Your hair-washing routine is just as important as a thorough skincare regimen. Just like our face, our scalp has oil glands that can overproduce and leave you with greasy strands. If you’re sick of washing your hair constantly or are always reaching for dry shampoo to add life back into your tresses, you may have an oily scalp, and require a dedicated shampoo for cleansing.
Dr Anastasia Therianou, consultant dermatologist and hair loss expert says that a greasy scalp and dull hair are the two main characteristics of oily hair and often lacks root volume, especially if not frequently washed. “Oily hair tends to occur through genes but there are other causes, particularly hormones (including stress hormones) or by using products that do not clean the scalp properly. If you are predisposed to excessive sweating, this can also trigger oily hair, as can environmental pollutants and climatic temperature changes,” she explained.
Excess oil production can be combated by washing your hair regularly and using the right shampoo, she reveals. “Rather than simply giving the hair a quick lather then rinsing, leave the shampoo in for a few minutes to give it enough time to work.” Dr Therianou cites clarifying shampoos as the most effective tool in your shower routine and recommends steering clear of sulphate-free shampoos as “sulphates are the ingredients that help clean the scalp properly.”
She also advises applying conditioner only on the ends of the hair and never to the roots and ensuring you rinse off any shampoo and conditioner thoroughly to avoid exasperating any oiliness. Lastly, “it’s important to avoid using too many styling products on the roots of the hair, too, and obviously, avoid using any type of hair oil near the scalp.”
In a bid to find the very best shampoos for oily hair, we put a range of brands to the test, spanning luxury buys and affordable picks to see which one deserves a spot in your shower.
How we tested
Over a number of months, we tried each shampoo a minimum of three times and blowdried as well as air-dried our locks. We examined each for value for money, effectiveness at reducing oil production and therefore greasiness, packaging and scent to narrow it down to the top eight.
The best shampoos for oily hair for 2024 are:
Oway sebum balance hair bath
This shampoo – aptly named hair bath – is aromatic and fast to deliver results, for clean hair that doesn’t accumulate as much grease after just one use. It’s a clear, thick gel that can be applied to dry hair by massaging into your scalp, adding water until it lathers then rinsing off, or on wet hair as a traditional shampoo.
It’s designed to regulate sebum production from your sebaceous glands, aka where the oil in your hair follicle is produced, which reduces greasiness and any irritation that comes with it, such as itchiness.
It doesn’t lather as much as a typical shampoo, and it does take a little longer to come out of the bottle as there’s no pump, but overall, this is a great shampoo that improved our greasy-prone hair very quickly. Scented with sage and star anise, it’s an uplifting fragrant blend that we loved using.
Buy now £31.25, Lifeandwine.co.uk
Monday Haircare clarify shampoo
This is a great everyday shampoo that covers all the basics; it’s affordable, comes in a generously sized 340ml bottle and gets rid of excessive grease. The bottle is pretty too, and feels more luxurious than the price tag would suggest. Our beauty writer has been using this for months, multiple times a week, and it has lasted a lot longer than most shampoos.
Grapefruit extract is the star ingredient for tackling product build-up and oiliness while injecting shine back into dull, limp strands thanks to the addition of vitamin E and coconut oil.
Our only gripe is we wish the pump distributed a bit more product with each push, but we can look past it for how affordable and hard-working the actual formula is.
Buy now £5.00, Lookfantastic.com
Living Proof clarifying detox shampoo
While this is one of the more luxury shampoos we tested, it’s designed for use once a week, rather than for every hair wash, so we found it outlasted most of our shower hair products. Our beauty tester has repeatedly gone back to it since it launched.
It’s dark grey in colour, so be careful when applying it or it can get all over your bathroom, but it lathers nicely and easily spreads through your strands. If regularly using dry shampoo, texturising sprays, hairsprays and mousse leaves your locks feeling ladened, you’ll be pleased by this charcoal powder, which not only reduces oil production but helps leave your hair silky soft.
