The key, she says, is to listen to your hair’s needs—using a clarifying shampoo occasionally, when your curls feel weighed down or your scalp needs a reset, can help refresh your curls while maintaining their natural bounce and hydration.
When should you not use clarifying shampoo?
Clarifying shampoos are not always the right choice, especially if your hair is already dry or damaged. However, with the right formula, they can still be part of a healthy hair routine. Skip harsh cleansers if you have thicker, curly, or coily hair, as these can strip the strands of natural moisture, says Gibson. Instead, he recommends looking for mild or gentle clarifying shampoos that are sulfate-free and enriched with hydrating ingredients like coconut oil, ceramides, or aloe to help maintain your hair’s moisture balance. Rose also stresses the importance of preserving natural oils, recommending the occasional use of a clarifying shampoo to keep buildup in check.
Meet the Experts
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?
For our review of the best clarifying shampoos for curly hair, we enlisted the help of multiple editors, writers, contributors, and dermatologists to find the most hydrating, strand-softening formulas out there. Testers considered performance across four primary categories: efficacy, texture and experience, fragrance, and packaging. For more on what’s involved in our reporting, check out our complete reviews process and methodology page.
Our staff and testers
A beauty product is a personal purchase. You might be searching for a face cream to address persistent dryness or a new nail product to add to your Sunday self-care routine; you may simply be browsing around for the latest launches to hit the hair market. No matter what you seek or your individual needs and concerns, Allure wants to ensure that you love anything we recommend in our stories. We believe that having a diverse team of writers and editors—in addition to the wide range of outside testers and industry experts we regularly call upon—is essential to reaching that goal.