Reactive Hair Editorial Team
This post was most recently updated on June 18th, 2023
We may tend to focus on leave-in treatments when it comes to providing deeply nourishing care for hair. How can shampoo for daily care elevate your tresses based on the hair issue you are facing? Read this Biolage shampoo review to find out the best product for you.
We are going to take a closer look at the brand, the benefits of the best shampoos, key ingredients, authentic reviews, and more.
Biolage, a Brand Backed by the Power of Nature
Back in 1990, Biolage was born when master hairdresser and entrepreneur, Arnie Miller, came up with the idea of harnessing the power of herbs to deliver healthy, luster-looking hair.
Since its establishment, Biolage has continued to be a brand that fully embraces its core values related to nature, trust, and sustainability. Biolage is now recognized as a leading salon brand with its signature AromaScience™ fragrance and iconic white packaging.
Their vegan formula is rich in efficacious botanical oils and plant extracts to deliver hydration, repair, and clean your hair. Biolage also gained a Leaping Bunny certification after reformulating its products back in 2022.
“It’s an important step, and it’s really inscribed in the natural evolution of the brand,” says vice president of Biolage’s Global Marketing, Rafael Lopes.
Good for You, Your Hair, and the Planet Too
“Together we will make beauty sustainable — sustaining beautiful hair as well as a beautiful planet!” says Mounia Tahiri, Biolage Professional Senior Vice President who notes that the brand tries to reduce its environmental footprint.
If you are interested in brands that prioritize sustainability, you’ll appreciate that Biolage tries to lower the water consumption and waste of landfills during production. The manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and Burgos, Spain are powered by renewable energy. And, 80% of their products are produced in these primary facilities.
Additionally, the their packaging uses 100% recycled plastic, except when it comes to their bottle caps. The Eco-friendly packaging is now recorded as saving over 30 tons of virgin plastic annually.
Therefore, when you invest in Biolage, you’re not just getting a great shampoo for your hair, but also contributing to a better world and a balanced ecosystem.
Now let’s take a closer look at Biolage shampoos to help you decide which is the right fit for your hair.
Biolage Shampoo for Every Hair Need
When you pick the right products, you won’t need an intricate ten-step haircare routine. Prioritizing quality over quantity is the best way to achieve better hair health. Thus, picking the shampoo that suits your hair type will help enormously.
The Biolage shampoo line is designed specifically to target various hair types, needs, and concerns like dryness, dandruff, frizzy hair, color-treated hair, etc. We are here to help you determine which one is the best fit for your hair.
- Smooth Proof Shampoo (for frizzy hair)
- Strength Recovery Shampoo (for damaged hair)
- Hydra Source and Ultra Hydra Source Shampoo (for dry hair)
- Clean Reset Normalizing Shampoo and All-in-One Shampoo Scrub (for buildup)
- Color Last and Color Last Purple Shampoo (for color-treated hair)
- Full Density and Volume Boost Shampoo (for fuller-looking hair)
Now, let’s take a closer look at them one by one.
Biolage Shampoo for Frizzy Hair
If you live in a humid area that makes your hair massively frizzy, Biolage Smooth Proof Shampoo might be your hero. This camellia-enriched shampoo delivers hair softness for up to 72 hours even in 97% humidity.
Biolage Smooth Proof Shampoo works by giving you a two-pronged approach that dry, dull, and frizzy hair needs. First, Smooth Proof Shampoo loads your hair with moisture. Secondly, it protect your hair from the humid conditions that can make your hair swell.
Biolage Shampoo for Damaged Hair
If you have overdone your hair with bleaching, hot tools, or coloring, you may encounter severe damage, fragility, and breaking off of hair strands. This shampoo has a thick texture which makes it best suited for medium to coarse hair textures and wavy, curly, and coily hair types.
Specially formulated with vegan squalane, Biolage Strength Recovery helps reduce breakage by up to 73% without weighing down your hair. Follow with the conditioner and leave-in spray to get 3x stronger hair after the first use.
Biolage Shampoos for Dry Hair
Biolage offers two versions of moisturizing shampoo: Hydra Source for dry hair and Ultra Hydra Source for extremely dry hair. Both shampoos are formulated with aloe vera which is known for its precious moisturizing properties.
Let’s take a look at Biolage Hydra Source Shampoo first.
Hydra Source Shampoo
Taking Biolage Hydra Source is the best chance for fine to medium hair to get rid of those dull appearance, frizzy and split ends. Crafted with the ever-hydrated aloe vera, Hydra Source helps bring balance to your hair’s moisturizing level and protect against future damage.
To level up the results up to 15x, follow with Hydra Source Conditioner and Leave-In Tonic that delivers softness and manageability to your hair after just one application.
