Best Wella Shampoo

The best Wella shampoo is the one made for what your hair needs right now, not the bottle your friend swears by. Wella Professionals sorts its shampoos by need: colour care, repair, moisture, curls, volume, blonde toning and a deeper clean. Work out your need first and the choice gets much shorter. If you want to see the whole brand in one place, shop all Wella Professionals, or use the guide below to narrow it down.

Start with what your hair is doing

Check your hair the day after you wash it, not straight out of the shower. That tells you more than any label will.

• The colour fades fast or turns brassy. Pick a colour-safe shampoo and wash in cool water. If you are blonde, a purple toning shampoo once or twice a week keeps yellow in check. Use it every wash and it can leave a lilac tint.
• It snaps, tangles or feels gummy when wet. That is damage, usually from bleach, heat or both. Go for a repair shampoo and treat the lengths as well.
• It feels rough, dry or frizzy. That is a moisture problem. A hydrating shampoo helps, and so does washing a little less often.
• Curls lose their shape. A gentle, moisture-focused curl shampoo keeps the pattern defined without stripping it.
• It goes flat or greasy by day two. You need a lighter shampoo, not a richer one. A volume or clarifying formula suits fine or oily hair better than anything labelled "nourishing".

Shampoo is only half the job

A shampoo cleans. It can be gentle while it does it, but it rinses out in a minute. The conditioner is what stays on the lengths, so if your shampoo is right and your hair still feels dry, the conditioner is usually the gap. Match the two where you can. A repair shampoo followed by a light volume conditioner works against itself on damaged hair. Browse our wella conditioner picks, or save the guesswork with our best wella shampoo and conditioner pairs.

For bleached, coloured or very dry hair, add a mask once a week. A mask sits on the hair for several minutes, which a shampoo never does. Our best wella hair mask page sorts them by hair type.

How to use it

How you wash matters as much as what you buy. Let your scalp set the pace: oily roots need washing more often than dry or coloured lengths. Use a small amount, work it into the scalp, and let the rinse clean the ends. Wash twice only when there is heavy product or oil to shift. Hot water lifts colour faster, so keep it warm, not hot.

A few honest notes

Do not pick on scent or packaging. Do not put a heavy repair shampoo on healthy fine hair, as it can leave it limp. If you colour your hair, a sulphate-free shampoo is the safer everyday choice. Keep a clarifying wash for once a fortnight or so, to clear build-up from styling products and hard water.

You may also like

best wella products