What to Look for in a Shampoo & Conditioner
Looking for a gentler approach to haircare? Discover what to look for when choosing shampoo and conditioner for healthy-feeling hair and scalp, from botanical ingredients to nourishing oils and professional haircare formulas.
When we think about healthy hair, most of us focus on what we can see: softness, shine, strength, and the condition of our ends. But healthy-looking hair starts with how we care for both the hair and scalp.
Your scalp is skin, and just like the skin on your face and body, it can be affected by oil, product build-up, dryness, and the products you use every day. A good haircare routine should therefore do more than simply make your hair smell nice. It should effectively cleanse the scalp while helping the hair retain moisture, softness and manageability.
This is one reason more people are exploring natural, plant-powered haircare and paying closer attention to what's actually inside their shampoo and conditioner.
Why scalp care matters
Regular cleansing helps remove excess oil, styling products, and everyday build-up from the scalp. But cleansing doesn't have to leave your hair feeling stripped.
A good routine should leave the scalp feeling clean and refreshed, while conditioner and treatments help replenish moisture and protect the feel of the lengths and ends. Maintaining a healthy, well-cared-for scalp also creates an optimal environment for natural hair growth, while stronger, well-conditioned strands retain length over time.
At Akira, this relationship between scalp care and hair health is something we're particularly passionate about. Our shampoo uses mild cleansing ingredients alongside botanical oils, aloe vera, rice water and plant extracts, and is formulated without sulphates or parabens.
The ingredients behind Akira Professional Haircare
Argan Oil
Rich and nourishing, argan oil is widely used in haircare to condition dry hair and help improve softness, smoothness, and shine. You'll find it throughout the Akira range.
Coconut Oil
A familiar plant oil in natural haircare, coconut oil provides conditioning care that can help dry hair feel softer and more manageable.
Jojoba Oil
Jojoba is a lightweight botanical oil that helps condition and soften the hair without making it feel unnecessarily heavy. It's included in our Conditioner and Hair Oil.
Aloe Vera
Aloe vera is well known for its soothing and hydrating properties, making it a natural fit for formulas designed with both hair and scalp care in mind.
Tea Tree Oil
Tea tree oil is commonly used in hair and scalp products for its refreshing qualities. In Akira's Shampoo, it complements the cleansing formula to help leave the scalp feeling fresh and thoroughly cleansed.
Rice Water & Hydrolysed Rice Protein
Rice-derived ingredients and hydrolysed proteins can help condition the hair and support the feel and appearance of smoother, stronger and healthier-looking strands.
Avocado Oil & Shea Butter
These nourishing ingredients are particularly useful in conditioning products, helping replenish moisture and improve the softness and manageability of dry or stressed hair.
Rosemary Oil
Rosemary oil has become an increasingly popular botanical ingredient in modern hair and scalp care. We use Rosemary Leaf Oil alongside argan, jojoba, and tea tree oils in our silicone-free Hair Oil.
Healthy haircare doesn't need to be complicated
A good routine can be surprisingly simple: cleanse the scalp, condition the hair, and add targeted nourishment when your hair needs it.
As hairdressers and beauty therapists, we created Akira after years of working with real clients and seeing a growing desire for professional haircare with thoughtfully selected botanical ingredients.
The result is a vegan, plant-powered haircare range that combines botanical oils, plant extracts, rice-derived ingredients, and proteins, with products designed to leave hair feeling clean, nourished, soft, and healthy-looking.
Because beautiful hair isn't only about what you put on the ends, it starts with caring for your hair and scalp together.