Shampoo
Shampoo for every hair type and scalp: liquid bottles, solid bars, dry shampoo and toning formulas. We explain which cleansing base suits fine, dry, coloured or flake-prone hair, and how often washing makes sense.Read more →
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How to choose a shampoo for your hair type and scalp
Shampoo has one job: removing sebum, sweat and product build-up from your scalp without stripping the hair itself. It does that with surfactants, cleansing molecules that hold on to oil at one end and to water at the other, so the grease rinses away. The rest of the formula decides how the result feels: conditioning agents, proteins, oils and sometimes active ingredients for flaking or for colour.
The cleansing base tells you more than the front of the bottle
Most real differences between shampoos come from the surfactant system. Sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) and sodium laureth sulphate (SLES) foam heavily and clear styling products in a single wash. Milder bases, such as coco-glucoside or amino acid surfactants, foam less and leave more of the scalp's own oil in place. Less lather does not mean less clean, because foam is mostly cosmetic. If your scalp feels tight after washing, or your colour fades quickly, the base is the first thing to change. Pair a mild shampoo with a matching conditioner so the mid-lengths stay smooth.
Bottles, bars, dry and toning shampoos
Liquid shampoo offers the widest choice of formulas, from clarifying washes that remove hard water and silicone build-up, to bond-repair formulas for bleached or heat-damaged hair. It is also the easiest form to dose: a coin-sized amount on the scalp, emulsified in your hands with a little water first, spreads far better than neat shampoo straight from the bottle.
Solid formats work differently. Solid shampoo bars use a concentrated surfactant base without a plastic bottle, which makes them practical for travel. In hard water areas the first weeks can feel coated, so an acidic rinse or a clarifying wash helps during the switch.
Between washes, dry shampoo for the roots absorbs oil with starch or clay powder. It refreshes the look of your hair, but it does not clean the scalp, so it works as an extra step and not as a replacement. For blonde, highlighted or grey hair, Silver Shampoo deposits violet pigment that counters brassy yellow tones, used once or twice a week instead of your regular wash.
How we choose the shampoos we stock
We look at three things before a shampoo enters the range: the cleansing base, the strength of the active ingredients, and whether the rest of the formula serves the same purpose. A bond-repair shampoo only makes sense alongside the treatment it was built around, so we carry the full routine rather than one bottle from it. We buy directly from the brands, with no intermediaries, so what arrives is authentic, and our compliance team checks every label before a product goes live. We test products ourselves and independent labs spot-check batches. See how we select brands and products.
Be realistic about the timeline. A different shampoo changes how your hair feels from the first wash, but give a new routine two to three weeks before you judge it, because your scalp and your water both play a part. For thinning hair, a shampoo can make hair look fuller and keep the scalp comfortable, which is worth having; what happens inside the follicle needs a different approach.
Frequently asked questions
Shampoo cleans your scalp, not mainly your hair. Its surfactants bind the sebum your scalp produces, together with sweat, dead skin cells and residue from gels, oils and hairsprays, so all of it rinses away with water. Everything else in the bottle supports that: conditioning agents to reduce friction, mild acids to keep the pH around 5, and fragrance. This is why you apply shampoo at the roots and conditioner from the mid-lengths down.
Wash when your scalp needs it, not on a fixed schedule. Fine or oily hair often needs a wash every one to two days, medium hair every two to four days, and coarse or curly hair can usually go a week. Sport, styling products and warm weather all shorten that interval. Washing less does not train your scalp to make less oil, because oil production is hormonal. Under-washing mostly leads to itch and flaking.
Start from your scalp and the state of your hair, then choose the cleansing base and the extras that match.
| Hair or scalp | Look for | Use with care |
|---|---|---|
| Fine, oily | Light, clarifying | Heavy oils, silicones |
| Dry, coarse | Mild base, oils | Daily strong sulphates |
| Coloured | Sulphate-free | Clarifying washes |
| Curly | Gentle surfactants | Drying alcohols |
| Blonde, grey | Violet pigment | Long pigment contact |
| Flaky, itchy | Anti-dandruff actives | Strong fragrance |
No, but they are not right for everyone. SLS and SLES clean strongly and foam well, which suits fine hair with an oily scalp and anyone who uses a lot of styling product. They also strip more of the natural oil layer, so on dry, coloured or sensitive scalps they can leave hair rough and colour dull. Many people do best with a mild base most of the time and one stronger clarifying wash a month.
In most cases yes. Two-in-one formulas leave a small amount of conditioning agent behind, which is handy for the gym or a light packing list, but the dose is limited because it has to survive the same rinse as the cleanser. A separate conditioner stays on the mid-lengths and ends for a minute or two and lowers friction properly, which is what reduces breakage while combing.
It can help the look and the scalp, within limits. A shampoo that keeps the scalp clean and calm gives hair a better surface to grow from, and volumising or caffeine formulas make existing strands look thicker. What a rinse-off product cannot do is change the hair cycle in the follicle, because it is on your scalp for a minute or two. People often combine scalp care with supplements for hair growth and a leave-in serum.
That is usually hard water, not the bar. Minerals in the water react with parts of the formula and leave a film on the hair, which feels coated or dull. It is most noticeable in the first two to three weeks. A diluted apple cider vinegar rinse after washing, or one clarifying liquid wash every few weeks, removes the film. Bars with a fully synthetic surfactant base are less prone to it than traditional soap-based ones.
Both are active products, so treat them as part of a rotation. With anti-dandruff formulas the active needs contact time: leave it on the scalp for a few minutes, use it two or three times a week during a flare-up, then drop back to a mild shampoo. Toning shampoos work by pigment, so rinse after one to three minutes and use them weekly. If flaking, redness or hair loss keeps returning, see your GP or a dermatologist.
