Mindful Momma

Simple Inspired Natural Living


Non-Toxic Shampoo To Please Everyone in the Family

A roundup of the best non-toxic shampoo brands for every type of hair, including liquid shampoo, dry shampoo, shampoo bars, natural shampoo for babies and affordable family-sized shampoo.

Non-Toxic Shampoo Brands

Wavy, straight, colored, curly, thick or fine – we all have our own unique hair. Whether we love our hair or wish we could trade it in for a completely different set of locks, we all use shampoo to manage our hair and keep it looking its best.

But we don’t all use the same shampoo. Shampoo is personal. As I’m sure you know, it can take some experimentation to find the shampoo that works best for your own hair.

Because of that, I would never try to convince you to use one particular shampoo. Just as you wouldn’t wear the same clothes as me, I wouldn’t expect you to use the same shampoo. But I would like to convince you of this: Stop using that conventional shampoo brand you’ve been using for years and make the switch to a safe, natural, non-toxic shampoo instead. 

RELATED: 4 Good Reasons to Buy Natural, Non-Toxic Products for Your Home & Life

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 the primary 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. 

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)

There are so many great clean shampoo brands and because we all have different needs, I’ve split up my recommendations into the following sections:

  • My picks for best natural shampoos by hair type and personal needs
  • Best shampoo bars
  • Best dry shampoo brands
  • Best non-toxic baby shampoos 
  • Non-toxic drugstore shampoos
  • Reader recommendations

Rest assured, all the shampoos listed here are phthalate free, free of synthetic fragrances, and made without the harmful chemicals found in most conventional shampoo brands. And if you are looking for shampoos without DMDM hydantoin, I’ve got you covered. My goal is to help you find the safest shampoo possible!

 

Best non-toxic shampoo brands

 

Best Non-Toxic Shampoo Brands

I may receive commissions from purchases made through affiliate links in this article. Full Disclosure

My hair is very thick and wavy, on the dry side and yes, I do color it – so I gravitate towards clean shampoo brands that help me manage my crazy locks and maintain my color for as long as possible.

But 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. My goal is to help you find the best natural shampoo for your needs!

(Be sure to check out the conditioners and other hair products from these brands too!)

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 shampoos blend moisturizing shea butter and coconut oil with aloe vera, quinoa and herbal extracts to nourish hair.

  • Shampoo formulas: smoothing and cleansing
  • Fav product: Smoothing Shampoo
  • Best for: Curly hair
  • Price: $18 for 8-oz
  • EWG-Verified

Buy Wellnesse (take 20% off a haircare bundle)

EVOLVh

EVOLVh has been a pioneer in clean hair care, by creating science-based, high-performance products using natural and organic ingredients.

Buy EVOLVh (Use code MINDFULMOMMY20 for 20% off through 11/17/22 only – or take 15% off with code MINDFULMOMMA)

Beautycounter 

Beautycounter is an innovative B-Corporation that is committed to bringing safer beauty products to everyone.

  • Shampoo formulas: daily (for all hair types)
  • Fav product: Beautycounter Daily Shampoo leaves my hair feeling SO clean and soft. This plus the Beautycounter Daily Conditioner are a perfect pair for soft, shiny hair!
  • Best for: Daily use
  • Price: $29 for 9.29-oz (refill bottles are also available)

Buy Beautycounter (get 20% off when you sign up for their emails)

 

Best clean shampoo brands

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
  • Best for: Herbal shampoo
  • Price: $39 for 8-oz

Buy Annmarie

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.
  • Best for: Flaky or dry scalp
  • Price: $11.75 for 10-oz 

Buy Derma E (free shipping on orders $35+)

John Masters Organics

  • Salon quality products made with many certified organic ingredients.
  • Shampoo formulas: normal, fine and dry and damaged hair
  • Fav product: The Evening Primrose Shampoo for dry hair is super hydrating and is safe for color-treated hair.
  • Best for: Dry hair
  • Price: $24 for 8-oz

Buy John Masters Organics

 

Best non-toxic shampoo brands

ATTITUDE

ATTITUDE makes affordable natural personal care products with bulk boxes available for refills.

