7 Best Sulfate Free Shampoos That Won’t Disrupt Your Hormones
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By now, you probably know all about the benefits of using sulfate-free shampoo to help preserve your hair’s shine and color and to reduce irritation. Sulfates can also be potential endocrine disruptors, meaning they can dysregulate your body’s natural hormone production, causing you to produce too much or too little of certain hormones.
But good shampoo doesn’t need sulfates to do its job—we’ve rounded up some of our favorite shampoos that clean hair with other surfactants or cleansing agents. These science-backed brands use clinically-proven formulas to boost hair health and target specific hair goals, like repairing damage, managing frizz, or adding volume. And our very favorite formulas keep sustainability top of mind—some are even Certified B Corps. Read on for our favorite sulfate-free shampoos.
1. Prose
Best For | Custom formulas
Natural & Organic | Organic & natural ingredients, free from parabens, sulfates, & GMOs
Price | $32
Prose believes that all hair is different, so all shampoo should be, too. They make custom clean sulfate-free formulas based on your hair type, specific concerns, and where you live, adding in more of what your hair actually needs—like oat oil for color protection, honey for volume, arginine for heat protection, or apple cider vinegar for shine—without the junk. Prose is a B Corp and Climate Neutral, and they’re constantly updating their formulas with the newest research from their Paris lab.
2. Jupiter
Best For | Dandruff
Natural & Organic | Naturally derived and plant-based ingredients
Price | $25
Jupiter’s Balancing Shampoo calms scalp irritation and rejuvenates locks with a color-protecting, sulfate-free formula that controls oil production. It’s made with 1% zinc pyrithione, an active anti-fungal commonly used to treat skin conditions that cause flaking (like dandruff), while keeping hair moisturized with ingredients like squalane and coconut oil. Best combined with Jupiter’s Nourishing Conditioner, the shampoo leaves a natural mint, vanilla, sage, and lavender scent, to make fighting dandruff one of the most luxurious parts of your day.
3. Vegamour
Best For | Sustainable ingredient sourcing
Natural & Organic | Nontoxic, 100% vegan ingredients from fair trade partnerships
Price | $38-58
Vegamour develops its hair products with four core pillars in mind: vegan ingredients, a holistic approach to hair wellness, clinically-proven formulas, and bioavailability, or the body’s ability to absorb ingredients. Their shampoo line includes products formulated for different hair types or hair concerns like volumizing or strengthening. They’re all color-safe and free of sulfates, phthalates, silicones, and artificial fragrance—they scent their products with natural ingredients like citrus and ylang ylang. The brand is committed to sustainability, too, creating its own supply chains and fair trade partnerships.
4. JVN Hair
Best For | Patented hemisqualane
Natural & Organic | Free from silicone & sulfates
Price | $21
Founded by Queer Eye star and hairstylist Jonathan Van Ness, JVN Hair makes products created with 100% clean ingredients, keeping sustainability and inclusivity top of mind. They make three shampoos—hydrating (for all hair types), volumizing (for finer hair types), and strengthening (for damaged hair types). All three formulations are color-safe, vegan, and free from sulfates and silicones, and they all use JVN’s patented hemisqualane, a molecule made from sustainably sourced sugarcane that penetrates the hair shaft for deep nourishment.
5. Sienna Naturals
Best For | Curly, coily, and textured hair
Natural & Organic | Nontoxic, free from sulfates, silicone, & parabens
Price | $24
The breakthrough line by actress Issa Rae and entrepreneur Hannah Diop makes hair care products formulated for textured hair and rooted in technology. Sienna Naturals products are all vegan, cruelty-free, responsibly sourced, and dermatologist approved. Their H.A.P.I. Shampoo is a moisture-rich cleanser that’s effective enough to remove build-up from styling products but gentle enough to restore natural curl patterns. It’s making waves in the beauty world, winning 2022 beauty awards from Elite Daily and Byrdie. It soothes irritation, detangles, and leaves a subtle spa-like lavender and geranium scent.
6. Authentic Beauty Concept
Best For | Ingredient-driven products
Natural & Organic | Sulfate- and silicone-free, 95% naturally-derived ingredients
Price | $31
Authentic Beauty Concept has five straightforward shampoos: one for colored hair, one for dry hair, one for fine hair, one for damaged hair, and a deep-cleaning shampoo for all hair types. Each one is formulated with different botanicals—date extract helps color-treated hair appear more shiny and soft, mango’s vitamins C and E give dry hair more bounce, and green tea and lime add body to fine, thin hair. All of Authentic Beauty’s products are vegan, cruelty-free, and sulfate-free.
7. Ursa Major
Best For | Sustainable packaging
Natural & Organic | Free from parabens, sulfates, & silicones
Price | $26
Ursa Major’s Go Easy Shampoo is sulfate-free and lightly conditioning to clean hair without stripping it. The shampoo has coconut-derived surfactants to give a creamy lather, macadamia for its nourishing fatty acids, and licorice to help combat scalp flakes, and the natural scent is a woodsy blend of ginger and balsam. The B Corp certified brand launched by a Vermont couple makes gender neutral, sustainably sourced, and responsibly packaged skin and body products. The brand is even plastic negative—in partnership with rePurpose Global, for every plastic bottle they sell, they remove two from the environment.
Featured image is from Prose
