Who It’s For: Damaged hair, dry hair, color-treated hair | Key Ingredients: Argan oil, agave extract | Scent: Grapefruit, mandarin, jasmine, rose, freesia, musk, woods
Best Shampoo for Fine Hair: Kérastase Discipline Bain Fluidealiste Shampoo
Why It’s Worth It: “The Discipline line from Kerastase is specifically designed for an anti-frizz regimen,” says Aguirre. With this in mind, the stylist especially loves the Kérastase Bain Fluidealiste Shampoo for its lightweight, sulfate-free formula, which is formulated to smooth individual strands without weighing them down, so it’s especially ideal for fine hair.
Strand-strengthening hydrolyzed wheat protein and hydration-boosting glycerin are two of the star ingredients in this formula, but a quick scan of its ingredient list will also show that exfoliating salicylic acid, which clarifies the scalp, also makes an appearance in Kérastase’s shampoo.
Who It’s For: Fine hair | Key Ingredients: Hydrolyzed wheat protein, glycerin, salicylic acid | Scent: Violet, petitgrain, iris, lily, rose, vanilla, sandalwood
FAQ Answers
What causes frizzy hair?
Chances are, the roots of your frizziness could stem from multiple factors. If you want to get down to the nitty-gritty of frizz and flyaways, you can check out our guide on the subject, but, in its most basic definition, frizz is when the outermost cuticle layer of the hair shaft is out of alignment, creating a jagged look.
What causes this misalignment is, according to Los Angeles-based hairstylist Jen Atkin, your hair trying to replenish moisture by absorbing it from the air. “So making sure you’re conditioning and masking will help your hair combat that and leave it moisturized without wanting to absorb the moisture outside,” she previously told Allure.
How to reduce frizz
Frizz isn’t permanent, so there are quite a few ways to address frizzy strands. According to Shelly Aguirre, a hairstylist at Maxine Salon in Chicago, frizzy hair is often dry, which is why it’s essential to keep your hair moisturized. With this in mind, New York City-based hairstylist and colorist Paul Labrecque of Paul Labrecque Salon and Skincare Spa tells Allure that the best shampoos for frizzy hair are those that target dryness and contain “naturally moisturizing ingredients that will smooth the hair shaft but not overly weigh the hair down.”
More specifically, you’ll want to look for hair products that contain natural oils (such as argan and coconut, for example), shea butter, and aloe vera, all of which, per Labrecque, “help to smooth and tame frizz while gently hydrating and cleansing the hair.” Conversely, every hair pro we spoke to advised steering clear of shampoos with sulfates, which can strip your strands of essential oils and dry them out (which, spoiler alert, is a big no-no when it comes to wrangling frizz.)
How we test and review products
We always enlist a range of testers for our makeup vertical, but hair-care products and tools are another story. While there are certainly products that can be used across different hair textures, lengths, curl patterns, thicknesses, colors (natural and unnatural), and needs, hair products are often created with specific consumers in mind. Many are created in order to address a concern (dandruff, breakage, brittleness) or to work most effectively for a specific hair type (4C curls, wavy hair, gray hair). You wouldn’t want to pick up a purple shampoo that’s only been reviewed by someone with, say, auburn hair, or a diffuser that’s never been tested by anyone with curls — right?