Detox Your Hair With These Clarifying Shampoos

We updated this article in December 2022 to add more information about each featured product, based on expert advice and top reviews. Our original top-rated picks remain the same with the addition of five new products including SheaMoisture, Texture ID, Eden Bodyworks, TPH by Taraji and Ion Color Solutions.

If your freshly washed hair still looks dull and limp, using a clarifying shampoo may be in order. Clarifying shampoos, often called purifying or deep cleaning, "are formulated to remove excess buildup, residue, dirt, oils and product on your hair and scalp," says Antoinette Bullock, DIY Natural Hair Expert for Sally Beauty. "They provide a deeper cleanse, thanks to a higher percentage of strong cleansing agents, also known as surfactants." If you use leave-in styling products, have oily hair, wash your hair in hard water, or live in an area with high air pollution, all of these factors can leave deposits on your hair that regular shampoo may not completely remove. But how exactly do they work? "The surfactants produce micelles that surround oily substances like sebum, and pull it off the hair follicle or scalp, making it easier to be rinsed out in water," explains Danusia Wnek, a chemist at The Good Housekeeping Institute Beauty Lab.

While the function of clarifying shampoo is consistent across different brands and formulas, they are not all created equal. It's important to choose the right one for your hair type, texture, and overall hair condition, especially if your hair is processed or color-treated. Clarifying shampoos are meant to be used sporadically and only when needed; "if used too often, you could end up with super dry hair," explains Bullock.

Over the years, our experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute have evaluated hundreds of shampoos for different hair types and concerns including shampoo for dry hair, oily hair, and color-treated hair, brass-fighting purple shampoos for blonde hair, thickening shampoos, and more. For each shampoo, our chemists methodically test and quantify the efficacy of each formula (with the matching conditioner) on real human hair swatches and send products out for real consumer feedback.

The list below includes our picks for clarifying shampoos that we use in the Lab to thoroughly clean hair swatches before testing, those that are highly rated and reviewed, or our editor and scientist favorites. Here are the best clarifying shampoos: