All products featured on Vogue are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links.
Plenty of us have mastered clever hairstyles designed to hide exactly how dirty our strands are, but if you find yourself relying on updos and dry shampoo despite regular washes, that could be a sign you’re in need of the best shampoo for oily hair.
Vogue’s Favorite Shampoos for Oily Hair
- Best Overall: Neutrogena T/Sal Scalp Buildup Control, $10
- Best for Fine Hair: Ouai Fine Hair Shampoo, $32
- Best for Dry Scalps: Moroccanoil Scalp Balancing Shampoo, $28
- Best Silicone Free: Biolage Scalp Sync Clarifying Shampoo, $24
- Best Detoxifying: Christophe Robin Advanced Purifying Shampoo, $41
- Best for Scalp Buildup: Bumble and bumble Sunday Clarifying Shampoo, $35
- Best for Sensitive Scalps: Sisley-Paris Gentle Purifying Shampoo, $90
- Best Hydrating: Crown Affair The Ritual Shampoo, $36
- Best for Color-Treated Hair: ROZ Foundation Shampoo, $39
According to Morgan Rabach, MD, board-certified dermatologist and co-founder of LM Medical in New York, NY, oily hair is caused by an overproduction of sebum, your skin’s natural oils—and while it can be frustrating, it’s actually critical to your scalp’s health. “The scalp produces oil for many important reasons, including protecting the scalp and hair as well as preventing flaking and irritation,” she explains. “Sebum has antimicrobial properties that help maintain the skin from infections and dandruff.” Furthermore, sebum helps nourish your hair to keep it strong and shiny. Ahead, everything you need to know about alleviating your oily hair—from what causes oiliness to the best products to shop.
In This Story:
- What causes oily hair?
- What shampoo prevents greasy hair?
- What to Look for in a Shampoo for Oily Hair
- How often should you shampoo if you have oily hair?
- Meet the Experts
Best Overall: Neutrogena T/Sal Scalp Buildup Control
- Why We Love It: Our experts are big fans of this medicated formula, frequently recommending it to patients who have scalp buildup and excess oil. “I love that this formula utilizes salicylic acid,” explains Kenneth Mark, MD, board-certified dermatologist in New York, NY. “This beta-hydroxy acid is an exfoliating and anti-inflammatory ingredient that has been one of the main ingredient recommendations for almost 30 years to treat seborrheic dermatitis and scalp psoriasis.”
- Key Ingredients: 3% salicylic acid
- Sulfate-Free: Yes
- Size: 4.5 fl. oz.
Best for Fine Hair: Ouai Fine Hair Shampoo
- Why We Love It: With strengthening biotin and keratin as well as lightly moisturizing chia seed oil, Ouai’s formula is designed to give fine hair a volumizing boost by removing oil and buildup that can weigh down strands. We’d also be remiss if we didn’t mention the gorgeous scent, which practically functions as a hair perfume—it features lush notes of heady florals like magnolia, jasmine, and peony in addition to effervescent citrus.
- Key Ingredients: Biotin, keratin, chia seed oil
- Sulfate-Free: Yes
- Size: 10 fl. oz.
Best for Dry Scalps: Moroccanoil Scalp Balancing Shampoo
- Why We Love It: If your scalp often feels dry and tight despite having oily hair, give this one a go. “I prefer the emollient effect of this formula for those with a dry scalp, but not full on psoriasis,” says Mark. In addition to salicylic acid, which helps slough off dead skin, this Moroccanoil shampoo contains balancing niacinamide and nourishing argan oil to help restore equilibrium to the scalp.
- Key Ingredients: Salicylic acid, niacinamide, argan oil
- Sulfate-Free: Yes
- Size: 8.5 fl oz.
Best Silicone-Free: Biolage Scalp Sync Clarifying Shampoo
- Why We Love It: Those looking to avoid silicones in their hair products will appreciate how this Biolage formula leaves hair feeling ultra-clean, weightless, and fresh (the latter of which is enhanced with a bright minty fragrance). The AHA glycolic acid helps break down buildup while fermented tea and green tea extract help soothe the scalp.
- Key Ingredients: Glycolic acid, black tea ferment, green tea extract
- Sulfate-Free: No
- Size: 13.5 fl. oz.
