If You Have A Sensitive Scalp, You'll Want To Switch To This Kind Of Shampoo

Washing your hair may seem simple enough, but sometimes “squeaky clean” can really mean stripped of nutrients—that is, if you’re using a shampoo with sulfates.

What exactly is a sulfate? Sulfates are essentially detergents in shampoos to help strip oil, dirt, product buildup, and even dead skin cells away from the hair and scalp, says celebrity hair stylist and salon owner Julien Farel, chairman and founder of the Julien Farel Group. When you see a very frothy lather coming from a shampoo, that probably means there’s a sulfate at work.

Meet Our Experts: Julien Farel, chairman and founder of the Julien Farel Group, Savannah Fincher, a licensed hairstylist and corporate educator at Blo Blow Dry Bar, Fae Norris, a hairstylist at Rock Paper Salon in Los Angeles

The problem: These compounds can take a lot of beneficial things from your locks as collateral damage during the cleansing process. And if you have sensitive skin, daily use of a sulfate-based shampoo—or repeated improper rinsing of one—could lead to dull, brittle tresses and potentially even hair loss or thinning over time.

Thankfully, there are plenty of sulfate-free shampoos to keep your tresses shiny and strong. Stylists say these are the best.