Not necessarily UNscented, but not noticeably scented hair products

March 18, 2018 5:39 PM

Can you recommend to me good-quality hair products (most crucially shampoo and conditioner) that are either unscented or very, very lightly scented? The Free & Clear range is horrible on my hair. I'm currently using SoapBox Argan Oil shampoo and conditioner, which is fantastic (especially for the price!) and I would stay with it forever except for the strong smell. This question is almost hilariously impossible to Google!
posted by HotToddy to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (25 answers total)

This is precisely why I've been using exclusively Dove for over a decade. The daily moisture therapy line isn't, like, ultra luxe, but makes my hair feel nice and it only smells like soap.
posted by phunniemee at 5:44 PM on March 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Okay, I hope I can get through this without threadsitting, but already I have to ask: phunniemee, does the Dove smell less strong in use than it does in the bottle? Or dissipate after drying? Because I was just smelling it at the drugstore and it smelled too strong for me.

Also, further detail: Money is no object. Pricey salon products are fine as long as they're good and don't stink.
posted by HotToddy at 5:54 PM on March 18, 2018

Unscented Shampoos and Conditioners I Have Known:

Stonybrook - Sold by Weaver St. Market, a few other places, and through the mail. Light but not drying.

JASON Unscented - just tried it this morning. Pretty good. Also ordered through the mail.

Desert Essence - Found recently at Plum Market in Chicago. Surprisingly nice. Seems to have a lot of aloe in it.

365 (Whole Foods brand) - very heavy/moisturizing



Finding these wasn't easy. You may have to do what I did and just order through Amazon.
I also looked for _anything_ unscented at a few salons and at Ulta and came up empty-handed across the board. Ulta sold me something without _artificial_ fragrances, but it had such a heavy odor I had to wash my hair with something else immediately afterward.
posted by amtho at 6:01 PM on March 18, 2018 [2 favorites]

I have tried the Hask Charcoal line and Argan Oil line and like both - they have a light grapefruity scent while using them but I never smell them once I'm out of the shower.
posted by zepheria at 6:08 PM on March 18, 2018

John Masters Organics, Bare - Unscented Shampoo
posted by Iris Gambol at 6:17 PM on March 18, 2018 [2 favorites]

I dislike most scented things , and I really like Verb, which does nice things to my hair and has an almost unnoticeable scent that is entirely unnoticeable when you're not sniffing a whole handful to see how it smells.

Bonus: all their products are color-safe, and they're all surprisingly reasonably-priced for the quality (and the fact you can find them at Sephora).

I use their Hydrating line because I live in a dry climate and my hair needs all the moisture and hydration it can get, but I've also tried and loved their lighter Ghost line.
posted by rhiannonstone at 6:18 PM on March 18, 2018 [2 favorites]

Organix coconut milk. shampoo and conditioner- I dunno about the "coconut water" one- this is the one in the plain white bottle with a gold top. It doesn't really smell of anything to me, Like there *is* a smell but its just... plain smelling? Like coconut milk I guess? pretty sure it's sulfate free too. I've been using it for years, and while I don't always remember to wash my hair (autistic) when I do- I always get compliments on how it looks? Like IDK my hair is pretty short but washed with this stuff it looks good. And not smelly! which I hate! for sensory reasons. And also good for my sensory stuff, my hair feels super soft after being washed with it. It's good plain shampoo/conditioner. Try it!
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 6:41 PM on March 18, 2018

Carina Organics has unscented shampoos, though I personally like their sweetpea stuff.
posted by stray at 6:43 PM on March 18, 2018

+1 to Verb. I'm not hypersensitive to scents but I do notice them. I switched to Verb last year and have been very happy. Before that I used Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle, which I stopped using in part because I stopped living near Trader Joe's and in part because I felt like my hair just needed a little more...help. if you have very short hair or very robust hair, the TJ's also leaves no scent and it costs like $5 a bottle.
posted by potrzebie at 7:12 PM on March 18, 2018

I hate fragrances, and Suave's Ocean Breeze shampoo smells like very little and does not offend me. It has the nasty warning "Long-Lasting Fragrance" on the bottle, but this is fortunately untrue.
posted by 8603 at 7:12 PM on March 18, 2018

New Wash by Hair Story fits this bill. Bonus: only product I’ve ever used that made me feel like conditioner was unnecessary. (I also found the Free & Clear range awful!)
posted by mylittlepoppet at 7:28 PM on March 18, 2018

I recently tried Trader Joe’s Nourish Spa shampoo for the first time — very light fragrance and gentle shampoo.

