Conditioner for oily scalp

Verb Ghost Conditioner has the best record for an oily scalp: 19 of 20 shoppers said it softened their hair without making their roots greasy sooner, though that rests on a modest group. Each record counts just shoppers who said they have an oily scalp or hair that gets greasy fast. Pureology Nanoworks Gold Conditioner follows at 11 of 12 from an even smaller group, and Olaplex No. 5 Bond Maintenance Conditioner has the weakest record here at 30 of 39.

  • 179 store reviews counted
  • Ulta and Sephora shoppers
  • Aug 2012 to May 2026

Updated . How we count

Did it soften without greasy roots? What shoppers said
  1. Verb Ghost Conditioner 20 said either way
  2. Pureology Nanoworks Gold Conditioner 12 said either way
  3. Moroccanoil Moisture Repair Conditioner 16 said either way
  4. Pureology Strength Cure Conditioner 16 said either way
  5. Pureology Hydrate Conditioner 22 said either way
  6. Olaplex No. 5 Bond Maintenance Conditioner 39 said either way

Share of reviewers who stated an outcome for oily scalps. Ranked by the lower bound of a 90% confidence interval, so a product needs both a good share and enough reports to rank high.

Verb Ghost Conditioner Best record Verb Ghost Conditioner 19 of 20 say it softened their hair without making roots greasy sooner See price & reviews on Amazon
What stands out

All six records sit at 77% or better. The bottom two, Pureology Hydrate Conditioner and Olaplex No. 5 Bond Maintenance Conditioner, each have more shoppers behind their records than any conditioner ranked above them, so the shares higher up rest on smaller groups.

The ranking, product by product

Praise and complaints are the points reviewers repeat most, shown as a share of each product's counted store reviews.

1 Verb Ghost Conditioner

Verb

Ghost Conditioner

19/20 say it softened their hair without making roots greasy sooner

Nearly every shopper with an oily scalp who stated a result said it worked, and reviews first posted on Verb's own site agree at 21 of 21, which we show but don't count. Across all 29 of its reviews, 17% say it detangles and 14% call it good value.

What buyers praise

  • Detangles 17%
  • Nice scent 17%
  • Good value 14%
  • Tames frizz 10%
  • Adds shine 7%

What buyers complain about

No repeated complaints yet.

Where buyers said it
  • Ulta 3 of 4
  • Sephora 16 of 16
  • Brand site 21 of 21 shown, not counted
By skin type (Sephora reviewers)
  • Oily6 of 6
  • Combination5 of 5
2 Pureology Nanoworks Gold Conditioner

Pureology

Nanoworks Gold Conditioner

Best for adding shine

11/12 say it softened their hair without making roots greasy sooner

This record rests on a small group, with 11 of 12 shoppers saying it worked. Of its reviews, 45% like the scent and 30% say it adds shine, though 20% call it too expensive.

What buyers praise

  • Nice scent 45%
  • Adds shine 30%
  • Detangles 20%
  • Good value 10%
  • Tames frizz 10%

What buyers complain about

  • Too expensive 20%
  • Bad or strong scent 10%
Where buyers said it
  • Sephora 11 of 12
By skin type (Sephora reviewers)
  • Oily5 of 6
  • Combination4 of 4
By skin tone (Sephora reviewers)
  • Fair to light6 of 7
  • Light-medium to medium4 of 4
3 Moroccanoil Moisture Repair Conditioner

Moroccanoil

Moisture Repair Conditioner

14/16 say it softened their hair without making roots greasy sooner

14 of 16 shoppers with an oily scalp said it worked, though 10% of its 21 reviews call it too expensive. On the plus side, 33% praise the scent and 24% say it adds shine.

What buyers praise

  • Nice scent 33%
  • Adds shine 24%
  • Detangles 19%

What buyers complain about

  • Too expensive 10%
Where buyers said it
  • Sephora 14 of 16
By skin type (Sephora reviewers)
  • Combination6 of 7
  • Oily5 of 5
  • Dry2 of 3
By skin tone (Sephora reviewers)
  • Fair to light8 of 10
  • Light-medium to medium4 of 4
4 Pureology Strength Cure Conditioner

Pureology

Strength Cure Conditioner

14/16 say it softened their hair without making roots greasy sooner

It ties Moroccanoil Moisture Repair Conditioner on record, with 14 of 16 shoppers saying it worked. Of its 26 reviews, 38% praise the scent and 19% say it detangles.

What buyers praise

  • Nice scent 38%
  • Detangles 19%
  • Adds shine 12%
  • Tames frizz 8%

What buyers complain about

No repeated complaints yet.

