9 Best Vegan Shampoos of 2020

1. Maui Moisture Heal & Hydrate + Shea Butter Shampoo

Editor’s Rating: 4.75/5.0

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The first shampoo we’re reviewing is from Maui Moisture. It is generally a great shampoo but is peerless when it comes to hydrating shampoos on a budget. It doesn’t matter how dry or damaged your hair has become recently, this shampoo will help it bounce back to its earlier vitality.

The most important thing this shampoo will do for your hair is to add moisture to it. This will automatically solve problems like split ends, frizz, and flyaway hair. Moisturization will also make your hair soft and more manageable.

In fact, this shampoo is so strong at moisturizing hair that it cannot be used by people with already oily or even normal type of hair. If it is, then it will weigh their hair down and make it incredibly greasy.

The moisturization power of this shampoo comes from three of its primary ingredients – shea butter, macadamia oil, and coconut oil. These three ingredients combine very well to hydrate hair from the inside out while providing some great nutrients in the process.

This shampoo also has antimicrobial properties which give it some ability to counter dandruff. This comes from the fact that the shampoo relies on aloe vera juice as its base. The aloe vera juice also offers nutrition and moisturization.

At the same time, because it is present in such a large quantity, it can cause allergic reactions in some people. For this reason, if you have never used aloe vera products, then we suggest patch testing some on yourself before purchasing this product.

Like most intensely moisturizing shampoos in the market, this one also has a tropical scent. The scent comes from its coconut oil content. Most people like the smell of this shampoo, but there are a few who may not like it. The scent is subjective, after all.

In terms of lather too, this shampoo does very well despite not containing sulfates. It replaces the harmful sulfates with cleansers derived from coconut. This shampoo is also free from other artificial chemicals and compounds such as silicones and parabens.

What we find surprising about this shampoo is that it offers so many benefits at such low prices. It is incredibly cheap, irrespective of the bottle size you choose. While the bigger 13-ounce bottle is cheaper than the smaller 3.3-ounce bottle, the smaller bottle is good if you want to try this shampoo before committing to it.

One thing you should know, though. Neither of these bottles comes with pumps. The smaller one doesn’t need one anyway but it would have been nice if the bigger one had one.

Who’s it for: If you have extremely dry, damaged hair and are not allergic to aloe vera, you won’t find a better moisturizing shampoo than this one from Maui Moisture.

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2. Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen & Restore Shampoo (Best Budget)

Editor’s Rating: 4.75/5.0

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You don’t often see a shampoo that is capable of cleansing the scalp of buildup without drying out the hair. However, we found this rare combination in the Strengthen & Restore Shampoo from Shea Moisture.

The main reason why this shampoo can offer the unlikely combination of cleansing and hydration is that it contains Jamaican black castor oil. Jamaican black castor oil has these inherent qualities. It has great hydration abilities like normal castor oil but it also has an inherent acidity which gives it the power to remove buildup from the scalp.

As a type of castor oil, it also offers various nutrients that can repair and strengthen hair. However, many nutrients come from other ingredients too. The foremost of these is peppermint oil. The peppermint oil boosts the cleansing property of Jamaican black castor oil, which is why it makes the scalp tingle.

Further, peppermint oil also works to slowdown the production of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in the scalp. DHT is responsible for hair loss so this shampoo offers help against hair loss too.

The smell of this shampoo, though, comes from the Jamaican black castor oil. It is warm and reminiscent of vanilla. Because of this reason, people who don’t like this shampoo’s scent often say it smells like playdough.

This shampoo doesn’t contain any artificial or synthetic substances. It is completely free of parabens, silicones, and sulfates. The absence of sulfates means that this shampoo doesn’t produce a lot of lather. If you want lather, you’ll have to use a lot of this shampoo. This will be difficult and may lead to wastage because it has an extremely watery consistency and doesn’t even come with a pump.

We should also add that this shampoo is not only vegan but also cruelty-free rated.

This shampoo has excellent qualities and the company could probably get away with charging more for a bottle. However, they’ve priced this product incredibly low, bringing it within the reach of the majority of users.

