13 Best Shampoos for Greasy Hair
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If you’re tired of waking up and looking like Severus Snape with oily, lanky strands of hair, then you may need to switch your shampoo to an oil-eliminating heavy hitter.
Shampoos are essential to your grooming routine and help remove product buildup, oil, and grime on the hair and scalp. These unwanted visitors can make your hair look flat and lifeless. Oils, dirt, and other products can buildup on your hair and scalp, causing hair to look greasy and hard to style.
Using the right cleanser will strip away these nuisances, including oil, and leave your hair and scalp feeling clean and fabulous. With the right formula, you can control excess oil and make the hair look and feel healthier.
We handpicked the 13 best shampoos for greasy hair. So you can transform that Snape-lookalike grease ball into flowing, clean hair like HP himself.
1. Blu Atlas Shampoo
Stripping grease and oil from your hair doesn’t have to be a difficult, time-consuming task. With Blu Atlas Shampoo, the winner of the best shampoo for greasy hair, you can quickly cleanse your hair and scalp with plant-based surfactants without disturbing your hair’s natural oils.
Blu Atlas is one of the many brands that has started examining exactly what they put into self-care products. Committed to using fruits, minerals, and plants of natural origins, the brand can put the safest self-products into the hands of its customers.
Instead of using traditional oil-stripping ingredients like sulfates, known to irritate the scalp and cause itchiness, redness, and other reactions, they replace this harmful cleanser with coconut-derived surfactants. It’s a straight-from-nature approach to grease-free hair.
Safe, effective ingredients join the plant-based surfactants to ensure your hair and scalp maintain optimal hydration levels. Vegan biotin strengthens hair from the inside out to prevent breakage and help hair look voluminous. Saw palmetto also encourages the look of volume in the hair while hydrating the scalp. Two hydrating superheroes, aloe barbadensis leaf, and jojoba oil, inject the hair and scalp with natural hydrations straight from nature. Jojoba oil mimics the scalp's natural sebum and can provide extreme moisture without making the hair appear greasy or weighed down.
These gentle, lightweight hydrators, alongside coconut-derived surfactants, mean your hair and scalp will get a good clean, and you no longer have to worry about greasy hair.
2. Nécessaire Shampoo
You may be surprised to find that this fragrance-free cleanser is also one of the best shampoos for greasy hair. Shampoo from Nécessaire is an asset for those with allergies, sensitive skin, and frequent headaches. Having a fragrance-free, rich-lathering cleanser means everyone can enjoy oil-free, clean, fresh hair.
Our favorite thing about the poo? We love how easy it is to create a foamy lather with the creamy cleanser. With minimal effort, you get clean bubbles that will remove grease and other debris from the hair. The ingredients work together to remove and eliminate product buildup (like dry shampoo), sweat, and grease on the hair and scalp. While most harsh cleansers will strip the grease from your hair and your natural oils, you don’t have to worry about that with the Nécessaire formula.
What makes this shampoo so sensational? It could be the mash-up of hair-helping ingredients. Hyaluronic acid, plant surfactants, and niacinamide keep your scalp fresh and clean without distributing the natural balance. This is the best pick for your shower caddy if you want your hair to feel light and oh-so-clean without added fragrances. Not to mention the shampoo comes at a great price.
3. OUAI Detox Shampoo
There is no better strengthening (or detoxing) shampoo than OUAI Detox Shampoo. A salon-trusted and well-proven cleanser, it harnesses ingredients like apple cider vinegar and hydrolyzed keratin to strengthen weak hair while boosting overall shine.
As a clarifying shampoo, it rinses away the buildup from products like dry shampoo and styling gels. When you use hair care products on your hair and scalp, you need an intense cleanser like this to remove debris from the scalp safely. Apple cider vinegar and keratin ensure your strands stay healthy while removing excess oil that causes hair to look greasy and weighed down.
