Best Natural Shampoo for Curly Hair: What to Look For

The Wild Herbalist Series · by Amy Davis

If you have curly, wavy, or thick hair and you've been searching for a natural shampoo that actually works, you already know the frustration. Half the products labeled "natural" leave your hair dry, stripped, or coated in a waxy film. The other half are mostly conventional formulas with a few botanical extracts sprinkled in for marketing.

I formulate hair care for a living, and I have thick wavy hair myself. I've tested, tweaked, reformulated, and gotten feedback from hundreds of customers — and what I've learned is that a good natural shampoo for thick, curly, or textured hair isn't about a long list of trendy ingredients. It's about the right plants doing real work.

Here's what makes the difference, what to look for on a label, and what to avoid even in products marketed as "natural."

Why thick, curly, and wavy hair has different needs

Thick, curly, and wavy hair tends to be coarser and drier than fine or straight hair. The natural oils your scalp produces have a harder time traveling down the twists, bends, and bulk of textured hair, which means the ends often need extra moisture support. Curls and waves also benefit from ingredients that smooth the cuticle, reduce frizz, and help the hair clump and define rather than separate into a halo of fluff.

The problem with most conventional shampoos — and even many "natural" ones — is that they're built to clean. Period. They strip everything away with harsh surfactants and then try to add moisture back artificially with silicones. The cycle works for a while, then it doesn't, because over time those silicones build up and actually block your hair's ability to absorb real moisture.

A good natural shampoo takes a different approach: clean gently, nourish at the same time, and work with your hair instead of against it. These are the four plants I build my Moisturizing Shampoo and Deep Moisture Conditioner around, and why they earn their place.

1. Marshmallow root — the natural alternative to silicones

Marshmallow root infusion is the foundation of every shampoo and conditioner I make. There is no single ingredient I rely on more for thick or textured hair, and there's a reason for that.

Marshmallow root is naturally rich in mucilage — a gel-like substance that gives it incredible slip. When you wash with a marshmallow root–infused shampoo, your fingers glide through your hair instead of catching on knots. It's one of the best natural detanglers you'll find anywhere, and it works without the buildup of synthetic conditioning agents.

Beyond detangling, marshmallow root smooths the cuticle, reduces frizz, and helps curls and waves clump and define. It helps hair hold onto moisture — critical for the dryness most thick hair deals with — and it acts as a natural alternative to silicones, giving you the slip and smoothing benefits without the long-term buildup.

Silicones get a lot of attention as something to avoid, and that reputation is earned. They feel great at first because they coat the hair shaft and create a temporary smoothness. But that coating accumulates over time, and eventually it actually inhibits your hair's ability to absorb the moisture it needs. Marshmallow root gives you the benefits without the trade-off.

How I use it

My Moisturizing Shampoo is built on a base of marshmallow root infusion — the slip you feel as you wash is the plant doing real work. It's paired with a Deep Moisture Conditioner that uses the same marshmallow root base, so the detangling and softening continues from wash through final rinse.

2. Nettle — strengthening from the scalp out

Nettle is a powerhouse herb that doesn't get enough credit in hair care. I use a nettle glycerite in all my shampoos and conditioners because it does what most "strengthening" ingredients can only claim to do.

Nettle is packed with minerals — silica, iron, magnesium — and vitamins A, C, and K, plus a wide range of phytonutrients. By extracting it into glycerin (a natural humectant), the formula gets two things at once: the nutritional support of the nettle itself, and a delivery system that helps the herb adhere to the hair shaft long enough to actually coat and absorb.

Over time, nettle strengthens hair structure — meaning less breakage and a fuller, thicker feel. The minerals and nutrients nourish the scalp, where new hair starts. Nettle is also deeply anti-inflammatory and calming, which is why it's wonderful for sensitive or irritated scalps, and it helps balance oil production — a real benefit for thick-haired folks who often deal with dry ends and an oily scalp at the same time.

Strong, healthy hair starts at the scalp. Nettle is one of the best herbs we have for supporting both.

A personal note

A few years ago, I went through perimenopause, and my hair started getting dry and brittle. Watching it fall out was scary in a way that's hard to describe to someone who hasn't been through it. Switching to my own formulas — marshmallow root, nettle, the right oils, no chemicals — restored it. New growth came in. The breakage at the ends stopped. My hair feels great again. I credit a lot of that to nettle and to the simple act of getting the harsh chemicals off my scalp and letting my hair find its natural balance.