Ultra Hydra Source Shampoo
Think of Hydra Source then multiply its results! Biolage Ultra Hydra Source can be a lifesaver for thick, coarse, curly, and coily hair that needs loads of hydration. Not only it’s infused with aloe vera, but Ultra Hydra Source also enriched with cupuacu butter and apricot kernel oil to deliver optimum hydration and control unruly hair.
As always, get the best results by using it together with the conditioner for renewing moisture, extra repair, and protection against damage.
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Biolage Shampoos for Build-Up
If your hair care shelf looks like a beauty store because you love to experiment with styling products, you’ll definitely need a detox shampoo to whisk away the buildup. Biolage provides two detox shampoos for weekly use that are suitable for all hair types and textures, plus they’re also color safe.
Here we give you a scoop about the differences between both and which one is the best way for you to go. Let’s start with Clean Reset Shampoo.
Clean Reset Normalizing Shampoo
Too much hair styling or swimming can lead to build-up and make your hair limp and lack shine. This is where Clean Reset helps to deeply cleanse your hair/ scalp and eliminate build-up on all hair types.
Clean Reset Normalizing is considered a chemical exfoliator since it uses plant enzymes, lemongrass, to dissolve the bond of dead scalp cells. That’s why it is best suited for those with sensitive scalps who should avoid physical exfoliating as possible.
What Customers Loved: “I randomly felt like my hair was never drying fully and always looked greasy even right after coming out of the shower and blow drying my hair. I realized I had product building up in my hair and after one wash my hair went back to how it always had been before the issue. No more wet-looking hair or flakes.”
What Customers Did Not Like: “It’s really leaving your hair really clean. However, while washing it, somehow my hair will get very tangled with this shampoo. I use a conditioner which makes it easier to detangle.”
All-in-One Shampoo Scrub
Similar to Clean Reset Shampoo, this shampoo is also designed to remove impurities and build-up on your hair and scalp.
All-in-One is formulated with the grain-and-gritty oat to physically slough away dead cells or build-up on your scalp and skin. Make sure not to aggressively scrub to prevent scalp/ skin irritation. If you have a flaky scalp, this shampoo can be a good option for you.
Biolage Shampoos for Color-Treated Hair
Whether you have balayage, all-over color, or bottled-blonde hair, one thing is for sure… color-treated hair needs tender loving care. Biolage offers two versions of Color Last Shampoo to cleanse your hair from dirt while also maintaining your color. The shampoo works for all hair types and textures, from fine to curly and coily hair.
Now, let’s check out the Color Last Shampoo first.
Color Last Shampoo
This orchid-enriched shampoo is an investment of your money (and time too) by lowering your every-other-week salon routine. Biolage Color Last Shampoo is designed with a pH-balanced formula to help maintain your color vibrancy for up to 9 weeks.
This paraben-free shampoo also gently removes impurities, strengthens your hair, and protects it from environmental damage.
Color Last Purple Shampoo
For those with either bottled blonde or natural blonde, purple shampoo is a must in your bathroom. Formulated with fig, castor oil, and orchid, Color Last Purple Shampoo is a weekly treatment that delivers instant tone correction in blonde hair with unwanted warm tones.
Together with the conditioner, this purple-pigmented shampoo helps to promote 2.5x smoother hair and 3x less hair breakage, leaving beautiful, silky-smooth blonde.
Biolage Shampoos for Fuller-Looking Hair
People with fine, thin hair need a boost to pump up the roots for bouncy-looking hair. If you’re always looking out for volumizing shampoo, look no further than Biolage Full Density and Volume Bloom Shampoo.
If you’re wondering which one is more suitable for your hair, below we will help you with that.
Full Density Shampoo
This biotin-infused shampoo is a great option for those with thin or thinning hair to improve hair strength and density after the first use. Suitable for all hair types, Full Density Shampoo is also enriched with zinc PCA to rebalance your scalp health and glucose-omega to promote hair growth.
Volume Bloom Shampoo
If you’re looking for a shampoo to make your fine hair feel fuller, you’ll need a lightweight thickening shampoo like Biolage Volume Bloom Shampoo. Formulated with cotton flowers, this shampoo gives your hair 70% more volume while also gently cleansing with minimal stripping.
After taking a closer look at their shampoos, now let’s take through to the science behind Biolage shampoos by breaking down the key ingredients.
Biolage Shampoo Key Ingredient Breakdown
Another special thing about Biolage is that they harness the power of plant-sourced ingredients you may not realize your hair needs like lemongrass, camellia, and more. Now, let’s take a look at them one by one.
Camellia Kissi Seed Oil – Rich in antioxidants that are full of potential to fight free radicals. Its high level of essential fatty acids is beneficial to support supple and smooth hair.