Detox Shampoo is the perfect treat for men and women who want a clarifying shampoo recommended by salon and hair care experts. It’s also gentle enough to treat dry or flaky scalps without disrupting the natural balance of your scalp.
4. Aveeno Apple Cider Vinegar BlendShampoo
Get back to the basics with Apple Cider Vinegar BlendShampoo from Aveeno. Using classic ingredients, this grease-fighting cleanser helps hair maintain optimal freshness and shine. Formulated for daily use, it’s an incredible option for those who want to keep an eye on their budget. For less than ten dollars, the whole bottle will last around a month if used daily.
Apple cider vinegar takes center stage in the poo. It’s well-known for its clarifying abilities and for turning dull, lank hair into shiny, soft, manageable tresses. It brings out your hair's natural beauty without sulfates, dyes, or parabens. Apple cider vinegar contains acetic acid, which helps your hair maintain balanced pH levels.
The lightweight formula removes excess oil, dirt, and build up when cleaning your hair. You can save those dolla dolla bills and feel confident when washing your hair. It’s the best shampoo for greasy hair for two reasons: it’s a budget-friendly price and removes oil while adding shine.
5. Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Special Shampoo
An intense, deep clean awaits you. Tea Tree Special Shampoo from Paul Mitchell is a scintillating cleanser with an invigorating scent. Peppermint oil, lavender, and tea tree oil are a few of the ingredients that give the poo such a refreshing, revitalizing aroma. Working to revive your senses and cleanse your scalp, they’re tough on excess oil and issues like dandruff.
The ingredients cleanse the hair and scalp of oil while maintaining a safe moisture level. Tea Tree Special Shampoo works best as a once-weekly deep cleanser, as it may be too intense as a daily shampoo. Tea tree oil and peppermint oil are known for their powerful cleansing efforts.
As a top pick for those who love using essential oils in their grooming routine, Tea Tree Special Shampoo is one of the best shampoos for greasy hair.
6. Amika Reset Exfoliating Jelly Shampoo
Soft, gentle, and with a cool jelly feel, Reset Exfoliating Jelly Shampoo is a one-of-a-kind oil-fighting poo. With a needle applicator tip, you can apply the jelly cleanser directly to your scalp, making clearing any excess sebum oh-so-easy.
Men and women rave about how easily the jelly shampoo cleanses their hair of any oil and leaves their hair looking fresh to death. A unique formula is behind the jelly-like substance. Sea salt, salicylic acid, pink clay, sea buckthorn berry oil, and charcoal make up the potent grease-busting blend. Even though the poo will cleanse your hair and scalp of debris, you don’t have to worry about an itchy, dry scalp as the cleanser leaves optimal moisture levels behind.
Pro-tip: Avoid this poo if you have color-treated hair, as the salt level in the formula may fade hair color.
7. Redken Scalp Relief Oil Detox Shampoo
Nothing says I am a sexy, confident man or woman than Redken’s line of salon-brand products. Relief Oil Detox Shampoo can take your greasy, overworked hair and turn it into #hairgoals. With a safe blend of botanicals and essential oils, the cleanser weaves through your tired strands to revive and cleanse every inch of your scalp.
No need to worry about greasy, lanky locks anymore; essential oils like rosemary, peppermint, and tea tree oil dive into your strands to provide unique, purifying, and clarifying benefits. They offer ultimate scalp detoxification as they unclog your hair follicles and help regulate sebum production.
Redken’s Scalp Relief Oil Detox Shampoo is formulated to treat oily, greasy hair and help maintain overall hair health. It’s one of the best shampoos for greasy hair, and it will help you achieve your dream hair.
8. Kristin Ess Deep Clean Clarifying Shampoo
Invigorate your scalp with a deep cleansing clarifying shampoo from Kristin Ess. Clarifying Shampoo is a hard-working, effective cleanser that removes excess oil and grease on your hair without stripping it of natural hair oils.