Who’s it for: If you’re looking for a vegan shampoo that will help cleanse your scalp while simultaneously hydrating your hair, get this one from Shea Moisture.

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3. Pure Nature Lux Spa Moroccan Argan Oil Shampoo and Conditioner

Editor’s Rating: 4.5/5.0

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This is the first of two shampoo and conditioner sets we’ve included in this guide. This one is from Pure Nature Lux Spa and both the shampoo and conditioner in this set are based on argan oil. The company even says that it acquires its argan oil sustainably from Morocco which means that the source of the argan oil is environment friendly too.

Argan oil, as you may already know, is an excellent moisturizer which is why this set is particularly useful for people with extremely dry hair. The hydration provided by the argan oil in this pair helps hair greatly in various ways. The first is that it revitalizes the hair, bringing frizz under control in the process. The other is that it leaves the hair soft, manageable, shiny, and with a very nice slip.

However, for many of you, this set’s hydration abilities may be too strong. If you don’t have dry hair, this pair will force you to wash your hair far more often than you may want to. Depending on how dry or oily your hair is, you can expect to feel the need to wash your hair everyday to every couple of days.

Intense hydration isn’t the only quality of this set. It also excels at protecting the hair from heat and adverse elements. Therefore, if you stop yourself from using hot tools because you’re worried about damaging your dry hair, you can use this set to get around the problem. It is also a great set for those people who don’t like using separate heat protectant products on their hair.

Similarly, if you spend a lot of time outdoors in the sun or humidity, using this shampoo and conditioner will give your hair considerable protection from ultraviolet rays and excess moisture.

The smell of this shampoo, as is natural, is the same as that of argan oil. The problem is that it is very strong, which can put off many people. In case you didn’t know, argan oil has a warm vanilla smell.

Surprisingly, the shampoo in this set produces excellent lather. The lather is richer than what you expect from shampoos that don’t contain sulfates. The pair is also free from parabens, although the conditioner does contain silicones. The protection from heat and adverse environmental conditions comes from these silicones but they can be drying in the long term.

This set is very cheap and both the bottles even come with pumps making dispensation very easy and convenient.

Who’s it for: If your hair needs intense moisturization along with protection from heat and the elements, get this set from Pure Nature Lux Spa.

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4. Botanic Hearth Peppermint Oil Shampoo and Conditioner (Best Value)

Editor’s Rating: 4.5/5.0

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The first shampoo and conditioner set we reviewed was from Pure Nature Lux Spa and it was designed to provide extremely dry hair with intense hydration. The second one we’re reviewing is this one from Botanic Hearth and it is designed mainly to counter dandruff and associated problems.

This shampoo and conditioner set is so effective against dandruff and flaky scalps because it is based on peppermint oil. Peppermint oil has three great qualities that this shampoo and conditioner set employs very effectively.

The first is that it is an antimicrobial agent. As the majority of dandruff and flaky scalp problems arise out of microbial growth on the scalp, the peppermint oil in this set works excellently against these problems.

The second is that peppermint oil improves blood flow in the scalp. Since many hair loss problems are a result of poor blood circulation in the scalp and to the hair follicles, the vasodilation properties of peppermint oil help this pair counter the root cause.

The vasodilation properties of peppermint oil mean that you’ll feel a tingling sensation in your scalp every time you use this set. Peppermint oil also helps against hair loss by slowing down or preventing the synthesis of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in the scalp.

However, peppermint oil isn’t the only great ingredient in this shampoo and conditioner. Other important ingredients include tea tree oil, argan oil, and coconut oil.

Tea tree oil and peppermint oil dovetail well together when it comes to cleansing the scalp of excess sebum and other forms of buildup. This means that this shampoo can be a little drying for some people. Infact, if you’re starting with dry hair, then this set will leave your hair very dry. The argan oil and coconut oil in this set are there to prevent these problems but are effective to only a certain extent.

