The 10 Best Shampoos for Gray Hair Help to Banish Brassiness and Smooth Texture
Because silver strands require a little more love.
I’m not one to flex often, but if there’s one physical attribute I’m really proud of, it’s the silvery streak located right at the front of my hairline. I’ve had it since my early 20s, at least, and over the years, it’s only grown more prominent (and with it, the compliments and comparisons to Rogue from the X-Men). Still, like anyone with any amount of gray hair, I can tell you first hand that these strands come with unique challenges of their own.
“Grays can be a different texture, making it very hard to tame,” says professional hairstylist Eric Marshall Wright. Those who have spent their entire lives building a routine for bone-straight hair might suddenly find themselves with several snowy curls; fine-haired folks might discover their steel-gray strands are coarse and wiry. And, as Marshall notes, gray hair isn’t just one color: It can range from salt-and-pepper and dark gray to platinum or silvery white.
As such, going gray can necessitate a complete hair care routine overhaul—starting with your shampoo. While there is no strong evidence that you can reverse or even delay grays (“I’m intrigued by shampoos or other topicals claiming to slow new grays, but we cannot call them proven,” says board-certified dermatologist Ksenia Kobets, MD), a good hydrating shampoo can help improve texture. Similarly, “if you love your silver hair but it’s turning yellow, a violet shampoo like L’Oréal Professionnel Silver or Kérastase Blond Absolu Bain Ultra-Violet can make it look cooler and brighter by counteracting those yellow tones,” says Kobets.
I tapped hairstylists and board-certified dermatologists to find out which shampoos are the best for gray hair. Keep scrolling for their picks.
The Best Shampoos for Gray Hair
- Best For Shampoo for Improving Grays Manageability: Zenagen ECLIPSE Color Preservation + Gray Support Shampoo
- Best Shampoo for Pigment Preservation: Arey Wash Peptide Shampoo for Grey Hair
- Best Shampoo for Color-Treated Gray Hair: Shibui Violet Toning Shampoo
- Best Shampoo Splurge for Gray Hair: Sisley Hair Rituel Revitalizing Nourishing Shampoo
- Best Shampoo for Silver-White Grays: Oribe Silverati Shampoo
- Best Clarifying Shampoo for Gray Hair: Davines Solu
- Best Value Shampoo for Gray Hair: L’Oréal Professionnel Silver
- Best-Smelling Shampoo for Gray Hair: Kérastase Blond Absolu Bain Ultra-Violet Shampoo
- Best Shampoo For Thinning Gray Hair: NatureLab.TOKYO SAISEI Stress Defense Amino Acid Shampoo
- Best Shampoo for Transitioning to Gray: Olaplex No.4P Hair Brightening & Toning Purple Shampoo
Best For Shampoo for Improving Grays Manageability
Graying is often seen as the alternative to dyeing one's hair, especially after a certain age. But gray and color-treated hair have more in common than you’d think; namely, both can often become coarse and struggle with vibrancy, shine, and manageability. (Ditto chemically processed hair.) This shampoo, recommended by board-certified dermatologist Morayo Adisa, MD, FAAD, is designed to hydrate and strengthen. It does so via a blend of tangerine extract for moisture, horsetail extract for strength, and soothing butterfly ginger.
Customer Review: “This is a wonderful shampoo! Way better than I was even expecting. It lathers beautifully, and the odor is not overwhelming like some. After washing and styling, my hair is soft and feels like it's full of moisture. I have naturally gray hair, and the shine and manageability is really off the charts. This shampoo is expensive, but boy, do I love it. One more thought: the pump isn't some cheap design; it's a high-quality structure that is sturdy and works well. I'm looking forward to overall healthier hair. Highly recommend.” — Zenagen
Best Shampoo For Pigment Preservation
Again: There is no compelling evidence that any shampoo can reverse gray hair and restore its pigment. That said, Arey’s Wash Peptide Shampoo for Grey Hair—which aims to preserve the pigment you do have and discourage new grays from popping up—is still worth the investment if the goal is keeping silver strands at bay. It contains the potentially gray-reversing peptide palmitoyl tetrapeptide-20, botanical antioxidants to fight oxidative stress, and caffeine to stimulate hair growth. Note the brand says this one works best for those with up to 30 percent gray coverage; so, if you’ve got a little more salt in your salt-and-pepper blend, you might want to look elsewhere.