Due to its wallet-friendly price point, you’ll sing this poo praises in no time. Ideal for all hair types and textures, the lightweight cleanser works its way into your strands and scalp to bust excess oil and buildup. Guys and gals who use the shampoo say their favorite thing is that the budget-priced cleanser doesn’t strip their hair of moisture or leave it dry and tired.
It’s our top recommendation to ladies and gents who want a deep cleansing poo that is one of the best shampoos for greasy hair.
9. Sachajuan Normal Hair Shampoo
Add a little luxury to your life with Normal Hair Shampoo from Sachajuan. It’s the ultimate fancy degreaser you’ve been waiting for. An effective mix of mineral extracts and protein support overall hair health while the cleansing properties pierce through your strands and scalp to eliminate excess oil, buildup, and daily grime.
While the price tag isn’t our favorite, ladies and gents who use the luxury-level cleanser, claim it works wonders on greasy, lanky hair. Make grease a thing of the past with one of the best shampoos for greasy hair, Normal Hair Shampoo.
10. Bumble and bumble Sunday Shampoo
Your girl Sunday Shampoo offers a complete revival for your hair. When you’re ready to take things slow, aka on Sunday when you have downtime, and do your full self-care routine like plucking stray hairs, deep cleansing, and waxing, you should use Sunday Shampoo to get a full deep-cleansing reset.
Sage leaf extract and ginseng root work with other clarifying ingredients to penetrate the hair and scalp to strip away impurities. Potent ingredients weave through your strand to give you a once-a-week clean that will have you daydreaming for Sunday all week. Be sure to follow this heavy-hitting cleanser with a deep conditioning mask, as it’s known to leave your hair feeling a bit parched.
11. Kevin Murphy Balancing Wash Shampoo
Has your scalp been feeling a bit clogged and stopped up? Balancing Wash Shampoo from Kevin Murphy is a refreshing cleanser that carefully removes buildup, dirt, and excess oil while smoothing and soothing stressed-out strands.
If you worry about flakiness, dryness, or other forms of irritation, this formula may be the right fit for you. It doesn’t upset the moisture balance and leaves your hair feeling soft and hydrated after you cleanse. Lavender oil and grapefruit extract give hair an extra boost in shine while leaving a light, fresh scent.
12. Lush Jumping Juniper Shampoo Bar
Rock and roll with one of the best shampoo bars on the market. If you’re a wanderer living the rock and roll lifestyle, you’re likely in a new town every night. Jumping Juniper Shampoo Bar is a perfectly-sized sidekick to take with you on your journeys. It’s a slim bar that you can tuck into a traveling bag, purse, or even a briefcase.
The bar has more to offer than just its travel-friendly size, though. As a grease-busting cleanser, it easily strips excess oil from the hair and scalp. It’s formulated to deep-clean oily hair and remove buildup from clogged pores. Lemon oil, juniper berry oil, lavender, rosemary, and limo oil are the stars of the show. They also provide a fresh scent with every wash.
If you’re ready to switch to plastic-free poo and save the planet every time you hop in the shower, head to Lush to grab a Jumping Juniper Shampoo Bar.
13. Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Dry Shampoo
When life gives you dry shampoo, use it to save time and skip the shower. Perfect Hair Dry Shampoo is the best dry shampoo for greasy hair. Instead of being a boring, normal dry shampoo, this formula is a cool, hip bad boy that doesn’t just cover up oil, sweat, and product build-up. No, no, my friend. It eliminates it.
Life gets busy. That’s why dry shampoos have become a staple in our haircare lineup. But when it comes to dry shampoo and greasy hair, some dry shampoos aren’t up to the task. You don’t have to worry about greasy strands poking through with this dry poo. The formula is a trustworthy, effective product that completely absorbs sweat and oil.
The complete guide to shampoo for greasy hair
Explore the intricate world of hair care and shampoos for greasy hair. Learn more with our top tips on how to strip oil from your hair, shop for the right poo, and advice on how frequently you should be washing your hair to minimize grease. We’ve got it all covered in our complete guide to shampoo for greasy hair.
