Damaged hair can be a result of many factors, from heat styling to environmental stressors, but the right shampoo can make all the difference.
In this guide, we’ve rounded up the 16 best and proven shampoos for damaged hair that help restore strength, shine, and health. Packed with nourishing ingredients, these shampoos repair and protect your hair from further damage while promoting smoother, more resilient strands.
Whether your hair is dry, brittle, or over-processed, discover the best options to help bring it back to life.
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Can damaged hair truly be repaired?
Damaged hair cannot completely repair itself, as structural damage to the hair shaft is irreversible. However, its appearance and condition can be significantly improved with proper care. Using products designed for damaged hair, moisturizing treatments, and maintaining a healthy hair care routine can minimize further damage.
In some cases, trimming damaged ends is essential for promoting healthy hair growth. Proactive care is key to maintaining the health and beauty of your hair.
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16 Best & Proven Shampoos for Damaged Hair
Check out the best shampoo for damaged hair to buy in 2025:
🔹 Best Overall: Scandinavian Biolabs Hair Strength Shampoo – A highly effective, nourishing shampoo designed to strengthen and restore damaged hair.
🔹 Best for Color-Treated Hair: Olaplex No.4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo – Protects and repairs damaged bonds in color-treated hair, keeping it vibrant and healthy.
🔹 Best for Dry and Brittle Hair: Kérastase Nutritive Shampoo – Deeply nourishes and restores moisture to dry and brittle hair, leaving it soft and manageable.
🔹 Best for Hydration: Pureology Hydrate Shampoo – Provides intense hydration and moisture, perfect for dry and damaged hair.
🔹 Best for Repairing: Redken All Soft Mega Shampoo – A rich, moisturizing formula that repairs and strengthens dry, damaged hair.
🔹 Best for Bleached Hair: L’Oréal Professionnel Absolut Repair Instant Resurfacing Hydrating Shampoo – Restores and resurfaces bleached hair, giving it strength and vitality.
🔹 Best Lightweight Formula: The Ultimate Reset Shampoo by Shu Uemura Art of Hair – Gently cleanses while deeply restoring damaged hair without weighing it down.
🔹 Best for Men: Kérastase Genesis Homme Bain de Force Quotidien Shampoo – Specifically designed for men, this shampoo strengthens and nourishes damaged hair.
🔹 Best for Blonde Hair: L’Oréal Professionnel Blondifier Illuminating Shampoo – Enhances blonde hair's shine and vibrancy while reducing brassiness.
🔹 Best for Anti-Breakage: Matrix Total Results Instacure Anti-Breakage Shampoo – Strengthens hair to prevent breakage and enhances overall hair health.
🔹 Best for Fine Hair: Verb Ghost Shampoo – A lightweight shampoo that nourishes fine, damaged hair without weighing it down.
🔹 Best Hydrating Shampoo: Rahua Hydration Shampoo – Provides deep hydration and nourishment to dry, damaged hair, leaving it silky and smooth.
🔹 Best for Chemically-Treated Curls: Briogeo Curl Charisma Rice Amino + Avocado Hydrating Shampoo – Perfect for curly hair, this shampoo hydrates and protects chemically-treated curls.
🔹 Best for Blonde Hair: Oribe Bright Blonde Shampoo – A luxurious shampoo that brightens and strengthens blonde hair, leaving it silky and vibrant.
🔹 Best for Thick Hair: R+Co Atlantis Moisturizing B5 Shampoo – Ideal for thick, damaged hair, this shampoo hydrates and restores moisture for a softer texture.
🔹 Best for Frizz-Prone Hair: Gisou Honey Infused Hair Wash – Infused with honey, this shampoo tames frizz while moisturizing and nourishing damaged hair.
1. Best overall: Scandinavian Biolabs Hair Strength Shampoo
Scandinavian Biolabs' Hair Strength Shampoo, enriched with essential amino acids, is expertly crafted to strengthen damaged hair, offering a high-quality, gentle solution for dry and damaged hair. It helps reduce excess sebum and encourages a balanced scalp.
This moisture shampoo not only makes hair stronger and more vibrant but also leaves it with a pleasant, fresh eucalyptus scent, promoting healthier looking hair that feels refreshed and lively.
The shampoo is made of 100% vegan and natural ingredients like Niacinamide, amino acids, and Capilia Longa to enhance hair strength, durability, and growth.
