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Byrdie / Chloe Jeong
To achieve volume and take your hair to killer heights, a good thickening shampoo is a must, especially if you have fine or thin hair. A recent study published in The International Journal of Trichology notes that shampoos can be effective in adding volume to hair with the right ingredients.
The best shampoos for fine hair are those that will remove all product build-up, plump up the hair shaft and leave strands light and full-bodied, notes hairstylist and salon owner Anthony Nader. You also want to make sure you're thoroughly cleansing the scalp with a rigorous non-irritating formula, as excess oils and grease can weigh hair down. Finally, to fully achieve volume and a great hairstyle, texturize your tresses with a shampoo that is free from sulfates and silicones, which are heavy on delicate shafts.
We conducted hours of research on the best shampoos for fine hair, evaluating each formula on active ingredients, results, and how manageable they leave fine hair. Our team then combined these results with our own research of fan favorites plus stylist-recommended picks.
Ahead, find the best shampoos for fine hair.
Best Overall
Living Proof Full Shampoo
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Nordstrom
Rinses clean
Fresh scent
Available in multiple sizes
Adds body
Not Byrdie Clean
This sulfate-free formula is great for a deep cleanse to remove oil, grease, and product build-up, leaving you with clean strands for optimal styling. It’s also silicone-free, so it won’t contribute to any further product buildup. Oh, and the smell is beautiful: fresh, clean, and floral.
Price at time of publish: $32
Active Ingredients: Peptides, amino acids, and phyantriol | Hair Type: Fine, thin | Sulfate-Free: Yes | Scent: Floral | Size: 2 or 8 ounces | Byrdie Clean: No | Cruelty-Free: Yes
Best Drugstore
L'Oréal Paris EverPure Sulfate Free Moisture Shampoo
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Amazon
Boosts shine
Protects color-treated hair
Reduces frizz
Can be a little drying
Those with colored hair types will know a sulfate-free product is often a smart choice, and thankfully, this option from L’Oreal ticks that box and then some. Aside from preserving color and shine, it offers a deep but nourishing clean, resulting in hair that’s glossy, bouncy, and full. It’s good enough to rival most of the luxury options out there, in our opinion.
Price at time of publish: $13
Active Ingredients: Rosemary botanicals | Hair Type: Fine, thin | Sulfate-Free: Yes | Scent: Original | Size: 8.5 ounces | Byrdie Clean: No | Cruelty-Free: No
Best Budget
Monday Haircare Volume Shampoo
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Target
Hair feels soft and clean
Gives limp hair a boost
Contains PEGs
This cutely packaged offering from new Zealand-born Monday Haircare is everything we want at an affordable price point. The volumizing formula claims to add volume to the hair without drying it out. Plus, the packaging is fully recyclable.
Price at time of publish: $17
Active Ingredients: Coconut oil, ginger root extract, glycerin, and vitamin E | Hair Type: Fine, thin | Sulfate-Free: Yes | Scent: Original | Size: 12 ounces | Byrdie Clean: No | Cruelty-Free: Yes
Best Clean Beauty
Briogeo Blossom & Bloom Ginseng + Biotin Volumizing Shampoo
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Amazon
Smells great
Boosts volume
Value size available
Difficult to produce a lather
With zero sulfates and 93 percent natural ingredients, this is a shampoo you can feel good about using. Formulated with biotin, ginseng, maltodextrin, and a proprietary NOVA Complex®, it claims to add volume while purifying, nourishing, and refreshing the hair. And considering it’s sulfate-free, it still lathers up beautifully.
Price at time of publish: $28
Active Ingredients: Maltodextrin, biotin, and ginseng | Hair Type: Fine, thin | Sulfate-Free: Yes | Scent: Original | Size: 8 or 33.8 ounces | Byrdie Clean: No | Cruelty-Free: Yes
Best for Dry Hair
OGX Thick & Full Biotin & Collagen Shampoo
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Walgreens
Hair is soft and full
Inexpensive
Strengthens hair
Contains protein and should be used sparingly
It’s tough to find a volumizing shampoo that also hydrates the hair, which is why we’re enamored with this unicorn formula from OGX. Instead of coating the hair, this formula claims to penetrate the hair shaft, leaving it full and plump from the inside out. You’ll be left with thickness that still feels soft and hydrated.
