Best French Shampoo 2023 (Our Top 11 Picks)
Our top pick? The L'Occitane Gentle & Balance Micellar Shampoo
Alongside glowing skin, silky, shiny, healthy hair is the unmistakable hallmark of an enviable beauty routine. Fortunately, this coveted look is super easy to achieve once you know the secrets; all it takes is the right French shampoo.
One interesting little-known fact about hair is that it is naturally acidic; the pH of healthy hair is between 4.5 and 5. This natural hair acidity prevents fungi and bacteria from growing in the hair and scalp, leaving the cuticle closed and healthy. Herein lies the foremost issue: many hair products that people use disrupt the hair's pH, which creates an imbalance, leaving hair looking dry, brittle, and potentially damaged.
All of the best French shampoos restore your hair's pH balance while simultaneously catering to your specific hair and skin types, yielding gorgeous, silky, cleansed hair every time. The FEMMENORDIC team has curated a comparison list for you of 11 of the best currently available in 2021, organised by rating, affordability, efficacy and hair type compatibility. Enjoy!
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#1 — Gentle & Balance Micellar Shampoo by L'Occitane
Price: $$$$
The best overall shampoo for normal-to-dry hair.
What makes it special? Free from silicones, sulfates, phthalates, BHT and formulated with a prebiotic natural sugar complex, this cult-favourite shampoo respects and maintains your scalp's eco-system and pH while strengthening your skin's natural defences. After washing with this shampoo, your hair is left shiny, supple, soft, and delicately fragranced. We are *obsessed* with this haircare product. Check out our best French conditioner article to find the best conditioner to pair with it!
Which hair type? No matter what type of hair you have, your hair will *love* you for this! Suitable for daily use.
#2 — Bain Chronologiste Regenerant Shampoo by Kerastase
Our rating: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
A concentrated revitalizing shampoo.
What makes it special? This hydrating shampoo by indisputably one of the best French shampoo brands - Kerastase - invigorates and plumps your hair fibres, creating the illusion of fuller-looking locks. Expect a clean, fresh and ultra-glossy look, enhanced with tantalizing softness. It gently dissolves impurities around the scalp and hair fibre while effectively cleansing your lengths and hydrating your hair with a beautiful blend of Hyaluronic Acid, Edelweiss Flower and Abyssine. Check out our best French hair mask article to find the best hair mask to pair with it!
Which hair type? Perfect for all hair types!
#3 — Shampoo With Nettle by Klorane
Our rating: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
An oil regulating shampoo.
What makes it special? This gem of a shampoo uses nettle and glyceryl laurate to help remove and regulate excess sebum, ensuring that you won't need to wash your hair as frequently. Formulated with 85% natural origin ingredients, it purifies the scalp while promoting the hair's natural form and bounce. Furthermore, with a biodegradable, vegan formula and recyclable packaging, you can take care of your hair *and* the planet.
Which hair type? Ideal for oily hair types.
#4 — Everpure Moisture Shampoo & Conditioner by L'Oreal
Our rating: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
A hydrating shampoo and conditioner set for color-treated hair.
What makes it special? Colour-treated hair needs special care in order to keep it healthy. The EverPure Moisture Shampoo & Conditioner with rosemary deeply replenishes dry hair with all of the moisture it requires for lush-touch softness and a luminous shine and is especially gentle on colour - it keeps colour pure for up to 4 weeks! Additionally, this sulfate-free shampoo has no salts or surfactants that can strip, dull, or damage hair.
Which hair type? If you have color-treated hair, you need this combo of French hair care products in your life...
#5 — Densifique Bain Densite Bodifying Shampoo by Kerastase
Our rating: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
A bodifying shampoo to be paired with this French conditioner, for hair that lacks density.
What makes it special? If you have thin hair and are looking for something that will make it look thicker, then look no further! This daily best French shampoo and conditioner combo strengthens your hair at the fiber and awakens dormant follicles to give more texture, substance and resilience to your hair. Body and bounce are restored for hair that appears visibly fuller and thicker-looking within just a few weeks of use!
Which hair type? For thin hair types. This is the *holy grail* of thickening shampoos.
