Between sweating at the gym, applying styling products, and generally living life, your hair is bound to get oily at some point. But if you’re seeing greasy roots right after you shower, you need to try the best shampoos for oily scalp. These clarifying formulas get your hair as clean as it feels when you step out of the salon—and they help regulate your scalp’s oil production, so you can (hopefully) go a little longer between washes. Put the dry shampoo down, and check out our editor- and dermatologist-approved recs below.
Our top picks
In this article
Shop the best shampoos for oily scalp
When the greasiness won’t quit, these shampoos are it.
Best Overall: Isima Reset Clarifying Shampoo
If this is your first foray into buying a shampoo specifically catered to an oily scalp, we recommend starting here. Clarifying shampoos like this one are designed to remove excess oil, Azadeh Shirazi, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in San Diego and the founder of skin care company AziMD, tells SELF. Using it once or twice a week to get rid of oil buildup and sticking to your regular shampoo in between treatments might be all you need to keep your oily scalp on track.
“Isima’s clarifying shampoo absolutely changed the game for me. I had never used a clarifying shampoo before this one and it gave my hair and scalp the reset they needed,” says Katie Gunderman, SELF’s associate social media manager. “I wash my hair more than the average person (every day or every other day), and using this shampoo once a week makes me feel like I can last longer between washes since it helps control buildup on your scalp.”
Pro tip: While it might be tempting to use this more than once or twice a week, we’d warn against it because over-using a clarifying shampoo can cause your scalp to become dry, which results in it producing more oil to compensate, Dr. Shirazi says. This is especially true if you have a sensitive scalp that needs gentler products.
Sizes: 10 fl oz | Other notable ingredients: Hydrating glycerin and aloe vera, soothing bisabolol, cleansing soapberry extract
Best for Everyday Maintenance: Hårklinikken Stabilizing Scalp Shampoo
Hårklinikken
Stabilizing Scalp Shampoo
Need to wash your hair every day? This shampoo won’t dry your hair out or cause your scalp to feel sensitive. “I run almost every day, so this is a must for me, especially in this boiling hot weather,” Jenna Ryu, SELF’s lifestyle writer, says. “If you want a shampoo to sop up excess oil and grease without harsh, acidic chemicals, this is my top choice.”
It uses gentle cleansing agents like MIPA-laureth sulfate, sodium coco-sulfate, and coco-glucoside that are safe to use daily but effectively sweep away dirt and oil.
Sizes: 2.54 and 9.81 fl oz | Other notable ingredients: Conditioning vitamin E
Best for Sweaty Scalps: Biolage Professional Scalp Sync Clarifying Shampoo
Biolage
Professional Scalp Sync Clarifying Shampoo
Ryu recommends this clarifying option in addition to Hårklinikken’s scalp shampoo. “It’s a little more heavy-duty, so I only use it once a week,” she says. “Think of it as a scalp reset—it does a great job at removing the grease, product buildup, and sweat that my regular shampoo can’t always get.”
It’s able to accomplish this because of glycolic acid—a gentle chemical exfoliant. “After drying, my hair feels so much lighter and looks way more bouncy, voluminous, and alive,” Ryu says.
Sizes: 13.5 fl oz | Other notable ingredients: Soothing green tea extracts, glycerin, strengthening vitamin C
Best for Scalp Acne: Neutrogena T-Sal Therapeutic Shampoo
Neutrogena
T-Sal Therapeutic Shampoo
Scalp acne is a big headache…literally. And having an oily scalp, especially if your pores are prone to clogging, is one of the reasons you might be seeing breakouts, Dr. Shirazi says. In that case, try this Neutrogena shampoo; it contains three percent salicylic acid, which “helps with oil regulation and exfoliating scalp buildup,” Dr. Shirazi says.
Sizes: 4.5 fl oz | Other notable ingredients: Cocamidopropyl betaine (a gentle cleansing agent derived from coconut oil)
Best for Dandruff: CeraVe Anti-Dandruff Hydrating Shampoo
CeraVe
Anti-Dandruff Hydrating Shampoo
Sometimes, a flakey scalp means you’ve been hitting the clarifying shampoo a little too hard and your skin needs hydration. But a flakey and oily scalp might be a sign of dandruff. “When you have buildup of oil, you have this yeast called malassezia that feed on the natural oils,” Dr. Shirazi explains. In reaction to the yeast, your scalp produces flakes that might fool you into thinking you need to wash less to avoid drying your scalp out, but really, it’s dandruff from too much oil.
Cerave’s shampoo uses zinc pyrithione, which Dr. Shirazi says is anti-inflammatory and helps reduce bacteria and yeast. It’ll also help with any itchiness or irritation you’re experiencing. At the same time, it hits grease where it hurts with niacinamide and salicylic acid—two ingredients that’ll slow down oil production.
Sizes: 12 fl oz | Other notable ingredients: Skin barrier repairing ceramides, hydrating hyaluronic acid
Best for Sensitive Scalps: Aveeno Clarify & Shine Shampoo
Aveeno
Clarify & Shine Shampoo
When you have sensitive skin, trying new ingredients can feel risky, but this shampoo has gentle cleansing agents that won’t bother your scalp. Plus, it includes soothing colloidal oatmeal to combat irritation and itchiness. Its key ingredient, though, is apple cider vinegar, which Dr. Shirazi says gives the scalp a deep cleanse and removes buildup.
Sizes: 12 fl oz | Other notable ingredients: Sodium hydrolyzed potato starch (a foaming and cleansing agent)
Best for Natural Hair: 4U By Tia Clarifying Shampoo
4U by Tia
Clarifying Shampoo
For curly and coily hair types, we recommend this SELF Healthy Beauty Award–winning shampoo for refreshing the scalp. Apple cider vinegar combats oil while Hemi15 (hemisqualane)—a patented emollient—moisturizes and defines curls.
“What I noticed right off the bat is that the suds were able to break through my thick hair with ease, and I felt my curls soften to the point that I could reach my scalp,” our tester says. “My hair felt incredibly clean after washing with this product, and never felt overly dried out.”
Sizes: 13 fl oz | Other notable ingredients: Glycerin, hydrating panthenol
How we chose shampoos for oily scalp
We asked dermatologists how to find products that could actually get rid of oil buildup and slow down oil production. Once they shared the best ingredients to look for, we asked SELF editors to share their top picks, and we looked through SELF Healthy Beauty Award winners to find products that fit the bill.
What causes an oily scalp?
There’s a solid chance that your oily scalp is because of your genetics. “Some people just have more overactive oil glands, and hormones are another big factor,” Dr. Shirazi says. “In the teenage years, when you have a surge of hormones, that’s when you tend to see a lot of oily scalp, dandruff, and flaking. And a lot of times, that can get better into adulthood.”
Scalp care is another factor: “If you’re over-exfoliating or irritating the scalp, then the skin is going to rev up oil production as a defense mechanism,” Dr. Shirazi says. If you’ve ever heard that washing your hair every day is the reason behind your greasy roots, know this: “You’d have to shampoo twice a day for it to be really over-cleansing the scalp,” Shirazi says. That said, if you’re using a clarifying shampoo daily, or a wash with harsh ingredients, that could be the culprit.
Which ingredients should you look for in a shampoo for oily scalp?
While you shop, keep your eyes peeled for these bad boys:
- Niacinamide regulates oil production and calms inflammation at the same time.
- Salicylic acid unclogs pores, exfoliates the skin, and reduces oil.
- Zinc pyrithione reduces bacteria and yeast that can lead to dandruff, and it’s anti-inflammatory.
- Apple cider vinegar deeply cleanses the scalp and gets rid of buildup.
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