ScalpSync is the only Biolage line that sells four different shampoos, and that is deliberate: "scalp problem" covers at least four unrelated conditions and the same shampoo cannot address all of them. Biolage builds the line on fermented teas and filtered glycolic acid — the acid clearing build-up, the ferments calming — and then splits it by what is actually wrong.
Prices and sizes below were correct on ProHair.ca in September 2026. Ranges change and packages are discontinued — always confirm the exact size and price on the product page before you buy.
Which shampoo, in one table
| What you have | Shampoo | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Oily roots, build-up, hair goes flat within a day | Clarifying Shampoo | 400 ml $23.80 |
| Visible white flakes on the shoulders, itching | Anti-Dandruff Shampoo | 400 ml $23.80 |
| Tight, dry, irritated or sensitive scalp | Calming Shampoo | 400 ml $23.80 |
| Oily scalp, and you want the cooling version | Cool Mint Shampoo | 400 ml $23.80 |
All four are also stocked at 1 L for $39.90, which is a third off per millilitre — see Biolage 400 ml vs 1 L vs 3.8 L: the back-bar cost guide.
Dandruff or a dry flaky scalp? They are not the same
This is the distinction that decides which bottle you buy, and it is easy to get wrong.
Dandruff flakes are larger, often slightly yellowish or oily, and they sit on a scalp that is itchy and sometimes red. It is usually accompanied by an oily rather than a dry scalp. That is the Anti-Dandruff Shampoo; Biolage says it helps eliminate the itching, irritation, redness, scaling and flaking associated with dandruff, and that the scalp feels balanced and fresh for up to 72 hours.
A dry flaky scalp produces small, fine, white flakes on a scalp that feels tight rather than greasy, often worse in winter or after a course of harsh shampoo. That is the Calming Shampoo, which Biolage describes as cleansing gently with weightless hydration and preventing the dryness and tightness caused by lack of moisture. Using an anti-dandruff shampoo on a dry scalp usually makes it worse.
The step almost everyone skips: contact time
An anti-dandruff shampoo has to sit on the scalp to work. Lather it into the scalp — not the lengths — and leave it for a minute or two before rinsing. A thirty-second wash is the single most common reason people conclude an anti-dandruff shampoo "does nothing".
The same applies in reverse to the conditioner. The ScalpSync Conditioner ($23.80 / 236 ml, $39.90 / 1 L) is deliberately light and universal so it can be paired with any of the four shampoos — but it goes on the mid-lengths and ends only. Putting conditioner back onto the scalp you just cleaned is how an oily scalp stays oily.
The two treatments, and when each earns its place
Purifying Scalp Concentrate — 200 ml, $31.50
This one goes on before the shampoo, onto a dry scalp, and sits for a few minutes so it can loosen build-up that the shampoo then lifts out. If your scalp feels congested — heavy roots, product residue, that "not properly clean even after washing" feeling — this is the product that changes it most. Once a week is plenty.
Balancing Oil Serum — 50 ml, $31.50
The between-wash product. An oily scalp is often overproducing because it has been stripped; the serum is what lets you stretch from a daily wash to every second or third day without the scalp rebelling. It is the step that changes the habit, and the habit is usually the real fix.
A four-step routine for an oily, congested scalp
- Purifying Scalp Concentrate on a dry scalp, once a week — $31.50
- Clarifying Shampoo, worked into the scalp — $23.80
- ScalpSync Conditioner, mid-lengths and ends only — $23.80
- Balancing Oil Serum between washes — $31.50
Swap step 2 for the Cool Mint Shampoo if you want the cooling sensation, or the Anti-Dandruff Shampoo if you are flaking as well as oily.
If your scalp and your lengths disagree
Very common, and easily solved: the shampoo treats the scalp, the conditioner treats the lengths. An oily scalp with dry ends gets ScalpSync Clarifying Shampoo and the HydraSource Conditioning Balm from the mid-lengths down. A flaky scalp on colour-treated hair gets the Anti-Dandruff Shampoo twice a week and ColorLast the rest of the time. More combinations in Biolage by Concern.
When it is not a shampoo problem
Persistent redness, painful or weeping patches, thick adherent scale, sudden hair loss or a scalp that does not improve after four to six weeks of correct washing all warrant a doctor or a dermatologist. Psoriasis, seborrhoeic dermatitis and fungal infections are medical conditions, and a cosmetic shampoo is not a treatment for any of them.
The rest of the Biolage guides
- The Complete Biolage Buying Guide
- Biolage Line by Line
- Biolage by Concern
- Biolage for Colour-Treated & Blonde Hair
- Biolage 400 ml vs 1 L vs 3.8 L: the back-bar cost guide
Buying Biolage at ProHair
ProHair is a Canadian professional distributor and has been supplying salons since 1996. Biolage arrives through the authorised Canadian professional channel, which matters more than it sounds: a shampoo that has spent two years in a warehouse or been decanted into an unbranded bottle does not perform like a fresh one. Shipping is free over $99.99, and the back-bar sizes are stocked alongside the retail ones so a salon and its clients can buy the same formula.
Browse the full Biolage range →
Performance figures in this guide are Biolage's own published claims and carry the brand's own test conditions; they are quoted here so you can judge them, not repeated as our results.