The 13 Best Clarifying Shampoos for Men in 2023, Tested by Grooming Editors

The enemy of curly hair is dryness, which can cause curls to become crispy, frizzy and unmanageable. The problem is, the ingredients in many clarifying shampoos can leave your hair dry because they are so focused on removing oil. This version, which is packed with hydrating ingredients including black soap, aloe and shea butter, cleanses the scalp and hair effectively without sucking the moisture out of your curly hair.

The tingly sensation from the peppermint oil lets you know this shampoo is working—and leaves your scalp feeling deeply cleansed without any of the tightness of over-cleansing. Best of all, though, is that this shampoo also helps to volumize your hair, leaving it looking fuller after every wash.

Not only is this shampoo gentle enough to use every day while still washing away grease and oil from your scalp with ease, but it also helps control itchiness, irritation and even flakes on your scalp.

This gentle-yet-effective clarifying shampoo uses citrus pulp and lactic acid to remove buildup from products, oil, dirt, hard water and even chlorine from your hair. If you’re spending a lot of time in the pool or at the beach, use it regularly to keep your hair healthy instead of dull and dry.

No matter how oily your scalp is, if you use a lot of product (or really, any product at all) to style your hair, this clarifying shampoo is specifically designed to remove excess product buildup to keep your scalp clear and hair fresh.

Many scalp scrubs need to be followed up with a shampoo because they’re designed to exfoliate but not cleanse. This scrub and shampoo combo changes that. Not only does it use sugar crystals to gently exfoliate buildup on the scalp, but it cleanses hair at the same time while also hydrating it with hyaluronic acid.

The surfactants used in shampoo to create lather can also sometimes strip hair of natural oils leaving it dry, frizzy or dull. It’s especially true of clarifying shampoos which are designed to deep clean. This innovative hair rinse uses natural ingredients to remove impurities from the hair and scalp without stripping it, offering the same deep clean without harsh lather.

This very deep cleansing shampoo contains charcoal to help remove dirt and oil buildup from you scalp effectively without sucking all the moisture out of your hair in the process. Plus, the formula contains naturally derived ingredients that help fortify your hair as well as hydrate it.

You know how every so often you need to pull in the professionals to deep clean your house (or is that just us)? Consider this shampoo your cleaning crew. Use it once or twice a week, depending on how oily or dirty your hair is. The immediate result is a sparkling clean scalp and hair that’s brought back to life.

Not only does this scrub remove impurities and buildup from the scalp, but the charcoal in the formula helps control oil. Even though it's a deep cleaner, hydrating ingredients make it suitable for even curly hair because it doesn’t dry out your strands. Use it once or twice a week when you need a refresh.

This ultra-deep cleaning shampoo is meant to only be used once a week because of it’s sheer cleansing prowess. It instantly removes any trace of dirt, oil or buildup from your scalp and hair and even helps remove chemicals like chlorine. Think of this as your best chance in getting your hair back to zero.

Color treated hair need to be treated differently because the ingredients found in traditional shampoo can dry out hair (which is already prone to dryness when color treated) and dull the color. This weekly deep-cleaning shampoo is designed to preserve and restore color treated hair even when you need to get really, really clean.

Dandruff is its own issue, but even people with dandruff can benefit from a clarifying shampoo - as long as it’s the right one. This shampoo contains salicylic acid (like you find in face products) that helps control oil and dandruff, but also exfoliates dead skin cells from your scalps (in addition to removing dirt and buildup). It’s powerful enough to use even if you don’t have dandruff, but gentle enough for those that do.