Best Korean shampoo: Pyunkang Yul Low pH for most scalps, COSRX for damaged hair
Updated October 22, 2026
For most people, the best Korean shampoo to start with is Pyunkang Yul Low pH Scalp Shampoo, a sulfate-free, silicone-free daily wash that costs $10.99 for 500 ml. Choose COSRX Peptide 132 instead if your lengths are bleached, colored or otherwise damaged, and Medicube Rosemary PDRN if your roots get oily and fine hair loses lift.
This is a researched comparison of current US brand and retailer information, checked October 2026. We haven't used these shampoos; lather, scent and finish descriptions are the brands' own, and the buying advice comes from comparing cleansing agents, featured ingredients, directions, bottle sizes and price per 100 ml.
The short version, by job, with Sleepy Hello prices checked October 2026:
Salon-style green tea wash: Amos Professional Green Tea Active Shampoo, 500 ml, $49.99, sold out when we checked
Pyunkang Yul Low pH Scalp Shampoo: the gentle daily pick
This is the shampoo we'd hand to almost anyone who washes often, has an easily irritated scalp, or wants a big, inexpensive bottle that does the basic job well. Pyunkang Yul describes it as a clear, lightweight gel that builds into soft foam and rinses to a cool, hydrated finish rather than a tight one.
The cleanser lineup is why it earns the top spot. After water, the list opens with coco-betaine (a mild coconut-derived foaming agent), sodium cocoyl alaninate (an amino-acid-based cleanser), lauryl glucoside (a sugar-based cleanser), disodium laureth sulfosuccinate, glycerin and sodium lauroyl methyl isethionate. Those sit on the gentler end of shampoo cleansers, and the brand states the formula is free of sulfates and silicones.
Further down you'll find menthol for the cooling feel, citric acid to keep the formula on the acidic side, and polyquaternium-10 plus a guar conditioner that help hair feel less tangled after rinsing. Acorus calamus root extract is the featured scalp ingredient, alongside heartleaf (Houttuynia cordata) and tea tree. There's no "fragrance" entry, but the ingredient list includes tea tree leaf oil and grapefruit peel oil, which are aromatic essential oils, so it isn't scent-free.
Pyunkang Yul calls the formula mildly acidic but doesn't publish a pH number. The directions: wet scalp and hair with lukewarm water, lather, massage the scalp with your fingertips and rinse. The brand says it suits everyday use.
If you want a matching conditioner, the Pyunkang Yul Low pH Scalp Treatment is the same size and price, $10.99 for 500 ml. It lists dimethicone, a silicone, as its second ingredient, so the pair is only silicone-free at the shampoo step.
COSRX Peptide 132 vs Medicube Rosemary PDRN shampoo: what's the difference?
COSRX Peptide 132 is built for damaged lengths, while Medicube Rosemary PDRN is built for oily roots and fine hair that loses lift. If your problem is ends that feel rough after bleaching or coloring, buy the COSRX; if your problem is a scalp that looks greasy a day after washing, buy the Medicube.
COSRX Peptide-132 Ultra Perfect Hair Bonding Shampoo centers on tripeptide-132 HCl, joined by hydrolyzed vegetable protein, soluble collagen, oat peptide, cystine and a group of amino acids. COSRX says the formula is made to strengthen damaged hair and encourage a smoother texture, from mild dryness through severe chemical damage. It describes a rich, creamy lather, calls the shampoo pH-balanced without giving a number, and positions it for daily use on all hair, including scalps with itchiness, flakes and excess oil.
COSRX's directions are simple: apply to wet scalp and hair, massage until it lathers, and rinse thoroughly with tepid water. We couldn't confirm a current full ingredient list for the 400 ml bottle, so check the label for any cleansers you avoid. The formula contains fragrance, which COSRX describes as fresh citrus-woody with bamboo and green notes.
Medicube Rosemary PDRN Cooling Thickening Shampoo is lighter in intent. Its main cleansers are sodium cocoyl isethionate, disodium laureth sulfosuccinate, cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine and lauryl betaine. Medicube describes a cooling sensation and a fresh mint scent; menthol and menthyl lactate are cooling agents, and the list includes linalool, a scent component. Panthenol, salicylic acid, niacinamide and caffeine sit in the middle of the list, and biotin appears near the end.
