If Your Fine Hair Needs a Volume Boost, These Shampoos Will Do the Trick

The Ouai brand is known for adding protein to your strands, but what you didn’t know is that it caters to all hair types and textures. If you’re looking to add body and life to your hair, the Fine Hair Shampoo takes care of your hair straight from the roots. “It has a lightweight formula with ingredients like keratin, biotin, and chia seed that gently cleanses while keeping hair soft, smooth, and full of movement,” says Liz Owusu, founder of the renowned Liz Loves Hair salon in Brooklyn. The formula clarifies and volumizes to give you a salon-worthy finish in the comfort of your home.

Size: 10 fl oz

Ouai rating: 4.6/5 stars

An ELLE editor says: “My hair, in its natural state, becomes lank and can trend towards Shrek’s Lord Farquaad very quickly. It also tends to get greasy easily at the roots, so a lot of overly moisturizing shampoos can weigh it down. This is a nice, everyday shampoo for fine hair that gives my hair a lot of nice body and lift, even when I just air-dry it. Like all Ouai products, it has a Byredo-level of scent, so I feel like I’m walking in a cloud of good hair perfume all day.”—Kathleen Hou, ELLE beauty director

This Pureology pick features wheat protein, which promotes volume, and eucalyptus leaf extract, which nourishes hair follicles and helps your strands grow. Plus, despite its cleansing prowess, the sulfate-free formula protects color-treated hair, allowing your color to stay vibrant for as long as possible.

Size: 8.45 fl oz

Ulta rating: 3.6/5 stars

An ELLE editor says: “My fine hair is also color-treated, and I like my hair colorist, so I can’t use just any old shampoo. To maintain a good relationship with my colorist and my hair, I like this shampoo from Pureology. The whole line is formulated to be color-safe, so I don’t need to worry that it will wash my colorist’s hard work down the drain. It also makes my hair feel extra soft, yet not limp.”—Kathleen Hou

R+Co Dallas Biotin Thickening Shampoo is the holy grail of thickening shampoos. Why? All credit goes to the MVPs of the formula: coconut oil, biotin, vitamin B5, and saw palmetto berry extract. Each key ingredient works to strengthen, nourish, and encourage a healthy scalp, which in turn promotes growth.

Size: 8.5 fl oz

R+Co Dallas rating: 4.4/5 stars

A R+Co Dallas reviewer says: “A staple for my thin hair! I find a lot of thickening shampoo and/or conditioners will weigh my hair down, but this isn’t the case with R+Co. Have been buying and will buy again!”

Because fine hair tends to be more fragile, it’s also extra vulnerable to heat damage. Oribe’s Gold Lust Repair & Restore Shampoo strengthens and nourishes strands with a winning combination of biotin, caffeine, and collagen.

Size: 8.5 fl oz

Sephora rating: 4.3/5 stars

A beauty expert says: “My hair feels incredibly soft and silky whenever I try this shampoo. If I didn’t have so many wonderful formulas at my disposal, I might be tempted to use them most of the time. Plus, the fragrance—with notes of bergamot, jasmine, and sandalwood—is sophisticated and gorgeous.”—Carol Lee, beauty writer

Here’s a shampoo that’s free of all the bad (sulfates, parabens) and packed with the good (Caprauna turnip extract, which is rich in vitamins). This best-selling shampoo turns up the volume by gently cleansing away build-up to make hair feel lightweight and bouncy.

Size: 8.45 fl oz

Amazon rating: 4.2/5 stars

An Amazon reviewer says: “I've used Davines’s Love shampoo for years, but my hair texture changed, and it was no longer working for me. My stylist suggested a shampoo for fine hair, so I looked to see if Davines made one. Volu has the same characteristics I enjoyed from Love—simple packaging, use only a tiny amount, luxurious foam, and rinses out very easily! And now, my fine hair looks so much fuller and better.”

The Living Proof Full Shampoo gently cleanses your hair by removing buildup and preventing an oily scalp to encourage fuller hair. “This silicone-free shampoo creates airy fullness and long-lasting volume with a soft, touchable feel,” says Owusu. It gives your hair a natural boost without weighing it down. Not only will this shampoo make your hair feel so full and voluminous, but it will leave your locks soft to the touch.

Size: 8 fl oz

Amazon rating: 4.5/5 stars

An Amazon reviewer says: “This is the best shampoo I have ever used. Other shampoos can make my hair greasy again even on the same day. My hair is also very thin and greasy. With this shampoo, I made it to five days before it even looked greasy at all!”

