17 best vegan shampoos and conditioners for every hair type

Organic ingredients gentle on sensitive skin are Green People’s forte, and its quinoa and artichoke pair afforded our hair a beautiful finish. Formulated to be suitable for all hair types, this haircare duo left our tester’s hair feeling deeply conditioned and noticeably supple, and looking richer in colour. Our usual flyaways were smoothed too and our tresses were beautifully sleek once dry.

Infused with eight amino acids which are said to coat the hair to afford it a thicker appearance, the shampoo is SLS- and silicone-free and has also been formulated to have a volume-boosting effect which we noted. While it’s fair to say that these aren’t going to be a budget buy when they’re bought together, the formulas are concentrated, and so they should also go on to last us a good while, ensuring value for money. We do think it could be worth noting that not all of Green People’s products are vegan, though this pairing is and is also certified by Peta.

Shampoo quinoa and artichoke organic shampoo: £17.50, Greenpeople.co.uk

Conditioner quinoa and artichoke organic conditioner: £17.50, Greenpeople.co.uk

With woody and subtly sweet notes to sniff in the shower, we were smitten with the exquisite scent of Evolve’s superfood shine duo. As much a treat for our hair as for our senses, the pair harnesses the strengthening, protectinging and smoothing superfood benefits of baobab proteins with the hydrating effect of pomegranate extract and the soothing benefits of aloe vera. Our hair felt softer, refreshed and featherlight after using this superfood shine pairing.

Housed in deep brown bottles with a sophisticated feel, and made using 100 per cent recycled material, we think it’s worth noting that the ingredients list is mostly organic and of natural origin. Boasting a gentle cleanse too, the shampoo calls on cleansers that have been made with sugar and coconut as opposed to potentially drying ingredients, making these formulas perfect for balanced, as well as drier hair types.

Evolve superfood shine shampoo: £14, Evolvebeauty.co.uk

Evolve superfood shine conditioner: £15, Evolvebeauty.co.uk

From the brand’s botanical range – which draws on botanicals certified by Royal Botanic Gardens – these pocket-friendly picks prove vegan haircare doesn’t need to be expensive. Happily too, the shampoo bottle houses 400ml, of which our tester only needed two penny sized-blobs of each to work through their hair (and they have a lot of it).

Among the natural origin ingredients infused in the formulas are aloe, sea-kelp and argan oil which work to nourish the hair while targetting dry and damaged strands. All this combined to fill our bathroom with an addictively heady and fruity scent. After showering our hair felt noticably soft, hydrated and healthy, and we also noted our hair looked less frizzy and fluffy on hairwash day.

Herbal Essences bio renew argan oil repairing vegan shampoo: £4.50, Boots.com

Herbal Essences bio renew argan oil repairing vegan conditioner: £4.50, Boots.com

Curlsmith’s shampoo and conditioner, from its essential moisture collection, are designed for all hair types, including coily 4C type hair textures. Our tester used this on her afro hair and was impressed with how well the sulphate-free shampoo effectively cleaned her tresses, while not leaving her hair feeling dry and brittle. The conditioner has an easy slip and foams up well to lavish evenly across the hair. To top it off, the sweet strawberry-like scent makes it even more enjoyable to use. The pump cap makes it a dream to extract the conditioner, while the flip-flop shampoo lid also makes it easy to apply the product to your hair.

Curlsmith essential moisture cleanser: £22, Curlsmith.com

Curlsmith essential moisture conditioner: £22, Curlsmith.com

Hailing from across the pond, vegan beauty, make-up and haircare brand Pacifia has made a name for itself since it launched over two decades ago. Upon opening its vegan silk bottle and conditioner jar we were met with a pleasantly sweet, vanilla fragrance that wasn’t too dissimilar to the scent of marshmallows. Fear not if you’re someone who tends to find sweeter scents overbearing, as we found the vanilla fragrance didn’t linger on our hair once it was dry.

