15 Hair-Growth Shampoos That Can Transform Your Thinning Hair Into Thick #HairGoals
While it’s normal to lose about 100 hairs a day, if you’ve noticed that your ponytail feels thinner or your hair doesn’t seem to be growing, you could be experiencing hair loss and breakage. “As we age our bodies experience many changes, hence hair thinning can be linked to hereditary traits, reduced hormonal support, and nutritional deficiencies,” says Christophe Robin, celebrity hairstylist and creator of his bespoke line.
From stress-related hair loss (which is also known as telogen effluvium) to hormone-related hair loss and damage from heat styling, there are a variety of reasons why your hair may be thinning. While a visit to your dermatologist can determine if there’s an underlying issue at play, there are minor changes you can make in your daily routine to improve the health of your hair.
Healthy hair starts at the root, which is why the shampoo and conditioner you reach for (plus how often you wash your hair) is key when you want to encourage hair growth. “We use too much product and we never rinse well enough; hence the scalp can hardly breathe,” says Robin. In order to achieve a healthy scalp, you have to wash your hair frequently—and if you’re the type to rely on dry shampoo to be your savior when you’re trying to look presentable, here’s the reality: The build-up on your scalp that results from too many days of dry shampoo is the equivalent of sleeping in your makeup. Not only does it block hair follicles and hinder growth, but it also starts to weigh down your hair.
In order to encourage healthy hair growth, it’s crucial that you don’t strip your strands. Opt for a gentle, sulfate-free shampoo, and make sure your hair is getting enough moisture to help prevent breakage. Reaching for a shampoo specifically formulated for thinning hair can often yield the best results.
So whether you want to boost volume, encourage hair growth, or boost circulation on the scalp to reinvigorate the hair follicles, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve rounded up the best shampoos for every hair type with thinning hair so you can nourish your strands the way they deserve. No bad hair days here.
Meet the Expert
Christophe Robin is a Parisian celebrity colorist who has worked with everyone from Kate Moss to Claudia Schiffer. He’s an innovator in the field who created a bespoke product line.
1. Best for volumizing
CHRISTOPHE ROBIN Cleansing Volume Paste with Pure Rassoul Clay and Rose Extracts
Made with pure rassoul clay, this deep-cleansing treatment lifts your hair at the root and improves density down to the tip to help create fuller-looking results. “Rassoul is a clay that comes from Morocco and really helps maintain a healthy scalp while boosting hair thickness,” says Robin. Once wet, the paste of the volumizing shampoo transforms from a clay texture to a lightweight foam that cleanses and volumizes, leaving you with thicker-looking hair after just one use.
2. Best for thinning caused by heat styling
BUMBLE AND BUMBLE Bb.Bond-Building Repair Shampoo
If you’ve noticed your ponytail feels thinner after using a blow dryer, straightener, or curling iron, it might be time to switch up your styling routine. Reach for this innovative shampoo that restores and repairs with a unique honey bond-building complex that repairs hair from the cortex to the cuticle. The complex works overtime to build new bonds to strengthen your strands, improve hair elasticity, and even heal and correct damage.
3. Best for preventing breakage
KÉRASTASE Densifique Bain Densité Shampoo
Newsflash: Hyaluronic acid isn’t just for your skincare. This strengthening shampoo uses hyaluronic acid to plump strands and prevent them from future breakage, gluco peptide to nourish the hair cuticle, and ceramides to promote elasticity and shine. Combine all those good-for-your-hair ingredients, and you get a wash routine that’ll leave you with noticeably stronger, shinier hair.
4. Best for natural hair
SHEAMOISTURE Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen & Restore Shampoo
Ready to restore strength to your curls? Incorporate this nourishing cleanser into your routine. The formula contains castor oil and shea butter to reduce breakage and moisturize your hair, boosting its ability to grow longer and stronger. Over time, you may even notice that you experience less hair loss.
5. Best for age-related thinning
ORIBE Gold Lust Repair and Restore Shampoo
It’s natural for your hair to decrease in density as you age, but the right shampoo can help you restore your strands to their former glory. This rejuvenating shampoo contains a unique blend of argan oil, an amino acid complex, and a bio-restorative complex of caffeine, biotin, and niacinamide to repair damage from the root to fortify and strengthen the hair cuticle. It also encourages blood flow at the scalp, leaving you with shinier, thicker-looking hair.