Vegan Squalane – The hydrogenated derivative of squalene that can be sourced from rice bran, wheat germ, or sugar cane (Biolage doesn’t specify where it is from). Squalane is loaded with moisturizing properties to replenish your hair’s moisture and prevent breakage.
Zinc – One study shows that zinc-based shampoo helps reduce the symptoms of dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis.
Aloe Vera – Helps reduce scalp inflammation due to its anti-inflammatory properties and reduces extra sebum or residue on your hair.
Cupuacu Butter – A powerful emollient that is rich in triglycerides. It helps retain moisture by absorbing your hair strands rather than sitting on top of it.
Lemongrass – Contains antifungal and antibacterial properties, lemongrass is beneficial to treat dandruff and deeply cleanse your hair/ scalp to get rid of accumulated impurities.
Fig – Contains a high level of iron and antioxidants which is beneficial to maintain healthy hair.
Orchid – It is known for its antioxidant properties that can help fight against free radicals (which are the cause of hair color fading).
Cotton – Rich in oleic acid and linoleic acid that can help promote strong and thick hair. It is also a great source of tocopherols that are beneficial to combat free radicals.
In the next section of this Biolage shampoo review, we cover real-life user experiences to find out the reliability of the products.
Real-Life User Experiences After Using Biolage Shampoo
Now that we have taken a look at Biolage shampoos, let’s find out how they performed for diverse people across different review platforms. Below, you will find user testimonials sourced from Influenster and Amazon. Since there are many shampoo products, we give priority to the best sellers on related platforms.
Influenster
Many Biolage shampoos have been rated positive on Influenster. Two products have been reviewed over two thousand times and most of them are positive. Check the statistical data below:
- Ultra Hydra Source Shampoo: 4.6 / 5 stars from 2,716+ reviews with 75% of users giving it 5-star ratings
- Color Last Shampoo: 4.6 / 5 stars from 2,688+ reviews with 74% of users giving it 5-star ratings
Let’s take a look at what customers say about these shampoos both in positive and negative reviews.
Both Ultra Hydra Source and ColorLast Shampoos work well as they advertised, delivering a softer and shiner hair look and maintaining the color vibrancy for a few weeks. The only issue is that the formula may not be as effective as it was, and the products add weight to the hair.
Amazon
Biolage has gained many reviews from thousands of Amazon users. Even though the reviews are mixed, most users are delighted with the reliability of the products. Below is the rating of the two most popular Biolage shampoos on Amazon:
- Hydra Source Shampoo: 4.7 / 5 stars from 15,384+ global ratings with 84% of users giving it 5-star ratings
- Volume Bloom Shampoo: 4.7 / 5 stars from 10,040+ global ratings with 80% of users giving it 5-star ratings
Now, let’s find out several user reviews.
Biolage Hydra Source and Volume Bloom did a pretty good job of nourishing and promoting volumizing hair. However, some noticed the shampoos leave a residue that makes their hair looks limp.
To learn more about the disadvantages of Biolage, let’s check the next section.
Possible Side Effects and Disadvantages of Biolage Shampoo
After reading lots of customer reviews, some reported that Biolage sometimes makes their hair drier than it should be, leaves a residue, and triggers local allergic reactions.
So make sure to read the Biolage shampoo ingredient list thoroughly to prevent any adverse effects. Below we rounded up icky ingredients in Biolage shampoo that may cause side effects:
Biolage shampoo is not sulfate-free
All Biolage shampoos contain sulfates (SLS and SLES). Kindly steer clear of their products if you are allergic to these particular ingredients.
If you have very dry and over-processed hair, their shampoo may not be suitable for you (in contrast to their claims). Sulfate-containing shampoo may strip off too much of your hair’s natural moisture, making your hair even drier.
Color-treated hair may also need to avoid sulfate-containing shampoo as this could strip off your hair color. Even though many users are satisfied with Color Last Shampoo, you should stay safe by choosing a sulfate-free shampoo like Ouai that is also designed for your specific hair type.
Abundant in perfume
You’ll find lots of fragrance ingredients in Biolage shampoo. These include Fragrance, Limonene, Hexyl Cinnamal, Coumarin, Linalool, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Hydroxycitronellal, and Amyl Cinnamal. Biolage shampoo may not be suitable for those who are highly sensitive to fragrance.
Moreover, Biolage shampoo contains Butylphenyl Methylpropional or otherwise known as Lilial which has been banned in the EU due to its link to reproduction toxicity in animal studies.
However, there are insufficient studies regarding its impact on human health. Moreover, the amount of this ingredient seems much less than the amount that could lead to infertility.
