Best Shampoo for Color-Treated Hair

Think being in a relationship requires commitment? Try rocking colored hair! Having colored tresses demands extra love and attention for your locks. You can’t just grab any product off the shelf—they have to be formulated to keep your color vibrant and make your hair smooth, shiny, and healthy. The goal is to care for it so much that it looks like it’s fresh out of the salon!

Giving your colored hair that VIP treatment it deserves always starts with one step—using the right shampoo. And with hundreds of options in the market, it can be overwhelming to find one your colored locks will love. But don’t worry, we’re here to help you out. If you want to find the best shampoo for color-treated hair, keep reading.

What To Look for in Shampoo for Color-Treated Hair

Not all shampoos are created equal. Oftentimes, your regular shampoo from the drugstore will do more harm than good to your colored hair. When you’re on the lookout for the best shampoo for color-treated hair, there are some non-negotiables you should always think about. To keep your shade poppin’, look for these features in a shampoo:

• Sulfate-free: Sulfates are surfactants that are in most shampoos. They work to wash all the gunk and grime from your scalp. But these soapy ingredients are also extremely harsh and tend to strip the color from your strands, leaving them looking dull and lifeless. Instead, opt for a sulfate-free formula to prevent fading.

• Color-preserving technology: Many reputable hair companies invest lots of time and money to infuse their shampoos with color-preserving technologies that help maintain your hair’s bold, vibrant color. These are perfect for locking in your color.

• Moisturizing ingredients: Colored hair tends to get extremely dry. Quench your hair’s thirst by nourishing it with moisturizing shampoos. Look for ingredients like aloe vera, sweet almond oil, coconut oil, and other hydrating botanical extracts to bring softness and shine back to your colored tresses.

• Bond-building ingredients: When you color your locks, the dye can damage your strands as it tries to enter your hair cuticles. So, after a fresh coloring job, it’s important to try and repair your hair. Look for shampoos with bond-building ingredients like keratin and amino acids.

Ready to find the best shampoo for color-treated hair? Here are our top picks.

1.  Overall Best Shampoo for Color-Treated Hair: COLORLOMO Ultra Color Safe Shampoo

Whatever it is you’re looking for in a color-safe shampoo, the COLORLOMO Ultra Color Safe Shampoo has got it. It’s kind of like the jack of all trades of the color-safe shampoo world. It protects your color, gently washes your hair to prevent fading, and hydrates your locks, adding shine and bounce as you flaunt your dazzling hair color.

There are plenty of colors to choose from in this sulfate-free line, from blue to pink to purple and beyond! Each one is powered by Chroma Balance Tech, a unique, advanced technology that protects your hair color. It also replenishes the color in your locks, making your hair look even brighter. Even 50 washes later, you’ll still notice that rich and vibrant charm in your hair!

It’s also infused with a myriad of hydrating natural ingredients, like sweet almond oil and lotus flower extracts. These make hair smoother and easier to manage, making styling your colored tresses even more fun.

Pros:

• Replenish pigments in your hair for a more vibrant color.

• Has Chroma Balance Tech to make hair color last longer.

• Sweet almond oil and flower extracts hydrate the hair.

• Keep your color intact even after 50 washes.

• Sulfate-free formula that doesn’t fade your color.

• Foams up very well, creating a rich lather.

2.  Best for Hydration: Pureology Hydrate Shampoo

Is your hair feeling a little drier than usual? If it’s begging for hydration, you need something like the Pureology Hydrate Shampoo.

This creamy shampoo is infused with nourishing ingredients like sunflower seed oil and rose extracts that moisturize colored strands from root to tip, all while locking in your color. The sulfate-free formula is also chock-full of amino acids that strengthen the hair and make it extra bouncy. The cherry on top is that it’s designed with Pureology’s Antifade Complex, which keeps color fading at bay.

Pros:

• Sunflower seed oil and other flower extracts hydrate colored hair.

• Made with a patented Antifade Complex to preserve hair color.

• Vegan and sulfate-free.

• Suitable for medium to thick hair.

• Has a pleasant citrus scent.

Cons:

• Can leave fine hair looking greasy and oily.

• Can weigh down your hair, making it look flat.

3.  Best for Damage: Olaplex No. 4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo

Dealing with tons of split ends and hair breakage? Your hair might be craving something like the Olaplex No. 4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo.

This color-safe, ultra-concentrated shampoo is packed with nourishing and strengthening ingredients. It helps repair hair damage and reduce further breakage. After using this shampoo, your hair will be 90% smoother, too, making detangling and styling your colored tresses easier.

Pros:

• Rebuilds the bonds in damaged hair, making them stronger.

• Conditions and softens hair to make detangling easy.

• Lathers up very well.

Cons:

• Doesn’t have color-brightening technology.

