Best Vegan Shampoo and Conditioner | Top 3 Picks

19th February 2024

Hi, everyone! Welcome, I am so glad to have you here today.

I’m Kreamy Vegan, a vegan and sustainable lifestyle blogger. I’m a health and beauty enthusiast and have researched and worked extensively with the beauty and healthcare industry. I also used to run a K-beauty brand, so I hope to give you some great insights into the best vegan shampoo and conditioner.

I believe everyone has their own beauty, and we can achieve our best selves by becoming healthy and respecting our planet. And by doing that, we can become beautiful inside and out. So you are here to find the best vegan shampoo and conditioner that is gentle for you and the planet, which means you are one step closer to becoming the most attractive version of yourself! Congratulations!

Then let’s get started with an introduction to the best vegan shampoo and conditioner.

Introduction to Best Vegan Shampoo and Conditioner

What is Vegan Haircare?

Vegetarian and vegan populations have increased in recent years. There are many types of vegetarian and vegan diets (such as high raw vegan and alkaline vegan diets as I covered on my blog), and the number of vegan and vegetarian menus and restaurants is only increasing. So what exactly is vegan?

First, vegan means not using animal products. As vegans, people do not participate in not only eating animal products but also using animal-derived products or products that have animal testing. So veganism is not restricted to a diet form, but more as a culture.

So vegan haircare is a little more than just not using products that don’t have animal ingredients. When you are choosing vegan haircare, it means the products are:

No use of unethical exploitation of animal materials
No animal testing
Environmentally conscious design
More gentle by using natural ingredients

Why vegan shampoo and conditioner?

Because vegan shampoo and conditioner don’t use animal materials and do not participate in animal testing, you can sleep at night knowing that your beauty products are “clean” in many ways!

I’ve always thought that I wouldn’t want to be beautiful and healthy at the cost of other lives… If a hair conditioner I’m using had horse oil from butchering horses or shampoo was used to put in rabbits’ eyes to see how long it took for rabbits to have red eyes from shampoo, it would make me nauseous to my stomach whenever I look at my shampoo and conditioner.

Not only that, vegan shampoos are usually environmentally more conscious. That means they care about the packaging material and use more gentle and natural ingredients that are not harmful to the environment. It’s not always the case for vegan shampoo and conditioner, but it’s generally more true. So in simple bullet points, here are the reasons why choosing vegan shampoo and conditioner is good for you.

Furry friends are happy
Eco-Friendly
Gentle and effective on our hair and body

Cruelty-Free vs Vegan Beauty Products

One thing I want to go over is the fact that cruelty-free products do not mean that they are also vegan. Cruelty-free products are not tested on animals, but there are cases where animal ingredients are used in the product itself. Funny, isn’t it? If you ask me, I don’t know how using animal ingredients can really be cruelty-free, but that’s just how it is defined in the beauty industry. In short, it’s like this.

Cruelty-Free: Products were not tested on animals. But it may contain animal ingredients.

Vegan: Products were not tested on animals, nor were they animal- or animal-derived products.

So let’s choose vegan! Let me tell you more in detail why vegan shampoo and conditioner is a great choice for you.

Benefits of Vegan Shampoo and Conditioner

If you are looking for the best vegan shampoo and conditioner, you are already an amazing person in my book. Shampoo and conditioner are something that we use every single day, so choosing a good product can make a huge difference in your life.

Vegan shampoo and conditioner can offer many potential health benefits. This is because often vegan shampoo and conditioners contain natural ingredients and avoid synthetic chemicals that may be harsh or irritating to the scalp and hair. Let’s dive right into the benefits!

1. Gentle Ingredients

Vegan hair care products usually use natural plant-based ingredients that are gentler on the scalp and hair compared to synthetic chemicals found in many over-the-counter products. This can help reduce the risk of potential skin allergies, irritations, and sensitivities.

2. Natural, Effective Ingredients

Vegan shampoos and conditioners typically use natural moisturizing agents such as coconut oil, shea butter, or argan oil. These ingredients can help hydrate and nourish the hair and scalp! They are much better for your body and the environment, promoting healthier hair growth.

3. Little to No Harmful Chemicals.

When a haircare company cares enough to make vegan shampoo and conditioners, it also cares about quality ingredients. So, vegan shampoo and conditioners often have little to no harmful chemicals as ingredients. If you use regular shampoo and conditioners with synthetic chemicals in them, they strip the natural oil and skin barrier on your scalp and cause dryness and flakiness. Yikes!

I am extremely sensitive to synthetic fragrances, in particular. So when I was a teenager and had no idea what to use, I used to get itchy red skin all over the scalp and shoulder and would sneeze so much right after shower. Do you also notice some excessive sneezing during and after a shower? It might be the synthetic fragrances in your shower products!