Lathering up easily into a lightweight foam, the shampoo is sulfate-free and colour-safe, and transparent with an almost gel-like in consistency. The silicone-free conditioner meanwhile, is markedly thick, and we liked the novelty of scooping the conditioner out of the tub – though admittedly it was hard to gaugue how much product to use this way. As for the ingredients, moisture-boosting vegan silk works with vitamin B, shea butter and almond oil for shine and, as a result, our hair felt smooth and thoroughly cleansed but not squeaky-clean and with a little extra body.

Pacifia vegan silk hydro luxe shampoo: £13, Cultbeauty.co.uk

Pacifia vegan silk hydro luxe conditioner: £13, Cultbeauty.co.uk

Only Curls is a game-changer for curly-haired people and all the brand’s formulas are vegan and cruelty free. At £32 for both the shampoo and conditioner, it falls in the mid-price bracket, but here’s why we’d happily spend our money on these products...

First things first; the “shampoo” in this case is a cleanser which basically does the same thing. It cleans the hair, but there’s a slight difference in formula as it avoids harsh detergents, sulphates and other harmful chemicals. This makes it generally more gentle than shampoo and therefore a go-to for many curly-haired folks. The shampoo is also sulphate free, meaning it shouldn’t strip moisture from your hair, and the conditioner is silicone free so that your hair can soak up the moisture.

Both products smell delicious thanks to the kukui nut oil and feel incredibly hydrating without weighing down locks, and the conditioner did an amazing job at detangling our curls – for reference, our tester’s curls are type 2C, looking more like type 3A on a good day. We didn’t need much of each product either, which is a big plus considering its price point. The result are light, bouncy, shiny curls.

Only Curls all curl cleanser and all curl conditioner: £16, Onlycurls.com

Only Curls all curl conditioner: £16, Onlycurls.com

Plastic bottles in our haircare routine can feel like an inevitable annoyance, so we really rate vegan brand Paradox for its decision to use of aluminium. With a botanical, herbaceous and slightly sweet scent – which comes from some of the 98 per cent natural ingredients, including conditioning carrageen moss and smoothing ginseng and babassu – the shampoo and condition pair work together to strengthen while repairing damaged strands.

The coconut oil-enriched conditioner can be used as an overnight mask, allowing a deeper hit of hydration, as well as a styling balm for use on dry hair too, though following just a quick condition and rinse our hair still felt soft and hydrated once it had dried. One qualm we had though, was that opening the bottles can be a bit fiddly. That said, you won’t waste a drop as the pumps are very precise when releasing product.

We Are Paradoxx repair shampoo: £18, Lookfantastic.com

We Are Paradoxx repair conditioner: £20, Lookfantastic.com

Fragrance-free formulas, like these two from vegan brand Faith in Nature, provide a soothing cleanse when scented hair care can irritate sensitive skin. Pared back and refreshingly simple, there are no essential oils, silicones, parabens and SLS and SLES (sulphates which can be irritating for some sensitive skin) to note on the ingredients list, of which 99 per cent are of natural origin.

These are also brilliant value for money, with each bottle housing a healthy 400ml of product, which is almost double the amount in most of the formulas we tested. Our tester has a lot of hair and we still only needed a small amount of the transparent, gel-like shampoo and (slightly) runny conditioner to spread throughout our hair. While our strands did feel slightly dry after use, we did notice it was thoroughly cleansed and refreshed.

Faith in Nature fragrance free shampoo: £6.69, Faithinnature.co.uk

Faith in Nature fragrance free conditioner: £6.69, Faithinnature.co.uk

It was the photogenic bottles that first peaked our interest in vegan brand Fiils, but it turned out to be the delicious scents, largely natural, gentle formulas and commitment to reducing single-use waste that keeps us coming back for more.

A quick word on the brand’s ethos. The idea is that you’ll recieve a reusable aluminium bottle paired with refills which are then to be delivered every one, two or three months (or as a one off). Each refill is said to replace the equivalent of two plastic bottles and you can send all your empty pouches back to the brand (it’s easy and completely free) so that it can recycle them properly. Genius and eco-friendly!