  • Shampoo formulas: Nourishing & Strengthening, Volume & Shine, Moisture Rich, Color Protection, Clarifying, Curl Amplifying, Sensitive Care
  • Favorite product: Super Leaves Volume & Shine Shampoo
  • Best for: Refillable shampoo
  • Price: $10.95 for 16-oz, $18.95 for 32-oz and $29.95 for the 2L refill box (a great option for zero waste fans!)
  • EWG-Verified

Buy ATTITUDE  (use code WELCOME10 for 10% off your 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 ( or $7.99 at Thrive Market)

Buy Acure

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: $14.99 for 32-oz 

Buy Alaffia

 

 

Best Shampoo Bars

Best non-toxic shampoo bars

 

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) 

Buy HiBar

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: $15.95 per bar 

Buy Ethique

Superzero

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

Buy Superzero

ATTITUDE Shampoo Bars

Acure Shampoo Bar

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

best non-toxic dry shampoo

 

Best Dry Shampoo

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. 

Wellnesse

  • Made with all-natural ingredients like kaolin clay, tapioca, hibiscus, and cactus flower to reinforce hair growth and boost volume without disrupting the natural pH of your hair.
  • Products: Dry shampoo for all hair types and a formula for darker hair 
  • Price: $19 for 2.5 oz 

Buy Wellnesse (only $15 when you use my link)

Acure

  • 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: $9.99 for 1.7 oz
  • USDA Certified Organic (if you are looking for a 100% organic shampoo, this is a good as you can get!)

Buy Acure

Beauty By Earth

  • 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: $19.95 for 2.5 oz

Buy Beauty by Earth

Best Non-Toxic Baby Shampoo

 

Non-Toxic Baby Shampoo

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)

Earth Mama

Buy Earth Mama

Babo Botanicals

Buy Babo Botanicals (sign up for their email and get 25% off sitewide)

Non-Toxic Drugstore Shampoos

Many of you are looking for 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 many 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!

  • Herbal Essences – EWG Verified
  • Avalon Organics – EWG Verified
  • Honest Company – EWG Verified
  • Shea Moisture (EWG ratings 1 – 3)
  • Alaffia (EWG ratings 1 – 3)

 

Recommended non-toxic shampoo brands

More Non-Toxic Shampoo Recommendations

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.

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

green & healthy wishes Micaela signature

Sustainable Swaps Guide

About Mindful Momma

Micaela Preston is natural living educator and safe and sustainable product activist. She has spoken at conferences and events, has lobbied for safer chemical laws, and has consulted with many brands and businesses. Her book, Practically Green: Your Guide to Eco Friendly Decision Making was published in 2009.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comments

  1. Angela Bravin says

    Are these products PERFUMED? Since I’ve changed my lifestyle, going organic, life (as far as possible) without plastic, NO allopathic chemical medicines, cleaning products etc., I’ve become highly intollerant to perfumes of any kind. I find that most “organic” products have intollerable penetrant smells that literally make me sick. HELP!!!!

    Reply

  3. J. Doyle says

    I have white hair and need a shampoo with no coloring of any kind. Clear, in other words. Are any you showed above colorless?

    Reply

  4. Barb says

    I’ve heard of package free shampoo bars. I haven’t looked into those. Have you heard of them? Any feedback? Thank you!

    Reply

  6. Clau says

    Alba botanicals shampoos And conditioners are great too! This brand goes underestimated! Face cleaners are all natural and free of GMOs. Their sunscreens are great too! I love this brand 🙂

    Reply

  7. Kristi Likes says

    I use aloe-based shampoo and conditioner from Pure Haven. It is the cleanest shampoo out there and my hair has never looked better!

    Reply

  8. Sue Kaup says

    Great point about the frequency of use when it comes to shampoo and hair products, Micaela! I feel the products that get rinsed off aren’t as critical as the ones that stay on the skin, but this raises awareness. My personal favorite is the Invigorating Seaweed Shampoo and Conditioner from Neal’s Yard Remedies.

    Reply

  10. Lauren Radney says

    Hi, Michaela!
    Thank you for these types of posts. I can’t tell you how helpful it is for people like me who are beginning their toxin free journey.
    Quick question, what so you think about the brand Truly Organic? I’ve been using them for a while especially their shampoo and conditioner, but I hope I’m not being greenwashed. Thank you!

    Reply

    • Micaela says

      Hi Lauren – I’ve actually never heard of Truly Organic. I took a quick look and I’ve very intrigued. I’m a bit thrown off by all those colors and the glitter – but the ingredients look good! I asked them some questions through the contact form on their website but I have not heard back yet. I’ll let you know what I hear back. Do you like the shampoo & conditioner?

      Reply

  12. Al Faychak says

    I’m a 70 year old male. And I am looking for a shampoo and conditioner that will be healthy and nourishing for my hair. What would you recommend?