4. Environmental & Animal-Friendly

Vegan haircare products are more gentle on the environment by using sustainably sourced and biodegradable ingredients, which helps this planet flourish. Not only that, you know that no furry friends of ours were harmed in the process of making this beauty product. That alone makes it worthwhile to buy vegan products.

While vegan shampoo and conditioner can offer so many benefits to you, it is important to know that not all vegan hair care is created the same. There are countless cosmetic ingredients and many other factors to consider when choosing a product that is suitable for your hair, scalp, and any specific concerns you may have.

So then, how do you find the best vegan shampoo and conditioner?

best vegan shampoo and conditioner natural ingredients

How to Find Your Best Vegan Shampoo and Conditioner

1. Ingredients

First and foremost, ingredients are always the number one thing to look for when you are trying to get something for yourself. This is the foundation of any product! Everything that you need and don’t need is in the ingredients of the products, not just in shampoo and conditioner. So read your ingredients list! But of course, reading and learning about ingredients is extensive work. So I’m here to give you the best vegan shampoo and conditioner recommendations so you can sit in the comfort of your own and choose.

We want clean, natural, effective, and nourishing ingredients and avoid harsh chemicals and synthetic fragrances that are harmful to our skin and the environment.

2. Know Your Hair Type

Among great haircare products, the next thing you need to know to find your best vegan shampoo and conditioner is your hair and scalp type. Some people have thin and light hair, while others have thick and curly hair. Some people have oily scalps, while other people have dry scalps. There are specific hair products for specific hair and scalp types, so know your type to choose the best vegan shampoo and conditioner that fits your needs.

3. Any Specific Concerns?

When you get to learn about your hair and scalp type, you might find out that you have more specific concerns than just having a dry or oily scalp. The most common concerns are people with damaged hair or hair loss.

Damaged Hair

You can damage hair in many ways; Some people might have split ends from dying their hair often without taking good care of it. You can also damage your hair a lot after a vacation at the beach soaking your hair in salt water and getting too many UV rays from the sunlight. You can also damage your hair by washing it with bad shampoo or brushing it roughly while it’s still wet.

Hair Loss

Hair loss is one of the biggest specific concerns people have when it comes to hair care. While this is also genetic, switching your shampoo and conditioner to great products can certainly help your hair loss. Not only are some ingredients gentle on your scalp, but some active ingredients are great for scalp and hair strength.

4. Packaging

Well, when it comes to packaging, I’m not talking about the look of the packaging. Certainly, there are luxury beauty products that have beautiful packaging and they can make you feel like it’s worthwhile to buy the product just for the packaging…

However, excessive packaging or material also contributes to sustainability. Some vegan shampoos and conditioners have minimal or recycled material packaging, and they should be taken into consideration when buying your everyday products!

5. Price

Last but not least, we can check the price. A higher price doesn’t guarantee a better quality of a product, and certainly, I’m not going to put the cheapest price as the most important thing to consider. Companies are exploiting labor and resources from the Earth because they want to cut prices. And that’s also because people are looking for cheaper products. But a good price range should be taken into consideration.

best vegan shampoo and conditioner

How I Rate Best Vegan Shampoo and Conditioner Set

There are many things to consider when choosing a shampoo and a conditioner, as mentioned above, but there are four key factors that I looked at when rating vegan shampoo and conditioner sets to ensure these are quality products that you can feel comfortable knowing that these have checked off the checklist.

1. Natural Ingredients

Ingredients, ingredients, and ingredients.

It is the most important factor when rating and choosing the best vegan shampoo and conditioner, or any products for that matter. We’ve already narrowed down the products to vegan shampoo and conditioner, so that’s a great start! But if we want to find the best vegan shampoo and conditioner set, there is a little more digging needed than that.

The most common synthetic chemicals that are harmful to our health and the environment include sulfates, parabens, silicones, and synthetic fragrances.

The ingredients we are looking for are natural and effective.

2. Proven Scientific Active Ingredients

Natural vegan ingredients are a great way to find your shampoo and conditioner sets, but there are some specific ingredients studied and shown to improve scalp and hair health, such as biotin, niacinamide, salicylic acid, tea tree oil, argan oil, and caffeine!

So if the vegan shampoo and conditioner have these ingredients that have proven positive results on our scalp while being eco-friendly, they will get brownie points from me!

3. Additional Sustainability Concerns

Some companies took extra care of their packaging to tackle sustainability concerns. For instance, some shampoo and conditioner bars have minimal packaging; they only require a paper wrap to package their product, while other regular shampoo and conditioners require a plastic bottle every time you buy and use the product.

When there is an eco-friendly approach to packaging or ingredients, that is also an important factor I consider in choosing the best vegan shampoo and conditioner.

