15 Best Dandruff Shampoos to Soothe Your Itchy, Flaky Scalp (2025)

Out of all the dandruff shampoos I've tried, Jupiter's Balancing Shampoo reigns supreme. It's majorly helped rid my scalp of flakes and itch, all while offering up a lovely shower experience. The formula is filled with antifungal pyrithione zinc, but it's also fairly gentle (no sulfates here, bb) and moisturizing (@ squalane and coconut oil, ilysm) on my hair and scalp. Plus, it smells like an aromatherapy candle, thanks to orange peel oil, lavender oil, and vanilla oil to give my shower (and hair) a lil ~boost~.

• Active ingredient: Pyrithione zinc
• Sulfate free? Yes
• Scent: Herbal, fresh
• Size: 9.5 oz

Glowing customer review: “This is the best dandruff shampoo that I’ve tried! My scalp is flake-free, my hair is super soft, and I love the coconut smell.”

Your dandruff shampoo doesn’t have to smell medicinal and boring to be effective. Proof? This formula from Biolage, which has a minty, floral aroma that I love. The scent is fairly light and breezy (meaning it won't completely overtake your shower), but it lingers on my hair to give me a little hint of freshness throughout the day.

But it's not just a pretty scent—this formula has all the same dandruff-fighting powers as the other shampoos on our list, thanks to a combo of antifungal pyrithione zinc and exfoliating salicylic acid. I lathered up with this shampoo once a week, and my irritation subsided in about a month (but, like, it smells so good that I continue using it every few weeks or so).

• Active ingredient: Pyrithione zinc
• Sulfate free? No
• Scent: Fresh, minty, floral
• Size: 13.5 oz

Glowing customer review: "I have tried numerous "dandruff" shampoos over the past few months. This one has worked since day one! It's been a week and it's simply perfect. And a bonus is that it smells just like any other Biolage shampoo, not like some chemical/medicine."

Let's be real: Dandruff shampoos are often made with strong sulfates that are just way too drying for coarse and fragile type-4 hair. But As I Am's formula is actually the GOAT for your coils. Sure, it's got the usual suspects—pyrithione zinc to help get rid of flakes and tea tree oil to soothe irritation—but it's also loaded with moisturizers like olive oil and aloe vera to help offset potential dryness. Just make sure to smooth some deep conditioner on your ends afterward to keep 'em soft.

• Active ingredient: Pyrithione zinc
• Sulfate free? Yes
• Scent: Fresh, herbal
• Size: 12 oz

Glowing customer review: "Love this product. I keep coming back to it as it’s my current staple for someone with curly hair and a super dry scalp. It does the job more than any other dandruff shampoos out there for me, and I tried a lot."

If your entire bathroom is filled with clean beauty products, you don't have to make sacrifices for an effective dandruff shampoo, thanks to Head & Shoulders Bare. This formula features only nine (!) ingredients, including gold-star antifungal pyrithione zinc to help reduce plaques and irritation. But what's most exciting are the ingredients it doesn't have, like silicones and sulfates.

• Active ingredient: Pyrithione zinc
• Sulfate free? Yes
• Scent: Light, sweet
• Size: 13.5 oz

Glowing customer review: "Finally a shampoo that you can read the ingredients. It truly cleans your hair and scalp and my hair feels soft and healthy. No more dandruff or chemicals on my hair that will make me itchy. So clean and fresh, this is affordable and a little goes a long way. I definitely recommend it."

If you're trying to grow your hair really long or repair damage, try a dandruff shampoo like this pick from Oribe. It's full of proteins to help strengthen and repair my hair, along with salicylic acid to chemically exfoliate my scalp to eliminate flakes and break down any excess oils or product buildup.

• Active ingredient: Salicylic acid
• Sulfate free? Yes* (*but contains other strong surfactants)
• Scent: Light, floral
• Size: 8.5 oz

Glowing customer review: "This shampoo is luxurious, has a light, delicate scent, and I noticed instant results from the first use. It is heavy on improving the feeling of the scalp without leaving behind any residue or film. I was amazed at the resulting bounce my hair had! This shampoo is absolutely exquisite!"

I’ve tried so many dandruff shampoos that stripped my hair and left my ends feeling like straw. But this one from Alevai actually moisturized my hair with a mix of argan oil, coconut oil, and biotin—all while also getting rid of my flakes and itch with 2 percent pyrithione zinc. I keep this shampoo in my shower at all times and suds up with it once a month for ~maintenance~ now that my dandruff symptoms have mostly subsided.