Best Custom: Prose Custom Shampoo
- Why We Love It: For a truly bespoke wash day, Prose custom creates every shampoo to your exact needs. Simply fill out the brand’s questionnaire, which extracts over 80 insights—including factors like water hardness, hair density, oil levels, and more—to develop a personalized product formulated with ingredients tailored to your concerns and goals. When it comes to addressing oily hair, your custom formula might turn to ingredients like licorice extract, probiotics, apple cider vinegar, or shikakai extract to gently clarify and purify.
- Key Ingredients: Ingredients vary based on your custom formula
- Sulfate-Free: Yes
- Size: 8.5 fl. oz.
Best Detoxifying: Christophe Robin Advanced Purifying Shampoo
- Why We Love It: Christophe Robin’s shampoo features an unexpected, whipped texture that showcases the thermal mud in the formula—an ingredient that simultaneously helps to absorb oil and hydrate hair. As you emulsify the product with water, it creates a light lather that rinses away easily, leaving strands completely clean without drying them out.
- Key Ingredients: Thermal mud, red seaweed extract, sea water extract
- Sulfate-Free: No
- Size: 8.4 fl. oz.
Best for Scalp Buildup: Bumble and bumble Sunday Clarifying Shampoo
- Why We Love It: The name of this Bumble and bumble formula hints at the most common way to use it: as your Sunday deep clean to start the week fresh. This clarifying shampoo powerfully cuts through grease and product buildup with a blend of plant extracts and sulfates for seriously clean, shiny hair that sets the stage for a week of good hair days ahead.
- Key Ingredients: Ginseng extract, sage leaf extract, rosemary leaf oil
- Sulfate-Free: No
- Size: 8.5 fl. oz.
Best for Sensitive Scalps: Sisley Paris Gentle Purifying Shampoo
- Why We Love It: As soon as you start to lather up with Sisley’s Gentle Purifying Shampoo, you know you’re in for a treat thanks to the spa-like aroma, which lingers in the hair long after you’ve finished styling. While many purifying formulas can irritate the scalp, this one is very gentle despite its efficacy; essential oils and minerals help detoxify strands while bisabolol soothes a tender scalp. The result: Glossy, bouncy, and hydrated hair.
- Key Ingredients: Bisabolol, panthenol, rosemary extract
- Sulfate-Free: No
- Size: 6.7 fl. oz.
Best Hydrating: Crown Affair The Ritual Shampoo
- Why We Love It: Not all clarifying shampoos are made with moisture in mind (they’re naturally more drying than other formulas), but this one is designed to remove excess oil without dehydrating strands, which is especially important if you have brittle or textured hair. That’s due to the inclusion of camellia seed oil, which weightlessly nourishes, plus coconut-based surfactants that rinse away oil while still keeping hair soft and hydrated.
- Key Ingredients: Camellia seed oil, coconut-based surfactants, glycerin
- Sulfate-Free: Yes
- Size: 8.1 fl. oz.
Best for Color-Treated Hair: Roz Foundation Shampoo
- Why We Love It: Beloved hairstylist Mara Roszak, who counts celebrities like Zoe Saldana and Karlie Kloss as clients—certainly knows a thing or two about bringing out the best of all hair types. Dubbed “the only shampoo you ll ever need,” her label’s Foundation Shampoo utilizes coconut-based surfactants alongside a host of nourishing, soothing, and strengthening ingredients to treat everything from fine lengths to curls and coils. Not to mention, the genderless earthy fragrance enhances the very luxurious cleansing experience (lots of lather!), which leaves your hair clean with plenty of movement and a gorgeous sheen. Vogue’s senior shopping editor Talia Abbas uses it almost daily, too.
- Key Ingredients: Ginger root extract, walnut extract, grape extract
- Sulfate-Free: Yes
- Size: 10.1 fl. oz.
Best for Curly Hair: Curlsmith Core Strength Shampoo
- Why We Love It: Formulated specifically for the needs of curly hair, this shampoo is packed with plant-derived proteins, lipids, and vitamins to fortify brittle strands, helping to define your texture and gently removing excess oil. While it may not lather as much as other shampoos you’ve tried in the past, don’t worry—it’ll leave your hair looking clean and fresh post-wash.
- Key Ingredients: Hemp seed extract, pumpkin seed extract, rice protein
- Sulfate-Free: Yes
- Size: 12 fl. oz.