(I also had exactly the opposite experience as 8603 with Suave Ocean Breeze. I found the scent very strong. It also gave me an allergic skin reaction, which happens to me with some heavily-fragranced bath products. It’s possible they’ve reformulated it since I last tried it, though, since it’s been a few years.)
posted by snowmentality at 7:28 PM on March 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

I find John Freida shampoos, especially the volumizing ones, to have very little in the way of smell. Can't speak to the conditioners, as I don't use them.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 7:37 PM on March 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

Shea Organics. That stuff is the bomb.
posted by fshgrl at 8:18 PM on March 18, 2018

I've used some of the lighter Nexxus shampoos and I find they don't bother me, and I'm fairly intolerant of scents. I don't know if the ones that would work on your hair (since you prefer products with oil) would be as scent-free as the volumizing one I prefer.

Garnier Fructus is strongly scented. Aveda is really strongly scented (I actually returned a bottle because I couldn't stand the smell).

The best thing you can do is take a wander down the shampoo aisle and smell the products you think might work for your hair type.
posted by sardonyx at 8:54 PM on March 18, 2018

+1 for Trader Joe’s Tea Tree Tingle. I love tea tree shampoos, even those with stronger scent, but TJ’s is wonderfully subtle. It could work a little stronger on the scalp, but for the hair it’s great. Conditioner seems good as well.
posted by lhauser at 9:59 PM on March 18, 2018

Shea Moisture, specifically the raw shea butter shampoos and conditioners, smell like shea butter, which has very little noticeable fragrance.
posted by Red Desk at 10:04 PM on March 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

Data point: not all of the Shea Moisture varieties are low scent. I started following this question because I'm unhappy with the Baobab and Tea Tree Oil variety (the clary sage is extremely strong and lingers).
posted by Knicke at 3:22 AM on March 19, 2018

I enjoy Phillip Adam Apple cider vinegar shampoo. Like all vinegar, the scent dissipates and your hair smells like hair after.

This is a Canadian product. I buy it at my local Whole Foods. I do not know the US shipping story or if it is available in stores in the US.
posted by crazycanuck at 3:37 AM on March 19, 2018

I know:
Korean - TonyMoly, Mizon
Italian - Insight, Barex Italiana, Biotherm, Collistar - my favourite.
posted by Tori88 at 4:47 AM on March 19, 2018

This question might be of some use to you.
posted by Ms Vegetable at 5:52 AM on March 19, 2018

Acure Mega Moisture smells kinda weird in the bottle but smells of nothing once your hair is dry. Amazon has it at the best price, but Target carries it too. I’m allergic to fragrance and as of yet the essential oils in this one don’t bother me. YMMV.
posted by PorcineWithMe at 6:03 AM on March 19, 2018

Tea Tree Tingle is great for my scalp but it is NOT unscented. If anything it's one of the stronger scented ones I'll use.

Coconut Water shampoo by Renpure has a very very light coconut smell (at Target) and tends to treat my hair similarly to the Renpure argan oil shampoo (which has more fragrance). The coconut water conditioner has more fragrance.

SheaMoisture Argan Oil & Almond Milk smells mildly of almonds not perfume.
posted by typecloud at 7:21 AM on March 19, 2018

This is a tough kind of question because I think people have various tolerances for different kinds of scents. I have asthma and migraines that can be triggered by scents but I think my list of offenders would be different than someone else with the same conditions.

My go-to shampoo and conditioner are from Loma. Currently I use the Nourishing line, but I have used all the kinds. My hair is in the best shape ever, despite bleaching and coloring. The products have a light pear scent that I don't find strong or overwhelming, and doesn't linger if rinsed well.

I can't say the same of all of their styling products, some of those give me a headache.
posted by Squeak Attack at 7:50 AM on March 19, 2018

If you need a heat protectant product to use before blow-drying or flat-ironing, I just use a few drops of plain ole silicone lube (Pjur brand, I can't link to it because I'm at work, but you can get on Amazon). Silicone is the main ingredient in most heat protectant products.

I use L'Oreal Clean Gel to smooth flyaways and I really like it and it has almost no scent.
posted by radioamy at 2:58 PM on March 19, 2018