The 15 Best Shampoos for Chlorine Removal, According to Grooming Editors
By Joseph Cheatham | Health and Beauty Editor at Men’s Health
This summer may call for a dip in the pool, but swimming in chlorine can take a toll on your hair. Chlorinated water can turn your hair dry, brittle and discolored. In order to protect your mane, we recommend rinsing it off with the best chlorine shampoos.
The doctors we spoke with recommend thoroughly washing your hair after swimming in a chlorinated pool. According to Dr. Divya Shokeen, MD, a California-based board-certified dermatologist, the best chlorine shampoos contain EDTA (ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid) and sodium to help remove chemical buildup. Plus, these hero ingredients neutralize chlorine residue to keep your head healthy and chlorine-free.
And because pool water can dry out your hair, Shokeen says to look for chlorine shampoos with hydrating ingredients like shea butter, coconut oil, and sunflower oil. Ahead, we spoke with our panel of grooming editors and board-certified dermatologists on the best chlorine shampoos to shop now, and the best ways to remove chlorine from your hair.
How We Selected
For this story, we looked for shampoos that had chlorine-fighting ingredients like EDTA and sodium thiosulfate. We also prioritized formulas with moisturizing ingredients like shea butter, jojoba oil, and argan oil. Of course, for an added layer of hydration, we recommend following your shampoo with our editor-approved hair conditioners.
Pattern Beauty by Tracee Ellis Ross Hydration Shampoo
Chlorine can strip away the natural oils from your hair, leaving it dry, brittle, and weak. But Pattern is equipped to lock in and rejuvenate with supreme hydration—thanks to a medley of moisturizing oils.
We love how this works better than ordinary shampoos to remove chlorine. Powered by a creamy, gentle formula, it softly lathers to make your scalp feel new again without losing moisture and stripping away nutrients. Also, it contains ingredients we love like matcha green tea and aloe vera, which help our hair look shiny and healthy.
What do buyers say? "I have short hair but it only takes a little for a good wash," says one amazon.com customer. "I like it because I don’t need conditioner."
OUAI's detox shampoo is the holy grail for extracting weeks and weeks of heavy chlorine buildup. Free of artificial dyes and parabens—this concentrated shampoo has apple cider vinegar to exfoliate the scalp and push out any excess oil.
Our editors rave about how it deeply cleanses and returns your hair back to a neutral state. After using only a quarter size, we saw a significant decrease in the buildup. Additionally, hydrolyzed keratin is an active ingredient that helps soften and smooth your hair.
What do buyers say? "I was blown away immediately after the first try!" says one amazon.com customer. "I love how it lathers softly, doesn't have a strong scent, and makes my hair feel and look so healthy after!"
adwoa beauty Blue Tansy Clarifying Gel Shampoo
Say goodbye to shredding and breakage, and hello to healing hair. Infused with blue-tansy flower oil and rich extracts, this refining shampoo works to detox, nourish follicles and repair split ends.
After a long swim in the pool, we tested a few shampoos to revive our strands. But, none of them seem to outperform this vegan formula. It reboots and adds strength and shine to lackluster hair. Not to mention, the floral fragrance smells great.
What do buyers say? "I used this product and the shampoo took a bit of work to work into my hair but once I did, it was great and my hair is finally shiny and it has not knotted or been frizzy at all today," says one amazon.com customer.
Dphue Apple Cider Vinegar Hair Rinse
Sometimes it's easier to skip the hour-long, scalp-scrubbing shower and ply a rinse you can quickly douse your hair in. Enter dpHUE Apple Cider Vinegar Hair Rinse. The main ingredient is known for its chlorine-dissolving properties and restoring your hair's natural pH balance.
Carefully squeeze the formula across your wet scalp and massage it in. Allow it to sit for a few minutes and then rinse. It acts like a no-foam shampoo to clarify and cleanse your mane of gunk and impurities found in pool water.
"It is not messy and does not have a strong odor smell compared to the ACV at the grocery store," says one amazon.com reviewer. "My dry skin and dandruff buildup has been brought down significantly and my hair looks great."