#6 — Nourishing Shampoo with Mango Butter by Klorane
Our rating: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
A moisture-rich, plant-based shampoo.
What makes it special? Without weighing the hair down, this shampoo replenishes the hair, protecting it from dryness. It is a dermatologically tested, nourishing shampoo for frequent use on dry, malnourished hair, uniquely formulated to invigorate the hair shaft and follicles. It combines the fatty acids and polysaccharides extracted from Mango providing long-lasting elasticity, softness, and shine.
Which hair type? Perfect for dry, dehydrated hair.
#7 — Intensive Repair Shampoo by L'Occitane
Our rating: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
A gel shampoo that helps repair and strengthen dry, brittle and damaged hair.
What makes it special? It helps to revitalise, strengthen and protect the hair from the all-too-common heat styling and chemical damage. After each use, your hair becomes fuller and shinier, and after one month of use, your hair will feel soft, radiant, and full of life again. Its gentle silicone-free formula blends oat amino acid, to repair, restructure and improve hair fibre condition and a patented anti-breakage complex of five essential oils with provitamin B5, and sunflower oil, to defend and give softness and suppleness to your hair. This is an absolute must-have shampoo for your shelf - especially if you suffer from damaged hair.
Which hair type? This is for damaged hair requiring some serious nurturing. Also works fantastically for normal hair types.
#8 — Delicate Volumizing Shampoo by Christophe Robin
Our rating: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
A gentle volumizing daily shampoo.
What makes it special? This French hair product gently cleanses while restoring volume and body. Its acid pH closes the hair cuticles to reduce pigment loss and maintain a vibrant, fresh-looking colour. Your hair is brought back to life with consistent use of this product, appearing thicker and more toned with every day of use. The hints of rose provide a gorgeous sensorial experience that you will look forward to every morning or night!
Which hair type? For fine, coloured, or sensitive hair.
#9 — Reflection Bain Chromatique Multi-Protecting Shampoo by Kerastase
Our rating: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
A protective shampoo for use on colour-treated and highlighted hair.
What makes it special? Formulated with Kerastase’s Complex Systeme Capture Advanced, it blends powerful ingredients to combat the external aggressors which contribute to colour degradation. Rice Bran Oil intensifies shine through light refraction, whilst UV filters and Vitamin E fight environmental aggressors. Zinc Gluconate maintains colour vibrancy and Chelators defend against oxidation. The hair is revitalised with impressive shine and a nourished feel.
Which hair type? For colour-treated or highlighted hair.
#10 — Volumetry Shampoo by L'Oreal Professionnel
Our rating: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
A clear volumizing shampoo.
What makes it special? This miracle shampoo is infused with HydraLight and Intra-Cycalane technologies which soften and de-tangle your hair, whilst leaving your locks looking big, bouncy and volumised, producing an anti-gravity effect. Perfect for flat and limp hair, this shampoo will ensure roots are lifted so your hair can breathe.
Which hair type? A must-have for flat hair and fine hair types.
#11 — Resistance Bain Force Architecte Shampoo by Kerastase
Our rating: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
A hair strengthening shampoo.
What makes it special? Utilising a Vita-Ciment Complex, this strengthening shampoo endorsed by thousands of rave reviews effectively lifts away dirt and impurities while strengthening the feel of brittle hair to help prevent breakage and split ends. Damaged hair is left feeling soft, sleek and protected.
Which hair type? For brittle, damaged hair with split ends - also works beautifully for defending normal hair types.
BONUS — Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk by Klorane
Our rating: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
The best French dry shampoo.
What makes it special? Using this soothing, gentle dry shampoo, you can cleanse and volumize your hair in just *two* minutes. It is a perfect blend of highly absorbent powders and gentle oat milk, rich in active ingredients that provide moisture, softening, and protection. NO white residue, completely paraben and sulfate-free, entirely vegan, and eco-friendly from production to application - magnifique!
Which hair type? Perfect for all hair types trying to increase time between washes.
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Calum Torrington is the founder of FemmeNordic. He has worked as a beauty editor since 2020 and employs his analytical background in mathematics to thoroughly scrutinize complex INCI lists. Now, he helps over 1 million people per year to find the best beauty products.