Customer Review: “I'm on my 3rd or 4th bottle. They last longer than you'd think. I keep thinking that there's a placebo effect in how I see my hair, but it seems that gray sprouting has decelerated. I started with <25% gray, which might be important, since existing gray stays. But the rapid (to me) spread of gray I was noticing has (I think) actually slowed significantly. I only use the shampoo, so if this is an achievable result with just the one Arey product, then the price feels less steep (still steep for a little over a month's worth shampoo, but not awful).” — Amazon
Best Shampoo for Color-Treated Gray Hair
If your gray comes courtesy of a mixing bowl (or is enhanced by one), this violet shampoo is for you. The cornerstone of the formula is a “Core 4 Color Complex” consisting of oat oil, bamboo extract, vegan tripeptides, and rice seed protein; together, they condition, strengthen, and boost flexibility. (There’s also antioxidant-rich acai oil for shine and hibiscus flower extract for softening). “It neutralizes any yellow in the hair and will give [you] lots of shine,” says Paglionico.
Customer Review: “Love this shampoo. The violet works so much better than the other "purple" shampoos getting the brassiness out. I definitely will buy this again!” — Amazon
Best Shampoo Splurge for Gray Hair
If your time in the shower is a treat upon which you’re willing (and able) to spare no expense, this pricey pick will give you your money’s worth. “This luxury shampoo costs $100 but is worth it,” says Paglionico. “It is specifically formulated for very dry hair and has five different moisturizing oils and a specific ceramide to help build strength.” Said oils include coconut, meadowfoam, shea, moringa, and macadamia, which form what the brand calls an Intense Nutritive Complex. The ingredients also include a vitamin-and-mineral-heavy Fortifying-Vitalizing Complex and cotton proteins, both of which help strengthen strands.
Customer review: “This is no exaggeration when I say this has transformed my perimenopausal hair! My once-soft hair has turned coarse and wiry and quite unmanageable (another charming side effect of menopause!). I didn't have any expectations, but this shampoo is amazing. My hair is soft, bouncy, manageable, and has an incredible shine on my dull hair. Zero frizz, either!” — Nordstrom
Best For Shampoo for Silver-White Grays
If your hair is full on silvery-white—naturally or via color treatment—this illuminating shampoo, which comes recommended by Adisa, can help you achieve or maintain blinged-out illumination without any risk of purple staining. Seriously: While the ingredients feature a blend of blue and silver pigments to cancel out yellow tones, the formula itself has a silvery-white hue. Also on the ingredients list is European Silver Fir extract, a rather appropriately named protectant against free-radical damage.
Customer Review: “If you have naturally white hair as I do, purple shampoos work only for so long. Then, if you're like me, children and strangers alike might start complimenting you on your lilac hair color! SO NOT what I want! And herein is why I really like this Oribe Silverati Shampoo! NO lilac. NO Blue. NO purple. Just bright, white, shiny hair! AND, I do find this to be a very rich shampoo that lathers beautifully, so I actually divide it with water and get two bottles' worth for one! Great shampoo that is also quite beautiful to look at: It is silver!” — Amazon
Best Clarifying Shampoo for Gray Hair
Product buildup can occur on any hair type, texture, or color. But for those with gray hair, it's crucial to remove it without stripping the hair of its natural oils, lest you end up with brittle, broken strands. (See also: Those with dry, curly, and/or color-treated hair.) Marshall recommends this gentle formula, which uses buckwheat extract to help retain moisture and prevent dryness and breakage. He suggests following it up with the brand’s Purple or Alchemic Silver Shampoo; “it keeps it fresh-looking,” he says.
Customer Review: “I’ve really been enjoying Davines SOLU Shampoo lately. It gives that perfect deep-clean feeling without being too harsh on the hair or scalp. My hair feels incredibly fresh, soft, and much lighter after every wash, especially after using styling products or dry shampoo. I also noticed more natural volume and shine. The formula feels very high quality, and the scent is clean and refreshing, almost like leaving a salon. Definitely one of those shampoos that makes your hair feel fully refreshed after every use.” — Davines
Best Value Shampoo for Gray Hair
L’Oréal Professionnel Silver doesn’t always scream affordable—but you get a lot of brass-busting for your buck. Formulated with magnesium to strengthen hair fibers and amino acids to protect against environmental damage, this violet shampoo is gentle and, as the name would imply, a particularly good option for those working with silvery shades of gray (or blonde, for that matter). Just limit use to once or twice a week, unless you’ve been looking to experiment with a pastel purple hair color.
