This Cruelty-Free Shampoo Makes Gray Hair So Soft and Shiny, People Quit Dye Altogether

Rachel Nussbaum
·3 min read
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Shoppers Say This Is the Only Shampoo That Doesn’t Make Their Gray Hair Feel Like Straw
Shoppers Say This Is the Only Shampoo That Doesn’t Make Their Gray Hair Feel Like Straw

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When it comes to haircare stans, Aveda lovers give Olaplex devotees a run for their money. The brand was one of the first to champion greener ingredients dating back to the '90s, and even 30 years later, it's still a hunt to find hair products that put solutions and sustainability on equal footing. Yet Aveda is a standout, and as anyone who's tried its formulas can tell you, the results are all the better for it — especially those from the brand's Blue Malva shampoo.

The shampoo has won over 600 five-star ratings from reviewers on Nordstrom's website, where praise for the formula's effect on gray, silver, and white hair runs wild. Much like Amazon's best-selling gray hair products, the Blue Malva shampoo is tinted a vibrant indigo-violet to balance out brassy yellow hues. It then goes a step above with the addition of naturally blue mallow leaf powder, wheat amino acids, panthenol, vitamin E, and cornflower extract, which the brand says intensifies color.

That's all true, according to people who report the vegan and cruelty-free shampoo transforms their grays into gleaming, compliment-earning silver streaks. "Ever since I stopped coloring my hair to let the gray/white grow out, I've been using Blue Malva," writes one person. "I LOVE it! It brightens it up without adding a blue tinge that other products I tested ended up leaving behind. Fresh, clean and bright."

aveda shampoo
aveda shampoo

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Shop now: $61; nordstrom.com

The formula is such a winner that one shopper's been using it since 1987, a 34-year relationship that's going strong thanks to the shampoo's incomparable effects. "It doesn't make my hair feel like straw, even after all these years," they write, an experience seconded by those working against dry ends and hair that yearns to frizz.

"My dark hair went gray over the past year as salons were closed," writes another fan of their Covid-19 conundrum. "But due to either residual color or our hard well water, my white and gray hair had a slight yellow color. This product has brought out the silver, and I'm not going back to coloring my hair." Those with blonde hair see equally pleasing outcomes, dubbing it the key to maintaining their "soft, buttery, 'little kid blonde'" color.

RELATED: The 18 Best Restorative Shampoos for Every Type of Hair Damage

"The first time I used Aveda Blue Malva shampoo, my white hair sparkled like silver. It was beautiful," a shopper writes. "The Blue Malva adds a brilliance and sparkle that makes me feel pretty in white hair instead of old; having color instead of no color. My hair smells pretty and looks soft and silky."

In the words of a last shopper, that fragrance comes with added benefits: "The scent has a way of carrying away any negative energy and instead, replacing it with a feeling of well-being." We'll take it — especially because Aveda's the first beauty company to manufacture with 100 percent wind power in its facility, and ~vibes~ regardless, that's the definition of good energy.