Ouidad Water Works Clarifying Shampoo
Ouidad shampoo is a game changer during swim season. With a bevy of botanical and citrus extracts, this clarifying wash removes buildup of any kind and enhances the shape of your curls.
This product comes highly recommended by Dr. Brendan Camp, MD, board-certified dermatologist of MDCS Dermatology. He says Ouidad's formula helps fix brittle, dull hair to bring back that high shine.
"This shampoo is thorough enough to remove all the product buildup but gentle enough not to leave my hair dry and brittle," says one amazon.com reviewer. "Definitely worth the buy."
Blind Barber Lemongrass Tea Shampoo
This lemongrass tea shampoo avoids the use of sulfates (which can strip away too much moisture from your hair) and doubles as a body wash. Pool day or not, we found that it's gentle enough to use on a regular basis. It's enriched with natural ingredients like hops extract and juniper berry to wipe out product build-up and debris.
We've been fans of this shampoo for months now because it also helps our hair look thicker and shinier. Best of all, it makes our hair feel healthy, soft as a pillow and smell fresh and clean.
What do buyers say? "This brand is great! I don't have much hair, but this shampoo makes my scalp feel really clean without harsh ingredients," says one amazon.com customer.
UltraSwim Ultra Swim Chlorine Removal Shampoo
If you're looking for a budget-friendly shampoo that removes chlorine, this drugstore formula is right up your alley. In addition to getting rid of chlorine, Ultra Swim conditions and nourishes hair with moisturizing ingredients like Vitamin E and aloe.
This is also suitable for everyday swimmers, according to Dr. Rahi Sarbaziha, MD, a Beverly Hills-based Integrative Aesthetics Doctor. As a EDTA-based cleanser, it goes above average to remove copper deposits and other oxidized metals that can contribute to a greenish cast on lighter colored hair.
What do buyers say? "I swim a few times a week and have tried multiple products to get chlorine out of hair and off skin," says one amazon customer. "Ultra swim shampoo is the best especially for the price."
Spending all your time in the pool this summer? Ion has a chelating shampoo specifically formulated with swimmers in mind. Its vegan formula contains EDTA and vitamin C—which help break down chlorine molecules and dissolve residue.
Some of our grooming editors, who are regular swimmers, swear by this product. It gets chlorine out of gummy and tangled hair better than a traditional shampoo. We recommend using it immediately before and after hopping in the pool. Be sure to follow with a conditioner.
What do buyers say? "It gets the chlorine smell off your skin way better than the body washes I've tried specifically designed for that purpose," says one amazon.com customer. "Ion shampoo does leave your skin a little bit dry but if they could increase the moisturizing properties just a tiny bit, they'd have a wonderful dual-purpose product."
If you want to keep your hair soft and pliable, the Odele balancing shampoo makes it easy to do so. This dermatologist-approved product is boosted with lathering cleansers and chelation technology to wash away residue from hard water deposits, and does a decent job of removing chlorine.
We've been using this as a weekly treatment, and our hair has never felt cleaner or healthier. In just one wash, you see a huge difference. Plus, its fragrance carries fresh notes of ylang ylang, oakmoss and cucumber, which smells amazing.
What do buyers say? "Clearly stripped your hair, clean of impurities and old product, but it also leaves it somehow feeling softer rather than dry and brittle," says one odelebeauty.com customer. "With super thin, fine hair this is the first shampoo that has somehow managed to do both for me. Super happy with this product!"
Malibu C Swimmers Wellness Shampoo
One of the many harsh effects of chlorine: it can turn blonde hair green. For our light-haired brothers, we recommend this formula from Malibu C, which is loaded with EDTA and Vitamin C, a two-in-one punch that removes chlorine and prevents green hair.
This product is an expert-approved pick and a staple for swimmers we consulted with. On top of mitigating chlorine damage, it defends against dryness to restore hair texture and vibrancy.
What do buyers say? "I have never again had to worry about post-swim tangles, discoloration, dryness, or damage while using this product," says one amazon.com customer.