4. Price

As I said, a higher price point doesn’t always guarantee good quality. Consumers always looking for lower price points push companies to make unethical choices to lower their production costs. Therefore, I will be looking for the right price point that is not too high or suspiciously too low—I mean, I’ve been in the beauty industry. I know a few things about how much things cost. I won’t name them, but you’d be surprised at how many brands use cheap and harmful ingredients in their products and spend most of their budget on packaging and advertisements to make them look luxurious and eco-friendly…

By considering these main four factors, I hope you can choose shampoos and conditioners that effectively meet your own hair care needs, preferences, and values—and ultimately get healthy and beautiful hair!

Best Vegan Shampoo and Conditioner | Top 3 Picks

You have waited long enough to reach this part of the post, but it is important to go over all the information and reasons why these are the best! Choosing vegan is great, but even among vegan shampoos and conditioners, there are even better ones. So with no further ado, let me introduce you to my top picks.

best-vegan-shampoo-and-conditioner_aromatica-rosemary-shampoo

Source: Official Aromatica homepage

1. AROMATICA Rosemary Scalp Scaling Shampoo & Conditioner

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Key Features ✅

Made with vegan, food-grade, and botanical ingredients
Rosemary extract & essential oil
Salicylic Acid added

Pros 👍

Effective ingredients like rosemary and salicylic acid for scalp health
Great aroma therapeutic scent
Feels very refreshing after use

Cons 👎

Some might not like the deep, woody rosemary scent
Higher price point than average

Summary

This is my all-time favorite shampoo and conditioner! I’ve emptied so many bottles of this rosemary shampoo because it feels so refreshing after using it. It also has natural rosemary essential oil that smells great and calms down the scalp. Natural shampoo and conditioner can smell pretty dull, but these don’t.

I personally really love the rosemary scent, especially knowing that it is from the natural rosemary extract and essential oil, but some might find it too woody. Also, some people commented on the higher price point of this shampoo and conditioner set, but it is a pretty big bottle so you’ll be able to use it for a while.

best vegan shampoo and conditioner

2. Ingreendients Vegan Shampoo & Conditioner

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Key Features ✅

100% plant-based ingredients
No chemicals
Vegan & Cruelty-Free
100% Recycled Plastic Bottles

Pros 👍

No sulfates, betaines, parabens, PEGs, silicones, phthalates, glycols, synthetic fragrances, dyes, colors, or additives
High-quality organic ingredients
pH Balanced

Cons 👎

Doesn’t smell nice
Takes away oil and might not be suitable for dry scalp
Small products

Summary

This is a great vegan shampoo and conditioner for people with oily scalp! This Ingreedients vegan shampoo and conditioner became so popular just recently, and no wonder. With amazing natural and effective ingredients, it is safe to use and will keep your scalp so healthy! If you are used to using shampoo and conditioner with synthetic fragrances and ingredients, you might find them a little different. As they use natural ingredients, these might not have a strong “pleasant” smell or keep your hair untangled. But when you get used to it, you get a step closer to having a healthy scalp and luscious hair.

Think of it like eating healthy for the first time after eating junk food. It might taste dull and boring, but your body will get healthier every time. It’s like that with this shampoo and conditioner.

This set would make the best vegan shampoo and conditioner, especially for those of you with oily scalp and hair.

best vegan shampoo bar best vegan conditioner bar

3. Naturel Relax Moisturizing Shampoo Bar and Conditioner Bar Set

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Key Features ✅

Shampoo and conditioner bars with zero waste
Vegan and Cruelty-Free
Many product types to choose from

Pros 👍

Zero waste
Great price point
Lime oil, grapefruit oil, purple biotin, argan oil, and peppermint oil to choose from depending on your hair and scalp type

Cons 👎

Contains sulfate in shampoo
Can make your hair dry

Summary

I had to include a bar set because they are a great choice for zero waste and a great price point because there is no packaging needed and can last a long time if you take good care of it.

One thing to note when using shampoo bar soap is that it is very important to make lots of foam on your hand before using it. If you rub it directly on your hair, it might tangle your hair while not making enough foam to cleanse properly. There were a few people in the review saying that they didn’t like the soap because it stripped the oil out of their scalp, and although that might be true due to the sulfate content in the soap, you could make it work so much better if you make foam on your hand and massage the foam on your scalp.

My Thoughts on Best Vegan Shampoo and Conditioner

I hope you enjoyed this post and learned a few things about what vegan haircare is, why you should care, and some product recommendations for you to choose the one right for you.

You might have a very specific concern, such as a dry scalp that results in losing hair, itchy scalp, or dandruff. In that case, I have another blog post for you coming up soon. I just need more research to do, and I’ll come back with a complete guide after I’m done with my homework.

If you enjoyed this post, check out my Everything Shower routine blog post. I talk about how I take care of my hair and body in the shower, and there is a recipe for natural hair and facial masks you can make at home.

Happy shower!