The Best Shampoos for Dry, Damaged Hair

Hair that is dry and damaged is challenging to work with and style. Damaged hair is also more likely to have split ends and breakage, and doesn’t have a lot of shine. 

Whether you have dry, damaged tresses due to over-processing or dyeing your hair, using lots of hair products, or blow drying and straightening your hair, you need to take care of the situation before it worsens. Untreated brittle and dry hair will break off and cause tangles and other issues. 

Shampoos on the market that target brittle hair are helpful. Look for ones that don’t have harsh ingredients and contain natural ingredients that aim to reinvigorate the scalp and hair follicles and work their way down the rest of the hair. If you can find a shampoo you can use consistently to treat your hair, you can reverse much of the damage. 

Don’t just choose any shampoo, however; listen to your hair to understand your primary concerns. Does your scalp itch and burn? A shampoo that aims to nourish and moisturize the scalp is your goal. Does your hair split and break off? Search for a shampoo that strengthens and fortifies strands. Does your hair look healthy but lack shine and dimension while feeling brittle to the touch? A shampoo with natural oils to restore hair will work best for you. 

Many shampoos work to tackle multiple dry hair issues, so it shouldn’t be challenging to find a shampoo that can help. Hooray! Your main challenge lies in finding the very best shampoo for your own hair among the many shampoos competing for your dollars on the market. 

One thing to keep in mind is that shampoos that are rich in vitamins E and A and have jojoba and other moisturizing oils in them will be best for your hair overall. After all, you have to tackle both the hair styling products and tools you use as well as free radical damage to fix your hair. That’s a tall order to expect in a cleansing shampoo, but we’re going to make it easier for you to find a hair solution to love.

We’ve compiled a list of shampoos we love for tackling the issues you have with your hair that leaves it dry, brittle, static-y, and frizzed. Whether you don’t know what to do or want to have thicker, longer, and more manageable hair again, discover which of the best shampoos for dry, damaged hair on our list will work for you. For best results, use the accompanying conditioner with whichever shampoo you choose. 

1. Blu Atlas Classic Shampoo

A vegan shampoo may be best able to help give your hair a dose of nourishment and moisture, both of which are things your hair desperately needs. This is why we’ve chosen this shampoo as the number one product on our list. 

What makes this shampoo so great? Aside from being nearly entirely composed of natural ingredients and cruelty-free, it packs a punch for tackling stressed hair issues. Saw palmetto helps reduce hair loss on a scientific level by blocking DHT, the hormone that comes from testosterone and is linked to hair loss. Also present is vegan biotin, responsible for protecting hair against outside damage, and jojoba to help make stressed hair smooth and manageable. 

Last but not least, aloe vera rounds out this gentle shampoo to give the scalp some nourishment and moisture as well. After all, healthy hair begins at the root of the problem, and you’ve got to treat your scalp to keep your hair strands healthy, shiny, and smooth. 

Read on to discover the other contenders on our list. Mix and match your favorite shampoos to give you customized results, or stick to one brand you love to get consistently awesome results. Just remember: shampoo lightly and lather from the roots down to get the best results. 

2. Olaplex No 4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo

If your goal is strengthening and repairing weak and brittle hair, this shampoo may be just what you need. Providing care for all hair types and textures, this shampoo is a vegan and cruelty-free option to consider if your hair is wildly damaged and needs help at the core. 

Patented “bond building technology”’ what makes this shampoo stand out. This shampoo is designed to make your tresses smooth and manageable again, so if your hair is destroyed from sun and heat exposure, over-bleaching, or other outside factors, it’s worth looking into. 

A blend of natural extracts—including rosemary, sunflower, and banana—makes this an intriguing shampoo as well. If your hair is screaming for nourishment and help, then this shampoo may be the lifesaver you need. 

3. White Hot Glorious Shampoo

Do you have predominantly white or silver hair and find it so one-dimensional you may as well cut and dye it? Before you do, check out this shampoo. Catering to the audience who has naturally white or silver hair, this shampoo gently cleanses and restores tresses to a youthful vitality from the roots down. 

This shampoo features a detoxifying treatment—including the impressive white truffle—that removes the pollutants that make natural white and silver hair dull and lackluster and helps to make hair vital and bouncy again. We love this shampoo because it caters to an audience who needs hair care but doesn’t get the attention they deserve. Take pride in your beautiful mature hair and give this vegan, cruelty-free, and paraben-free shampoo a try. 

