging. For those still on the hunt or just looking to try something new, The List is bringing to you our 2023 favorites, awarding five shampoos with titles intended to bring you closer to that one perfect product.
Read more about the 2023 List Beauty Awards methodology and all the top picks here.
Best overall: Bumble and bumble Curl Moisturizing Shampoo
We think 2023 must be the year of the curly-haired girlies because The List's Overall Best title goes to Bumble and bumble's Curl Moisturizing Shampoo. This product is specifically suited to those with curly and frizz-prone hair, with specific hair types wavy (2A-2C), curly (3A-3C), and coily (4A-4C) benefiting the most from its formula. In addition to being color-safe, this shampoo is free from parabens, sulfates, phthalates, mineral oils, and formaldehyde.
As claimed, we found that this shampoo combatted frizz and provided our tresses with a noticeable shine, landing itself at the top of our list. While it is on the pricier side, with an 8.5 fluid-ounce bottle costing $34, it's definitely worth checking out if you're looking for something suited to your curly-haired needs. Plus, this brand also has a lot going for it regarding sustainability.
Though they are owned by Estee Lauder, a brand that sells cosmetic products in countries that require animal testing, Bumble and bumble itself is a cruelty-free company certified by PETA. They have committed to ensuring worker rights and striving towards eco-friendly packaging and shipping practices. For more information about these initiatives, check out their Bb.minded and Supplier Relations pages.
Purchase the Bumble and bumble Curl Moisturizing Shampoo at Sephora for $34.
Best budget buy: MONDAY Haircare Volume Shampoo
If cost is one of your primary concerns, we recommend checking out our favorite value buy, MONDAY Haircare Volume Shampoo. A 12-ounce bottle of this product can be purchased for $7.99, making it the best-priced shampoo on our list. Designed to reinvigorate lifeless or thin hair, it's formulated with provitamin B5 and ginger root extract. Plus, it's free of SLS, parabens, and phthalates.
In addition to the solid price, we found that this shampoo added some much-needed volume and shine to our hair. When testing, the scent was pleasant, though a little artificial smelling, while the formula was easy to lather and rinse out. In this way, we think MONDAY Haircare's Volume Shampoo will give you the best bang for your buck. The brand's commitment to environmental conservation and social sustainability is another reason we're a big fan of this line.
Their bottles are made of 20% recycled plastic, with both the body and pump being 100% recyclable. MONDAY Haircare is also cruelty-free, certified by Leaping Bunny and PETA, and they offer some vegan products too, which include the volumizing shampoo. In terms of worker rights, they state that their manufacturing partner holds BRC, SEDEX, and ISO4001 certifications, which are globally-accepted frameworks for ethical production practices and conditions. To learn more, check out MONDAY Haircare's Social Responsibility page.
Purchase the MONDAY Haircare Volume Shampoo at Target for $7.99.
Best vegan buy: Olaplex Nº.4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo
For those looking for a vegan haircare brand, we're naming Olaplex's Nº.4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo the Best Vegan Buy of 2023. While Olaplex is a well-known salon brand, you might not have realized that they're also 100% vegan and cruelty-free, meaning they don't test on animals or use animal products in their formulas. Plus, this product is free of sulfates, parabens, phosphates, phthalates, gluten, and nuts.
Besides being cruelty-free, vegan, and non-toxic, the Olaplex brand has made a commitment to limiting its environmental impact by reducing secondary packaging and partnering with EcoVadis, a global provider of business sustainability measures. For more information about the sustainability efforts of Olaplex, check out their Sustainability page.
The Nº.4 shampoo is specifically designed to restore shine, reduce frizz, and strengthen hair. In addition to its easy lather and subtle scent, we appreciated the healthy-looking shine and reduced frizz that this shampoo provided. Olaplex's bond maintenance technology is also intended to restore damage from heat and color treatments and is advertised as working on all hair types. It's also known as one of the best shampoos for color-treated hair. You can purchase a 250 mL bottle, which is about 8.5 fluid ounces, for $30.
Purchase the Olaplex Nº.4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo at Sephora for $30.
Best detox shampoo: OUAI Detox Shampoo
Next, The List is naming OUAI Detox Shampoo as the Best Detoxifying Shampoo of 2023. If you're unfamiliar, detox or clarifying shampoos are special-use products used for deep cleaning. They're specifically formulated to remove excess build-up from the scalp and hair, but everyday use can dry out your tresses or irritate your scalp.
Made with apple cider vinegar and hair-strengthening keratin, we found OUAI's rendition of a cleansing shampoo to be our favorite. Not only are we big fans of the apple-infused scent, which isn't as overwhelming as pure apple cider vinegar, but we also appreciated how clean and healthy our locks looked afterward. You can purchase a 10-ounce bottle of this shampoo for $32 through their website.
Along with several of their other haircare products, OUAI's detox shampoo comes in bottles made of post-consumer resin, or PCR, and is 100% recyclable. They also offer refill pouches, which are more environmentally friendly than re-purchasing an actual bottle. OUAI is also 100% cruelty-free. To learn more about their environmental efforts, check out their Sustainability page.
Purchase the OUAI Detox Shampoo at Sephora for $32.
Best for volume: BondiBoost HG Shampoo
Lastly, the Most Volumizing title goes to BondiBoost HG Shampoo. While we're typically weary of most products promising hair growth, we did find that this shampoo was effective at adding noticeable volume to our hair while keeping the frizz to a minimum. Based on user reviews, this shampoo won't work for everyone and might be best suited for relatively healthy hair with a medium thickness.
That being said, we found that BondiBoost's shampoo was easy to use. The strong peppermint smell won't appeal to everybody, but its uniqueness was a real draw for us. As mentioned, we also appreciated the bit of bounce this product added to our hair, which makes it worth checking out if you're interested in some extra volume. A 300 mL bottle, which is roughly 10 ounces, can be purchased for $23.99.
While there isn't much information available about BondiBoost's sustainability efforts, they are a cruelty-free brand, and their products are free of parabens, silicones, and sulfates.
Purchase the BondiBoost HG Shampoo at BondiBoost for $23.99.