Customisation is a big theme with Fiils – you can choose one of the four shampoo and conditioner formulas which each target different hair types (oily to dry) and pick your preferred bottle colour. Our favourites were the pomelo shampoo and coconut conditioner. With vitamin C and moisturising jojoba oil in the shampoo and shea butter for rescuing brittle strands in the conditioner, our hair took a few washes to adjust to the (largely) natural formulas, but we’re glad we stuck with it.

A luxury choice with a premium price tag, the ultra hydrating formula that didn’t weigh our tester’s hair down from Monpure could be well worth the money. Both the shampoo and conditioner have an addictive, herbaceous scent that we could smell for days, and both work to nourish and moisturise hair and scalp. Enriched with moisturising argan oil and pro vitamin B5, we enjoyed working the conditioner straight into our scalp, without worrying that it could leave hair limp at the roots.

Transparent and golden in colour, the sulphate, paraben and silicone-free shampoo is infused with calming aloe vera and keratin to strengthen, while vegan silk peptides can offer TLC which lends these formulas to tending damaged strands. Although we did notice the shampoo is slightly less foamy than others we tried – this is down to the formula being sulphate-free – it certainly wasn’t a chore to lather up and, in our eyes, this wouldn’t be a deal-breaker.

MonPure strengthening silk protein shampoo: £36, Monpure.com

MonPure strengthening silk protein conditioner: £36, Monpure.com

Often called on for its purifying and cleansing benefits in skincare formulas, oily hair will love the refreshing hit of tea tree oil in The Body Shop’s duo. After wondering whether the cleansing formula would leave our ends feelings slighly brittle and dry, we were pleasantly suprised to find our strands felt balanced and healthy, with our roots fresh for a few days longer than they usually tend to be.

With both products drawing on the reparative power of vegan silk protein – which is modelled on the silk from garden spiders – they are made mainly with natural origin ingredients. The shampoo has a transparent gel-like texture which goes a long way, and breathing in the invigoratingly herbaceous scents was a joy. As with the conditioner, it’s easy to use just enough product owing to the tiny bottle spout.

The Body Shop tea tree purifying and balancing shampoo: £9, Thebodyshop.com

The Body Shop tea tree purifying and balancing conditioner: £9, Thebodyshop.com

Since hairstylist and Queer Eye grooming expert Jonathan Van Ness’s haircare launched in the UK last year, we’ve been waiting for an opportunity to give these formulas a try. Safe to say they delivered. Suitable for all hair types, this shampoo and conditioner duo is the one to plump for if weak or thinning hair is something your targetting with your haircare routine.

A cocktail of caffeine, aloe leaf juice and hemisqualne works to cleanse without stripping the hair, while stimulating the hair follicles and soothing and hydrating. Follow it up with the thickness-boosting effect of the biotin and volumiising bamboo extract in the conditioner and you’re really on to a winner.

Having used this duo just once, our hair boasted the kind of sheen and glossy finish that doesn’t go unnoticed – our bouncy, lustrous tresses received several compliments. We also liked that the formulas come housed in recyclable aluminum bottles (a material which can be recycled again and again) and are applied with a recycled pump – so not only do these look and feel premium, but they also boast eco-conscious packaging.

JVN embody daily volumizing shampoo: £18, Jvnhair.co.uk

JVN embody daily volumizing conditioner: £18, Jvnhair.co.uk

We’re not suprised these are two of Aveda’s best selling products. Boasting a lovely, calming blend of marjoram, rose and ylang-ylang, the brand’s botanical repair shampoo and conditioner are infused with mostly naturally derived ingredients, and they smell sublime. Formulated to strengthen and build the bonds in every hair type and texture, it was difficult to say whether they left our hair feeling fortified after just a few washes, though we did notice how healthy, supple and silky smooth our hair felt. Having been thoroughly cleansed but not stripped, both our scalp and ends felt balanced and fresh.

