Shampoo recommendations needed for oily scalp

[Darkhorse1]

Hi folks . I’ve been trying to find a new clarifying shampoo and not having much luck. My go to shampoos were discontinued - one in 2020 and the other in 2022. I’m deveststed and it’s triggered ocd really bad regarding my hair.

I need sulfates. These keep my scalp happy. No oils - they make it a grease pit. Also my hair hates protein, coconut oil and plant surfactants.

I used to use herbal essence line- deguunkify, then drama clean, the tealightfully clean but the latter was made into a shampoo and body wash. I have tried it but it made my scalp cold. Maybe the tea tree in it?

my holy grail was neutrogena anti residue. I am gutted that was discontinued. Their new line is sulfates free and terrible in my hair.

I’ve tried so far:
pantebe unscented clarifying. Worked great but smells like plastic !
kristen ess clarifying : scent was awful and made me light headed. Left my hair a grease slick .
green apple head and shoulders : worked but left a residue . Had I not done a neutrogena wash after I think my hair woukd have been weighed down. Scent was gross.
h&s smooth and silky: left residue as well. Left it more weighed down than green app,e. Scent was much better than green apple.
herbal essence orange blossom: scent was so nice but again, left hair not squeaky clean. Loved everything else about this shampoo

still have yet to try:
paul mitchel shampoo two
biolahe clarifying
redken clarifying
suave strawberry shampoo
attitude clarifying
loreal elevive clay shampoo


woukd love other recs. Just need something that leaves it squeaky clean.

thx

[lapushka]

Pantene Aqua Light
Pantene volumizing
Pantene Ice Shine

If you can find those.

Garnier Whole Blends; this is the new one I was talking about (you're in CA right?)
https://www.garnier.ca/en-ca/about-our-brands/hair-care/whole-blends/charcoal/garnier-whole-blends-magnetic-charcoal-purifying-shampoo-346ml

[Darkhorse1]

Ice shine was discontinued years ago. I loved that! The volume zing has a very strong scent sadly. I’ll look at the aqua light.

We do have garnier and the whole blends. I’m not sure that will work as there are added oils .

Thanks so much though!

[lapushka]

I will have a look see through my stash. Do you guys have an Aldi or Lidl in Canada? If so, worth checking out, especially the herbal shampoo from Lidl (if they do those there). It's right up there, for me, with the Aqua Light. It is supposed to be a dupe for the 7 herbs by Schwarzkopf (not bad either), and it's awesome. My Aldi just came out with a new family shampoo and it's great as well.

I used to need to wash 2/3 times a week. But in my old age (51 but it started in my 40s for sure), my scalp has normalized and I can do 1x a week now (with it getting a little oily on Friday), but I can always stretch to a Sunday with these guys.

[Darkhorse1]

I believe we have those here. I’m 54 and my scalp seems to need daily washes but I’m trying to go every other day.
Thanks so much!

[lapushka]

You are most welcome. Don't shy away from going there to check the body and hair care aisle out. You'd be surprised!!! Anyway, it's just about the only grocery store we shop at, so I'm quite familiar with what they have (I've been going there since age 14 when one opened up here/Aldi). I think I tried it all over the years. :lol: It's the only stuff my mom bought. The odd "Fructis" bottle notwithstanding. ;) :p Which is why I'm just trying to convey: don't sleep on those because they're easily overlooked & forgotten while they have some amazing stuff. I buy all sorts though, all kinds of brands, but I mix my shampoos up a lot. A lot a lot!

I used to love Herbal Essences and they did an amazing one called "dazzling shine". I think some countries still have those, totally discontinued here and just about the only brand that we no longer can get in this country. Why? I have no clue. Rocked for oily hair!

I only buy stuff for oily hair, I mean, I could use a shampoo for normal hair, but then I go, if I can stretch that week to nicer hair the last couple days, I will.

[Kat]

I used V05 a lot before I went to shampoo bars. Mane n Tail also did it for me. (My hair isn't picky, though, as long as it's got sulfates.) Can't remember which other ones I might've used.

[Darkhorse1]

Thanks Kat! I used to love VO5, but they don’t sell it in Canada anymore—that I know of. Mane N Tail I use on horses, but it didn’t work for me. Again, they have oils in their shampoo which my scalp does not like. :)

[lapushka]

I need "the sulfates" too, Kat. That whole sulfate-free bandwagon? It's still going strong in my country, now they even switched it to body wash. Nobody buys those!

[Kat]

Thanks Kat! I used to love VO5, but they don’t sell it in Canada anymore—that I know of. Mane N Tail I use on horses, but it didn’t work for me. Again, they have oils in their shampoo which my scalp does not like. :)

Oh, that sucks!



I need "the sulfates" too, Kat. That whole sulfate-free bandwagon? It's still going strong in my country, now they even switched it to body wash. Nobody buys those!

I mean, I could go sulfate-free if I wanted to wash my hair more often, probably. At least in the U.S. (I used to be able to do sulfate-free on my hair here, but then in Thailand I absolutely needed sulfates because no matter what I did, I could NOT get my hair to not smell like sweat and dirty, even right after washing, even washing it like three times a week. Now it seems sulfate-free doesn't work for my hair here, either, at least not washing only once a week, even though at least it doesn't smell here.)

[Dark40]

Alberto VO5 Volumizing Shampoo
Mane N Tail Gentle Clarifying Shampoo

[Shorty89]

Ice shine was discontinued years ago. I loved that! The volume zing has a very strong scent sadly. I’ll look at the aqua light.

We do have garnier and the whole blends. I’m not sure that will work as there are added oils .

Thanks so much though!

I used to use Ice Shine as well. I've tried Aqua Light but it's not quite the same.

[Annapox]

I use Paul Mitchell's Tea Tree shampoos. Sometimes the Special shampoo, sometimes the lemon and sage one. I have an oily, dandruff-prone scalp, and I find that shampoos with tea tree oil help me keep that whole situation under control.

[lapushka]

Ice Shine we never could get a hold of here.

[Darkhorse1]

I loved Ice Shine from Pantene, but that was discontinued about 20 yrs ago in Canada. The current Pantene shampoos have very strong scents to them —I’m sort of surprised that with so many people having scent allergies, that Pantene and Herbal Essence use such strong fragrances.

I need sulfates. I sweat so much and wear hats/helmets riding. If my hair doesn’t squeak after it’s washed, it isn’t clean. I have low porosity hair too which is probably why. I’ve had this my whole life. If it doesn’t squeak, it’s not clean.

I don’t understand why people think sulfates are bad. I understand if people have allergies, but why on earth would people think using oils in your shampoo will clean your hair? Not if it’s oily—I’m trying to get the oil OUT.

Thanks for the help :)

[Annapox]

The Paul Mitchell Tea Tree shampoos do have sulfates in them. They just also have a little bit of tea tree oil. I have a naturally very oily scalp, and this shampoo doesn't cause any problems for me. If you don't have issues with dandruff, the tea tree oil may not help you, but it won't necessarily hurt, either. Another thing to consider is either a boar bristle brush or a wooden comb/brush to distribute some of the oil from your scalp along the whole shaft of the hair. Boar bristle brushes make my hair tangle quite a bit, but using a wooden comb and brush seems to help with my oily scalp situation without causing tangles.