Maintaining curly hair takes a lot of time, patience, and effort; getting the right shampoo and conditioner is the best place to start. Unlike straight hair, curly or textured hair is prone to dryness and brittleness, which is another reason you must take extra care in purchasing curly hair shampoos.
The best curl shampoo to use is gentle, hydrating, sulfate-free, and contains natural ingredients to help keep the hair moisturized and healthy.
Now, we know the hassle of going through several curly hair products and picking a suitable one. This is why we’ve curated this list to narrow your search and make choosing the perfect option easier.
Let’s take a look at 12 curly hair shampoos, as well as some factors you should consider before purchasing any.
Top 12 Best Shampoos for Curly Hair
Here are the 12 best shampoos and conditioners for curly hair. They contain top ingredients to keep your locks healthy all year long.
At a Glance:
- Ouidad Advanced Climate Control Defrizzing Shampoo
– Overall Best - Garnier Fructis Curl Nourish Sulfate-Free Shampoo – Most Budget-Friendly
- Briogeo Curl Charisma Hydrating Shampoo – Best for Volume
- Pattern Beauty Cleansing Shampoo – Best Clarifying Shampoo
- Kérastase Curl Manifesto Shampoo – Most Luxurious
- SheaMoisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl & Shine Shampoo – Best for Curl Definition
- Olaplex No. 4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo – Best for Bond-Building
- Morrocanoil Moisture Repair Shampoo – Best for Damaged Curls
- Rizos Curls Hydrating Shampoo – Best Hydrating Shampoo
- Odele Curl Defining No Lather Shampoo – Top No Lather Shampoo
- Pantene Gold Series Moisture Boost Shampoo – Best for All Hair Types
- Blu Atlas Shampoo – Best for Top Natural Ingredients
1. Ouidad Advanced Climate Control Defrizzing Shampoo – Overall Best
Anyone with curly hair knows humidity is their worst enemy, so the Ouidad Advanced Shampoo tops our list. This formula features special anti-frizz nano technology imbued with silk protein to help maintain your hair’s natural moisture, eliminate humidity, and guarantee frizz-free days.
Plus, the shampoo comes with several hydrating ingredients, including ceramides and shea butter, to ensure that your curls remain smooth, even when the environment is humid. In addition, these natural ingredients protect your curls from UV damage.
While this product is great for medium or thick hair, it might be too heavy for thin hair. Still, if you don’t want to worry about dry or damaged hair, this is the right shampoo for you.
2. Garnier Fructis Curl Nourish Sulfate-Free Shampoo – Most Budget-Friendly
The best thing about Garnier Fructis Curl is its affordability. That’s not to say that the product isn’t top quality. You can rest assured that you’ll enjoy as many benefits as you would with other expensive shampoos.
Garnier Fructis Curl is a paraben-free, silicone-free, sulfate-free shampoo with conditioning jojoba, macadamia, and coconut oils for the best results. It also contains B Vitamins and strengthening proteins to protect your curls and make them look healthy.
Even without harmful ingredients like sulfate, this product has a rich foaming lather that helps your hair feel cleaner and more luxurious.
3. Briogeo Curl Charisma Hydrating Shampoo – Best for Volume
Briogeo isn’t just for curly hair but also any other kind of hair (kinky, wavy, or coiled). It’s a gentle shampoo that cleanses the hair thoroughly and seals the hair cuticle to lock nutrients in. Overall, Briogeo maintains the curls’ natural shape and keeps them uniform.
In addition, this hydrating shampoo adds volume and body to your hair without weighing it down, thanks to the presence of shea butter and avocado oil. Also, 98% of its ingredients are naturally derived without silicones, gluten, and artificial dyes. This makes it suitable for chemically-treated or color-treated hair.
It also contains rice amino acids, which protect and seals the hair cuticle from frizz-inducing elements. Curls are also nourished and held together by the tomato fruit ferment. You might want to combine this product with Briogeo’s Curl Charisma Conditioner for the best results.
