The Best Shampoos for Fine Hair, According to Hairstylists

“One of my very favorite products for fine hair is Davines Volu Shampoo,” says Brooke Jordan, owner and master stylist at the Bird House. She likes it because “it uses turnip extract to gently lift the hair off the scalp” and give it more volume at the roots. She also says that, regardless of how often you wash, “dry shampoo really is a good friend, even on clean hair — it can give you more volume and texture.” Santini also loves the Volu Shampoo because it is free of parabens and sulphates, gentle enough to use every day, and detangles the hair so you don’t need to use conditioner (though if your hair is super-long, he suggests using a very small amount of conditioner on just the ends to get rid of knots; otherwise, he says, skip it altogether).

Davines is a generally praised brand when it comes to hair care, with Strategist beauty writer Rio Viera-Newton and contributor Leah Finnigan both praising its natural ingredients and taming abilities. These endorsements, coupled with those of Jordan and Santini, helped the Volu Shampoo earn the top spot on this list.

If you don’t want to spend a ton on shampoo you’ll be using for frequent washes, Brit Kenna, celebrity hairstylist and owner of Kennaland Salon, suggests NatureLab Tokyo’s inexpensive, plant-based volumising shampoo. It “uses rice protein to build volume and soy protein to add thickness, and also has moisturising elements which don’t weigh down the hair.” Rio is also a fan of the brand and calls its Repair Shampoo (a cousin of this volumising one) a “near-perfect dupe” for her “fancy Sachajuan shampoo.”

Jordan loves using Sachajuan Ocean Mist Volume Shampoo to add serious texture to fine hair. “The shampoo gives your hair structure and maintains strength without stripping it of its essential proteins,” she says. If you really want to amp up texture, she recommends using the shampoo, letting your hair dry, and then styling it with the Ocean Mist sea-salt spray, which, unlike many other sea-salt sprays on the market, uses sugars as well as salt to keep hair from drying out (and to give it a little extra grit).

“Dallas Thickening Shampoo by R+Co not only works magic on fine hair; it has a heavenly scent as well,” says Connors. It’s formulated with biotin to increase hair strength, vitamin B5 to add lustre, and saw palmetto for extra body, making it “perfect for anyone with fine hair who wants bombshell volume when they blow-dry.” To maintain that volume on day-two (or
-three) hair, Connors suggests an old-school trick. “Pull hair into a ponytail or bun on the very top of your head and secure with a scrunchie — do not use an elastic, as it can bend hair and make it look weird when you let it down in the morning.” Jordan enthusiastically agrees: “In terms of how to maximise volume, sleeping with clean hair tied up on your head can give you lots of volume in the morning.”

Her other big fine-hair-care tip is to “make sure you get frequent haircuts.” Since it’s smaller in diameter, fine hair tends to be fragile and thus more breakable. “Think of it like a branch — a thick branch is harder to snap. Frequent haircuts also means removing dead weight and maintaining shape, which all can make your hair lighter-weight and more voluminous.”

“As we age, our hair texture and thickness tends to change,” explains Connors, who names Keratase’s Bain Densite Bodifying Shampoo as his favourite pick for thinning hair. “It contains hyaluronic acid to plump hair up and ceramide to strengthen,” he explains.

Just because fine hair tends to get oily at the roots doesn’t mean it can’t also be dry at the tips. If you feel like you need to pump up the moisture, then take the advice of Connors, who likes the “luxurious” formula of Sisley Paris Revitalizing Volumizing Shampoo because it is “packed with vitamins and minerals” to nourish and protect your hair and scalp, including magnesium, zinc, and vitamins B5 and B6. It also contains camellia oil, which he says “makes your hair feel like silk without weighing it down.” And although his shampoo is the most expensive on our list, Connors assures us that a little goes a long way.

Chelsey Pickthorn, master stylist and founder of Pickthorn salon, suggests staying away from any volumising shampoos you may use in your daily routine, as they tend to contain ingredients that exacerbate the problem. To pump hydration back into your strands without weighing them down, she tells her clients to go for the Davines Nourishing Shampoo. Alyssa Sholl, master stylist at Hairroin Salon and Parlour H, agrees, and she recommends pairing it with the Davines Nourishing Conditioner, which she calls a “salon favourite.”

If you’re looking to grow your fine hair to a Rapunzel-level length, Gregorio Ruggeri of Salon Ruggeri says that Act+Acre Cold Processed Hair Cleanse “helps nurture the growing process” — particularly when it comes to fine hair. The formula is rich in vitamins and antioxidants like rosemary, which stimulates circulation in the scalp and promotes healthy hair follicles, helping hair grow longer and stronger from the root. It also contains vetiver, lavender, and amaranth oil, all of which strengthen and moisturise the hair shaft, helping to keep it from breaking as it grows.

Hairstylist Kate Beko of Ammon Carver Studio calls L’anza Healing Haircare’s Thickening Shampoo her go-to for “removing any excess oil or product buildup that may be weighing down” fine hair. The formula includes gugo-bark extract to gently cleanse hair, keratin to boost fullness, and won’t “leaving the hair feeling dry,” she says.

One of the trickiest parts of caring for fine hair is figuring out how often to wash it. “It’s easy to say that you shouldn’t wash your hair very often, but a lot of my clients with fine hair tell me it drives them crazy to wait too long,” says Jordan. If your hair is super-oily to the point where you must shampoo every day, then Ruggeri suggests New Wash, saying that, in his experience, “my clients who have fine hair and wash their hair every day have found the right type of body-boosting components from using New Wash.” New Wash is technically a shampoo-and-conditioner replacement, which means it’s more like an essential-oil-based hair cleanser that washes hair without any suds. It’s formulated without detergents or synthetic compounds, doesn’t dry hair out, and leaves it conditioned and tangle-free. And because it’s a two-in-one product, it’s no-fuss and ideal for someone looking for a streamlined, low-maintenance routine. For those who need more convincing, Strategist writer Molly Young also gave the shampoo a ringing endorsement, writing “the results are wild. My long hair air-dries perfectly, with no ‘squeaky’ texture. It is shiny and falls in loose waves, like it did when I was a kid. I don’t need to blow-dry it. My chronic flaky scalp (sorry!) is gone forever.”

When clients with chemically treated fine hair ask Ruggeri for a shampoo that will help build and protect their hair without making it flat, he told us he always gives the same answer. “Hands down, I always respond with Virtue Recovery Shampoo and Conditioner,” he says, explaining that the shampoo works by filling in cracks in the cuticle caused by damage from heat, chemicals, and colour treatments. Plus the formula is lightweight enough to give fine strands lift and body without weighing them down, he adds.