The Best Shampoos Without Harmful Ingredients for Healthier Hair

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Best Non Toxic Shampoo Brands

Whether your hair is curly or straight, thick or fine, colored or natural, there is a non-toxic shampoo for YOU! As you browse the recommendations below, take note of the various formulas of shampoo the company makes under each brand listing.

Rest assured, all the shampoos listed here are phthalate free, free of harmful fragrance ingredients, and made without the harmful chemicals found in most conventional shampoo brands. And if you are looking for shampoos without DMDM hydantoin or benzene, I’ve got you covered.

My goal is to help you find the best natural shampoo for your needs! (Be sure to check out the conditioners and other hair styling products from these brands too!)

EVOLVh

EVOLVh has been a pioneer in clean hair care, by creating science-based, high-performance products using natural and organic ingredients. If I had to pick one favorite shampoo brand, it would be this!

• Shampoo formulas: UltraShine, SmartCurl, SmartColor, InstaVolume
• Fav products: For people with curly hair, the SmartCurl Gentle Shampoo from EVOLVh is a great recommendation because it helps define curls without frizz. I also love the SmartColor Protecting Shampoo.
• Best for: they have something for all hair types
• Price: $26 for 8.5 oz
• EVOLVh has excellent styling products too

Take 15% off with code MINDFULMOMMA

RELATED: 4 Good Reasons to Buy Natural, Non-Toxic Products

ATTITUDE

ATTITUDE makes affordable natural shampoo, conditioner and other body care products. I especially love that the bottles are refillable with Eco-Refill boxes.

Get 15% off with code MINDFULMOMMA15 at checkout.

Rahua

Rahua uses natural ingredients from the rainforest to formulate highly effective and concentrated formulas for specific hair needs.

• Shampoo formulas: many types ranging from their Classic Shampoo to formulas for volume, hydration, colored hair and more
• Fav product: Hydration Shampoo because it’s super nourishing and smells amazing
• Price: $36 for 9.3 oz

Annmarie

Annmarie Skin Care is a pioneer of plant-based, herbal and organic skin care and hair care.

• Shampoo formulas: herb infused
• Fav product: Sweet Sunrise Shampoo – a basic herbal shampoo that works for all hair types
• Price: $40 for 8-oz

Wellnesse

Wellnesse was founded by Katie Wells of Wellness Mama after she perfected products that are human safe, planet safe and work better than conventional alternatives. Her shampoo blends moisturizing shea butter and coconut oil with aloe vera, quinoa and herbal extracts to nourish hair.

• Shampoo formulas: smoothing and cleansing
• Fav product: Restoring Shampoo – a simple formula that words for all hair types
• Price: $20 for 8-oz
• EWG-Verified

Save 20% when you buy a haircare bundle.

Derma E

Derma E began as a small health food store but grew into a leader in the clean beauty industry.

• Shampoo formulas: nourishing, thickening, restoring, scalp relief
• Fav product: Scalp Relief Shampoo formulated to soothe flaky and irritated scalp. This is a go-to for some members of my family. The Scalp Relief Treatment is great too.
• Price: $12.95 for 10-oz

Coconut Matter

Coconut Matter makes a unique powdered shampoo concentrate that is packaged in a travel-friendly aluminum bottle. Simply shake some powder into your hand, mix with water and apply to hair. It foams up very nicely and leaves my hair feeling fresh and clean!

• Shampoo formulas: Matcha Shake to strengthen hair and Goji Shake to revitalize colored or treated hair.
• Fav product: Both of these are very nice products and work well on my thick, wavy hair.
• Best for: Plastic-free fans
• Price: $25 for 2.12-oz

Use code MINDFUL10 for 10% off your first order.

Acure

Acure is a family owned company committed to using plant science to deliver effective, natural & organic personal care.

• Shampoo formulas: hydrating, smoothing, clarifying, volume, balancing and color wellness
• Fav product: Acure Ultra Hydrating Shampoo with Argan Oil & Pumpkin is moisturizing and very affordable.
• Best for: Affordable natural shampoo
• Price: $9.99 for 8-oz

Alaffia Everyday

Alaffia makes affordable, family sized shampoo made with fair trade shea butter and coconut oil, as well as other natural personal care products.

• Shampoo formulas: everyday shea, everyday coconut, curl activating, authentic African black soap, kids
• Fav product: Everyday Shea Vanilla Mint Shampoo
• Best for: Family sized bottles
• Price: $18.99 for 32-oz

Best Clean Shampoo Bars

If you want to have clean hair and be kind to the planet, consider switching over to a zero waste shampoo bar. These solid shampoo bars foam up similar to liquid shampoo and come in some great formulas.

Pssst! Check out my full review of natural shampoo bars too!

HiBar 

HiBar is a Minnesota-based company (local to me!) making zero waste shampoo bars & conditioner bars that really work.

• Shampoo formulas: Moisturize, Soothe, Maintain, Volumize and Curl (matching conditioner available for each)
• Fav product: I have the Moisturize Solid Shampoo and the Moisturize Solid Conditioner they are fantastic! Love how easy they are to hold in the shower!
• Price: $13.95 per bar (equivalent to 16-oz bottle of shampoo) or $26.50 for a shampoo and conditioner set.