2. Best for color-treated hair: Olaplex No.4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo
The Olaplex No. 4 Bond Maintenance is a sulphate-free and cruelty-free shampoo that helps prevent hair breakage and repairs brittle hair on a molecular level.
With regular use, this moisture shampoo revives hair from dryness, infusing it with smoothness, shine, and manageability, especially for those with dry and damaged hair.
All thanks to the ultra-moisturizing formula, which prevents frizzy hair and split ends. It works on all hair types but is mainly recommended for colour-treated hair.
3. Best for dry and brittle hair: Kérastase Nutritive Shampoo
In the Kerastase Nutritive Shampoo, the Benjoin resin technology and the irisome complex work together to make a nourishing formula that can repair and replenish hair.
By balancing, protecting, smoothing, and softening dry, brittle hair strands, regular use will make hair much easier to manage every day and cut down on tangles.
4. Best for hydration: Pureology Hydrate Shampoo
If you've had a dye job or two or three, or even four, this 100% vegan Hydrate Shampoo by Pureology helps to gently clean and moisturise colour-treated hair without causing it to strip or dry.
Its formulation, infused with jojoba, green tea, and sage, is free of sulphates, working to strengthen damaged hair, repair, and protect against breakage or hair fall.
In addition to protecting the colour vibrancy and keeping hair soft, it won't cause "straw-like" fine hair strands in those with dyed hair.
5. Best for repairing: Redken All Soft Mega Shampoo
Redken's All Soft Mega Shampoo is full of real cactus extracts that help keep hair hydrated and shiny, aloe vera that strengthens and conditions hair, and Sacha Inchi natural oils that lock in moisture to make hair soft, shiny, and easier to manage.
6. Best for bleached hair: L’Oréal Professionnel Absolut Repair Instant Resurfacing Hydrating Shampoo
The L'Oréal Professionnel Absolut Repair Hydrating Shampoo contains nourishing proteins and the superfood quinoa to strengthen, restructure, and refresh hair.
It protects hair from damage and stops hair follicles from breaking while being gentle on the scalp. This makes hair look softer and healthier.
7. Best lightweight formula: The Ultimate Reset Shampoo by Shu Uemura Art of Hair
This Ultimate Reset Shampoo is exceptionally light on the hair. Using a combination of powerful restoring ingredients, it strengthens and beautifies the hair while gently removing impurities in tiny, fine droplets. The result is healthy, strong, and shiny hair strands!
8. Best for men: Kérastase Genesis Homme Bain de Force Quotidien Shampoo
Men, like women, experience hair thinning and damage. Hence, the Bain de Force Shampoo by Kerastase is the ultimate answer to all hair problems for men.
This shampoo does a great job of cleaning the scalp by removing excess sebum, which helps hair grow in a healthy way. It also fixes fine hair and stops it from getting worse.
9. Best for blonde hair: L’Oréal Professionnel Blondifier Illuminating Shampoo
As a result of bleaching our hair to achieve our blonde bombshell dreams, this colour needs some serious repair.
L'Oréal's Blondifier Illuminating Shampoo consists of acai polyphenols that help nourish and smooth the damaged and brittle hair strands that have undergone colour treatment.
10. Best for anti-breakage: Matrix Total Results Instacure Anti-Breakage Shampoo
If you are suffering from noticeable hair breakage and damage, it is time to invest in the Instacure Anti-breakage Shampoo by Matrix.
With amino acids and liquid proteins, this shampoo will help get rid of excess sebum and buildup on your hair and prepare your dull hair to be shinier, less frizzy, and less likely to break easily.
11. Best for fine hair: Verb Ghost Shampoo
Verb Ghost Shampoo is the ultimate solution for those with fine, damaged hair. This sulfate-free formula utilizes the lightest of oils, such as moringa seed and sunflower seed, to impart shine and softness without weighing down your hair.
Perfect for fine hair that needs gentle cleansing and lightweight hydration.
12. Best hydrating shampoo: Rahua Hydration Shampoo
Rahua Hydration Shampoo is an all-natural, sulfate-free shampoo that nourishes damaged hair with protective antioxidants, quinoa protein, hydrating aloe vera, and moisturizing rahua oil.
