I’ve gone through tons of natural scalp serums over the last several years to keep my hair healthy from the root. I’m finally sharing an in-depth comparison of the top-rated serums, so you can find the best one for YOU. The best non toxic scalp serums will be free of silicones, parabens, alcohol, sulfates, chemical fragrance, artificial dyes, mineral oils and phthalates.

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Why I use a scalp serum

I truly believe that we should think of scalp care as skin care. It’s sooo important to care for the scalp because it’s quite literally the foundation for healthy hair. I’ve damaged the follicles for yeeeears dying my hair, and as I’ve gotten older, I’ve noticed a few grays start to come in so I want to make sure I’m doing something to slow that process down. I’ve found in my testing that there’s a wide variety of benefits that different scalp serums can provide and it varies from product to product. Scalp serums help:

• Promote hair growth and reduce hair thinning
• Strengthen hair follicles
• Add hydration to a dry scalp
• Soothe irritation and inflammation for an itchy scalp
• Improve overall scalp health, vitality and circulation
• Protect against environmental damage, pollutants and UV
• Prevent or slow down graying
• Restore scalp after exposure to hair dyes and other chemical processes

Ingredients to avoid

The scalp is a highly absorbent part of the body, especially at the hair follicles. Try to avoid:

• Parabens (Methylparaben, Propylparaben): Used as preservatives and can disrupt hormone function.
• Phthalates: Linked to endocrine disruption and potential developmental issues.
• Formaldehyde (or formaldehyde-releasing preservatives like DMDM Hydantoin): Known carcinogen plus can cause scalp irritation.
• Synthetic Fragrances: Can cause allergies, skin irritation, and are known endocrine disruptors
• Silicones (Dimethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane): Can cause buildup, weighing down hair and irritating the scalp.
• Mineral Oil: Can clog pores and prevent the scalp from breathing, leading to hair follicle issues.
• Isopropyl Alcohol: Can dry out the scalp and hair
• PEGs: Can cause skin irritation and is often contaminated with harmful byproducts.

My tips for best results

Here’s what I recommend doing to get the best results from your scalp serum…and the most bang for your buck.

• Use the serum on hair wash days right after you’ve taken a shower. This is when the scalp is most receptive to absorbing ingredients.
• Spend a minute or two gently massaging the serum in using fingers (or I even like to use a Gua Sha comb!)
• Keep in mind it’s a trial and error process of figuring out which actives your scalp responds to (just like skincare!).
• If you can afford it, red light therapy is the most effective at-home technology you can do.

I tried One Skin Peptide OS-01 Peptide Scalp Serum

One Skin’s Hair Peptide Scalp Serum is one of the most advanced formulas I’ve come across. This focuses on reducing shedding, reactivating the hair growth cycle and supporting a healthy scalp microbiome. It’s free from fragrance, parabens, sulfates, lanolin, heavy metals, talc, petrolatum, gluten, phthalates, and PFAs. Instead the serum contains their breakthrough peptide that addresses aging at the cellular level, Tremella Fuciformis mushroom extract (400x more moisturizing than regular hyaluronic acid), glycerin, beet-derived betaine to enhance scalp moisture, prebiotic ingredients like inulin, and alpha-glucan oligosaccharide to promote a balanced scalp microbiome. Texturally it’s a liquid and there’s no scent. This is the only brand I’ve come across that has a double sized refill option (cost effective and eco friendlier!)

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I tried Arey To The Root Serum

I got this from Credo Beauty after enjoying their Calm It Down Scalp Serum, which is a post treatment product you use after dying your hair. First of all, Arey’s To The Root serum offers the best value hands down out of all the serums I tried. Most brands offer 1 oz bottles while Arey’s is more than 2 oz. It’s formulated to fight signs of hair aging by slowing down greying, supporting repigmentation and boosting volume. Even though it caters specifically to those with up to 30% grey hair, I found that all the amazing ingredients are good for anyone who wants better scalp health. It’s got Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide 20 Amide as the second ingredient (not the fourth or fifth), which makes me feel like it’s more concentrated. It’s also got a bevy of antioxidant-rich plants, fruits and herbs like tangerine, hops, ginseng and sesame. I recently started using this and I feel like it’s going to last me a long time. Arey says to use 6-8 pump up to twice a day, but I find that using a few pumps once a day is enough for me. I would repurchase this because it offers the best value for my money and I feel like it’s best formulated to prevent the onset of grey hairs.