3. Lavender — for calm scalp and soft hair

Lavender essential oil calms an irritated scalp, has mild antimicrobial properties, helps balance oil production, and adds a subtle softness to the hair — not a heavy conditioning effect, just a light, smoothing touch. And the scent is genuinely relaxing, not overpowering.

The key word with lavender — and with all essential oils in hair care — is subtle. A good natural shampoo uses essential oils sparingly. More on that in a minute.

4. Lemongrass — clarity and shine

Lemongrass clarifies. It helps remove buildup from the scalp, adds shine to the hair, and brings out that bouncy, defined look that thick, curly, and wavy hair is supposed to have. It also reduces the dull, coated appearance that builds up from conventional products.

Here's the formulation detail that matters: I use a lemongrass hydrosol as part of the formula, alongside a small measured amount of lavender and lemongrass essential oils.

A hydrosol is the water-based byproduct of distilling a plant — it carries the gentler, water-soluble compounds of the herb without the concentration of pure essential oil. Most hair care products dramatically overdo essential oils, and too much essential oil on the scalp can be irritating and drying — the opposite of what you want.

By building the formula around a lemongrass hydrosol and adding only small, measured amounts of essential oil for gentle scalp benefits and a fresh natural scent, I get the active plant chemistry without the negatives. This is the kind of formulation choice that doesn't show up on the front of the bottle but makes a huge difference in how the product actually performs.

How I prepare the marshmallow root, nettle, and hydrosols — why the method matters

Most natural hair-care lines use a powdered extract or a quick hot brew of these herbs. I do something different, and I think it's part of why my shampoo and conditioner perform the way they do.

Marshmallow root — a slow cold infusion. I use a ratio of 1 part dried marshmallow root to 8 parts water, and I infuse it slowly in cold water for 12 hours. The cold infusion is important. Marshmallow root's signature ingredient is mucilage — that gel-like substance that gives the herb its incredible slip and detangling power — and heat destroys it. Most quick-brew methods you'll see online use hot water, which is faster but produces a weaker infusion. A cold soak takes patience, but the result is a marshmallow root infusion that's genuinely rich in the active compound. You can feel the difference on your fingertips before it ever touches your hair.

Nettle glycerite — a 14-day room-temperature infusion. For the nettle, I use a 1:6 ratio — 1 part nettle leaf to 6 parts glycerite. The glycerite itself is a mixture of 75% vegetable glycerin and 25% water, which is the detail that matters most. Glycerin alone is a beautiful hair humectant, but it only extracts the fat-soluble compounds from the nettle. By adding water, I also pull out the water-soluble vitamins and minerals — the silica, iron, magnesium, vitamin C — that make nettle so strengthening. I infuse the herb at room temperature for a minimum of 14 days, then gently warm the mixture to about 110°F for 8 hours before straining. The gentle warming at the end releases any minerals and vitamins that haven't yet come out of the leaf, and it also thins the glycerin enough to make straining manageable. That same thinned, mineral-rich glycerite is also what makes the final product such a wonderful humectant on the hair shaft.

The hydrosols — grown, harvested, and distilled myself. I grow many of the herbs I use, and I make the hydrosols in my own studio with a steam distiller. Steam distillation is the same traditional method that's been used to capture a plant's gentler, water-soluble compounds for centuries. The reason I do this myself is simple: I want to know the plant was fresh, that it was harvested at the right moment, and that nothing was added between the field and the bottle. Most commercial hydrosols are sourced from large suppliers and can sit for months before they're used. A hydrosol I distilled this week from herbs I picked yesterday morning is a different ingredient — fresher, livelier, and worth the work.

These aren't shortcuts. They're how the plants actually want to be worked with. And on the back of every bottle, that work shows up as hair that feels different — softer, stronger, and more itself.

The conditioner: oils that penetrate, infusions that lock moisture

I make my shampoo and conditioner as separate products — not a combined two-in-one. A true conditioner needs a different formulation than a shampoo to do its job, and trying to do both at once compromises both.

For thick, curly, and wavy hair specifically, my Deep Moisture Conditioner is built around an oil blend chosen because these oils actually penetrate the hair shaft instead of just sitting on top of it:

• Argan oil softens and smooths without weight
• Avocado oil is deeply penetrating, rich in fatty acids and vitamins
• Olive oil is nourishing and protective, with a long history of use in hair care

Layered in with the same marshmallow root infusion and nettle glycerite from the shampoo — plus colloidal oats, hydrolyzed oat protein, and pro-vitamin B5 for hydration and strength — the conditioner seals and locks moisture into hydrated hair, keeping it shiny, bouncy, and defined.