What all this means is that this shampoo is good at cleansing the scalp. However, it does this without creating a lot of lather which can disappoint many users. The shampoo doesn’t produce a lot of lather because it doesn’t contain sulfates. It is even free of other artificial substances such as parabens. Similarly, the conditioner is free of silicones.

The smell of this shampoo is mainly minty because of the amount of 100 percent pure peppermint oil it contains. While most people like it, some can find it a bit masculine.

Botanic Hearth makes this pair in the US. Despite being manufactured domestically, it is fairly affordable and offers good value for money. The company even goes a step further by providing three different caps for each of the bottles. One is a basic screw-on cap, another is a tilting cap, while the third is a dispensing pump. Unfortunately, the pump is prone to failure.

Who’s it for: If you’re suffering from dandruff or hair loss and want a shampoo that will help against both problems, go for this pair from Botanic Hearth.

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5. Maple Holistics Sage Shampoo

Editor’s Rating: 4.5/5.0

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Typically, and as you’ve seen in this guide as well, vegan shampoos tend to be hydrating which means that they’re based on ingredients such as argan oil, shea butter, and castor oil. The Sage Shampoo from Maple Holistics is different from the majority of shampoos in the market mainly because it is based on an ingredient whose greatest quality isn’t moisturization.

Instead of moisturization, sage is known for its antimicrobial and soothing properties. As a result, the presence of sage gives this shampoo very strong cleansing powers, making it one of the best natural clarifying shampoos in the market.

Further, along with tea tree oil, the sage in this shampoo is capable of removing even the toughest of buildup. This also makes it an excellent choice for people who have severe dandruff, scale, and flake problems in the scalp.

While this shampoo delivers very good results, it doesn’t have a 100 percent success rate. This is natural, though, because the causes for dandruff are many and this shampoo mainly caters to buildup and infection.

On the flipside, the cleansing power of this shampoo also means that it can leave you with very dry hair. For this reason, we suggest investing in a good vegan conditioner and using it diligently after every wash.

However, it isn’t just its focus on sage that makes this shampoo great. Its formula incorporates some other equally effective naturally occurring ingredients too. Some of these include rosemary oil, jojoba oil, argan oil, spikenard, peach kernel, and even plant-derived keratin.

Using this shampoo will give your hair the unique sage scent. The scent will be refreshing and minty but it will have an herbal note. Since everyone doesn’t like herbal smells, it would be a good idea to decide where you stand before getting this shampoo.

This shampoo is also a great choice for people who like it when their hair products make their scalps tingle. Similarly, it’s a great choice for people who like their shampoos with a lot of lather. You won’t even have to use a lot of the shampoo to get a rich lather because a little of it will go a long way.

It offers these benefits without the use of any synthetic ingredients such as sulfates, parabens, or silicones. The bottle doesn’t come with a pump so you’ll have to be careful when dispensing this shampoo.

The price of this shampoo isn’t very high. Instead, it is on the lower side of the midlevel price bracket. Maple Holistics even backs the product with a 100 percent money-back guarantee that you can avail if you’re not happy with it.

You can get this shampoo in two sizes. The smaller bottle contains eight ounces of the shampoo while the larger one can hold double the amount.

Who’s it for: If you have dandruff or buildup in your scalp and need a vegan clarifying shampoo, this one from Maple Holistics is one of the best in the market.

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6. Acure Ultra Hydrating Shampoo

Editor’s Rating: 4.5/5.0

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Acure offers seven different types of vegan shampoos, along with a shampoo bar with each of them developed to cater to specific needs. The available variants include Buildup Balancing, Curiously Clarifying, Daily Workout, Juice Cleanse, Simply Soothing, and Vivacious Volume.

We’ve chosen to review the seventh one called Ultra Hydrating because it was developed for people with very dry or damaged curly hair. This makes this shampoo extremely specific but for people who find it very difficult to find the right vegan shampoo for their hair type.

This shampoo is based on two key organic ingredients – argan oil and pumpkin oil. Both these oils are extremely effective at adding moisture to hair but they’re also very rich sources of omega fatty acids. The moisture and nutrients they provide result in the hair becoming healthier, softer, smoother, and more manageable. However, sometimes this moisture can be a bit too much.

