The 25 Best Sulfate-Free Shampoos, Vetted by Editors and Experts

A list to moisturize the hell out of your locks

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Published Mar 22, 2024

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a collage of the best sulfate free shampoos with pink background

Meet the Experts:

Justin Toves-Vincilione is a Los Angeles-based hairstylist and a design team elite stylist at Ulta Beauty. He has a decade of experience, specializing in hair styling, coloring and cutting. He spends his time educating aspiring stylists on the latest hair trends, haircut transformations and helpful tutorials.

Dr. Elyse Love is a NYC-based board-certified dermatologist at Glamderm, a dermatologist adviser for Bluemercury and a contributing writer for Byrdie. She specializes in medical and cosmetic dermatology such as acne treatments, injections, laser treatments and more.

How We Chose the Best Sulfate-Free Shampoos

We asked our editors and experts for their go-to sulfate-free shampoos. From there, we did researched the top sellers from Amazon, Target, Sephora and Ulta Beauty to bring you this comprehensive list of the 25 best sulfate-free shampoos for every hair type, so you’re guaranteed to find at least one that works for you.

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What to Consider When Buying a Sulfate-Free Shampoo

Ready to join the sulfate-free squad? Take these factors into consideration, because making the switch means more than just grabbing anything that says ‘sulfate-free’ on the bottle.

Scan the labels carefully. According to Toves-Vincilione, you should look for a shampoo without sodium lauryl sulfate or sodium laureth sulfate. "It’s also very beneficial if you find natural ingredients higher up on the ingredients list," he shares, adding, "The higher the better! This means there is a higher content of that ingredient."

Find sulfate alternatives. A few common sulfate alternatives to look for include glucosides (more commonly known as vegetable oils and starch), taurates and fatty acid isethionates, which are derived from coconut fatty acids, glutamates (these amino acid surfactants are among the gentlest around), and amino acid sulfosuccinates.

The 21 Best Shampoos for a Dry Scalp, According to Dermatologists, Hair Stylists and Reviewers

Erica Gerald Mason

Freelance Writer

Erica Gerald Mason is a freelance writer who loves shopping for the new, the next and the not-to-be-missed. Her work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Byrdie, Reviewed, Vanity Fair, and many more. You can find her on Instagram @erica.pretzel, where she posts about travel, snacks, and tv (not necessarily in that order).

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