• Can be too heavy on fine hair, leaving it oily.

• There have been reports of hair fall after using it.

4.  Best for Brassiness: COLORLOMO Bye Bye Yellow Shampoo

If you’ve colored your hair blonde, gray, or silver, you need the best purple shampoo in your arsenal. Bleaching your hair and dyeing it a light, ashy color makes your locks prone to brassiness. Overly warm tones can start peeking out at some point, ruining your hair’s cool vibe and making it look dirty and unkempt.

Restore your hair’s cool undertone and remove that brassiness with the COLORLOMO Bye Bye Yellow Shampoo. This sulfate-free shampoo has purple pigments that neutralize those yucky yellow tones in your hair. It gets rid of that nasty brassiness and keeps your hair looking fresh and alluring. It’s your new secret weapon for keeping blonde hair shiny and vibrant!

Pros:

• Has purple pigments that neutralize yellow tones.

• Makes your hair look cool and ashy again.

• Suitable for blonde, silver, gray, and other light hair colors.

• Has hydrating ingredients like sweet almond oil and flower extracts.

• Sulfate-free formula.

Cons:

• None.

5.  Best for Volume: K18 Peptide Prep™ Detox Shampoo

Flat, weighed-down hair doesn’t make your color look flattering. If you want bouncy, voluminous locks that make your color shine, try using the K18 Peptide Prep™ Detox Shampoo.

Most clarifying shampoos contain sulfates, but this one doesn’t. Its gentle, color-safe formula thoroughly cleanses the hair, removing all the oil, sweat, and product buildup that make it look flat and lifeless. It can even eliminate metals and minerals in hard water! As a result, you get squeaky-clean hair lifted at the roots, adding more body and volume to your locks.

Pros:

• Clarifies hair to get rid of oiliness.

• Lifts the roots to add volume to hair.

• Sulfate-free and color-safe.

Cons:

• Doesn’t enhance or brighten your hair color.

• Can be drying for some hair types.

6.  Best for Frizz Control: Redken Frizz Dismiss Shampoo

Fight frizz and tangles fast with the Redken Frizz Dismiss Shampoo. This color-safe formula is made with babassu oil and a special smoothing technology that conditions the hair and makes detangling easier. It also combats frizz, so you don’t have to worry about your colored locks looking poofy and unkempt.

Pros:

• Conditions and tames hair with a smoothing formula.

• Fights puffiness and frizz.

• Makes hair easy to detangle and brush.

• Free of sulfates and sodium chloride.

Cons:

• Can leave some hair types looking greasy.

• Doesn’t enrich or brighten hair color.

7.  Best Drugstore Option: Herbal Essences Grape Seed Shampoo

Who says you have to break the bank to buy a good-quality, color-safe shampoo? If you’re on a budget, try the Herbal Essences Grape Seed Shampoo.

This shampoo uses camellia oil and aloe vera to provide lightweight hydration to the hair. It’s not so heavy, so your thirsty, colored locks will instantly drink it up.

It’s also infused with grapeseed oil—its star ingredient—which is known to provide UV protection to the hair. This helps prevent color fading even if you’re out in the sun all day.

Pros:

• Aloe and camellia oil hydrate hair without weighing it down.

• Grapeseed oil provides UV protection to prevent color fading.

• Affordable price point.

• Sulfate-free formula.

Cons:

• Not deeply nourishing, so it can leave thick hair dry and coarse.

8.  Best Vegan Formula: Briogeo Mushroom + Bamboo Shampoo

Vegans with colored hair will love the Briogeo Mushroom + Bamboo Color Protect Shampoo. This award-winning, naturally derived formula is made with bamboo leaf extract and turkey tail mushroom to protect your hair color from fading. That means you can go a long time between color touch-ups without worrying about a dull, lifeless shade.

It’s also creamy and moisturizing, thanks to ingredients like flaxseed, sunflower seed oil, apricot extracts, aloe vera, and more. It nourishes colored hair and adds a glossy, healthy shine to it, too.

Pros:

• Bamboo and mushrooms protect your colored hair from fading.

• Chock-full of moisturizing natural ingredients.

• Adds moisture and shine to dry hair.

• Sulfate-free formula.

Cons:

• Doesn’t lather up that well.

• Too nourishing and can weigh down the hair

Keep Your Bold, Magnetic Hair Color Locked In, Not Faded Out

When you get your hair dyed, you’re in it for the long haul. That commitment all starts with using the right products to keep your unique, adventurous hair color looking rich and dramatic, never dull and faded.

And when it comes to the best shampoo for color-treated hair, there’s nothing that measures up to the quality and vibrant results of COLORLOMO shampoos. Take your pick depending on your stunning shade, and make your bold, dreamy hair color more long-lasting with every wash!