For instance, if your hair isn’t very dry, if you use this shampoo too often, or if you use too much of it in a single use, you can end up with greasy, weighed down hair very easily. It is very easy to take too much of it out too because this shampoo doesn’t come with a dispensing pump.

The smell of this shampoo is very divisive. It smells of pumpkin which smells very similar to almonds. The problem is that the scent is super-strong. In fact, it is strong enough that some of you will find it too overbearing.

In terms of lather, this shampoo is neither good nor bad. It doesn’t produce a rich lather because it doesn’t contain sulfates but produces enough due to coconut-derived cleansers. Other artificial ingredients you usually find in shampoos are also absent such as parabens and silicones.

You can get this shampoo in two different sizes. The smaller one is an eight-ounce tube while the larger one is a 12-ounce jar.

Who’s it for: If you’re a curly-haired vegan with curls that are severely prone to dryness, get the Ultra Hydrating Shampoo from Acure.

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7. Pura D’Or Original Gold Label Anti-Hair Thinning Shampoo

Editor’s Rating: 4.25/5.0

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Pura D’Or’s Original Gold Label Shampoo is famous for its ability to stop, or at least, slow down hair loss. Dubbed the Anti-Hair Thinning Shampoo by the company, this shampoo has one of the best success rates in the industry for reducing hair loss.

In fact, most people who use this shampoo have reported an added bounce and volume to their hair. A healthy percentage of people even report baby hairs in places where they weren’t present before the use of this shampoo. This shampoo is capable of delivering such great results because it approaches the problem from two directions.

The first is that it gives the scalp, hair follicles, and the hair the nutrients they need to become healthier and stronger. The nutrients come from different sources too.

You’ll find 17 different ingredients in this shampoo with most of them being traditionally regarded as very beneficial for hair. The foremost of these are argan oil, biotin, and niacin. Argan oil and biotin are particularly effective when it comes to boosting hair health.

The second is that this shampoo works very hard to counter the primary cause of hair loss – dihydrotestosterone (DHT). It contains multiple DHT blockers with each one countering DHT differently. For instance, while a few hinder the conversion of excess testosterone into DHT, others prevent it from binding with hair follicles.

The shampoo is completely natural and vegan. It doesn’t even contain the usual synthetic suspects such as parabens, silicones, and sulfates. Despite this, the shampoo lathers wonderfully well.

In terms of smell, the inclusion of so many herbal ingredients in the formula means that it has an herbal scent. However, the scent leans heavily towards citrus notes. The shampoo even makes the scalp tingle.

It only comes in one size i.e. a 16-ounce bottle. The bottle comes with a dispensing pump but the pump isn’t very effective. This is largely due to the thick consistency of the shampoo. The pumping action is simply unable to pull the shampoo out if it is even slightly clogged.

The biggest problem with this shampoo is that the company has recently modified the formula. While the modification isn’t excessive, it has still thrown up some concerns about its effectiveness. We feel that it still works but some people are saying otherwise.

This shampoo is also on the expensive side of things, which can be seen as another minor flaw.

Who’s it for: If you’re losing hair and dealing with dandruff too, get the Pura D’Or Original Gold Label Shampoo.

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8. Christina Moss Naturals Original Shampoo (Top Pick)

Editor’s Rating: 4.75/5.0

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When it comes to vegan shampoos that are also organic, one of the best options you’ll find in the market is this one. All the ingredients in the Christina Moss Naturals Original Shampoo are natural and vegan.

In fact, all the ingredients in this shampoo are organic except for one – rosemary flower extract. However, it is the last name in the ingredients list, which means that it accounts for the smallest percentage of this shampoo’s formula.The shampoo itself is very impressive, even if you look beyond the organic angle.

It is designed to be a clarifying shampoo but it does its job very gently and mildly. The ingredient responsible for cleansing in this shampoo is aloe vera. What makes its action gentle is that it is supported by coconut oil, olive oil, and shea butter.