Price at time of publish: $14
Active Ingredients: Collagen, vitamin B7, and hydrolyzed wheat protein | Hair Type: Fine, thin | Sulfate-Free: Yes | Scent: Floral | Size: 13 ounces | Byrdie Clean: No | Cruelty-Free: No
Best Thickening
R+Co Dallas Thickening Shampoo
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Amazon
Boosts shine
Smells great
Strengthens hair
A bit expensive
If you want really big, bouncy, old-Hollywood blow-out hair, this is the shampoo for you. R+Co’s Dallas is infused with biotin, vitamin B5, and saw palmetto and claims to add touchable volume and serious shine. It’s also one of those rare formulas that seem to create volume but still nourish the hair, so works well if you’re prone to damage or dryness. Plus, the smell is insane.
Price at time of publish: $34
Active Ingredients: Vitamin B5, coconut oil, biotin, and saw palmetto berry extract | Hair Type: Fine, thin | Sulfate-Free: Yes | Scent: Original | Size: 8.5 ounces | Byrdie Clean: No | Cruelty-Free: Yes
Best for Oily Hair
Christophe Robin Volume Shampoo Paste
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Amazon
Helps absorb oil
Lathers well
Adds volume
Contains sulfates
This shampoo treatment is a game-changer for limp, oily strands, thanks to rassoul clay, which has cleansing and purifying effects. It’s thick on application but emulsifies well with water and, in turn, creates a beautiful, frothy lather that removes grease and leaves airy volume in its wake. It’s an intense shampooing experience, but if you’ve tried traditional formulas to no avail, this might just change your life. It can help to preserve color too, which is a nice little bonus.
Price at time of publish: $19
Active Ingredients: Rassoul clay and rose extracts | Hair Type: Fine, thin | Sulfate-Free: No | Scent: Rose | Size: 2.5 ounces | Byrdie Clean: No | Cruelty-Free: Yes
Best Luxury
Oribe Shampoo for Magnificent Volume
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Amazon
Lathers well
Hair feels thicker
Helps repair damaged hair
Expensive
Yes, Oribe is expensive, but there’s no denying the fact it always makes for a supremely luxurious hair-washing experience. This Magnificent Volume iteration is all kinds of wonderful: super frothy, really light, and smells like a designer fragrance. Instead of sulfates, it contains body-building polymers to really plump up the hair shaft and create light, bouncy volume.
Price at time of publish: $46
Active Ingredients: Lupine protein and saw palmetto extract | Hair Type: Fine, thin | Sulfate-Free: Yes | Scent: Original | Size: 8.5 ounces | Byrdie Clean: No | Cruelty-Free: Yes
Best Exfoliating
Goop G.Tox Himalayan Salt Scrub Shampoo
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Amazon
Exfoliates scalp
Removes buildup
Mini size available
Expensive
Think of this Goop G.Tox scrub as a whipped, exfoliating shampoo you can call on whenever you need to get rid of a week’s worth of dry shampoo and products. The formula is packed full of sea salt, moringa oil, and rosehip oil and can be worked right into the scalp to dissolve grease, remove product build-up, and add serious volume. As far as that “clean hair feeling” goes, this can’t be beat.
Price at time of publish: $55
Active Ingredients: Himalayan pink salt, moringa oil, and rosehip oil | Hair Type: Fine, thin | Sulfate-Free: Yes | Scent: Herbal | Size: 0.8 or 6.7 ounces | Byrdie Clean: Yes | Cruelty-Free: Yes
Best Moisturizing
The Doux Sucka Free Moisturizing Shampoo
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Amazon
Adds volume
Hydrating formula
Provides heat protection
Contains PEGs
Silk and shea butter help make The Doux's Sucka Free Moisturizing Shampoo formula ultra-hydrating without weighing hair down. These ingredients also provide excellent heat protection for those who use hot tools and are safe for color-treated and keratin-treated hair.
Price at time of publish: $13
Active Ingredients: Shea butter and silk amino acids | Hair Type: Fine, thin | Sulfate-Free: Yes | Scent: Floral | Size: 8 ounces | Byrdie Clean: No | Cruelty-Free: Yes
Best for Color-Treated Hair
Ouai Fine Hair Shampoo
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Amazon
Multiple benefits
Strengthening
Clean formula
Heavy fragrance
Finding color-safe shampoos is a tricky one, but the clean formulation inside this Ouai Fine Hair Shampoo will bring your color and hair back to life without the damage. It tackles everything from hydrating to strengthening to encouraging new growth, all with the intention of treating fine hair. The shampoo also has a beautiful genderless scent that is just as intoxicating as the ingredients themselves.