If you’re trying to avoid parabens and silicones, these formulas are both free while being suitable for use on coloured or chemically processed hair. Making efforts to be more sustainable with more eco-concious packaging and wind and solar powered production, it’s nice to know Aveda is certified as a B-corp.

Aveda botanical repair strengthening shampoo: £21.60, Lookfantastic.com

Aveda botanical repair strengthening conditioner: £23.60, Lookfantastic.com

We couldn’t help but be obsessed with the rich formulas and luxe look of Rahua’s products, though it’s fair to say they are expensive. Its classic shampoo and conditioner duo are concoctions of plant-derived and organic ingredients drawing on smoothing aloe and reparative raspberry leaf alongside sustainably sourced Rahua oil. The brand’s namesake has long been used in the Amazonian rainforest for its nourishing properties, and is said to work wonders with damage.

With a butterscotch-colour and rich consistency that left our hair easy to detangle, noticeabley glossy and with fly-aways smoothed, it was the conditioner that we really enjoyed. We noted a woody, almost liquorice-like scent of the palo santo oil in the shampoo, a treacle-coloured formula which left our hair clean without stripping it of moisture. Rahua does say these are formulated for all hair types but we think it might be quite heavy initially for fine hair.

Rahua classic shampoo: £34, Lookfantastic.com

Rahua classic conditioner: £36, Lookfantastic.com

If you’ve been flirting with converting to solid haircare, the best are easy to lather up and tend to last longer than their bottled counterparts. For this reason, we loved KinKind’s shampoo bars. The brand also featured in our roundup of the best bars, and the brand’s conditioner bar is also one of our new favourites as both are packed with hydrating coconut and argan oil for dry and balanced hair types.

Without any strong scent filling our bathroom while in use, we found the shampoo bar lathered into a creamy foam in seconds, while the conditioner bar has a lovely coconut scent. Lathering into a creamy layer as opposed to the thick glug of cream that we’re used to, this spread through the hair like a dream before leaving it glossy and noticably easy to brush through. As with any solid haircare, we would always recommend investing in a small tray to keep the bars dry inbetween washes.

Kinkind nourish me shampoo bar: £6.50, Kinkind.co.uk

Kinkind nourish me conditioner bar: £7, Kinkind.co.uk

Douvall’s prides itself on enriching its products with pure and sustainably sourced argan oil – a hero ingredient often hailed for its strengthening benefits, reparative antioxidants and hydrating vitamin E – and now we can say it really delivers. Noting its transparent, quite runny consistency, the brand’s argan and ungurahua oil shampoo works to balance the PH of your hair for affording softer results, all the while using natural coconut and oat protein as opposed to sulphates to provide hair a gentler cleanse.

The conditioner meanwhile is luxuriously thick and enriched with shea butter, and we noticed how it made our wet, freshly washed hair easy to run our fingers through from root to tip. Once dry, our tester’s hair felt thoroughly cleansed, with a little extra body than usual. Suitable for all hair types, as well as for hair that’s been colour treated, the clean, soft scent of the raspberry, honey suckle and palo Santo oil left us feeling soothed and pampered.

Douvall’s argan and ungurahua oil shampoo: £24, Douvalls.com

Douvall’s argan and ungurahua oil conditioner: £26, Douvalls.com

This was our first foray into using powder shampoo, and we were really impressed. With a sweet but fairly faint scent, the shampoo comes in the form of a powder that turns into a foam almost instantly when mixed with water in the shower. It’s billed as being better for the planet, too, as, instead of using plastic, the powder is housed in aluminium bottles, which can be topped up with recyclable refills.

Made with plant-based and cruelty-free ingredients, including grapefruit, thyme, papaya and coconut, it doesn’t contain any sulphates, silicones, parabens, phthalates or synthetic fragrances, which is worth noting if you find sulphates tend to dry out your hair. During use, the formula created an ample amount of lather, and left our hair feeling balanced and soft. However, the brand doesn’t offer a vegan conditioner.