Best Volumizing: Redken Volume Injection Shampoo
- Why We Love It: Those with oily, flat hair will see a dramatic transformation in their strands after washing with this body-building shampoo. The key ingredient here is Filloxane, a lab-made molecule that bulks up each individual strand to create volume and density without greasiness or weighing the hair down for a lush, fuller look.
- Key Ingredients: Filloxane
- Sulfate-Free: No
- Size: 10.1 fl. oz.
What causes oily hair?
There are a handful of reasons that you could be dealing with oily hair, with one of the most common being fluctuations in hormones. “These oil glands are very sensitive to hormonal regulation,” explains Tracy Evans, MD, board-certified dermatologist and medical director of Pacific Skin and Cosmetic Dermatology in San Francisco, CA.
“Therefore, children have less oily scalps, teenagers often have very oily hair, and, as one matures, the scalp tends to decrease in oil production and hair is generally less oily.” In that same vein, menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause can cause ample oiliness, as can increased stress levels (remember, cortisol is a hormone) and hormonal disorders, Howard Sobel, MD, board-certified dermatologist and clinical attending cosmetic dermatologic surgeon at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, NY explains.
Other factors that can cause oily hair include going too long between washes (which causes buildup dirt, oil, and various styling products), using hair-care products that are too heavy for your hair type, high humidity levels, sweating, and even certain scalp conditions. Evans points to sebaceous dermatitis as a specific example, which is caused by a yeast that grows on the scalp. “It can make hair very oily and scaly,” she explains.
What shampoo prevents greasy hair?
To help prevent greasy hair, you’ll want to use shampoo that is specifically formulated to combat excess oil. “For patients with oily hair, I recommend they use clarifying shampoos to help avoid oil buildup,” Sobel says. These may also be referred to as “purifying” or “detoxifying.” You’ll also want to look for something sudsy, Rabach instructs. “Shampoos that make a lot of bubbles can help break up the oil.”
What to Look for in a Shampoo for Oily Hair
As mentioned, an especially foamy formula can be effective in combating excess oil. Be aware that suds come courtesy of a type of ingredient known as surfactants, the most well-known being sodium lauryl sulfate, which many people avoid because it can be very stripping. Though that’s kind of the goal of a clarifying shampoo, there are plenty of surfactants that won’t be as harsh on your hair and scalp, including cocamidopropyl betaine, which is derived from coconuts.
Additionally, you’ll want to seek out a shampoo that contains ingredients that can help control oil. Our experts all recommend salicylic acid, which you might recognize from your skin-care routine. “Salicylic acid helps exfoliate the skin, decrease inflammation, and decrease oil production,” says Sobel. Evans also suggests ketoconazole and zinc pyrithione, which she says are very helpful for controlling oil production as well as flakes. Lastly, consider looking for ingredients that help remove buildup as well as absorb sebum. Ingredients in this category include resurfacing glycolic acid, purifying muds, clays, and charcoal, and plant extracts like rosemary and sage.
How often should you shampoo if you have oily hair?
If your hair can tolerate it, our experts recommend shampooing daily or every other day to get rid of excess oil, though everyone is different. “Thinner, finer hair gets oily faster, so those hair types may need to shampoo every day,” says Sobel. “Thicker hair can go longer without washing.” He also notes that styling products, especially those for volume, can leave behind greasy residue, which may necessitate more frequent washing.
We get it—the thought of shampooing your hair daily may be overwhelming and tempt you into relying on dry shampoo to extend time between washes. But while the clays and starches in dry shampoo can temporarily mattify the look of hair, you’re ultimately just adding in buildup that makes the hair look greasier in the long run, says Rabach. Product buildup can also inhibit healthy hair growth, making consistent cleansing essential. If you need more incentive to commit to a daily wash, know that cleansing will actually control oil: “Regular washing can help the scalp not to overproduce more oil,” explains Rabach.
Meet the Experts
- Morgan Rabach, MD is a board-certified dermatologist and co-founder of LM Medical in New York, NY.
- Tracy Evans, MD, MPH is a board-certified dermatologist and medical director of Pacific Skin and Cosmetic Dermatology in San Francisco, CA.
- Howard Sobel, MD is a board-certified dermatologist and clinical attending cosmetic dermatologic surgeon at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, NY.
- Kenneth Mark, MD is a board-certified dermatologist in New York, NY.