The headline ingredients are present in tiny amounts, and Medicube prints them: sodium DNA (the PDRN) at 2.5 ppb and rosemary leaf extract at 0.25 ppb, meaning parts per billion. Read the name as a theme rather than a dose. Medicube also features a 19-amino-acid complex and hydrolyzed proteins, tied to volume rather than bond repair. It describes a lightweight wash for fine, thin-looking or weak hair, designed for daily use with sensitive scalps in mind, and suitable for straight, wavy, curly and coily hair.
On price, the Medicube is the better value at about $5.25 per 100 ml against about $8.00 for the COSRX. Its partner, the Medicube Rosemary PDRN Hair & Scalp Conditioner, is $20.99 for 250 ml and stays on for one to two minutes.
What is the best Korean shampoo for an oily scalp?
For an oily scalp, start with the Medicube Rosemary PDRN above for everyday value, or the Some By Mi Cica Peptide shampoo when dead-skin buildup is part of the picture. The four below differ mostly in cleansing strength, extras and price.
Some By Mi Cica Peptide Anti Hair Loss Derma Scalp Shampoo
Some By Mi Cica Peptide Anti Hair Loss Derma Scalp Shampoo is the one we'd pick for a scalp with oil and dead-skin buildup. Some By Mi describes a dense, rich lather that washes away excess sebum, dead skin cells and impurities, with menthol for a cooling feel.
Some By Mi's ingredient list, published in Korean, opens with water, disodium laureth sulfosuccinate, coco-betaine, TEA-cocoyl glutamate (an amino-acid cleanser), sodium lauroyl methylaminopropionate and cocamide MIPA. A few entries later come menthol, salicylic acid, dexpanthenol and niacinamide, and further down gluconolactone (a PHA, a mild exfoliating acid) and biotin. Centella asiatica extract is printed at 1,000 ppb and each of its peptides at 10 ppb. The list ends with fragrance, and the brand states the formula is silicone-free.
It's $23.99 for 285 ml, about $8.42 per 100 ml, the smallest bottle here. The directions say to rinse it away fully rather than leave it on, and Some By Mi doesn't publish a frequency.
Mintree Scalp Shampoo
Mintree Scalp Shampoo is a softer-cleansing option for oily roots, leaning on sugar-based cleansers. After water, the list runs disodium laureth sulfosuccinate, glycerin, coco-glucoside, decyl glucoside, lauryl glucoside, coco-betaine and cocamide MEA, followed later by peppermint oil, menthyl lactate (a cooling agent), salicylic acid, panthenol and niacinamide.
Mintree describes a dry peppermint scent and a silicone-free formula; the list also includes limonene, a scent component. It's the only shampoo here with a measured dose in the directions: 3 to 5 ml once daily, spread over hair and scalp wetted with warm water. At $46.99 for 500 ml, about $9.40 per 100 ml, you're mostly paying for the peppermint profile.
Medicube Soyxidil Shampoo
Medicube Soyxidil Shampoo is the budget big bottle for a scalp that gets oily fast: $24.99 for 490 ml, about $5.10 per 100 ml. Its second ingredient is sodium C14-16 olefin sulfonate, a brisk, high-foaming cleanser that isn't a sulfate by name, followed by disodium laureth sulfosuccinate and sodium lauroyl lactylate.
Medicube says it cleans away excess sebum and dead skin buildup and leaves a light, comfortable post-wash feel. The list includes a soybean germ extract (the "soy" in the name), rice extract, sea salt, tea tree extract, biotin, panthenol and copper tripeptide-1, and the product page notes that it contains fragrance. The name sounds like minoxidil; the formula doesn't contain it.
Amos Professional Green Tea Active Shampoo
Amos Professional Green Tea Active Shampoo is a salon brand's scalp wash, and it was sold out at Sleepy Hello when we checked in October 2026, listed at $49.99 for 500 ml. It's also the only shampoo here built on a sulfate: sodium laureth sulfate is the second ingredient, lauryl hydroxysultaine third and fragrance fourth, with alcohol denat. further down.