    Reply

  14. Dawn says

    Are there ANY hair & body cleansers that are toxin free, as well as, coconut, palm, olive oil free, gluten & corn free? Having an exhausting search😔.

    Reply

  15. Rachel Eastep says

    I have very oily, thinning hair. Since I had my two kids my hair hasn’t been healthy. I use suave now. I need a recommendation for a good non toxic shampoo and conditioner. My hair is also hard to brush. It tangles easy.

    Reply

  16. Becca says

    I stumbled upon Cara B Naturally products recently and OH MY GOSH – they have a lovely, light scent, are made for babies/children but can be used for anyone, and are some of the most seriously natural products I’ve come across. They only have 3 products, a shampoo, a leave-in conditioner, and a spray detangler (which I’ve not used yet), but the shampoo and conditioner are the absolute bomb. The shampoo is fresh and sweet smelling and the most gentle I’ve found, and the leave in conditioner makes my coarse, frizzy hair behave beautifully with no other products needed. 🙂

    Reply

  17. Lia Kulla says

    I absolutely love Beautycounter’s everyday shampoo and conditioner. Nothing makes my hair feel as good. But I cannot justify the expense. I tried Hibar to try to get away from plastic bottle but I’m not a fan of the shampoo bar as it turns out. I’m now onto Alaffia Everyday shampoo in coconut.

    Reply

  18. Maddie Van Horn says

    My daughter alerted me to all the toxic shampoos, because I am losing my hair because of Covid. I am in the process of throwing out some of these toxic shampoos. I enjoyed your Article! I am changing my lifestyle because of everything I’ve been through in the last year! Actually I have a good lifestyle I just have to eat more wholesome food and watch the products I use and be kinder to my beautiful hair!!

    Reply

    • Micaela says

      I’m sorry to hear you had the virus – but I’m glad to hear you are on a mission to change up your products and lifestyle! Hope you find a healthy shampoo that works for you!

      Reply

  19. Rose A Tester says

    I appreciate the fact that in the beginning of the article you say that our personal choice is just that, our choice and everyone is different. However, you proceed to then attempt to educate your reader on what makes one kind worse then another. The things written about, my mother NEVER new about and therefore never taught me about. Recently, just today actually, my 14 year old daughter is now bringing to my attention that brands I thought were ‘better’ (probably due to price and brand name) are in fact ‘worse’, due to the reasons you are explaining in this article. I feel so very stupid for not thinking about these things sooner, but thank YOU for not making me feel ‘less than’!

    Furthermore, I also wanted to thank you for not belittling manufacturers of ALL things that are by a particular company. I just read two different articles by different writers and publishers that chose to just be mean about their ‘findings’. I’m not actually sure the findings were related to product safety for users or not because I simply shutdown and moved on. As a human being, it hurts my heart to see someone/something to be attacked and there be NOTHING good about whoever or whatever is being attacked? Instead of taking in the important information, I go on the defensive and it makes me not want to ‘hear’ what that ‘perfect’ writer/speaker is trying to say. As I’m just starting out in my journey in trying to become more informed, I thank you for passing along some of your knowledge in such a positive way. Thank you for pointing me in the right direction with what I should be look for! My daughter told me that not ALL things manufactured by a specific company are bad, but she didn’t have the time to teach me what I should be looking for when I shop next.

    Again, thank you for passing along some of your knowledge in a positive, informative and enlightening way. There is not a thank you big enough, nor can I properly express how much it means you me that you did not make me feel worse then I already did for not already knowing these things at my age!

    Reply

    • Micaela says

      Hi Rose – I’m so glad you found my blog post positive and helpful – that is my goal! There is no reason to feel bad about your journey to find safer products – it’s called a journey for a reason – it takes time! I love hearing that your daughter is helping to inform you – we need the young people to speak up and help more people learn about this topic!

      Reply

  20. DD says

    I, too, am losing hair due to Covid, and it is not slowing down. I also had been using shampoos with DMDM hydantoin. I am now limiting how often I am washing and am trying to locate an affordable shampoo option or even a DIY/homemade option. Any suggestions?

    Reply

  21. tracy miller says

    Some Shea Moisture products contain cocamidopropyl betaine as the third ingredient. Anyone switching to natural products to stop hairfall should be aware. This is NOT an ingredient you want on your scalp or hair.

    Reply

  22. Rose says

    Zatik Naturals has incredible products. I havent tried anything I didnt like. Shampoos are amazing, conditioning is amazing, literally everything.

    Reply