The best sulphate free shampoo is one whose ingredient list can be checked against its label, and the four shampoos below are described from their own brand pages. Every claim about hair is the brand’s own.
Readers who wash their hair several times a week in a humid city, and who bought a shampoo because the front of the bottle said sulphate free, are the ones in mind. The four are from Plum, Bare Anatomy, Mamaearth and Arata.
How the brands make the claim
Mamaearth’s blog defines a sulphate free shampoo as one that does not contain surfactants such as Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS) and Sodium Laureth Sulphate (SLES). It names Ammonium Lauryl Sulphate (ALS) as another to avoid. The post is promotional and its claims are not cited.
The brand pages make the claim in different ways. Plum’s shampoo collection page says its Avocado and Argan Frizz Control Shampoo is sulphate free, and that its Coconut Milk and Peptides, Hibiscus and Ceramides and Volcanic Minerals shampoos use SLES.
One of those Plum product URLs contains the words sls free, which conflicts with the collection page statement. This guide does not settle that conflict.
Bare Anatomy’s collection page states that all of its shampoos are sulphate free. Arata’s collection page does not label any individual shampoo that way, and only a general FAQ line mentions its sulphate free shampoos cleansing gently.
Smaller mismatches appear on other brand pages. The WOW Skin Science Coconut Milk shampoo and conditioner set has a URL that says no parabens sulphate, though the page text makes no sulphate claim. mCaffeine’s collection page says its Damage Repair Latte Shampoo is free of silicones, sulfates and parabens, but shows no product link or size.
Claims reach the shopper in five forms across these brands.
- An answer on the product page FAQ, as with Plum and Mamaearth
- A badge on the product page, as with Bare Anatomy
- A statement covering a whole range, as on the Bare Anatomy collection page
- Wording about a surfactant system, as with Arata
- A URL slug with no matching text, as with WOW Skin Science
Reading the ingredient list
Under the Mamaearth definition, the check is to scan the first few lines of the ingredient list for SLS, SLES and ALS, and to note any other name built on sulfonate.
Opening lines of the lists on these pages show a mix of other cleansers. Plum names Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate and Coco Glucoside. Mamaearth’s Onion Shampoo list starts with Onion Seed Water, then Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine and Cocamide MEA.
Arata is different. Its list begins with Purified Water, Sodium Lauroyl Methyl Isethionate, Alpha Olefin Sulfonate, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate and Cocamidopropyl Betaine, and it later includes TEA Dodecylbenzene Sulfonate.
Sulfonate names are not the same words as the three sulphate names in the Mamaearth definition. The Arata page does not discuss the difference, and that is an observation about the page and not a statement from the brand.
Bare Anatomy’s page lists about 30 ingredients, and the label on the bottle is the place to read the full text.
How strong each claim is
Plum has the most layers, a page FAQ answer, a meta description and a readable list, but it also has a product URL that ends in copy and a collection page remark about other shampoos using SLES.
Bare Anatomy has a badge and a range wide statement, and the bottle label carries the full list. Mamaearth has a page answer and the start of a list, with marketing wording around the answer.
Arata has the least direct claim, a system described as sulphate free, and the most visible tension between the wording and the list.
Checking the exact bottle
Brand pages and bottles can differ, so the name on the pack matters. Plum’s Avocado and Argan page is the one the FAQ answer applies to, and the collection page says three other Plum shampoos use SLES.
Bare Anatomy makes its statement for the whole range, which covers every bottle but gives no hint of what the list contains. Arata labels no single shampoo on its collection page.
Mamaearth sells the Onion Shampoo in more than one pack size according to search listings, and the 250 ml page is the one described here.
Two frizz shampoos side by side
Plum and Bare Anatomy both target frizz. Plum shows its cleansers in the opening lines of the list, while the Bare Anatomy page relies on a badge and a range wide statement.
Curl friendly is how the brand describes its shampoo, and it names avocado oil, argan oil and aloe. Bare Anatomy names rice protein, hyaluronic acid, coconut milk protein and aloe vera extract, and gives a frizz control time that it ties to a consumer trial.
Choosing by hair concern
The four products are positioned for different problems. Plum and Bare Anatomy are both frizz shampoos, Mamaearth’s is for hair fall, and Arata’s is for damaged hair and the scalp.
Those positions come from the brand pages. The sulphate free label does not by itself indicate which concern a shampoo addresses, and the pages make no comparison between the four.
None of the four listings made clear whether it could be bought on the day the pages were read, November 2026.
Frizz control from Plum
Plum’s Avocado and Argan Frizz Control Shampoo is the first entry. The product page FAQ answers yes to whether it is sulphate free, and the meta description says sulphate and paraben free formula.
The list continues with glycerin, acrylates copolymer and aloe leaf juice before it reaches avocado oil and argan kernel oil, and the brand calls the shampoo curl friendly. Plum directs 2 to 3 pumps on wet hair, then lathering, rinsing and a conditioner or mask.
Its product URL ends in copy, and Plum’s own collection page says other Plum shampoos use SLES. A buyer would need to confirm that the bottle is the Avocado and Argan one before relying on the claim.
Anti frizz shampoo from Bare Anatomy
Bare Anatomy sells an Anti Frizz Shampoo with Rice Protein and Hyaluronic Acid. The page carries a Sulphate Free badge, and the brand states frizz control for up to 24 hours.
Rice protein, hyaluronic acid, coconut milk protein and aloe vera extract are the named actives. The brand also describes the shampoo as dermatologically tested, which is a claim and is repeated here as one.
The 24 hour figure and a 91% of users figure are brand consumer trial claims. Scalp pH is the other figure the brand gives, and it is covered in the FAQ below.
Hair fall focus from Mamaearth
Mamaearth positions its Onion Shampoo with Onion and Plant Keratin for hair fall control, not for frizz. The 250 ml page answers yes to the question of whether it is sulphate free.
That answer is wrapped in broad marketing wording about being free from all types of harmful chemicals and toxins. The brand also states the shampoo is free of silicones, parabens, mineral oil and dyes.
A full ingredient list is on the page. Its first cleanser lines use the same two names that open the Plum list, in the opposite order. The brand says the shampoo is dermatologically tested and refers to a certificate, and that too is a claim.
Damage defence from Arata
Arata’s Damage Defence Super Shampoo comes in 200 ml, a smaller bottle than the other three, and the page calls it a gentle, sulphate free surfactant system. The brand states a 94% keratin retention figure from an in vitro test.
The brand describes the shampoo as derma tested for safety and suited to coloured and chemically treated hair. These are the brand’s statements.
This is the entry to read side by side with its own ingredient list, where the sulfonate names sit next to the sulphate free wording.
Checking a bottle at home
A reader holding a bottle at home can set the label against the lines above. The check has three parts, the opening ingredient lines, the exact product name and the wording of the claim.
Where the list shows SLS, SLES or ALS, the sulphate free wording and the list disagree under the Mamaearth definition. Where it shows only sulfonate names, as on the Arata page, the pages themselves give no answer, since none of the four discusses the difference.
What the pages leave out
No independent source on what sulphates do to hair is used here. The only definition comes from a promotional brand blog with uncited claims, and that blog does not describe any drawbacks of sulphate free shampoos.
Bare Anatomy’s full ingredient text is not set out on this page, so the first cleanser lines are unknown for that shampoo, and mCaffeine is not listed because no product page was read. WOW Skin Science is mentioned only as an example of a URL that differs from its page text, and neither it nor mCaffeine is a pick, and mCaffeine’s collection page was the only place its sulphate statement appeared. Sizes beyond those stated above and other variants are not covered.