What causes greasy hair?
While many factors contribute to greasy, lanky-looking hair, the number one culprit is overwashing. You may think that washing your oily hair every day is helping curb the greaseball look, but we have bad news for you, it ain’t.
It sounds a bit counterintuitive, but washing your hair encourages your scalp to produce sebum—the natural oil on your scalp. Washing your locks too frequently can put your sebaceous glands into overdrive and make them produce an excessive amount of sebum.
Then you may find yourself in a vicious cycle of washing your hair daily and repeating it every day until you die. In a nutshell, overactive sebaceous glands producing sebum are one of the biggest causes of greasy hair.
Other reasons for greasy hair include not washing your hair often enough, genetics—pesky, pesky, genetics—and using products that don’t work for your hair type.
How to stop your hair from getting more greasy
This is it, the holy grail for folks with greasy hair. Here are some top tips from experts on managing and treating your greasy hair. With these tips and the right shampoo, you’ll have grease-free hair in no time.
Keep your hands to yourself
When you’re bored at work or in class, what do we mere mortals do? We touch our hair and face. Playing with your hair or over brushing it adds extra oils to the hair, making it look even more greasy and flat. What can you do? Stop playing with your hair and find a replacement, like fidget spinners, drawing on a notepad, or playing with a fun ring.
The less frequently you touch your hair, the better it is for those prone to get greasy-looking hair.
Rinse instead of wash
Picture this, it’s the middle of summer, and you’ve just gone on an intense, sweaty, hot run. When you get home, do you wash your hair (even though you just washed it yesterday), or do you rinse it? Hair care experts would encourage you to rinse it.
When you know you’ve recently washed your hair, and it doesn't look greasy, swap out washing for rinsing. Folks who exercise regularly and have a good sweat session often overwash their hair because they mistake sweat for oil. There’s nothing wrong with rinsing out your hair and washing it on a different day.
Wash your hair less
We know this one sounds a bit weird. Wash your hair less frequently to have less oily and greasy hair. How does that work? Well, you may be overwashing your hair. Washing your hair too often may clog your roots which can cause so many unwanted side effects like dandruff or even hair thinning. When you overwash, your hair may produce excess oil to compensate for the oil-free state of your hair and scalp.
If you wash your hair six times a week, try to cut it down to three. Go as long as you can between washes to reduce the number of times your hair each week.
How to choose a shampoo for greasy hair
Here are the top features to be aware of as you search for that hot ticket item: the perfect shampoo for oil-free, grease-free hair.
Different types of shampoo
As you glance around the grocery store aisle or browse products on Amazon, you may notice multiple types of cleansers. Different forms and varieties exist to treat and solve many hair problems or concerns.
What are the different types of shampoo? There’s the standard liquid poo, shampoo bars, and dry shampoo. (There are also different types of shampoo, like volumizing vs. clarifying, but that’s an issue for another day). These three main varieties of shampoo differ in how they cleanse the scalp of excess oil and dirt.
Liquid shampoo is the golden standard. It’s your BFF during your grooming routine in the shower. It’s an easy lathering and sudsing product that eliminates oil and removes any buildup.
Shampoo bars are similar to liquid poos, but their solidity, shape, and weight make them the perfect companion for travelers and those on the go. They’re also an excellent way to save money as they often contain more washes than a standard shampoo bottle.
Dry shampoo is a unique oil eliminator; you don’t use it on wet or damp hair. Instead, dry shampoo is sprayed on your roots when you want to eliminate and absorb impurities like excess sebum, giving the appearance that you’ve recently washed it. It’s the perfect stop-gap for busy moms, dads, or folks constantly strapped for time. Dry shampoo takes a minute or two to apply, and you don’t have to hop in the shower.
