The best shampoos for natural curly hair are gentle, don’t contain harmful ingredients, and cleanse without stopping hair of natural oils.
Due to the curly nature of natural hair, it’s harder for the natural oils emitted from the scalp to travel down the hair shaft.
With this challenge, it becomes important to use natural and organic shampoos that don’t strip natural hair.
6 Ingredients to Avoid in Shampoos
1. Alcohols
Just as it sounds, alcohols are very harsh and dry out the hair and scalp making it very hard to retain moisture.
If you see ingredients such as ethyl alcohol, SD alcohol, etc, set it right back on the shelf and walk away.
2. Diethanolamine (DEA) & Triethanolamine (TEA)
These ingredients cause scalp irritation and aggravate scalp conditions such as dandruff. They are also known to cause allergic reactions.
3. Fragrance & Parfum
This is usually a combination of many different types of chemicals, which may irritate the scalp and lead to conditions such as dandruff.
4. Parabens
This appears as methylparaben and propylparaben on ingredient lists. They irritate the scalp and cause itching and hormonal imbalance.
5. Polyethylene Glycol (PEG)
This is used for thickening shampoos but it also strips hair of moisture.
6. Sulfates
This is the reason shampoos are able to lather up so much. Unfortunately, they also strip the hair completely of all moisture and oils. Sulfates are usually labeled as SLS, SLES, or ALS.
Now that we got that out of the way, which shampoos are safe to use on natural hair then? I got you covered from my PJ days.
Additionally, as a recovered PJ, I’ve found staples that work well yet leave my hair so squeaky clean whenever I need to shampoo.
Top 20 Gentle Best Shampoos for Natural Hair
1. Alikay Naturals Black Soap Shampoo
2. Jane Carter Solution Hydrating Shampoo
3. DevaCurl No-Poo Decadence Cleanser
4. Briogeo Rosarco Reparative Shampoo
5. Eden BodyWorks Peppermint Shampoo
6. Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat Shampoo
7. Honey Baby Naturals Honeychild Shampoo
8. Green People Daily Aloe Shampoo
9. Elucence Moisture Benefits Shampoo
10. Renpure Organics Argan Oil Shampoo
11. Kinky Curly Come Clean Shampoo
12. Jessicurl Hair Cleansing Cream
13. Coil Infusion™ Like New Gentle Clarifying Shampoo
14. Briogeo Be Gentle, Be Kind Green Tea Shampoo
15. NYC Curls The Curl Cleanser
16. Giovanni Smooth As Silk Moisture Shampoo
17. Davines Love Curl Enhancing Shampoo
18. U R Curly Soya Moisturizing Shampoo
19. Rene Furterer Karite Nourishing Shampoo
20. Yelani Moisture Blast Conditioning Shampoo
These shampoos have all the good things you want to be in your natural hair. Despite this, your hair may not like some or like some more than others. That’s the beauty and versatility of natural hair.
If you want more specific shampoo recommendations for high porosity hair, read Best Shampoos for High Porosity Hair.
For more specific shampoo recommendations for low porosity hair, read Protein Free Shampoos for Low Porosity Hair.
Do you have any best shampoo recommendations you think should be on the list? Let me know in the comments section.
The next article will examine the best shampoos for clarifying hair without causing damage.
Abi delved into the world of hair care after suffering from a bout of severe hair loss. She is the founder of Healthy Natural Hair Products & Natural Oils for Hair & Beauty, as well as the writer of the Healthy Hair Care Series. She is also the founder of the Empower Network. Read more…
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The deva curl shampoo works really good on my hair. I have type 4c hair and that shampoo melted my tangles away and doesn’t dry out my hair!❤️It!
Thank you great article I will have to try some of the shampoos listed
Let us know how it turns out 🙂