Customer review: “Love this stuff. This dark purple shampoo really works well to tone down any brassy coloration in your hair without harshness. The shampoo itself is very gentle and rinses out well. On the pricey side, but it lasts a long time because you don't need to use a lot. Effective at preventing a mix of gray and white hair from yellowing.” — Amazon
Best-Smelling Shampoo for Gray Hair
Another purple option for color preservation and banishing unwanted yellow and orange undertones, Kérastase’s Blond Absolu Bain Ultra-Violet Shampoo contains hyaluronic acid and vitamin E to help lock in moisture, vitamin C to help boost brightness, and edelweiss flower for softening; it also happens to have a gorgeous, citrus-fresh “California Splash” fragrance (orange blossom, bergamot, mandarin, peony, and cedarwood are among the notes) that will have everyone doing a double-take when they go in for a hug.
Customer review: “I have fine, thin hair that I get colored silver every six months, and this Kérastase Blond Absolu purple shampoo and conditioner has been a total game changer. I only use it once a week, and even four months out of the salon, it keeps the brassiness and yellow tones completely away. The shampoo lathers beautifully, which I love since a little goes a long way, and it leaves my hair feeling soft instead of dry like a lot of other purple shampoos I’ve tried. And the bonus? My husband can’t get enough of the scent—he always comments on how good my hair smells. Definitely worth it!” — Amazon
Best Shampoo for Thinning Gray Hair
Keeping silvery strands looking shiny and bright is important, no doubt, but plenty of people with gray hair have a higher priority: keeping their hair, period. Along with that potentially gray-reversing palmitoyl tetrapeptide-20, this formula features bamboo and rosebay extracts to encourage hair growth and reduce loss, along with black spruce bark and clover extract to help hair look stronger and shinier. To make sure the hair gets totally clean without stripping it of its natural, moisture-sealing oils, it uses a blend of amino-acid and coconut-based surfactants to ensure that the hair gets clean without drying it out.
Customer review: “After my favorite NatureLab Shine shampoo stopped selling, I decided to give this new release a try, and I am so impressed! The Saisei shampoo has a delightfully fresh aroma and lathers easily. It leaves my hair feeling stronger, fuller, softer, shinier, and my scalp rejuvenated and healthy. This is my new go-to!” — Amazon
Best Shampoo for Transitioning to Gray
Transitioning from coloring your grays to wearing them can do a number on your hair; figuring out how to manage gray hair that’s a different type or texture than your non-gray hair can also be tricky. Olaplex’s No.4P Purple Shampoo has the same bond-building benefits as all of the brand’s products—helping to seal cuticles and minimize dryness and frizz—but enhances them with violet toning agents to neutralize brassy tones. It also works fast: You only need to leave it on for a couple of minutes, and you can expect to see a noticeable bump in brightness after your first use.
Customer review: “My natural gray hair was getting brassy. My hairdresser recommended this shampoo, and what a difference it made. I love how it makes my salt-and-pepper gray hair look and feel. I get so many compliments on my hair. People think I get it colored. It looks and feels great. Definitely repurchasing.” — Ulta
What Type of Shampoo Is Best for Gray Hair?
“The best type of shampoo for gray hair is one that is hydrating and moisturizing,” says professional hairstylist Lauren Paglionico; you’ll also want to consider purple and violet options that can cancel out brassiness. “Gray hair tends to be dry and coarse and more susceptible to yellow tones,” she adds.
Why Does Hair Go Gray?
Simply put, “hair goes gray due to decreased melanin production in the hair follicle,” says Adisa. Digging a bit deeper, you can “think of each follicle as having a little color factory of pigment cells that add melanin to hair as it grows; over time, those cells can make less pigment and the reservoirs of cells that replace them can run down,” explains Kobets. “Then, the next hair grows in with little or no color, and what looks gray is often a mix of pigmented and white strands.”
Gray hair can be caused by numerous factors, including underlying conditions and oxidative stress. While we most commonly associate it with aging, genetics play a big role in exactly when it’ll start happening, says Kobets, “though we can’t put an exact percentage on it for any one person, since many other factors play a role.”
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Meet the Experts
Lauren Paglionico is a master colorist and founder of the founder of New York City’s Lrn Beauty.
Dr. Morayo Adisa is double board-certified as a dermatologist and dermatopathologist. She is medical director for Dermatology Physicians Chicago/Kenilworth.
Dr. Kseniya Kobets is a board-certified dermatologist and director of cosmetic dermatology at Montefiore Einstein Advanced Care in New York City.