4. Pattern Beauty Cleansing Shampoo – Best Clarifying Shampoo
Curly hair requires several different styling products, which can lead to the buildup of these products on your scalp and hair. This is where Tracee Ellis Ross’ Pattern Beauty cleansing or clarifying shampoo comes in.
This shampoo deeply cleanses your hair and features anti-oxidant-rich panthenol, aloe vera leaf juice, and matcha green tea to improve your health. You can use it to alternate this product with your regular shampoo.
5. Kérastase Curl Manifesto Shampoo – Most Luxurious
Kérastase Curl Manifesto Shampoo screams luxury, from its sweet floral scent to its creamy lather. This is another shampoo that works on different hair types and textures, so it’s a one-size-fits-all product. Kérastase also contains manuka honey which helps to moisturize your curl.
Other natural ingredients in this shampoo are ceramides and jojoba oil, two essential ingredients for hydrated curls. Furthermore, its lightweight composition won’t weigh down your hair, and your curls will always be bouncy after every wash.
6. SheaMoisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl & Shine Shampoo – Best for Curl Definition
As the name implies, SheaMoisture curl and shine shampoo’s primary assignment is to give your locks or curls a bouncier and more defined look. It also features an exquisite blend of natural oils (coconut oil, neem oil, and hibiscus flower) and butter to nourish and moisturize your hair, resulting in a shinier mane.
This sulfate-free shampoo is suitable for everyday use and is safe for color and chemically-treated hair. It also doesn’t contain artificial colors or synthetic fragrances, only a creamy coconut scent.
However, since SheaMoisture contains plenty of natural oils, it might be too heavy for fine curls or hair, so you should keep that in mind when purchasing it.
7. Olaplex No. 4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo – Best for Bond-Building
Inside every Olaplex product is a patented bond-building ingredient, Bis-Aminopropyl Diglycol Dimaleate, that treats and repairs damaged hair, making it stronger and healthier. In turn, it restores and protects curls by connecting broken bonds. Not only that, it has a sweet grapefruit scent that’s sure to get anyone’s attention.
As a strengthening shampoo, Olaplex No. 4 eliminates tangles and knots, prevents scalp buildup, and restores your curl’s natural shape. Although that’s not to say that the shampoo is limited to curly hair, it’s also ideal for any hair type. If you’re looking for a curl shampoo that you can use for your daily hair wash, then this should be on your shelf.
Olaplex’s price per ounce is quite high, but considering the benefits you stand to enjoy from it, it might be worth the investment.
8. Morrocanoil Moisture Repair Shampoo – Best for Damaged Curls
Using regular shampoos on textured hair leads to dry scalp and even damaged hair, which is one thing that Morrocanoil Moisture Repair Shampoo fights against. This antioxidant-rich, sulfate-free shampoo cleanses and hydrates hair, as well as restores damaged curls
.
Its top ingredients are keratin, argan oil, and fatty acids, all of which come together to give your curls the nourishment it deserves. Plus, both men and women can benefit from this hydrating shampoo.
Another thing you’d notice is that it contains lightweight oils that won’t weigh down your curls. Instead, these oils will help to maintain your curls’ natural shape. You’ll also love its fabulous scent!
9. Rizos Curls Hydrating Shampoo – Best Hydrating Shampoo
As a deep hydrating shampoo, Rizos Curls deals with dry, itchy scalps, leaving behind healthy, moisturized hair. It’s also sulfate-free and doesn’t contain other harmful ingredients like parabens and silicones, so you can rest assured that it won’t damage your curls in any way.
Rizos Curls has a nice blend of rich natural ingredients that work together to hydrate hair. One is moringa oil which adds vitamins and other nutrients to hair strands. It also locks in moisture. There’s also shea butter that nourishes the scalp and hair and keeps strands hydrated.