However, even with these three ingredients in play, this shampoo can still leave your hair too dry, especially if you use too much of it. The catch is that it is very easy to use too much of this shampoo since it comes in a tube. The packaging means that a lot of it can come out with a single squeeze.

Apart from leaving your hair a bit too dry, though, there are no other functional downsides of using this shampoo. The dryness caused by this shampoo is not because of harmful agents like parabens, silicones, or sulfates. It is simply because of the strength of aloe vera.

This is why this shampoo is so perfect for people with sensitive scalps and skin or color treated hair. Further, it is suitable for people dealing with celiac disease because it has a gluten-free formula.

Even people with sensitive noses will benefit from this shampoo because it doesn’t have much of a scent. The shampoo produces plenty of lather too, unlike most shampoos designed for sensitive people.

The biggest problem with this shampoo is its cost. It is firmly positioned in the premium market with a very high price. To be fair to the company, they do promise exceptional quality and consistency. They even guarantee purity and freshness for six months from the date of purchase. If the product fails to maintain these standards, the company is willing to offer a full refund.

Who’s it for: If you have a very sensitive nose and scalp but still want a clarifying vegan shampoo, get this high-quality organic product from Christina Moss.

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9. Oribe Gold Lust Repair & Restore Shampoo

Editor’s Rating: 4.25/5.0

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Despite how expensive its products are, Oribe is a very popular brand. While their products are exceptional at doing what they’re supposed to, people would buy their shampoo even if they didn’t do anything. This is because of their scent.

All Oribe products have the same signature Oribe scent and countless people buy their products only for the scent. Their scent has been dubbed as everything from “divine” to “delicious” but not many people have been able to describe it.

This is understandable because as good as the Oribe signature scent is, it is quite indescribable. The best we can do in this regard is that the scent is sweet, fruity, and floral but that doesn’t do justice to it. The Gold Lust Repair & Restore Shampoo also has the same smell.

As its name suggests, it is specifically formulated for people whose hair needs repair and restoration. This means that people with heavily processed, extra dry, or extremely damaged hair will benefit from this shampoo greatly. It will add moisture to their hair, smooth the cuticles, reduce split ends, and even protect their hair from future damage.

There are four elements to this shampoo’s action. The first is individual ingredients such as cypress extract, argan oil, and maracuja oil which provide nutrients and hydration to the hair. The second is the amino acids complex, which basically means that the shampoo contains the protein building blocks to counter hair protein loss.

The third is what the company calls it’s proprietary “bio-restorative” complex and the fourth is the Oribe Signature Complex, which is present in all its products. The Oribe Signature Complex comprises extracts from edelweiss flower, watermelon, and litchi. It is the main reason why Oribe products smell so nice.

This shampoo is completely vegan and cruelty-free. Further, it is gluten-free which makes it a great choice for people with celiac disease. In fact, it doesn’t even contain any synthetic ingredients other than silicones.

The presence of silicones is the reason why this shampoo can protect hair from future damage caused by exposure to heat, pollution, and ultraviolet rays. It is still something that many people don’t like in their products because of the problems it creates in the long term.

Fortunately, the shampoo’s formula has no room for parabens and sulfates. Despite the absence of sulfates, this shampoo can still leave your hair dry if you use too much of it in a single wash. You’ll have to be extra careful about this too since the bottle doesn’t come with a dispensing pump. This product also lathers quite well for a shampoo without sulfates.

The biggest issue with this shampoo is its price. It is one of the most expensive shampoos in the world and it doesn’t even matter if you go for the largest bottle. While buying the biggest bottle is slightly more affordable, it still hurts the pocket.

In the biggest bottle, you’ll get 33.8 ounces of the product, in the mid-sized one you’ll get 8.5 ounces, and in the smallest one, you’ll get 1.7 ounces of the shampoo.

Who’s it for: If you have heavily damaged or extra dry hair and know that quality comes at a cost, get this premium shampoo from Oribe.

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