Buy now £31.00, Amazon.co.uk
Vichy Dercos anti-dandruff shampoo for normal to oily hair
Oily hair and scalps can also be prone to dandruff and itchiness, and this shampoo ticks every box to combat it all. It’s an almost neon shade of orange, lathers well, and easily rinses out after a few minutes, with a very mild, fresh scent that doesn’t linger.
The formula is made with one per cent selenium disulphide (commonly found in haircare to treat dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis) and one per cent salicylic acid, which you’ll recognise from skincare products designed to treat oiliness and acne. With regular use, our tester’s scalp felt more soothed, less itchy and with fewer wash days required.
Buy now £13.99, Lookfantastic.com
Davines naturaltech purifying shampoo
Oily scalps and those prone to dandruff will benefit from this shampoo from Italian hair care brand Davines. It’s B Corp certified, based out of Parma, and is focused on sustainable farming methods to source its ingredients. The brand favours using natural ingredients made using renewable electric energy and minimal packaging that has a low impact on the environment. This shampoo targets oil build-up and dandruff flakes to improve your overall scalp health and reintroduce bounce to flat strands. A detox for your hair if you will. It’s a fluid gel texture and while the bottle feels smaller than standard shampoos, it contains 250ml which is industry standard. It doesn’t lather as much, but that doesn’t mean it’s not effectively cleansing your strands and scalp and leaves hair with a healthy shine and reduced flakiness after a week. Just be careful not to apply too much and to see more of a lather.
Buy now £22.22, Amazon.co.uk
Typebea g2 strength + length shampoo
Typebea is the haircare brand co-created by beauty entrepreneur Anna Lahey (who is also the founder of Vida Glow supplements) and singer Rita Ora. So far, the lineup features four products; this shampoo, a conditioner, a peptide serum and a glossy hair mask, with a focus on hair growth. While it would be easy to roll your eyes at yet another celebrity beauty brand, we were left impressed by this shampoo, which is rich in salicylic acid to gently exfoliate your scalp to remove product build-up from hairsprays and dry shampoos alike, along with argan oil and provitamin B5 to hydrate. However, it is a sulphate-free formula, so while we enjoyed using it, loved the clean, fresh scent, and found it worked well at keeping our strands feeling soft but not greasy after a couple of days, keep in mind it may not be a preventative measure long-term.
Buy now £23.00, Boots.com
Hello Klean anti-thinning hard water shampoo
Hello Klean was first founded in 2019 to specifically tackle hair problems created by washing with hard water. London and Oxford for example have some of the hardest water in the UK, which can lead to dullness, discolouration, increased breakage and even hair loss. This gel formula – which has a fun tangerine orange colour – combats it all while also minimising product build-up which can make hair greasier and more prone to excess oil production. It’s packed with alpha hydroxy acids and amino acids to balance your scalp skin, as well as biotin to make hair more resistant to breakage. We found it worked particularly well on our bleached and highlighted hair, keeping it soft after every wash but helping increase the time between washes too.
Buy now £14.00, Helloklean.com
TRESemme replenish & cleanse shampoo
This is unbeaten when it comes to price. For £6, you get a huge 680ml of product, the largest shampoo bottle we tried, making it excellent value for money. The replenish and cleanse shampoo specifically caters to greasy hair to gently cleanse while balancing your scalp in your everyday shower routine. It’s formulated with a vitamin complex of B3, B5, B7, C and E, amino acids and ceramides. There’s no fuss, frills, overcomplicated packaging or luxury price tag involved, simply lather into hair and rinse out after a few minutes for clean, smooth strands and less oily build-up.
Buy now £3.00, Boots.com
The verdict: Shampoos for greasy and oily hair
Overall, the Oway sebum balance hair bath took the top spot. The formula is packed with a cocktail of ingredients to soothe an oily scalp and reduce sebum production from the first use, while also tackling any irritation. It smells great too. However it is expensive, so if you’re shopping on a smaller budget, we were also huge fans of the Monday Haircare clarify shampoo that’s a brilliant everyday option that lathers well and rinses out easily for clean, shiny and healthier hair for only a fiver.
For more haircare heroes read how this cult conditioning treatment transformed our brittle locks