Ethique

Started by a student in New Zealand, Ethique has become an international, zero waste hit!

• Shampoo formulas: dry, frizzy, oily, dandruff, volumizing, curly, and shampoo bars for kids
• Fav product: I bought the special edition Wombar for normal hair (couldn’t resist the purple color!)
• Price: $17 per bar

Superzero

Superzero specializes in plastic-free personal care products made with vegan and cruelty-free ingredients.

ATTITUDE

ATTITUDE offers plastic-free haircare products as well as liquid shampoos and conditioners.

• Shampoo formulas: nourishing, volumizing, hydrating, detoxifying
• Fav product: Sea Salt Detox Shampoo Bar
• Price: $15.95 per bar
• EWG Verified

Looking for more natural, non-toxic products like laundry detergent, cookware or mattresses? I’ve got you covered!

Best Dry Shampoo Brands

I’m not a dry shampoo user myself because my hair is on the dry side and has enough frizz and volume to keep it fluffy after many days. But since many of you have oily hair or rely on dry shampoo to get you through the week, I’m including some of the top-rated, natural dry shampoos that I’ve heard about.

Due to the recall of dry shampoos that contain benzene, I recommend sticking with benzene free dry shampoo powder instead of aerosol dry shampoo sprays.

Acure

• Shampoo Formulas: Certified organic and 100% vegan formula made with corn starch, arrowroot powder, kaolin clay and natural essential oils to absorb oil and remove grime without water.
• Products: Dry shampoo for all hair types and one for brunettes (with cocoa powder)
• Price: $11.99 for 1.7 oz
• USDA Certified Organic (if you are looking for a 100% organic shampoo, this is a good as you can get!

Beauty By Earth

• Shampoo Formulas: USDA certified organic formula made with corn starch, arrowroot powder, kaolin clay, baking soda and lavender oil to volumize your hair in a hurry.
• Products: light and dark formulas available
• Price: $21.99 for 2.5 oz

Non Toxic Shampoo for Babies

Babies tiny bodies can’t process chemicals the way the rest of us so extra care should be taken with shampoo used on infants. Here are some of the safest baby shampoos around, made with natural ingredients instead of toxic chemicals. You’ll notice many of them double as baby wash as well! (find more natural baby care brands here)

Babo Botanicals

Babo Botanicals is known for effective natural products for sensitive skin.

Earth Mama

Earth Mama is a company dedicated to pure, safe products for babies and moms.

HealthyBaby

HealthyBaby specializes in products that are safe for baby’s growing brain and body

Best Clean Drugstore Shampoo

Many of you are looking for a clean drugstore shampoo and I get it! We don’t always have time to shop around for shampoo and other personal care items. So I rounded up a few of the safest drugstore shampoos I could find.

The cool thing is some of these brands are EWG-Verified, which is the highest safety certification from the Environmental Working Group. Bonus: these are also some of the most affordable natural shampoos around!

Readers’ Favorite Clean Shampoo Brands

When I put out the all-call for the best non-toxic shampoos boy did I get a lot of responses! Here are some natural shampoo brands that are the top picks from other bloggers and Mindful Momma readers.

Why You Should Switch to Non Toxic Shampoo

I know, I know! Switching shampoo is hard! But here’s the thing. Shampoo is a product you use frequently – whether it’s once a day or once a week – it still adds up to a lot of shampoo over the course of time.

Traditional shampoos are a chemical soup that foam like crazy and smell strongly of something that didn’t come from nature. The chemicals that make all that happen can be harmful to you and to the environment – and in the grand scheme of things, it just isn’t worth it.

Here are some of the toxic ingredients you’ll want to avoid in shampoo – so check the ingredient list before you buy:

• Sulfates – Sodium lauryl and laureth sulfates are foaming agents and can be contaminated with 1,4 dioxane, a probable carcinogen.
• Certain preservatives – This includes parabens which are linked to breast cancer and hormone disruption, as well as DMDM hydantoin, which releases formaldehyde and is linked to hair loss and scalp burns, according to a class action law suit. (FYI – some type of preservatives are necessary in shampoo but safer ones exist.)
• Artificial fragrances – The term fragrance is a catchall for thousands of chemicals including hormone disrupting phthalates, as well as skin irritants and allergens.
• Petroleum products – Ingredients that come from non-renewable resources are not environmentally friendly.
• Benzene – This cancer-causing ingredient has been found in aerosol dry shampoos, so if you use one you’ll want to check this dry shampoo recall list.

Here’s a full list of ingredients to avoid in shampoo if you are interested.

The good news is that many companies have mastered the art of non-toxic shampoo made with safe, natural and organic ingredients. Clean shampoo brands are made with plant-based ingredients and herbal and botanical extracts, and scented with essential oils or pure, plant extracts, while avoiding the harsh chemicals and artificial fragrance found in conventional shampoos.

Keep in mind that organic certification for shampoos is rare, but many are made with some certified organic ingredients. (read up on personal care certifications here)

What is your favorite non-toxic shampoo? Let us know in the comments so we all can learn from each other!

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