Ideal for those seeking a clean beauty option, it enhances hair strength and shine while supporting indigenous tribes in the rainforest.
13. Best for chemically-treated curls: Briogeo Curl Charisma Rice Amino + Avocado Hydrating Shampoo
Briogeo Curl Charisma Rice Amino + Avocado Hydrating Shampoo is perfect for chemically-treated curls.
Its formulation includes keratin amino acids to mend breakage and avocado oil and shea butter to provide essential moisture, resulting in smoother, healthier curls.
14. Best for blonde hair: Oribe Bright Blonde Shampoo
Oribe Bright Blonde Shampoo is designed to neutralize brassiness in blonde hair with its purple pigments while deeply hydrating with hyaluronic acid.
This shampoo gently cleanses and brightens blonde hair, making it soft, silky, and vibrant.
15. Best for thick hair: R+Co Atlantis Moisturizing B5 Shampoo
R+Co Atlantis Moisturizing B5 Shampoo is ideal for thick, damaged hair. Its moisturizing formula, featuring vitamin B5, prickly pear extract, and vegetable proteins, delivers intense hydration, leaving hair smooth, silky, and healthy-looking.
16. Best for frizz-prone hair: Gisou Honey Infused Hair Wash
Gisou Honey Infused Hair Wash combats frizz and flyaways with its honey-infused formula. It repairs damage, adds moisture, and increases elasticity, making hair soft, shiny, and resilient.
Can shampoo fix damaged hair?
Shampoo alone can't fully repair damaged hair, but it can help improve its condition. While it cleanses the scalp and hair, shampoos with nourishing ingredients like keratin, proteins, vitamins, and natural oils can temporarily strengthen and hydrate damaged strands, making them look healthier.
For more significant repair, it's best to pair shampoo with other treatments like deep conditioners, hair masks, and leave-in treatments that focus on moisture restoration, strengthening, and repairing hair structure.
Consistently using the right products can improve the overall appearance and feel of damaged hair over time.
Things to consider while buying shampoo for damaged hair
Before buying a damage-repairing shampoo of your choice, you must consider the following factors:
Colour-safe formula
Since you are looking for a shampoo to fix your damaged hair, it is important to buy one that is sulphate-free, and paraben-free, as they can leave your hair dull, dry, and brittle.
Moreover, if you have coloured hair, use a shampoo with a colour-safe formula to avoid further damage.
Hair type
While selecting your desired shampoo, remember to keep your individual hair type in mind since everyone has different hair types and problems, like fine hair, curly, straight, natural, dyed, heat-damaged, natural hair, etc.
Before making a decision, make sure to read the item's description. It will say what kind of hair it works for.
Ingredients
One of the most important factors to consider when buying shampoo is its ingredients. For instance, to repair your damaged hair, opt for a shampoo with moisturizing and strengthening ingredients such as coconut milk, honey, keratin proteins, soy protein, caffeine, etc.
Hair concerns
Once you know what kind of hair issues you are dealing with, you can finally decide on the right shampoo for you. For example, if you are dealing with hair problems like thinning, dullness, or dryness, a nourishing, keratin-based, and biotin shampoo would work best for you.
Read this: How To Reverse Thinning Hair After Menopause?
How often should you shampoo your damaged hair?
The frequency of shampooing damaged hair depends on your hair type and specific needs.
Generally, it's recommended to shampoo 2-3 times a week, as over-shampooing can strip the hair of natural oils and exacerbate the damage.
However, it's important to find the right balance for your hair and adjust the frequency accordingly.
What are the other steps to repair damaged hair?
To repair damaged hair:
- Use a deep conditioning treatment or hair mask regularly to provide extra moisture and nourishment.
- Minimize heat styling and use a heat protectant when necessary.
- Avoid harsh chemical treatments like perms, relaxers, or excessive hair dyeing.
- Be gentle while detangling your hair, using a wide-tooth comb or a brush designed to minimize breakage.
- Trim damaged ends regularly to prevent further breakage and encourage healthy growth.
- Maintain a healthy diet rich in nutrients that support hair health, such as proteins, vitamins, and minerals.
- Protect your hair from environmental damage by wearing hats or using UV-protective hair products when exposed to harsh sun, wind, or pollution.
References:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7276157/
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265285712_A_study_of_damaged_hair
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/how-to-repair-damaged-hair
