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You know those people who hold on to clothes they’ve had since high school? I’m the opposite. Even before the term “spark joy” entered our cultural consciousness, I’ve always loved cleaning out my closet (my entire apartment, really) at least a few times a year, if not every few months. Simply put, I love a fresh start. I’m no different when it comes to my hair. Clarifying shampoos may seem tedious or unnecessary to some (“Doesn’t shampoo already clean my hair?” a friend recently asked), but they’re game-changing changes in my hair routine.
Whether you have oily, dry, sensitive, or a combination of both hair types, a clarifying shampoo is a must for optimal hair health. Even with fancy showerheads with filters, hard water, pollutants, dandruff, oil, product residue, and even nourishing ingredients from your daily shampoo and conditioner build up on your scalp and essentially suffocate your hair, resulting in dull, limp, lifeless strands over time.
Switch to cleansing shampoos once a week or every few washes and watch how it helps remove products and chemicals from your scalp that you didn’t even know were there, revealing softer, stronger, and shinier locks from root to tip. Have I convinced you yet? Keep scrolling to see 15 tips that will really rejuvenate your hair.
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Thanks to the gentle grains of naturally exfoliating sea salt, the best-selling (and generously sized) scalp scrub from French brand Christophe Robin removes product and sebum buildup. Perfect for oily roots, sensitive scalps and even after a hair treatment to relieve itchiness.
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Moroccanoil always leaves my hair feeling soft as if I’ve never had a hair treatment or heat styled it. The brand’s Clarifying Shampoo is no exception. With nourishing argan and avocado oils, keratin, lavender, chamomile and jojoba extracts, it provides the coveted soft, shiny, smooth effect and leaves hair squeaky clean.
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This shampoo is particularly good for product deposit. It is gentle, fragrance-free and contains buckwheat extract, an ingredient rich in proteins, antioxidants, amino acids and mineral salts. Plus, a small amount of the gel texture lathers richly, so you never have to use too much.
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One of the most popular hair care brands on TikTok right now makes a gentle and effective cleansing shampoo with grapefruit extract, coconut oil, vitamin E and shea butter. The combination leaves hair feeling softer, less frizzy and truly revitalized.
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Curl lovers, this one’s for you. Ouidad’s Water Works Clarifying Shampoo revives curl patterns and removes limescale and product buildup with cleansing fruit acids that won’t dry out the hair. Plus, a combination of lemon, grapefruit and orange blossom extracts adds body and shine.
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For a truly thorough scalp cleanse, this shampoo from Bumble and Bumble brings out the big guns: ginseng to cleanse, rosemary to stimulate and sage to clarify. Note that this shampoo is not suitable for use on coloured hair.
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No surprise: Tracee Ellis Ross’ PATTERN brand makes an excellent cleansing shampoo for wavy to curly hair. With rosemary leaf extract, safflower seed extract and aloe leaf extract, as well as antioxidants like matcha green tea and aloe vera, it removes buildup, invigorates the scalp and strengthens each strand.
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I used to worry that cleansing shampoos would dull my colored hair, but Olaplex No. 4C alleviates these concerns. It has a balanced pH and is sulfate-free. Thanks to its patented Bond Repair technology, it leaves hair soft, bouncy and vibrant.
Award winner photo: No. 4C Bond Maintenance Clarifying Shampoo
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A cheaper top choice for coloured hair is the EverPure range from L’Oréal. Vitamin C and glycine not only remove hair residue and refresh greasy hair roots, but also lighten the hair colour and provide an incomparable shine.
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Living Proof’s detox shampoo formula contains a magnetic polymer that the brand says acts like a magnet to attract and remove product buildup from hair. Add activated charcoal to absorb odors, and you’ll get truly clean hair.
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OUAI uses apple cider vinegar and keratin to exfoliate and cleanse the scalp while smoothing and de-frizzing each strand of hair. Shoppers also love the scent – a rosy fragrance with hints of bergamot, lychee, cedarwood and white musk.
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Although it’s not technically a cleansing shampoo, Briogeo’s Superfood Shampoo (touted as a “juice cleanse for your hair”) uses nourishing fruit extracts of banana, coconut, mango and açai to cleanse. This shampoo is more suited to drier hair types who want to renew their hair without sacrificing moisture.
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This year New beauty The award for best cleansing shampoo goes to K18’s Peptide Prep Detox Shampoo, which features an impressive formula of activated charcoal, salicylic acid, and the brand’s protective K18PEPTIDE technology. Our editors rave, “It removes virtually any dirt that clogs hair follicles.”
Award winner photo: Peptide Prep Detox Shampoo
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Bread Beauty’s powerful cleansing shampoo should be used “now and then,” but when you do, you’ll notice the difference. Sage, rosemary, eucalyptus, ginger root and amino acids protect, strengthen, hydrate, boost collagen production and promote hair growth.
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Milk_Shake’s Deep Detox Shampoo left my hair noticeably softer after one use. It contains antioxidant-rich green tea leaves to protect and soothe the scalp, milk proteins to provide strength and nutrients for moisture and softness, and salicylic acid as an all-star exfoliant. It also looks like a matcha latte, has a sweet, subtle scent, and lathers into a luxuriously creamy foam.