Overall, it clears scalp buildup, dirt, dead skin cells, and other debris that might be weighing down your hair, leaving behind healthy and well-moisturized hair. The result is bouncy curls that you’ll be proud of.
10. Odele Curl Defining No Lather Shampoo – Top No Lather Shampoo
As a no-lather shampoo, Odele is designed to define curls without harming your hair in any way. This is because it doesn’t contain harmful ingredients, artificial colors, or counter-productive fragrances.
This shampoo works on any curly hair and is also suitable for color-treated hair. It also contains rich ingredients like aloe vera and avocado oil, which help to leave your curls healthy, polished, and bouncy.
Finally, you should consider Odele Shampoo if you want frizz-free curls and would like to easily style and manage your hair.
11. Pantene Gold Series Moisture Boost Shampoo – Best for All Hair Types
Every shampoo in the Pantene Gold Series is specially made to meet relaxed, transitioning, or natural hair needs. This one promotes healthy hair growth, thanks to natural oils like castor oil. There’s also pro-vitamin B5 to help it function as a moisturizing shampoo.
Pantene also contains argan oil, a major ingredient for moisturizing and softening the driest and roughest hair cuticles. It also helps to cleanse your hair gently. Plus, we can’t get over the creamy lather that’s easy to rinse away.
12. Blu Atlas Shampoo – Best for Top Natural Ingredients
Blu Atlas is a top brand that produces premium hair and skin care products for men and women, and this shampoo isn’t any different. Featuring clean ingredients to manage curls without causing damage or dryness, this is one product that you can’t afford to miss out on.
Blu Atlas Shampoo combines the top ingredients every curly hair needs to grow and stay healthy. One of them is jojoba oil which is full of natural antioxidants as well as vitamins A, D, and E. There’s also saw palmetto, a natural anti-inflammatory substance to prevent hair loss and hydrates the scalp.
Other top ingredients are Aloe barbadensis’ leaf to boost hair health and moisturize curls, and vegan biotin to retain your hair’s natural strength. Besides, this shampoo’s premium ingredients wash each hair strand and prevent product buildup and accumulation of dirt and dead skin cells on your scalp.
This shampoo is available in two scent options: coconut apricot or classic.
Things to Look for When Buying Shampoos for Curly Hair
Here are a few things to note before buying shampoos for curly hair.
Sulfate-Free
Sulfates are hair’s worst enemy; they remove your scalp’s natural oils in the hair, making it dry and brittle. If you want to avoid that and keep your curls moisturized and healthy, you should find a sulfate-free shampoo.
Frizz Control
People with curly hair have to deal with frizz a lot. This is why it’s better to find a conditioner and shampoo that control frizz. Some of the ingredients these curly hair products will contain include coconut oil, jojoba oil, and shea butter.
Curl-Defining
Your curls will only stay beautiful when in shape, so you should find a shampoo to help you achieve that. Shampoos in this category usually contain styling polymers and protein to define curls.
Moisturizing
Curly hair is prone to dryness, and a moisturizing shampoo is a perfect elixir. Select products with moisturizing ingredients like shea butter, coconut oil, and glycerin. Not only will these ingredients help to hydrate your hair, but they’ll also nourish it.
Gentleness
Curly hair can be sensitive, and using any harsh product can cause it to lose its natural oils and nutrients. You should always choose curly hair shampoos and conditioners without alcohol or other harsh ingredients. This is why buying haircare products specially formulated for curly hair is better.
Price
Curly hair shampoos and conditioners come in various price ranges, so you must confirm that whichever you’re getting isn’t far beyond your pocket size. While more expensive hair products might mean higher quality, you can still find other great options at a reasonable price. The bottom line is that you should find something you’re comfortable buying.
Wrapping Up
Every single product outlined above is more than capable of maintaining your curly hair and giving it the necessary ingredients it needs to remain healthy and shiny. All you need to do is confirm that they meet your hair needs.
At this point, you should check out the factors you should consider before investing in any product.