Where buyers said it
  • Ulta 2 of 2
  • Sephora 12 of 14
By skin type (Sephora reviewers)
  • Combination9 of 9
  • Oily3 of 5
By skin tone (Sephora reviewers)
  • Fair to light10 of 11
  • Light-medium to medium2 of 3
5 Pureology Hydrate Conditioner

Pureology

Hydrate Conditioner

18/22 say it softened their hair without making roots greasy sooner

The smell divides shoppers: 25% of its 32 reviews like it, while others find it too strong. 18 of 22 shoppers with an oily scalp said it worked, and 12% of its reviews say it detangles.

What buyers praise

  • Nice scent 25%
  • Detangles 12%
  • Adds shine 9%

What buyers complain about

  • Bad or strong scent 19%
Where buyers said it
  • Ulta 8 of 10
  • Sephora 10 of 12
By skin type (Sephora reviewers)
  • Combination5 of 6
  • Oily3 of 3
By skin tone (Sephora reviewers)
  • Fair to light6 of 8
  • Medium-tan to tan3 of 3
6 Olaplex No. 5 Bond Maintenance Conditioner

Olaplex

No. 5 Bond Maintenance Conditioner

30/39 say it softened their hair without making roots greasy sooner

More shoppers weighed in on this one than on any other conditioner on the page, so its record of 30 of 39 rests on a larger group than the rest. Across all 51 of its reviews, 20% like the scent and 14% say it adds shine, though 6% call it too expensive.

What buyers praise

  • Nice scent 20%
  • Adds shine 14%
  • Detangles 10%
  • Tames frizz 4%

What buyers complain about

  • Too expensive 6%
Where buyers said it
  • Ulta 18 of 21
  • Sephora 12 of 18
By skin type (Sephora reviewers)
  • Combination6 of 10
  • Oily5 of 7

Where these numbers come from

The 6 products ranked here carry 27,217 reviews at Ulta and Sephora. We searched them for oily scalps and read the newest matching reviews, up to 40 per product and store, posted between Aug 2012 and May 2026.

A review counts only when the reviewer used the product themselves. We drop reviews written in exchange for a free product or a sweepstakes entry (0 on this page), and products that are no longer sold.

Ulta also shows reviews first posted on brands' own websites. They run much more positive than store reviews of the same products (across 19 products with both, 76% of brand-site reviewers said the product solved the problem, against 55% of Ulta shoppers), so we show them on product cards but never count them.

Because we searched for the problem, people who had it are overrepresented. Compare products with each other rather than reading a share as your own odds.

Skin type, skin tone and age splits use what reviewers chose on Sephora's review form (and age on Ulta's when given). We only show a split when enough reviewers fall on each side.

Amazon buttons appear only on products that most reviewers here say fix the problem (at least 60%, with enough reviews to trust it). Everything else gets no buy link.

An AI model labels each review against a fixed list of points, and we spot-check the labels before publishing. We publish counts, never the reviews themselves.

Read the full method

Product pages we read

  1. Verb Ghost Conditioner Ulta and Sephora (29 reviews counted)
  2. Pureology Nanoworks Gold Conditioner Ulta and Sephora (20 reviews counted)
  3. Moroccanoil Moisture Repair Conditioner Sephora (21 reviews counted)
  4. Pureology Strength Cure Conditioner Ulta and Sephora (26 reviews counted)
  5. Pureology Hydrate Conditioner Ulta and Sephora (32 reviews counted)
  6. Olaplex No. 5 Bond Maintenance Conditioner Ulta and Sephora (51 reviews counted)

Questions buyers ask

Which conditioner works for an oily scalp?

Verb Ghost Conditioner has the best record (19 of 20), followed by Pureology Nanoworks Gold Conditioner (11 of 12) and Moroccanoil Moisture Repair Conditioner (14 of 16). The Nanoworks Gold record rests on just 12 shoppers, so small gaps between neighbors mean little.

Where should I put conditioner if my scalp is oily?

Shoppers with an oily scalp often described applying conditioner from the mid-lengths to the ends of their hair. That is a tip from their reviews, not something we tested, so follow the directions on the label too.

Can conditioner make roots greasy sooner?

For some shoppers it did. Among those with an oily scalp, 9 of 39 said Olaplex No. 5 Bond Maintenance Conditioner made their roots greasy, flat or oily sooner, and 4 of 22 said the same of Pureology Hydrate Conditioner. Just 1 of 20 said so of Verb Ghost Conditioner.

Which of these conditioners are sold on Amazon?

All 6 are sold on Amazon by the brand or Amazon itself. Verb Ghost Conditioner, the leader, is also the best pick sold on Amazon.

Related problems

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HiveTried earns a commission when you buy through the "See price & reviews on Amazon" buttons. It never changes the ranking: the order comes from buyer reports only, and a product gets an Amazon button only when buyers here say it works.