• Active ingredient: Pyrithione zinc
• Sulfate free? Yes
• Scent: Light, clean
• Size: 8 oz

Glowing customer review: “This is unbelievable and is actually working. This is the only anti-dandruff shampoo that doesn’t make my scalp dry; somehow, it is extremely nourishing and gets rid of dandruff at the same time.”

Dandruff and excess oil go hand in hand, which means scalp breakouts and bumps are also present in people who have dandruff. Fun! So whenever my scalp acne is the main character, I just suds up with this 2 percent salicylic acid shampoo that breaks down excess oil and dissolves any pore-clogging dead skin cells and flakes on my scalp. After a month of once-weekly use, I had fewer bumps on my scalp, and I felt like I didn’t need to wash my hair as frequently—a dream for anyone with greasy scalp IMO.

• Active ingredient: Salicylic acid
• Sulfate free? Yes
• Scent: Minty, fresh
  
• Size: 10 oz

Glowing customer review: “This Ouai shampoo is a good supplement to really clean off the scalp and control oil. I have scalp acne and oily hair, and this shampoo cleared up my scalp.”

I spritz dry shampoo through my roots nearly every day, which means I’m always running the risk of getting flake-causing buildup. So every other week, sometimes as a precaution, I’ll suds up with Briogeo’s dandruff shampoo, which uses a mix of salicylic acid, lactic acid, and charcoal powder to gently exfoliate buildup, excess oils, and dead skin cells.

• Active ingredients: Salicylic acid, lactic, acid, charcoal
  
• Sulfate free? Yes
  
• Scent: Herbal, fresh, minty
• Size: 8.4 oz

Glowing customer review: “My scalp gets super dry and flaky, especially during the colder months. I have been looking for something to help tame the irritation, and this Briogeo shampoo works pretty well! I love the clean and vegan ingredients too.”

Sebum acts like food for dandruff-causing yeast—so, in order to treat your flakes, you’ll have to also break down excess oil, like with this medicated shampoo from Hairitage. It incorporates selenium sulfide, an antifungal that actually helps reduce dandruff-causing yeast and flakes, as well as strong surfactants to break down oil and buildup on your scalp. Just lather it through your roots once or twice a week until flaking subsides, and follow with a deep conditioner on your ends to keep your hair moisturized.

• Active ingredient: Selenium sulfide
• Sulfate free? No
• Scent: Fresh, minty
• Size: 13 oz

Glowing customer review:“I've struggled with oily hair and dandruff, and my usual shampoos aren't as effective as this. After use, my hair feels incredibly clean and soft, and I love how it actually gets rid of the dandruff.”

If you need a dandruff shampoo you can easily add to your grocery pick-up order, look no further than Dove Dermacare. Dr. Garshick recommends this shampoo because it “uses pyrithione zinc to help fight dandruff and reduce flaking, while still being gentle on your scalp,” she says, thanks to the formula’s moisturizing shea butter and coconut oil.

• Active ingredient: Pyrithione zinc
• Sulfate free? No
• Scent: Soft and sweet
• Size: 12 oz

Glowing customer review: “Literally the only shampoo that actually keeps flakes and dandruff away. My scalp finally isn’t itchy. GET THIS if you have dandruff, flakes, or an itchy scalp.”

The cult-favorite Nizoral is very similar to the kind of Rx dandruff shampoo you'd get from a derm’s office, which is why it’s so beloved for persistent dandruff. It’s spiked with 1 percent ketoconazole, an antifungal ingredient that helps kill dandruff-causing yeast, to get rid of flaking, itching, and scaling, says Dr. Garshick. She recommends lathering it through your roots twice a week, following up with a moisturizing conditioner and leave-in to keep your ends soft.

• Active ingredient: Ketoconazole
• Sulfate free? No
• Scent: Herbal
• Size: 7 oz

Glowing customer review: “I’ve been struggling with an extremely itchy scalp with flakes for at least a year. I have long and very-thick hair, and after just one use, I could feel a difference. I’ve used it three times now, and I don’t sit and scratch my head all day like before. I will continue to use the whole bottle as directed, but wow, this stuff is good.”

One of the oldest and most-used dandruff shampoos is T-Gel, which uses coal tar to slow down the growth of skin cells to reduce some flaking, says Dr. Garshick. The end result? Less itch and irritation. No, the scent isn’t exactly awesome while you’re massaging it into your scalp, but it dissipates quickly once your hair is dry, so it’s not a deal-breaker for most.

