Top 10: Find the Best Shampoo for Permed Hair Now [2024]

If you’ve recently had your hair permed, or you’re planning to get a perm soon, you’ll know that your tresses need special care. Whether you’ve chosen beachy waves, spirals, or one of the many other types of perms, picking the best shampoo for permed hair is an essential step in keeping your curls looking fabulous.

Our buying guide is a specially curated collection of perm-friendly shampoos specifically formulated for chemically treated hair.

These do more than just cleanse your hair. They infuse each hair shaft with moisture and fight frizz so your curls stay looking beautifully bouncy. 

We’ll help you learn how to choose a permed hair shampoo and how to pick the best shampoo for permed hair, whether your main concern is boosting hydration or controlling frizzy hair. We’ve also picked out some great shampoos that are specifically designed for color-treated perms or extra-dry hair.

Will regular shampoo and conditioner work for permed hair?

Chemical treatments like colors and perms alter your hair structure permanently, which can leave you with dehydrated and damaged hair. This doesn’t just make your mane dull, frizzy, and brittle – it also leaves your locks prone to tangles, split ends, and breakage.

Regular shampoo and conditioner will certainly wash and hydrate your permed hair, but the harsh detergents they contain can damage your delicate hair strands. A regular shampoo will often contain sulfates that strip your hair’s the natural oils and can cause your perm to drop more quickly. 

Choosing a sulfate free shampoo and conditioner with ‘for permed hair’ or ‘for chemically treated hair’ on the packaging is the safest way to keep your permed hair healthy. 

These hair products will have a gentle formulation to wash your hair and scalp, but won’t strip the natural oils from them or cause an irritated scalp like a regular shampoo can. They contain hydrating ingredients that add moisture deep in the hair shaft, making your permed hair shiny and manageable with bouncy, vibrant curls. 

When you’ve chosen the right shampoo for your hair, it’s best to gently massage it into your scalp without rubbing or scrubbing at your curls. This will maintain the shape of your perm and avoid tangling the hair strands.

The Best Shampoo for Permed Hair

Ready to go shopping? We’ve picked out our choices of the best permed hair shampoos, including options for frizzy hair and color treated hair.

Best Overall Shampoo for Permed Hair

Davines Shampoo for Permed Hair

Chemical processing can leave your hair feeling dry and brittle, but this award-winning shampoo is the elixir to restore your tresses to their soft, shiny best. The rich hydrating formulation is paraben and sulfate free, helping to reduce frizz, boost curl definition, and enhance your curly hair’s natural strength and softness after just a few washes. 

These outstanding benefits make Davines Shampoo our overall pick of the best shampoos for permed hair.

Best Overall Shampoo and Conditioner for Permed Hair

Nexxus Humectress Ultimate Moisture Shampoo And Conditioner

This duo of hair products is specifically formulated to give your permed hair the moisture and nourishment it needs to look shiny and smooth. 

The salon-standard silicone-free formula contains a caviar and protein complex to gently cleanse gently dry hair and lock moisture into each strand. Follow up with the rich conditioner to give shine, body, and bounce to your curly hair. 

Best Softening Shampoo for Permed Hair

Redken All Soft Shampoo for Permed Hair

This salon-grade shampoo is a real breakthrough for dull and brittle permed hair. Its revitalizing formulation is infused with argan oil to hydrate your strands from the roots to the ends. 

Your curly hair will feel softer and more manageable with all the vibrancy and healthy shine you desire. 

Best Affordable Shampoo for Permed Hair

Garnier Fructis Curl Nourish Shampoo And Conditioner

Some perm-friendly shampoos are only available online or from specialist salons, but Garnier is a popular and affordable brand that you can buy in your local drugstore. 

This gentle shampoo and nourishing conditioner are packed with powerful natural ingredients like coconut oil, glycerine, and active fruit proteins. They deliver hydration and nourishing softness and keep frizzy hair under control all day. 

Best Shampoo for Permed Hair: Lightweight Frizz Control

L’Oreal Paris EverCurl Shampoo For Permed Hair

This is an excellent choice for fine permed hair that needs added hydration without extra weight. Its gentle formulation is specifically designed with coconut oil to provide frizz-fighting hydration and long-lasting curl definition that won’t weigh down your locks. 

The vegan formulation is free from sulfates, parabens and dyes so it’s suitable for all permed hair types, even if it’s color treated.

Best Shampoo for Permed Hair: Curl Defining

OGX Shampoo For Permed Hair

This shampoo is a fabulous option for anyone who wants to boost curl definition on their permed hair. It contains a richly hydrating blend of honey, coconut and citrus oil that will gently cleanse your tresses. It also nourishes, strengthens, and defines curls beautifully. 

The paraben and sulfate free formula won’t weigh your curls down or strip hydration from your hair. And as a bonus, it leaves your curls smelling amazing!

Best Shampoo for Permed Hair: Hydrating

Not Your Mother’s Curl Talk Shampoo for Permed Hair

If you’re looking for ultimate hydration for permed tresses, this shampoo needs to be in your bathroom. It’s uniquely formulated to care for permed hair, cleansing gently and clearing any product build up but without stripping away your hair’s natural oils. 

It’s sulfate, paraben, silicone, and phthalate-free and will maintain your curly hair in great condition, especially if you follow up with the matching conditioner. 

Best Shampoo For Permed Hair: Color-Safe

Joico K-PAK Color Therapy Shampoo And Conditioner

Hair that’s been exposed to both perming solutions and hair color can be extra dry and fragile, so it needs extra special care. 

This intensely moisturizing shampoo and conditioner duo contains argan oil and a biopeptide complex to keep your color vibrant and maintain the shape of your permed curls. Your hair will feel smooth, shiny, and full of bounce with fewer flyaways.

