13 best shampoos for coloured hair to preserve your freshly-dyed strands
Whether you colour your hair yourself or have it done in the salon, the best shampoo for coloured hair is an absolute must in your hair care regime, as any hairdresser will tell you. You’ve invested time and money in that fresh colour, so you want it to last for as long as possible. Right?
In short, you need a tailored shampoo for coloured hair so that you don’t strip away your colour and protect it against fading – as well as providing nourishment to counter some of the damage associated with colouring your hair.
“It is so important to make sure you're using the correct hair shampoo to keep your colour looking fresh and vibrant while also cleansing the scalp,” Zoë Irwin, renowned colourist and Wella Professionals UK colour trend expert, stresses.
Meet the experts:
- Zoë Irwin, renowned colourist and Wella Professionals UK colour trend expert.
- Justin Anderson, celebrity colourist to the likes of Jennifer Aniston and Margot Robbie, and co-founder of dpHUE.
The best shampoos for coloured hair at a glance:
- Best shampoo for dry, coloured hair: Olaplex No.4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo 250ml, £19.79, Amazon
- Best affordable shampoo for coloured hair: L'Oréal Elvive Colour Protect Shampoo 400ml, £6, Boots
- Best for preventing fade: Aveda Colour Conserve Shampoo 250ml, £19.99, Amazon
- Best for blonde coloured hair: Moroccanoil Blonde Perfecting Purple Shampoo 200ml, £8.25, Amazon
- Best for hair extensions: Color Wow Color Security Shampoo 250ml, £19.40, Amazon
What to look for in a shampoo for coloured hair:
We know that the best shampoo is one of the foundation blocks of a good hair routine, so what should you look for on the bottle to ensure your formula will provide color protection specifically? “You want to make sure that the product clearly states that it's a colour protecting or colour-safe formula, ideally without parabens or sulphates,” says Justin Anderson, colourist to the likes of Jennifer Aniston and Margot Robbie and co-founder of new-to-the-UK dpHUE.
“Keep an eye out and try to avoid products with sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) and sodium laureth sulphate (SLES), which are likely to cause colour wash out and leave you with faded strands.”
Toning shampoos are another great option to maintain your blonde hair colour and neutralise any brassy or yellow tones, or to keep your shade warm or cool depending on your tone of choice. Plex systems are also a good sign, as they work to improve the condition of your hair. But avoid clarifying shampoos, which are designed to remove build-up in the hair. “They are great for cleansing the scalp, they are also most likely to remove colour molecules from hair strands,” Zoë warns.
Just before we dive into the top shampoo buys for colour-treated hair, our hair experts have a couple of other tips for prolonging your colour: “Rule number one, shampoo less often,” says Justin. “Over-shampooing is one of the number one ways to cause that beautiful new hair colour of yours to fade more quickly. It's like washing your favourite black t-shirt repeatedly to the point of the colour dulling and fading out!”
Zoë adds that heat protection is an absolute must when drying or styling your hair, as heat damage increases how quickly your colour will fade. In the same way, you should avoid scalding water temperatures when washing your tresses to keep your colour vibrant. “Hot water can open the cuticles, allowing the colour pigments to escape,” she says.
Our hair has never smelt so damn good.
After something more specific? We've got shampoo for dry hair, shampoo for thin hair, clarifying shampoo, dry shampoo, shampoo bars, shampoo for red hair, purple shampoo, shampoo for curly hair, shampoo for frizzy hair and soothing shampoos for itchy scalps.
Ahead, the best shampoos for coloured hair according to a hair-dye obsessed beauty writer.
1. Best shampoo for coloured hair that is dry
Olaplex No.4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo 250ml, £19.79, Amazon
Why we love it: At this point, Hollywood-loved Olaplex hair products are pretty synonymous with coloured hair, and hairdressers and beauty editors agree that it’s like liquid gold for damaged hair. As with the famous No. 3 treatment, No. 4 Shampoo works to repair broken bonds in the hair whether you’ve got fine hair, oily hair or thick hair, to remedy dryness and brittleness, leaving you with smoother and softer strands.
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2. Best affordable shampoo for coloured hair
L'Oréal Elvive Colour Protect Shampoo 400ml, £6, Boots
Why we love it: If you’re looking for a purse-friendly shampoo for coloured hair, this one is a best selling crowd pleaser. It’s super nourishing, promising to leave your hair touchably soft, and boasts multiple UV filters to help stave off any environmental damage – maintaining your colour for weeks on end.
Save when you shop for the best shampoo for coloured hair with these Boots discount codes.
3. Best shampoo for coloured hair for preventing fade
Aveda Colour Conserve Shampoo 250ml, £19.99, Amazon
Why we love it: A vegan formula that promises to protect your coloured hair’s vibrancy, this one has a heavenly 100% organic scent, just as we have come to expect from Aveda’s plant-packed products. The gentle formula works to prevent fade in coloured hair, as well as shielding it from the damaging effects of the environment.
Save when you shop for the best shampoo for coloured hair with these LookFantastic discount codes.