Good ingredients for greasy hair
When in doubt, go organic, or look for naturally derived ingredients. Treat your hair with high-quality, effective ingredients because it’s the best to reduce oiliness and strip oil safely.
If you’re looking to control sebum production (aka all that oily, greasy stuff hanging out near your roots), then you could look to natural plant botanicals and essential oils that help with oil production. Oils like rosemary, lavender, peppermint, tea tree, ylang-ylang, and lemongrass work best for grease-prone hair.
These botanical-based oils can help with oil production and other hair concerns like dandruff, dullness, and hair growth.
Ingredients to avoid
Like most hair concerns, there are ingredients you should avoid to ensure your hair stays healthy. Some of the most harmful ingredients are toxic filler chemicals added to cheap hair care products. The top ingredients to avoid include formaldehyde, silicones, parabens, phthalates, mineral oil, and sulfates.
Top tips and tricks of shampoo for greasy hair
Keep your hair oil-free with some top tips and tricks to treat greasy hair. With the right shampoo and hair care routine, you’ll have oil production under control.
How to apply oil-stripping shampoo
While applying shampoo is usually a no-brainer, there are a few important factors to consider. Always read the instructions on the product to get the best results.
Here are the basic steps to apply an oil-stripping shampoo. Get your hair soaking wet with lukewarm or cool water. Put a small amount of product in your hand and lather up the liquid. Put the lather and shampoo on your scalp and gently massage it all over. After your scalp is thoroughly cleansed and oil-free, run the product to the ends of your hair. Let the shampoo sit for two to three minutes before rinsing it off. Rinse it off with lukewarm water and make sure all the product is gone. Et voila! You have beautiful hair that’s free from lingering greasy streaks.
How often to strip oil from your hair and scalp
The common thinking is the more you wash your hair and strip oils, the healthier and better your hair will look. But that thinking is wrong! Overwashing the hair removes natural hair oils that your scalp needs to maintain the correct oil balance.
How frequently you wash your hair depends on your scalp, hair concerns, and personal grooming preferences. For folks with oily hair, try to strip oils from it two to three times per week. If you’re currently washing hair at least once daily, add an extra day between washes to help your scalp regulate sebum production.
Adjust how often you wash your hair based on the condition of your scalp and hair—also consider your hair type. Those with thin, fine, oily hair should use lightweight cleansers that don’t strip the scalp of natural oils and cleanse at most every other day. On the other hand, those with curly, thick, or textured hair should wash less frequently because the scalps oils have a harder time flowing down each hair strand.
Frequently asked questions
Can I wash my hair daily if I have oily hair?
Chances are, if you’re experiencing annoyingly oily hair, you’ll want to wash it daily. We hate to rain on your parade, but most hair care experts don’t recommend washing your hair daily. Instead, they suggest going as many days as possible between washes to balance out sebum production. If you need to wash your hair daily, use a gentle clarifying shampoo to remove oil and buildup without stripping away natural oils.
Should I use a conditioner for oily hair?
Yes. The oil that covers your hair occurs from sebum, and your glands are likely overproducing sebum to coat the hair and scalp in moisture. But that doesn’t mean you should skip the conditioner! After cleaning the scalp and removing any excess oil, you should use a conditioner to restore optimal hydration levels.
What’s the best shampoo for greasy hair?
Blu Atlas Shampoo is the best shampoo for greasy hair. It’s a no-nonsense oil-busting son of a gun that strips oil away from your scalp—giving you back oil-free hair with zero grease streaks. Shampoo’s formula uses coconut-derived surfactants, a plant-based cleanser that removes dirt, oil, and buildup from the hair and scalp. If you’re looking for a stress-free cleanser that will remove oil, build up, and take care of grease streaks once and for all, you can’t go wrong with the best shampoo for greasy hair—-Blu Atlas Shampoo. You can try out both of their signature scents for a little variety. Experience the tropical vibes of Bali with Coconut Apricot, or enjoy the Classic scent full of good-for-hair aromatics.
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