If you have especially stubborn hair, use the conditioner that comes with this shampoo. Consistent use of products designed for silver and white hair can result in long-term healthier tresses you can be proud to style. 

4. Blacklight Blue Shampoo

Here’s another shampoo on our list that caters to a specific hair color. Introducing this amino acid toning shampoo designed to help blonde to light brown hair get a boost when strands of hair are brassy and stressed. 

We added this shampoo to our list because it’s not often we see shampoos designed to help restore and tone color while also restoring the base health of hair. If you really want to bring out the shine and color of your hair while nourishing it and giving it greater definition, this is a shampoo worth a try. 

The composition of this shampoo is designed to help fortify your hair and restore it from past damage, all while preventing future damage. If protecting color is your main goal, this is a shampoo you need in your arsenal.

5. Redken Extreme Shampoo

Next on our list is a brand you’ve likely heard of before. Redken takes hair care and repairs seriously with its shampoo, promising to strengthen hair with a 3% strength protein formula and other additives. Amino acids and a strong protein complex help to take stressed and ruined hair and make it healthier and more manageable. 

If your hair is full of static and breaking off with every stroke of the brush or if your hair is naturally weak and limp, then this shampoo can be a great solution. We like that it uses protein to build and strengthen hair the same way protein builds and strengthens your muscles. It’s a workout for your hair, and we’re here for it!  

6. Nexxus Keraphix Shampoo

When it comes to repairing destroyed hair due to environmental and other causes, this shampoo doesn’t mess around. A keratin complex aimed at smoothing stressed and frizzy hair makes this shampoo worthy of our list, and it doesn’t stop there. 

We put this shampoo on our list of the best shampoos for dry, damaged hair because it uses a protein fusion to whip tired and wrecked strands of hair into shape. The root of the problem is addressed, and from the follicle on, hair receives a smoothing treatment that makes hair more protected against both the elements and styling products and tools. 

Keratin protein and black rice elements soothe hair and make it more resilient against future damage. As a bonus, the black rice additive contains amino acids that can protect your hair and make it shiny and promote hair growth! What’s not to love?

7. Pureology Strength Cure Shampoo

Pureology is here to save the day if your hair is frizzy and fried due to frequent coloring. You don’t have to sacrifice hair health for trendy colored hair once you put this shampoo in your cart. This shampoo smells amazing, too—you’ll catch hints of peach and raspberry in the shampoo’s blend, and do we smell flowers?

But this shampoo isn’t on our list because it smells nice; it’s on our list because we know that hair dye and dry hair don’t mix. A shampoo that can tackle this issue without stripping hair of color is a must, and this shampoo delivers. 

Tocopherol gently protects the hair against damage from the sun, which both shields your hair from the sun’s drying rays and keeps your hair color intact longer. Keravis protein makes tresses stronger than ever while preventing more breakage. If you love to color your hair but want to keep it shiny and manageable, this shampoo may be your all-in-one solution. 

If you dye your hair regularly or like to bleach your tresses, you’ll do your hair a major favor if you also invest in this brand’s conditioner for color-treated hair. You’re welcome. 

8. Amika: The Kure Bond Shampoo

Pretty packaging aside, this is a shampoo we had to put on our list because of its promise to help bond tresses for smoother, shinier, overall more healthy hair. Introducing “the kure” your tired and stressed strands have been looking for. 

The ingredient that was a major wow factor for us is sea buckthorn berry—a fatty-acid powerhouse that is a must-have for whacked-out hair. If your hair has been unmanageable for a long time or has split ends in various places, then this shampoo should catch your eye. 

It’s also vegan, cruelty-free, and environmentally sound in its packaging, which means you can clean and pamper your tresses while feeling good about your efforts to keep the environment safe. Vegan proteins and plant butter round out this charming shampoo for a cleansing experience that will leave your hair feeling shinier and softer than ever. 

9. Bumble and Bumble Bond-Building Repair Shampoo

Stop “bumbling” around for quality shampoo for fried and limp hair and give this shampoo a try. Its bond-building and strengthening components mean that you can restore your hair from the inside out. Chemical and heat-treated hair are best for this shampoo, but use with caution if you have oily roots, or use this shampoo as a switch-off with another favorite shampoo when your hair is too static-y or dry to work with. 