My rating: 4/5
Price: $55 for 2.2 oz
What it does: repigment grays, thicker & healthier hair
Key ingredients: peptide, Fo-Ti, sesame seed, wasabi, ginseng, soybeans, caffeine and hops 

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I tried Vegamour GRO Hair Serum

Vegamour’s was one of the first scalp serums I tried and I’ve used it on and off multiple times over the years. It feels like liquid water and has got Turmeric, Caffeine, Mung Bean and Red Clover Blend to help strengthen hair, improve thickness and reduce shedding. I personally wouldn’t repurchase it, but I know it does work well for certain people. The formula isn’t as clean as other natural scalp serums on the market. I think I may have noticed a very subtle difference, but because I was hoping for a major change I was underwhelmed. I also had my mom, who has severe hair loss, test it and she didn’t notice any change. I was really hoping for new hair growth, but this product is more for existing hair growth and healthy hair. I’ve also witnessed the price go up like crazy over the years. It’s now $64 which feels insanely high to me.

My rating: 3/5
Price: $64 for 1 oz
What it does: improves hair density, reduces shedding, strengthens hair
Key ingredients: Turmeric, Caffeine, Mung Bean and Red Clover Blend, Biotin, Peptides

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I tried The Rootist Densifying Serum for Thinning Hair

I like The Rootist’s scalp serum a little more than most of the other ones I tried. Texturally, it’s as thin and liquid-like as water, and there’s a tiny bit of natural color to it. I really appreciate that it’s super clean and the base is a fermented brew of plant extracts like Coffee Seed, Ginseng Root, and Pea extract. There’s also peptides and stem cells from turmeric extract to help with hair density and strength. The Rootist says to use 2 full droppers, but I found that doing this everyday makes the product disappear way too fast so I use just 1 dropper. I feel the slightest tingle for maybe a second or two right after I apply it, which feels reassuring. I give this a slightly above average rating because the ingredients are definitely better than other more popular brands. My one complaint is that it’s more expensive than other scalp serums. I feel like I noticed less hair shedding while using this, and if I can could afford it, I’d want to continue to re-purchase this.

My rating: 3.5/5
Price: $58 for 1 oz
What it does: thicker and stronger hair
Key ingredients: Fermented plant blend, Peptides, Stem Cells from Turmeric Extract

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I tried Nutrafol Hair Serum

I bought Nutrafol’s hair serum and was surprised to find that it’s more focused on improving the current state of your hair, not growing new hairs. Texturally, it feels exactly like water. It’s got a water base but is also packed with TONS of actives like Ashwagandha exosomes, pea sprout extract, Irish moss peptides, ginseng root extract, Moringa seed extract and sodium hyaluronate. But I just don’t get the feeling it’s a concentrated formula. I also noticed that they reduced the amount of product by nearly half but not the price, so for that reason alone I don’t wish to repurchase.

My rating: 3/5
Price: $49 for 1 oz
What it does: thicker hair, reduces hair breakage
Key ingredients: Ashwagandha exosomes, pea sprout extract, Irish moss peptides

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I tried Necessaire Rosemary Serum

Necessaire’s scalp serum felt very similar to Nutrafol’s to me. In fact, both of them recently reduced the amount of product you get by half too with only a slight decrease in price. Necessaire’s contains plenty of high-tech actives like 5% Capixyl which is a mix of acetyl terteapeptide 3 and clove, 7 different molecular weights of Hyaluronic Acid and Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, and ApiScalp. Texture wise, it feels like I’m applying water to my scalp just like many other clean scalp serums I’ve tried. I’ve tried the original Scalp Serum and Rosemary Serum and prefer the latter since rosemary is amazing for hair growth.

My rating: 3/5 because I couldn’t tell if there was any difference and major shrinkflation
Price: $45 for 1 oz
What it does: thicker and healthier hair
Key ingredients: 5% Capixyl, Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, and ApiScalp

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I tried Evolvh Better Roots Rootboost Serum

I used the Rootboost serum for a month and what sets Evolvh’s apart from the rest is the fact that it’s 100% concentrated with active ingredients ONLY. This means there’s no water, filler ingredients or fluff whatsoever. No other natural scalp serum I tried has had this high of a standard (except the $$$ professional grade ones). Even if the results are subtle to even notice, I at least know I didn’t pay for water, ha! I love that it’s got stem cells from Swiss apple and rose, red clover and copper tripeptide. The consistency feels like a light serum to me instead of water like many other products. I notice less irritation with my scalp and less shedding. I feel like this is worth my money to maintain good scalp health.

My rating: 4/5
Price: $48 for 1 oz
What it does: improves scalp health, reduces inflammation, slows down graying, reduce shedding, supports natural regrowth
Key ingredients: Swiss apple stem cells, Alpine Rose stem cell extract, copper tripeptide, mushroom beta glucan, pea sprout, basil root, red clover, Chios mandarin extract, prickly pear stem extract

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