How I use it

I follow the Moisturizing Shampoo with the Deep Moisture Conditioner every wash. The shampoo cleans gently and starts the detangling; the conditioner deepens the hydration and seals it in. Customers tell me their hair feels softer and more defined after the first wash, and stronger and healthier after a few weeks of regular use.

What to look for in a "natural" shampoo

Here's the uncomfortable truth: the FDA doesn't have a legal definition for "natural" in cosmetics. Brands can use the word fairly freely as long as they're not being overtly misleading. That means even on a "natural" shampoo label, you can still find some genuinely problematic ingredients.

A few things I look for, and how I make formulation choices for Simply Wild.

Organic when possible. ECOCERT-quality standards when not. I strive to use organic ingredients whenever I can. When organic isn't available, I look for ingredients held to the kind of strict third-party standards that ECOCERT applies. On the Simply Wild label, I note which individual ingredients are certified organic — I don't claim the finished products as certified organic or ECOCERT certified, because that's a separate process. What I'm telling you is what's actually going in.

Naturally derived has a place too. Some ingredients aren't organic or ECOCERT-qualified but are minimally processed from natural sources, and they earn their spot in a formula. A good example is BTMS-25, a gentle plant-derived emulsifier — without something like it, conditioners separate. It's always a balance: creating a quality, natural, shelf-stable product that people can feel good about and afford.

Take a whiff. A good natural shampoo should be lightly scented. If it's overwhelming, the essential oils are likely overdone — which means scalp irritation and dryness. Subtle is good.

Watch out for baking soda. It shows up in some shampoo bars and "all-natural" products. Baking soda is highly alkaline, and on hair it adds frizz and breakage over time.

Be careful with castile soap on hair. I love castile soap for plenty of things, and it can be a genuinely natural cleanser. But on the scalp it has a very high pH — it's alkaline — and it reacts with hard water to form a waxy residue. Over time you end up with dull, coated, breaking hair. It's not the right choice for hair.

The conventional offenders, of course: sulfates, silicones, synthetic fragrances, and drying alcohols. Most people switching to natural already know to avoid these.

The point isn't that any single ingredient is automatically good or bad. It's that balance is the key when it comes to natural formulation.

What to expect when you switch

If you've been using conventional shampoo and you're switching to a natural formula, here's what most of my customers tell me happens in the first few weeks.

Your scalp feels really clean. Like, really clean. People often say it after the first wash. The chemicals you didn't even realize were sitting on your scalp are gone, and it feels noticeable.

Your hair feels lighter and softer. Sometimes finer, too. This isn't your hair being damaged — it's your hair without the weight of synthetic coatings. It can feel like an adjustment, but in the best way.

You'll need to relearn how to manage it. Hair without silicones behaves differently than hair with them. Give yourself a few washes to figure out how your hair really wants to be cared for.

What customers tell me. I want to share two stories, because they capture what I hear over and over again.

One customer wrote me after a few weeks of using the shampoo and conditioner together. She'd been dealing with hard water damage, frizz, and breakage for years — especially underneath, where her hair was so dry and damaged that it had stopped growing well. After switching, she told me her hair felt softer and healthier, and was finally manageable again without anything weighing her curls down. She mentioned the lavender and lemongrass scent too — clean and natural, not overpowering. That last part matters to me as a formulator. The scent is one of the first things people notice, and getting it light enough to feel like the hair itself is what we work for.

Another customer with thick wavy hair and an oily scalp had been searching for something that wouldn't weigh her hair down or leave her scalp greasy. She tested the shampoo and conditioner together and came back to tell me they worked beautifully for her. Thick wavy hair with an oily scalp is one of the trickier combinations to formulate for — the hair wants moisture, the scalp wants balance, and most products pick a side. The marshmallow root and nettle do the work of holding both together.

I share these not as promises — every person's hair is different — but because they speak to what happens when you stop fighting your hair and start working with it.

A styling tip: Once you've gotten the conventional buildup off and your hair is moving freely again, you may want a styling product that adds a little texture and hold back in without going back to silicones. My Clay Pomade is what I reach for — natural clay-based, light enough not to weigh hair down, and works beautifully with curls and waves to give shape without stiffness.

For some people, the change is bigger than the hair. Many of my customers — especially women in perimenopause — have told me that getting the chemicals off their scalp helped with broader issues. A lot of conventional shampoo ingredients are endocrine disruptors, meaning they interact with the body's hormone system. The scalp absorbs what you put on it. Switching to natural is a small change with sometimes surprisingly large ripple effects.

This article is for informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. The statements in this article have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Simply Wild products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. If you have a medical condition or are taking medication, consult your healthcare provider before using herbal products.