Why is this shampoo on our list? Because it’s loaded with honey to leave hair not only smelling like an orchard, but to also make hair more flexible, shiny, and strong. If your hair is fed up with all the styling you do and you want to give it a fresh new start, this repairing shampoo has you covered. 

10. Living Proof Restore Shampoo

Is your hair so brittle and weak that cutting it is the only solution you can think of? Before you cut all your hair off in frustration or desperation, try this shampoo. It works in two ways to help your tresses out.

First, your hair is treated with amino acids and marine algae (what?!) intended to nourish, repair, and hydrate hair. Secondly, your hair is given a gentle cleanse that won’t take away from your scalp’s natural oil production. Since many shampoos can actually make hair drier in the cleansing process, we’re impressed that this shampoo can both cleanse and make hair healthier—all without leaving behind greasy tresses. 

Feel free to use this shampoo as your primary go-to when you wash your hair without feeling guilty. However, if you need a more intense rinse every now and then (such as after a workout or after days of not washing), you’ll want to wash your hair twice or use another repairing shampoo that offers a more intense clean.

11. Moroccanoil Hydrating Shampoo

With this hydrating shampoo that focuses on the dryness and brittle texture of your hair, you’ll feel great results and finally give your hair the big drink it’s been needing. For starters, this shampoo gives your hair a healthy dose of vitamin A, intended to fight the free radicals and other things that make your hair age (yes, your hair ages like the rest of your body). 

Secondly, algae’s making another appearance in this shampoo, and has the added benefit of protecting the hair’s cuticles and keeping them from drying out. Add argan oil to the mix for greater hair elasticity, shine, and strength, and you have a great powerhouse to make this shampoo an absolute must-have on our list. 

This shampoo is not only sulfate, paraben, and phosphate-free. It’s also great for all hair types and textures and won’t damage colored hair, either. We call this a win. 

12. Keranique Scalp Replenishing Shampoo 

Sometimes, it’s not just about your hair when you have dry and damaged tresses; it’s about your super irritated and itchy scalp. Why not treat both your hair and scalp issues with the same shampoo? 

If this is your goal, don’t pass this shampoo by. You’ll nourish your hair from its very source—the scalp—and make your hair healthier from root to tip. 

We’ve put this shampoo on our list of the best shampoos for dry, damaged hair because of not just what it has in it, but what it can do. Imagine stronger hair follicles, less hair loss, and super soft and silky strands. With the addition of biotin and panthenol, your hair can be stronger and healthier than you’ve ever had it before. Safe for colored hair and free of parabens, sulfates, and dyes, this cruelty-free shampoo is going to be hard to beat. 

13. Tayloani Infinigrowth Growth and Repair Shampoo

This shampoo has some intriguing and powerful ingredients, which is why it’s on our list. This is the first time we’ve seen Jamaican black castor oil in a shampoo we’ve reviewed, which is exciting because it is known for its hydrating and damage-reversing attributes. Castor oil is also a key ingredient for encouraging hair growth, which is a great bonus when you’re trying to restore unhealthy hair. 

There are no sulfates and parabens, so enjoy managing frizz and other hair issues associated with dull and brittle hair without additives you don’t want or need. Vitamin E, beet oil, and biotin strengthen hair follicles, stimulate and invigorate the scalp, and overall hydrate and nourish hair. 

The result? Thicker, stronger, longer, and more vibrant hair. If your hair has been thirsty and lacking for some time, this may be the holy grail shampoo you’ve been looking for. 

14. Aveda Damage Remedy Reconstructing Shampoo

When your hair is so damaged beyond repair, it’s hard to know where to even start in the reparation process. This damage-repair shampoo helps take your hair back to its healthy base. 

With quinoa protein and enriching coconut, your hair and scalp get to be both nourished and infused with health. Enjoy your tresses being more soft and easy to manage and your scalp being less irritated and oily. 

This shampoo is both cruelty-free and economically sound, so you can use it guilt-free. Use this shampoo as your regular everyday hair cleanser, or use it whenever your hair has been exposed to prolonged heat, sunlight, or chemicals. Either way, you’re sure to see beautiful results and soft, bouncing tresses. 