Price at time of publish: $30
Active Ingredients: Biotin, chia seed oil, and hydrolyzed keratin | Hair Type: Fine, thin | Sulfate-Free: Yes | Scent: Unisex | Size: 10 ounces | Byrdie Clean: Yes | Cruelty-Free: Yes
Best for Thinning Hair
Olaplex No. 4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo
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Ulta
Fresh scent
Reparative
Great for damage control
Works best with other Olaplex products
Touchable, softer hair? Sign us up. The Olaplex No.4 Bond Shampoo is a part of a multiple-step system to repair and revitalize the strands to make them stronger and healthier. This means more manageable strands, fewer split ends, and gorgeous locks. If you have thinning hair, this is a plus to help fortify and rebuild any damage.
Price at time of publish: $30
Active Ingredients: Bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate | Hair Type: Fine, thin | Sulfate-Free: No | Scent: Fresh | Size: 8.5 ounces | Byrdie Clean: No | Cruelty-Free: Yes
Best for Hair Loss
Kérastase Densifique Bain Densité Shampoo
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Sephora
Promotes a healthier scalp
Anti-aging
Doesn't weigh down the hair
Has the tendency to be drying
All of the nutritive ingredients, such as hyaluronic acid and ceramides, help with itching, flaking scalp, and decreasing the amount of hair loss. These are all the goods your hair needs for a healthier mane, helping to protect and keep your strands stronger on your scalp. An added bonus is that the shampoo is great for anti-aging, too.
Price at time of publish: $52
Active Ingredients: Hyaluronic acid, ceramides, and gluco-peptide | Hair Type: Fine, thin | Sulfate-Free: No | Scent: Bergamot and pink mint | Size: 8.5 ounces | Byrdie Clean: No | Cruelty-Free: No
Best for Curly Hair
Biolage Volume Bloom Shampoo
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Ulta
Suitable for color-treated hair
Lightweight
Increases shine
Even curls suffer from thinning, which is why it is important to invest in a quality shampoo that improves volume, curl definition, and scalp health, like this one from Biolage. The product adds a lightweight shine to the hair, helping to enhance your curls without weighing or stripping them down. The results? Bouncy, plump, and soft curls.
Price at time of publish: $21
Active Ingredients: Glycerin and salicylic acid | Hair Type: Fine, thin | Sulfate-Free: No | Scent: Clean, cotton | Size: 13.5 ounces | Byrdie Clean: No | Cruelty-Free: Yes
Final Verdict
Our best overall pick is Living Proof Full Shampoo. This silicone-free formula won't build up, while it removes oil and grease and gives hair body. For a more affordable option, consider L'Oréal Paris EverPure Sulfate-Free Moisture Shampoo, which has a formula to rival luxury brands and adds shine and body to fine hair.
Meet the Expert
Anthony Nader is a celebrity hairstylist and hair salon owner.
What to Look For in a Shampoo for Fine Hair
Ingredients
According to hairstylist and salon owner Anthony Nader, there are quite a few ingredients you can look for if you’ve got fine hair and want to work in some volume. He suggests a formula with vitamin B5, polymers, biotin, or hyaluronic acid. Botanicals like ginseng and ginger are also nice to have, he says.
What Ingredients to Avoid
What is left out of the formula is just as important. While not a hard and fast rule, sometimes silicones (like dimethicone) can contribute to build-up, so if you have fine hair, it might be worth avoiding them. Other ingredients to avoid include sodium lauryl sulfate, parabens, triclosan, and mineral oil. Nader points out these aren’t detrimental ingredients across the board, but for thin hair, they can exacerbate the issue, so if you’re chasing serious volume, it might be worth cutting them out.
Why Trust Byrdie
The writer of this roundup, Byrdie contributor Emily Algar, has very fine hair and has personally tried all of the product picks on this list. Before narrowing her search, she considered dozens of products for this roundup, researched peer-reviewed journals, and consulted third-party reviews.
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