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Highest-Rated Shampoo | Reviews and Ingredients

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Best Shampoo

You put a lot of stuff in your hair—shampoo, conditioner, gel, and maybe some added color. The good news is that hair care products are made mostly of water, about which we have nothing bad to say. The bad news is that the chemical ingredients that actually do the work—chemical detergents, dyes, fragrances, and conditioners—aren’t always safe for you or good for the environment. Dyes and colors often come with ingredient lists that are 60 or 70 chemicals long and can include toxics like P-Phenylenediamine, resorcinol, eugenol, and ethanolamine. (more)

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Best Shampoo

Dr. Bronner's Magic Organic Citrus Hair Rinse
Dr. Bronner's Magic Organic Citrus Hair Rinse
  • $9.99
  • User Rating:
    Star_full_small Star_full_small Star_full_small Star_full_small Star_empty_small
8.6
Dr. Hauschka Shampoo With Apricot and Sea Buckthorn
Dr. Hauschka Shampoo With Apricot and Sea Buckthorn
  • $19.95
8.6
Burt's Bees Rosemary Mint Shampoo Bar
Burt's Bees Rosemary Mint Shampoo Bar
  • $6.00
8.6
Miessence Desert Flower Shampoo (Normal To Dry Hair)
Miessence Desert Flower Shampoo (Normal To Dry Hair)
  • $6.32
8.6
Gourmet Body Treats Rosemary Mint Shampoo
Gourmet Body Treats Rosemary Mint Shampoo
  • $12.00
8.5
Nurture My Body Shampoo
Nurture My Body Shampoo
  • $21.79
8.3
Aubrey Organics Men's Stock Ginseng Biotin Shampoo
Aubrey Organics Men's Stock Ginseng Biotin Shampoo
  • $9.50
  • User Rating:
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8.3
Terressentials Fragrance-free Pure Earth Hair Wash
Terressentials Fragrance-free Pure Earth Hair Wash
  • $4.00
8.0
Lavera Apple Milk Shampoo For Normal Hair
Lavera Apple Milk Shampoo For Normal Hair
  • $13.50
7.8
Desert Essence Jojoba Body Boosting Shampoo
Desert Essence Jojoba Body Boosting Shampoo
  • $5.99
7.8
Kiss My Face Miss Treated Shampoo Organic Hair Care
Kiss My Face Miss Treated Shampoo Organic Hair Care
  • $7.99
7.8
Eo Rose & Chamomile Protective Shampoo
Eo Rose & Chamomile Protective Shampoo
  • $8.99
7.7
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You can also find DMDM hydantoin, a form of formaldehyde that's a potential skin irritant and immune system toxicant.

A few shampoos and some conditioners use cleaners such as sodium laureth sulfate or octoxynol-40 that, depending on the way they are made, can introduce contamination into the product, with the impurities taking the form of irritant, carcinogenic chemicals like ethylene oxide and 1,4-dioxane. Sodium lauryl sulfate, a close relative of sodium laureth sulfate, is a strong skin irritant, and there is considerable controversy over its other potential health effects.

That’s not all: Most shampoos and conditioners incorporate a combination of chemicals labeled only as the ingredient “fragrance”. The exact mixture is considered a trade secret, so companies don’t have to say what’s in their fragrances. But, fragrances can often be allergy concerns or contain toxic chemicals like phthalates.

Common cleaning and foaming agents in shampoos are ammonium lauryl sulfate and ammonium laureth sulfate, which are eco-toxic ingredients. In shampoos, ammonium derivatives are the most energy-intensive ingredients to make, and since the manufacturing of ingredients has the greatest environmental impact (about 60 percent of the overall impact, compared to only about 15 percent in making the plastic bottle), it’s more environmentally friendly to look for shampoos without ammonium ingredients.

You can use GoodGuide hair care ratings to find safe, healthy products without toxic ingredients, or browse our reviews for products with high health and environment ratings. You can also look through our social data for no-animal-testing seals of approval from PETA and Leaping Bunny.