Amos prints its green tea amounts, Camellia sinensis leaf extract at 1,247 ppm and leaf water at 880 ppm, plus seed oil and root extract, with menthol and sodium salicylate. Its directions differ from the others: lather, leave it on for two to three minutes, then rinse with lukewarm water. Amos positions it for weak-looking hair, excess sebum and visible flakes. When it's back in stock, it suits someone who likes a thorough, scented salon wash; skip it if you avoid sulfates.
Do Korean hair loss shampoos actually regrow hair?
No. None of these seven shampoos is a hair regrowth product, and the labels mean something narrower than they sound.
In Korea, a shampoo can be registered as a functional cosmetic that helps ease hair-loss symptoms. Those formulas commonly use ingredients such as dexpanthenol, biotin, niacinamide, salicylic acid and menthol, all of which appear in the Some By Mi list. The registration covers cosmetic scalp care during the wash, not growing new hair.
In the US, a product that claims to regrow hair is regulated as a drug, and the over-the-counter regrowth ingredient is minoxidil. None of these shampoos lists it, including Medicube Soyxidil, whose name borrows the sound. What the brands describe instead is fuller-looking hair, less breakage and a cleaner, cooler scalp feel. Medicube's page reports figures for fuller-looking hair after four weeks; those are results published by Medicube, not figures we could verify.
If you notice sudden shedding, bald patches, a fast-changing hairline, or itching and scaling that won't settle, see a doctor or a board-certified dermatologist. A gentle shampoo still belongs in your routine; it just isn't the plan.
Are Korean shampoos sulfate-free?
Most of these are, but not all. Of the six ingredient lists we could check, only the Amos includes a sulfate (sodium laureth sulfate). Pyunkang Yul states sulfate-free on its page, and the Some By Mi, Mintree and both Medicube lists don't include a sulfate. The COSRX list couldn't be confirmed, so check its label.
Two ingredient names cause most of the confusion. Disodium laureth sulfosuccinate, which appears in five of those six lists, is a sulfosuccinate, a milder cleanser that only looks like a sulfate on paper. Sodium C14-16 olefin sulfonate, second on the Soyxidil list and much further down the Rosemary PDRN list, is a sulfonate: not a sulfate, but a strong foaming cleanser that often stands in for one.
If your scalp feels tight after washing, the gentlest-reading lists here are Pyunkang Yul and Mintree. "Sulfate-free" alone doesn't make a shampoo mild; the whole cleanser lineup does.
How to choose
Start with your scalp, not your ends. Oily roots point to Medicube Rosemary PDRN, Some By Mi or Medicube Soyxidil; a dry, tight or easily irritated scalp points to Pyunkang Yul.
Then look at your lengths. If they're bleached, colored or otherwise damaged, the COSRX is the only one here positioned for bond care. With any scalp shampoo, put conditioner on the ends.
Compare price per 100 ml rather than per bottle, because sizes here run from 285 ml to 500 ml.
Where to buy, at Sleepy Hello prices checked October 2026:
It's a sensible default, especially if you wash daily or your scalp is easily irritated. Hair and scalp sit on the acidic side of neutral, and a mildly acidic shampoo is less likely to leave the hair surface feeling rough than an alkaline one. Pyunkang Yul and COSRX make low-pH or pH-balanced claims but don't publish numbers.
How often should you use a scalp shampoo?
As often as your scalp needs it, and for most of these, daily is within the brand's directions. Pyunkang Yul, COSRX, Medicube Rosemary PDRN and Mintree all say daily use is fine. Some By Mi, Medicube Soyxidil and Amos don't publish a frequency, so if one of those feels stripping, alternate it with a gentler wash.
Are any of these shampoos fragrance-free?
No. COSRX, Some By Mi, Medicube Soyxidil and Amos contain fragrance, while Pyunkang Yul, Mintree and Medicube Rosemary PDRN use essential oils, mint extracts or scent components such as linalool and limonene.
Compare Medicube pads, creams, and PDRN serum by formula and routine fit. A research-based review of what to choose, what to skip, and claims to check.
Best Korean Shampoo: 7 Scalp-Care Formulas Compared | Sleepy Hello