4. Best shampoo for blonde coloured hair
Moroccanoil Blonde Perfecting Purple Shampoo 200ml, £8.25, Amazon
Why we love it: Purple shampoo helps to neutralise any unwanted yellow or brassy tones in the hair, which is especially useful in blondes. This purple pigment-containing formula from Moroccanoil contains the brand’s hero ingredient, nourishing argan oil, as well as patented technology that helps to repair hair from the inside and seal the cuticle.
Save when you shop for the best shampoo for coloured hair with these LookFantastic discount codes.
5. Best shampoo for coloured hair extensions
Color Wow Color Security Shampoo 250ml, £19.40, Amazon
Why we love it: The name should give you a clue that this ColorWow is an authority on colour, but if that alone doesn’t convince you, the fact that there are 25 years of innovation behind the brand might. Color Security Shampoo contains an amino-fortified complex to help prevent your colour from dulling and is also suitable for extensions.
Save when you shop for the best shampoo for coloured hair with these LookFantastic discount codes.
6. Best shampoo for long coloured hair
JVN HAIR UNDAMAGE STRENGTHENING SHAMPOO, £18, Space NK
Why we love it: JVN Hair’s hero ingredient is hemisqualane, a plant-derived alternative to smoothing silicones that actually helps to improve the condition of your hair over time. All of the brand’s products are colour safe, but Undamage Strengthening Shampoo in particular goes hand in hand with coloured hair because of its repairing properties. Expect seriously soft strands when paired with the matching conditioner.
Save when you shop for the best shampoo for coloured hair with these Space NK discount codes.
7. Best shampoo for dry coloured hair
Pureology Hydrate Shampoo 266ml, £17.85, LookFantastic
Why we love it: As well as being vegan-friendly, all of Pureology’s shampoo and conditioner duos are formulated specifically for coloured hair, but Hydrate is one of our favourite shampoos for dry hair that may be prone to frizz, too. Quenching dry and thirsty strands from the first wash, the hydrating formula has a minty fresh scent and leaves hair feeling nice and silky.
Save when you shop for the best shampoo for coloured hair with these LookFantastic discount codes.
8. Best-smelling shampoo for coloured hair
Redken Color Extend Magnetics Shampoo 300ml, £18.81, LookFantastic
Why we love it: As well as being sulphate-free, this particular formula from professional hair care brand Redken is acidic, making it another pH balancing formula that works hard to maintain your colour. Despite the impressive science behind it, it's still a fairly gentle cleanser and gives a real boost to your hair’s shine levels and vibrancy. It also leaves your hair smelling great – what more could you ask for?
Save when you shop for the best shampoo for coloured hair with these LookFantastic discount codes.
9. Best shampoo for coloured hair on a budget
Tresemme Pro Collection Colour Shineplex Shampoo 400ml, £4, Boots
Why we love it: A very affordable shampoo for coloured hair, TRESemmé’s Shineplex formula was actually the first sulphate-free shampoo from the brand. Containing reparative camellia oil, the gentle cleansing formula helps to preserve your colour for up to 12 weeks.
Save when you shop for the best shampoo for coloured hair with these Boots discount codes.
10. Best strengthening shampoo for coloured hair
Why we love it: Another very innovative shampoo, this formula works to remove the copper deposits that build up in our hair over time. This can have an impact on the vibrancy of your hair colour and even lead to breakage. Enter Metal Detox Shampoo, which compliments L’Oréal’s in- salon service and works to remove this build-up, lock in your colour, and strengthen the hair.
Save when you shop for the best shampoo for coloured hair with these LookFantastic discount codes and Amazon promo codes.
11. Best cleansing shampoo for coloured hair
Wella Professionals Invigo Nutri-Enrich Deep Nourishing Shampoo 250ml, £14.25, LookFantastic
Why we love it: Wella’s Invigo Nutri Enrich formula is nice and thick and creates a lot of lather for a real deep clean, while simultaneously protecting your colour. Nourishing and moisturising, your hair feels clean but never stripped. Recommended by Zoë, it also has a low pH level, which she says helps to close the cuticle to enable better colour retention.
Save when you shop for the best shampoo for coloured hair with these LookFantastic discount codes.
12. Best shampoo for coloured hair for shine
DPHUE COLOR FRESH SHAMPOO 8.5 FL. OZ, £24, Cult Beauty
Why we love it: Just touched down on UK shores is cool colour care brand dpHue, whose products help to keep your coloured hair looking fresh and shiny. The Color Fresh Shampoo has a nice creamy texture and subtle, sweet smell, leaving your hair nice and soft post-wash thanks to kumquat and sunflower seed extract. It’s suitable for all hair colours, though the brand offers blonde and brunette-specific formulas too.
13. Best vegan shampoo for coloured hair
Maria Nila Luminous Colour Shampoo 350ml, £21.99, Amazon
Why we love it: Alongside vegan hair care brand Maria Nila’s colour guard complex, which works to prevent colour loss, the hero ingredient here is pomegranate extract. The formula works t strengthen your hair, boost vibrancy and keep your mane feeling in tip-top condition. Plus it smells delicious with a fruity mix of peach, apple and blackberry. What’s not to love?