If you prefer fragrance-free shampoo, you can opt for Jason Shampoo No products found. or Vanicream Shampoo No products found. which are specially designed for sensitive skin/ scalp.
Contains a controversial ingredient (Cocamide MEA)
Cocamide MEA may cause mild dermatitis in some people, such as redness, swelling, and rash. A 1998 study by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) shows that DEA and DEA-related ingredients have been linked to carcinogenic in an animal study.
Meanwhile, FDA doesn’t consider this ingredient toxic in cosmetics since there aren’t conclusive studies proving the risk of cancer in humans. But, if you do notice local allergic reactions, stop proceeding with using the product and consult with a doctor for further details.
These are the side effects and disadvantages of Biolage shampoo to look for. Always read the Biolage shampoo ingredients before buying the products to avoid any detrimental effects on your hair and overall health.
Now, let’s check the similar product to Biolage.
Alternatives to Biolage Shampoo
Here we provide 3 alternatives for your go-to everyday shampoo if Biolage isn’t the right choice for you.
Love Beauty & Planet
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When you need a little bounce on your fine and flat hair, it’s a good time to turn to Love Beauty & Planet Volume and Bounty Sulfate-Free Shampoo. This shampoo is blended with coconut water and mimosa flower that gently cleanse your hair, giving it a full of bounce and shine.
Moreover, just like Biolage, Love Beauty & Planet also provides shampoos that are tailored to your hair types, needs, and concerns.
Nexxus
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Looking for something that can revive your locks, but is on a budget? You can count on Nexxus Keraphix Shampoo. This black rice-enriched shampoo works best on extremely dry, over-processed, and damaged hair to help repair hair damage with continued use. Unfortunately, this one is not sulfate-free.
The brand also provides more shampoos that are customized to your hair needs. Here we cover anything you want to know about their best-selling shampoos.
Redken
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Color-treated hair should steer clear of sulfates as best as possible, and Redken Extend Magnetics Shampoo can be the perfect fit for you. This shampoo has an acidic formula to help balance your hair’s pH level, which in turn enhances the tone and color vibrancy.
Redken also offers more shampoos you may want to try, from damaged hair to clarifying shampoo. We have an article about Redken and their products, click here to find out more facts.
Bottom Line: Achieve Clean, Healthy Hair with Biolage Shampoo
Biolage shampoo is an excellent vegan option with well-lather formulas to get thorough hair cleanliness. Its highly-concentrated ingredients have delivered lots of benefits for many users in terms of healthy and clean hair.
To wrap up our Biolage shampoo review, it’s best to take a closer look at the pros and cons to find the answer to whether or not Biolage is the right shampoo brand for you.
| PROS | CONS |
| Vegan and cruelty-free shampoo with lots of botanical extracts, and plant oils that hydrate, nourish, and repair your hair | All of their shampoos contain sulfates, which may be a particular issue for those with extremely dry, curly, coily, color-treated, and chemically-treated hair |
| A professional brand with a sustainability approach, e.g. manufactured in facilities that are powered by renewable energy and using Eco-friendly packaging | Highly-concentrated formula + premium packaging = higher cost. Those who didn’t notice improved hair quality consider Biolage not worth for money |
| Multiple shampoo lines that target your specific hair types, needs, and concerns | Biolage received mixed reviews on Amazon and Influenster, but most are positive |
| Many key active ingredients that are backed up by scientific studies to help improve hair health quality | Some of the key ingredients may not back up by scientific trials to prove their benefits for hair. But, they do have promising properties that potentially promote healthy hair |
Biolage does offer many shampoos that are tailored to specific hair needs, but so far their top three shampoos are
- Hydra Source,
- Volume Bloom, and
- Ultra Hydra Source.
They received impressive positive reviews on Amazon for their effectiveness in delivering benefits as they were advertised.
Hope this review helps you gain clarity about their products and helps determine which shampoo is the right fit for you. Leave us with questions or thoughts in the comment section below.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Biolage shampoo good for hair loss?
Biolage Full Density may be a good shampoo for those with hair breakage and thinning hair. However, this may not be suitable for severe hair loss. You can try hair supplements, topical solutions, or at-home laser therapy to get better results rather than rinse-off products.
Is Biolage good for everyday use?
It is best to use Biolage shampoo every other day instead of every day to preserve your hair’s natural oil. Excessive wash can lead to your hair becoming drier, especially since Biolage is not sulfate-free. Biolage shampoo for buildup and for blonde is best for weekly use.
Is Biolage shampoo chemical-free?
Although it’s paraben- and silicone-free, Biolage shampoo is not SLS- and SLES-free. If you avoid sulfates in any hair care products, Biolage can be a real deal-breaker.