This clean shampoo eschews traditional surfactants, which can strip strands of beneficial oils, in favor of a gentle coconut-derived surfactant system. The formula also incorporates Tsubaki seed oil to hydrate the strands, but it’s not so heavy that it’ll weigh down fine strands. After your shower, your scalp and hair will feel squeaky clean, and your tresses will smell like fresh yuzu, bergamot, and lemongrass.

Size: 8.1 fl oz

Sephora rating: 4/5 stars

A beauty expert says: “As someone with fine and oily hair, I’m so afraid of weighing down and over-hydrating my strands. I’m so nervous about it, in fact, that I’ll forego conditioner most days (don’t tell my stylists!). This shampoo is light enough that it doesn’t overload my hair with moisture, which allows me to go in with a pump of leave-in conditioner after my showers to keep my locks smooth and shiny. I also feel like it lifts my roots for a more volumized appearance.”—Carol Lee

“I love that fine-hair shampoos can transform limp strands into full, airy volume without weighing them down,” says celebrity hairstylist Nick Stenson. “The Volume Shampoo is perfect for fine hair because it adds instant volume and luster to fine-to-normal, color-treated hair, while sealing in moisture, providing heat protection, and leaving hair looking fuller and more vibrant.”

Size: 12 fl oz.

Ulta rating: 4.2/5

An Ulta reviewer says: “Great shampoo. I have thin, wavy hair with no weight to the strands, and this shampoo leaves my hair with a nice texture—not over soft nor tangled. However, the bottle is extremely poorly designed. There is a lot of wastage!”

“This one’s a current standout,” says Owusu. The Amika Big Hit Volumizing Shampoo is powered by glycerin, sea buckthorn, and caffeine to rejuvenate the strands while boosting body. “The texture and scent are incredible, and it gives fine hair that healthy, bouncy look everyone’s chasing right now,” she adds.

Size: 9.2 fl oz.

Amazon rating: 4.7/5

An Amazon reviewer says: “I have fine hair and decided to give this shampoo a shot. I've not switched shampoo in three months because of how soft it makes my hair. The quality is fantastic and it smells floral to me, which I love. Brushing my hair out after using both this and the matching conditioner is like a dream with barely any tangles. My hair shines like I just left the salon when it's dry.”

You need a shampoo in your life that will plump your hair to the max. The Bondi Boost Thickening Therapy Shampoo is made with biotin to support healthy hair growth. If you have fine hair and are concerned about it breaking, this shampoo contains amaranth extract, which helps strengthen your hair.

Size: 16.9 fl oz

Amazon rating: 4.4/5 stars

An Amazon reviewer says: “A rich shampoo...you only need a dime's worth and your hair will suds up and feel thick!”

Dr. Ellen Marmur, board-certified dermatologist and founder of MMSkincare, emphasizes that hydration is paramount when it comes to fine hair. “Choose formulas that feature hyaluronic acid, vitamin E, and proteins to lock in moisture and help strengthen the strands. I would also avoid any formulas containing sulfates as these strip the natural oil produced in our hair; and for the finer hair types, they need all the moisture retention they can get,” she says. Dr. Marmur also recommends looking for products that contain polymers, which can “aid thickness and better lift the hair shaft,” she adds.

If you have fine hair that gets oily easily, you might be reluctant to incorporate a hair oil into your routine—but Dr. Marmur insists that they’ll become your greatest ally. “Start by incorporating these into your routine, and with consistent use you’ll see improvement. For fine hair, I recommend Mielle Rosemary Mint Scalp & Hair Strengthening Oil—this features rosemary, castor oil, and biotin, a nutrient-rich blend to help freshen the hair, smooth split ends, and help with dry scalp (common among people with fine hair).”

As a leading publisher of fashion, lifestyle, and beauty content, ELLE.com is committed to highlighting the best products in various categories by personally testing the latest and most innovative products, interviewing countless experts, and vetting customer-loved items. For this piece, beauty writers Carol Lee and Emma Aerin Becker spoke with trusted hair experts about shampoo. They also searched the internet for top-rated shampoos for fine hair, perused reviews for dozens of popular options, and evaluated each on their features and customer reviews.

For this piece, beauty writers Carol Lee and Emma Aerin Becker spoke with trusted hair experts and dermatologists to learn all about the best shampoos for fine hair. They also tested them out, read through countless customer reviews, and evaluated each product on their unique features.