While incredibly common, hair loss is not the sort of topic that comes up at dinner parties. Few of us relish the discussion at all. Hair loss is stressful. I can attest to this. I feel far more sentimentality attached to my lengths than I should. My locks are like a protective blanket for me. I feel my best when my mane is freshly washed and styled. A blow-dry is transformational for my mood.
I experienced my first wave of serious hair thinning back in 2020. Beyond normal shedding (50 to 100 hairs per day, say the NHS), I started to notice clumps on my pillow and heart-plummeting handfuls on wash day. This set me on a mission to turn the tide with a holistic routine that includes hair supplements, red light therapy for hair growth, hair growth oils, hair serums and styling essentials designed to nourish, increase density and promote follicle health. But the most effective routine should start with the right shampoo designed specifically to tackle hair loss.
As the first step in any wash day routine, it is important to choose the right ingredients in a shampoo to prevent irritation and dryness and remove follicle-clogging buildup effectively, while also promoting a healthy scalp environment. This is the role of a shampoo for hair loss, says Dr Nichola Conlon, molecular biologist and longevity expert, who also encourages managing expectations on how much a shampoo can do: “A cosmetic shampoo isn’t going to treat every underlying cause of hair loss, but what it can do is create a healthier environment for the hair you already have. A well-formulated shampoo can remove excess oil, product buildup and support the scalp barrier to help manage some of the scalp conditions that can contribute to irritation.”
The most effective results will be achieved by including shampoos for hair loss as part of a wider routine. Dr Conlon adds, “When combined with good conditioning, it can also reduce breakage, which helps preserve density and length. There are emerging ingredients and technologies aimed at supporting the follicle and reducing shedding, but I’d think of shampoo as one part of a wider scalp-and-hair routine rather than a standalone.”
First, it is important to get to the root cause (sorry, not sorry) of what is causing hair loss in the first place. With the help of Dr Conlon as well as health expert and physician Dr Naheed Ali, we decode the different types of hair loss, the ingredients to look out for, the frequency of how often to wash your hair and the other products to support a wider hair loss-fighting routine.
Below, Vogue highlights six of the best shampoos for hair loss.
Best anti-shedding shampoo: Kérastase Genesis Nutri-fortifiant Anti-Hair Fall Shampoo
Best for strengthening: Dove Scalp + Hair Therapy Density & Growth Shampoo
Best for scalp stimulation: Aveda Invati Ultra Advanced Exfoliating Shampoo Light
Best for hair growth: Biotop Professional 04 Shedding Shampoo
Best for strengthening existing strands: L’Oréal Professionnel Density Advanced Shampoo
Best for thickening: Beauty Garage Shea Microfuel Thickening Shampoo
FAQs
What are the different types of hair loss?
Before beginning any hair loss treatment plan, experts will want to first get to the bottom of the causes of the hair loss in the first place, be it stress-related, genetic or a condition. Dr Ali explains the different types:
- Androgenetic alopecia: “The most common form, known as male and female pattern hair loss; follicles gradually become smaller over time.
- Telogen effluvium: Causes increased shedding after triggers such as illness, stress, weight loss, hormonal changes or childbirth.
- Alopecia areata: An autoimmune condition that usually causes patches of hair loss.
- Traction alopecia: From repeated tension on the hair.
- Scarring alopecia: Where inflammation can permanently damage the follicle.”
Which shampoo ingredients should you look out for to help with hair loss or scalp health?
In the hair loss space, there are ingredients commonly discussed, like caffeine, rosemary, biotin, niacinamide and more recently, peptides. But are they worth looking out for in a hair loss shampoo?
- Caffeine: According to both experts, there is encouraging evidence for caffeine.
- Rosemary: This TikTok viral ingredient has much in the way of anecdotal evidence and some encouraging evidence, suggests Dr Ali, but Dr Conlon believes “we still need stronger clinical research before making big claims.”
- Minoxidil: An established ingredient to treat androgenetic alopecia.
- Niacinamide: A particularly interesting ingredient for Dr Conlon, who says she is “interested in ingredients that support the environment the follicle is growing in by supporting skin barrier and hydration.”
- Peptides: Increasingly discussed for hair quality and follicle functionality, Dr Ali says these “may help improve the condition and appearance of the hair”.
- Biotin: “I would be more cautious about biotin claims because unless someone is actually deficient, there is little evidence that adding biotin to a shampoo will stimulate new growth,” cautions Dr Ali.
- What else? “For dandruff or an inflamed, flaky scalp, ingredients such as ketoconazole, salicylic acid, selenium sulphide or zinc-based anti-dandruff agents may be more useful.”
Does the frequency of shampooing have an impact on hair loss?
This is a common myth, say the experts. “There’s a persistent myth that washing your hair too often makes it fall out, but the hairs you see in the shower are generally hairs that were already at the shedding stage of their growth cycle and washing simply helps release them,” explains Dr Conlon. She advises that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to hair washing. “There isn’t one ideal shampooing frequency for everybody. It depends on your scalp, hair type, how oily you are, how active you are and whether you have conditions such as dandruff. The aim is to keep the scalp clean and balanced without unnecessarily drying or irritating it. Someone with an oily scalp may comfortably wash every day, whereas another person may need to wash much less frequently.”
Are there products that are more important for hair loss than shampoo?
“Treatments such as topical minoxidil have considerably stronger evidence than cosmetic shampoos because they act directly on the hair-growth process,” Dr Ali tells us. “Other treatments depend entirely on the diagnosis, which is why identifying whether someone has pattern loss, excessive shedding, inflammation or an autoimmune condition matters more than choosing a particular shampoo.”
In general, however, Dr Conlon believes that “leave-on scalp products are interesting because they remain in contact with the scalp for much longer than a rinse-off shampoo. This is why I increasingly think about hair care as a system: shampoo to maintain the scalp environment, conditioner and masks to protect the fibre and targeted scalp serums to support the environment in which the follicle grows.”
What signs suggest that hair loss may need medical investigation?
Both experts agree that you should seek medical assessment if the following occurs: sudden hair loss, worsening and occurring in patches. Look out too for when “the scalp is painful, very itchy, red, inflamed or beginning to scar. Loss of eyebrow or body hair can also be significant.”
Dr Conlon warns, “Hair shedding can sometimes be a sign of something happening elsewhere in the body, including iron deficiency, thyroid or hormonal issues, illness or nutritional changes, so getting to the underlying cause matters.”