• Active ingredient: Coal tar (exfoliating)
• Sulfate free? No
• Scent: Herbal
• Size: 8.5 oz

Glowing customer review: “I have been using this shampoo every two days for the past few weeks, and the itching and bumps are really reduced.”

Dandruff shampoos kind of have a bad rap for being drying, especially for curly hair types. But Head and Shoulders created this one specifically for curls (!) by pairing antifungal pyrithione zinc with rich coconut oil to seal in moisture. You’ll be left with a soothed scalp without major stripping (especially if you combine it with a deep conditioner).

• Active ingredient: Pyrithione zinc
• Sulfate free? Yes
• Scent: Soft and sweet
• Size: 12.8 oz

Glowing customer review: “My hair is around a 3c curl type and has some coarseness. This shampoo is great! The smell is not too medicinal or overpowering, and it gets rid of product buildup fairly easily and definitely doesn't strip my hair of moisture. Best of all, my itchy scalp and those big flakes are gone.”

I’m normally a lil ~skeptical~ of all-natural dandruff shampoos, but this bb gets the job done. The formula incorporates a mix of plant extracts, like soothing aloe vera and chamomile, along with anti-inflammatory tea tree oil to help relieve some of the irritation that comes with dandruff—plus it's got 2 percent salicylic acid to nix flakes and dead skin.

• Key ingredients: Salicylic acid (exfoliating)
• Sulfate free? Yes
• Scent: Citrus, fresh
• Size: 14 oz

Glowing customer review: “After I had my second baby, my scalp became sensitive and had severe dandruff. No matter how many times I would wash my hair, it wouldn’t help. This worked amazingly. Smells great if you like the herbal scent too.”

Cosmo beauty editor-at-large Julee Wilson got the top-secret invite to test Cécred (Beyonce's hair line, if you're living under a rock), and she came back singing the praises of this exfoliating shampoo. "I loved how gentle the fermented purple willow bark was on my scalp," she said in her Cécred review. "The tiny purple willow bark grains in this shampoo literally dissolve as you scrub."

As it gently sloughs away flakes and buildup, it helps calm an irritated scalp with niacinamide and offers up some antibacterial benefits with tea tree oil. It's great for those with active dandruff plaques, but also works well in a maintenance routine to keep your scalp healthy, soothed, and flake-free.

• Key ingredients: Fermented purple willow bark, niacinamide, tea tree oil
• Sulfate free? Yes
• Scent: Citrus, herbal
• Size: 8 fl oz

Glowing customer review: “My angry scalp has been soothed, cleansed and reset. I love this shampoo. It got rid of the build up of products and was a soothing sigh of relief to my big chop adventure!"

The most effective shampoo for dandruff is one that contains antifungal ingredients, like ketoconazole, pyrithione zinc, or selenium sulfide, says Dr. Garshick. (That's because dandruff is often attributed to an overgrowth of the yeast that naturally lives on the scalp—the more you know.)

But dandruff shampoos will also sometimes contain salicylic acid to break down dead skin and help reduce flakes, along with coal tar, which helps slow skin shed to eliminate some flaking, too.

Look for specific actives.

Make sure your dandruff shampoo contains ingredients that will actually get rid of dandruff. Antifungals like ketoconazole, selenium sulfide, and pyrithione zinc are proven to destroy the excess yeast on your scalp that’s causing dandruff. But if your scalp is covered with dry patches, or it gets hella greasy quickly (and maybe even has some acne too), def try salicylic acid too, which helps dissolve oil and chemically exfoliate dead skin cells before they flake off.

Incorporate soothing ingredients.

No, ingredients like tea tree oil and aloe vera won’t get rid of dandruff on their own. But they will help minimize some of the inflammation on your scalp, which can in turn reduce some itching and irritation.

Also, if you’re dealing with a seriously itchy scalp, look for a formula spiked with coal tar. It’s not the best smelling, but it seriously helps reduce the shedding of your skin, leading to fewer flakes and irritation.

Consider your hair type.

If you have super-dry hair, you’ll want a dandruff shampoo spiked with rich moisturizers, like shea butter and coconut oil, and also doesn’t contain harsh, drying sulfates. On the other hand, oily scalps need those sulfates to cut through oil and product buildup that can lead to greasy flaking. So regardless of which formula you choose, smooth on a moisturizing conditioner after shampooing to keep your hair feeling healthy, even when you’re lathering up with a medicated shampoo.

• Marisa Garshick, MD, is a board-certified dermatologist at MCDS Dermatology in New York, NY. She is also a clinical assistant professor at Weill Cornell Medicine.