Best Shampoo For Dry Permed Hair

Tree to Tub Gentle Shampoo And Conditioner

These fabulous hair care products contain a gentle, natural formulation with a blend of organic argan oil and powerful antioxidants. The shampoo and conditioner will help maintain your scalp’s ideal pH of 5.5 and deliver the hydration and nourishment that makes dry hair feel softer and more manageable. 

These products are gentle enough to use if you have issues like scalp acne or scalp psoriasis. They also contain lavender essential oil for a refreshing and relaxing experience with every hair wash.

Best Shampoo For Hair Growth

Shea Moisture Strengthen And Restore Shampoo and Conditioner

This sulfate free shampoo and hydrating conditioner are formulated with nourishing ingredients like shea butter, Jamaican Black Castor oil, and antioxidant Vitamin E to keep your scalp and hair healthy. 

The intensely moisturizing formulations in these lightweight products will pamper permed hair, leaving your curls soft and shiny. They help strengthen your hair strands, minimize split ends, and reduce breakage, making achieving your hair growth goals easier. 

How To Choose the Right Shampoo for Your Permed Hair

There’s a wide range of shampoos for permed hair available in-store and online, so here are a few guidelines on what to look for:

Gentle Cleansing

Mild shampoos will cleanse your locks without stripping out your hair’s natural oils and leaving your perm looking flat. 

Look for words like ‘mild’ or ‘gentle’ on the packaging and check the ingredient list for nourishing ingredients that improve softness and manageability, like shea butter or green tea extracts.

Sulfate Free and Paraben Free

Sulfates and parabens have a drying effect that will leave chemically treated hair brittle, frizzy, and easy to break. They can also weaken the structure of your hair strands, making your curls flat and reducing the life of your perm. 

Always try to buy paraben free and sulfate free shampoos to keep your curls looking gorgeous for longer.

Added Hydration

Infusing your hair with moisture will keep your hair feeling soft and looking healthy with beautifully defined curls. Look out for natural oils like coconut or argan oils, hydrating ingredients like glycerin or aloe vera, and fruit extracts with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. 

Avoid hair products that have alcohol near the top of the ingredient list, as this has a drying effect that leaves your hair brittle.

Protein For Strength

The chemicals in a perm can weaken your hair strands, so look for ingredients like silk amino acids and keratin that penetrate your hair strands and leave your locks stronger. They help prevent your hair from breaking and give it more bounce and vitality. 

However, too much protein can leave your hair brittle, so ensure you maintain a good balance with moisturizing treatments.

pH Balance

A chemical treatment such as perming changes the pH balance of your hair. Choosing pH-balanced shampoos that keep your hair’s pH between 4.5 and 5.5 will keep your scalp healthy and your hair looking smooth and shiny.

Color Safety

If your hair has been both permed and color-treated, you must be even more careful about choosing a shampoo to care for your delicate strands. 

Always pick products that are labeled as color-safe, as these extra-gentle products will keep your color looking fresh for longer and also be kind to your curls.

Check Product Reviews

It’s also good to look at reviews online to see which brands are recommended by hair experts and people with permed hair. These reviews will give you a better idea of a product’s quality before you take the plunge and use it on your precious curls.

Conditioners for Permed hair

Permed hair can be very dry, so extra hydration is essential for healthy, shiny permed hair. 

Follow up with a conditioner after you’ve shampooed your hair, and then use a weekly deep conditioning treatment to replace lost moisture so your perm stays looking great. 

Always check that you choose hair care treatments to suit the specific needs of your chemically treated hair.

FAQs

If you’re looking for more info on washing permed hair, here are some of the questions we get asked most often:

Can I Use Shampoo on Permed Hair Everyday?

Washing permed hair daily isn’t recommended as it can strip moisture and natural oils from your curls and make your perm look flat more quickly.

Will Shampoo Loosen My Perm?

It’s essential not to wash your hair for 48 hours after a perm, as your hair needs this time to neutralize and set the shape of your curls. 

After 48 hours, you can wash your hair with a perm-friendly shampoo, taking care to gently massage it into your strands to avoid damaging the curl.

What Is the Best Dandruff Shampoo for Permed Hair?

Many dandruff shampoos are unsafe for permed hair as the chemicals they contain can cause your perm to go flat. 

Head and Shoulders Clinical Dandruff Shampoo is suitable for permed hair, but always follow the instructions carefully and rinse with warm water for five minutes after use. 

Can I Wash My Perm With Just Water?

Washing your permed hair with just water won’t remove the oil, sweat, and product buildup from your curly hair as effectively as using a shampoo.

How Many Times a Week Should I Wash My Permed Hair?

Generally, it’s recommended to wash permed hair two or three times each week, depending on your hair type and condition. 

Washing your hair too often can make it dry and shorten your perm’s lifespan, so it’s better to freshen up with a dry shampoo instead of washing more frequently.

Should You Use Clarifying Shampoo for Permed Hair?

You can use a clarifying shampoo for permed hair once a month to remove buildup. However, it’s a good idea to try and avoid the silicones and other hair care ingredients that can build up on your strands. 

Clarifying shampoos can strip the natural oils from your hair, so always follow up with a deep conditioning treatment.

The Bottom Line

If you’ve treated yourself to a gorgeous perm, you want your curls to look their best. Choosing the right shampoo is essential to keeping your permed hair healthy, as it will give your tresses the gentle cleansing and deep hydration they need to stay beautifully coiled and touchably soft. 

Permed hair care might seem tricky at first, but it becomes much simpler once you know how to choose the perfect shampoo that’s specifically designed for chemically treated hair.

Using one of the best shampoos for permed hair from our list will help keep your curly hair looking bouncy and feeling soft for as long as possible.