6. Best for thickening
ALTERNA HAIRCARE Caviar Anti-Aging Clinical Densifying Shampoo
Full and flowing hair from the commercials giving you major hair envy? Improve the way thin hair looks and feels with this fortifying shampoo that incorporates caviar extract, vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin D to thicken strands and increase the density of your hair.
7. Best for fine hair
AMIKA 3D Volume and Thickening Shampoo
Start boosting your hair’s volume from the time you hit the shower. This lightweight, sulfate-free, paraben-free shampoo lifts your hair from root to tip to provide instant fullness. Using sea buckthorn and hydrolyzed rice protein, this formula helps your hair look and feel thicker after just one use—giving you a voluminous style that won’t fall flat.
8. Best for prevention
HAIRTAMIN Biotin Shampoo
IYKYK: Healthy hair starts with a healthy scalp. If hair growth is one of your top goals, promote optimum growth with a nutrient-dense combo of tea tree oil, aloe vera, pro-vitamin B5, peppermint, lavender, and rosemary. These antioxidants and nutrients work together to protect your hair from free radical damage, strengthen your strands to prevent breakage, and hydrate to encourage thickness.
9. Best for improving your hairline
KIEHL’S Magic Elixir Scalp & Hair Oil Treatment
While technically not a shampoo, this pre-wash treatment uses rosemary oil, avocado oil, and safflower oil to help improve hair growth by moisturizing and invigorating the root (aka promoting scalp health). In fact, this treatment has been proven to be just as effective as minoxidil—a hair-growth booster—when it comes to scalp circulation. For the best results, simply massage into your scalp for and wait 10 minutes before moving on to your shampoo.
10. Best for color-treated hair
VERB Volume Shampoo
More body. More hold. More good hair days. This sulfate-free shampoo uses a patented copolymer to add long-lasting shape to your hair, providing a weightless lift that looks amazing all day. The formula also offers UV protection to keep your color from fading or changing in the sun, helping to prevent your strands from drying out and breaking off.
11. Best vegan option:
BARDOT Voluminous Shampoo
Sea buckthorn and quinoa are the stars of the formula in this vegan shampoo. Together they cleanse, hydrate, and volumize your hair, leaving you with an effortless style that stays soft, full, and totally selfie-worthy.
12. Best drugstore find
JOHN FRIEDA Luxurious Volume Core Restore Protein-Infused Shampoo
Wish your hair weren’t so fine, or that it had more lift on a daily basis? Add this revitalizing shampoo to your shower routine. Wash after wash, this formula will help strengthen your hair cuticle and allow you to achieve weightless volume without breaking the bank.
13. Best for split-ends
NEXXUS Keraphix Keratin Shampoo for Damaged Hair
Salon-quality results from the comfort of your own home? Sign. Us. Up. This shampoo is one of the most nourishing formulas we’ve found for damaged hair, and it’s one of our fave ways to revive tired hairstyles. The formula heals dry hair with keratin protein and black rice, repairing your strands and smoothing split ends.
14. Best for post-pregnancy related thinning
R+CO Dallas Biotin Thickening Shampoo
While it’s normal to experience significant shedding after giving birth due to hormonal changes, this restorative shampoo can keep your hair healthy so you can keep breakage to a minimum. The lightweight formula is infused with a slew of active ingredients including biotin (to improve the keratin infrastructure of your hair), B vitamins (to hydrate), and coconut oil (to strengthen and condition). It also contains saw palmetto berry extract, which is known to decrease levels of DHT, a hormone that affects the hair follicle and contributes to thinning hair.
15. Best anti-dandruff shampoo
AHAVA PSO Shampoo
Experiencing thinning related to dandruff? It’s time to try this cleansing, hypoallergenic formula that reduces flaking, redness, and irritation using minerals from the Dead Sea. Your scalp will be treated to soothing relief while the shampoo encourages a healthy moisture barrier.
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