15. Ouai Thick Hair Shampoo

Here’s a shampoo that made our list simply because it’s specially designed to cleanse and treat thick, dense hair. Whether you have thick and curly locks or coarse and dense hair, this shampoo gently cleanses your tresses to the scalp without leaving your strands heavy and oily as a result.

The most intriguing factor in this hydrating shampoo is the addition of marshmallow root. Also included are shea butter and avocado oils, making this a shampoo that not only smells herbal and delicious, but one that works hard to make hair strong, smooth, manageable, and super clean. 

Consider this shampoo if you have a hard time washing your hair because of how thick it is without drying out your scalp or your strands. After a few washes, you’ll see how this shampoo takes your hair to a new level of not just clean, but health and vitality as well. 

16. Brazilian Joia Shampoo

When it comes to having hair that looks smooth enough to touch, this shampoo delivers. It uses Brazil nut selenium, plant-based keratin, and buriti fruit oil to make the hair and scalp healthier than ever before. This exotic shampoo can even help make split ends fuse back together for singular healthy and attractive hair strands. 

Users can expect to see a noticeable reduction in hair breakage as well as an ample improvement in the overall split ends improvement. If your goal is to make your split ends go away without having to physically cut your hair, this is the solution you’ve been looking for. 

We chose this shampoo for our list because we like a lot of the new ingredients we haven’t seen in other shampoos on our list, including cupuacu butter for fortifying hair and making it way less frizzy. Give this shampoo a go if you have stressed-out and fried ends and want to salvage your hair’s length. 

17. Heady Kandy Main Squeeze Shampoo

We admit the name of this shampoo is what first caught our eye, but it wasn’t long before the rest of the shampoo’s benefits caught our attention as well. From the pump top for easier use to the ingredient list, this shampoo can really improve even the most damaged head of hair. 

Amino acids work to restore the hair and scalp so hair can heal from within, leading to shinier strands that are less susceptible to breakage. The shampoo features time-released humidity protection as well, which means bye bye frizzy and uncontrollable hair. It’s even safe to use if you color your hair regularly, so feel free to suds up whenever you feel the humidity levels rising. 

18. NatureLab Perfect Shine Shampoo

Another pump bottle shampoo has made our list, hooray! But this isn’t the only reason we love this shampoo, nor is it the sleek and sophisticated design of the bottle. What we love is that this shampoo is vegan and full of helpful ingredients that take hair from broken and brittle to lush and lovely. 

This shampoo is infused with platinum, which means tresses are treated to a nourishing and conditioning treatment while you wash your hair. Mango seed oil also works to help make the hair shiny and sleek without weighing it down. 

This shampoo made our list because of what it doesn’t have, too: free of sulfates, parabens, minerals, and gluten, this is a shampoo that won’t weigh you down. It’s also cruelty-free, which we love. 

19. Briogeo Blossom & Bloom Shampoo

It’s hard to find a shampoo that can both heal abused tresses while adding volume to them, but we’ve found one we’re confidently adding to our list. Ginseng and biotin work together to create strong and thick tresses full of bounce and volume like you’ve never seen before. 

What surprised us—in a good way—was the addition of ginger. This makes for a spicy and fragrant shampoo that will make the scalp tingle and invigorate both your skin and senses with every use. We’ve added this shampoo to our list because we like the way the ingredients all fuse together to create a powerfully effective cleanser that lifts the hair and gives it lots of volume, all while repairing damage that comes from many sources. 

20. Verb Ghost Shampoo

Our final addition to the list of the best shampoos for dry, damaged hair is this weightless shampoo that has a formula that won’t weigh your hair down at all but will definitely help repair long-term chemical, environmental, and styling exposure. Moringa oil helps to make hair shiny and less susceptible to breakage and shedding, and you don’t have to worry about your hair looking greasy when you’re done washing it. 

When you use a hair-repairing shampoo regularly, you’ll see results that last. You don’t need a lot of product, either. Simply put a quarter-sized amount of shampoo in your hand and gently work your way down to your scalp and roots. All your hair will get perfectly cleansed this way, and you can keep further drying out to a minimum. 

Your hairstylist can help you choose the best shampoo for your needs. Consider buying trial sizes of brands you like before committing to your favorites. Here’s to silky, manageable hair!