Best Clarifying Shampoo for Colored Hair

When you sport colored hair, you’ll do anything to protect it from fading too soon. That includes coating your bold, dramatic mane in leave-in conditioners with SPF or packing on the color-depositing spray for a quick touch-up. And it works fairly well until all that product starts to build up on your strands and makes your beautiful tresses look dull, greasy, and lifeless.

That’s why it’s important to use a clarifying shampoo for colored hair a few times a month. With a color-safe clarifying shampoo, you can get rid of all the gunk and grime accumulating in your precious strands and make it look clean, voluminous, and oh-so-vibrant again.

But why does colored hair need clarifying shampoo? Is it even safe for chemically treated hair? And what are the best ones to use? In this guide, we’ll touch on all those and more. Keep scrolling to learn what clarifying shampoo can do for your dyed locks and how to properly incorporate it into your colored hair care routine.

Why Use a Clarifying Shampoo for Colored Hair?

You were probably taught to treat your hair as gently as possible after coloring it. And while that’s true, using a heavy-duty clarifying shampoo is still important for your hair’s overall health and appearance, especially if you want to show off your colored tresses. Here are just some of the many benefits you can reap from using a clarifying shampoo for colored hair:

• It gets rid of product buildup: When you use too much serum, dry shampoo, and other products that stay on your strands, they build up over time. These products weigh your hair down, making it look flat and dull. A clarifying shampoo can successfully get rid of that buildup.

• It washes out minerals in hard water: Hard water in your shower can create a film on your hair that makes it waxy and patchy in color. Clarifying your hair ensures that hard water damage doesn’t destroy your hair’s overall health and stunning color.

• It purifies your oily scalp: Clarifying your hair also removes the gunk and sebum from your oily scalp, leaving your hair feel less greasy. By eliminating the oiliness, it also lifts the roots, adding more volume to your hair.

• It preps your hair for deep conditioning: Color-treated hair loves conditioner because it’s so dry and damaged. Clarifying your locks gets rid of all the product buildup blocking your strands from drinking up all the moisturizing goodness, allowing them to absorb as much of them as they need to be soft and shiny again.

As you can see, there are plenty of benefits of clarifying shampoo for colored hair. Want to buy one and try it out for yourself? Here are five that we highly recommend.

1.  Best for Fine Hair: Pureology Pure Volume Shampoo

The Pureology Pure Volume Shampoo is perfect for fine, color-treated hair because it’s super lightweight. Although it has vitamin E and sunflower seed extracts to condition your strands and add shine, these ingredients don’t add that much weight and greasiness to the formula. So, the shampoo doesn’t weigh your hair down. Instead, it lifts it by the roots to add more body and volume to your fine, colored hair.

Pros:

• Lightweight, so it doesn’t weigh down hair.

• Vitamin E and sunflower extracts soften and add shine to hair.

• Adds volume to fine hair.

• Sulfate-free formula.

Cons:

• Doesn’t lather up that well.

• Can cause hair breakage if used too often.

• Can be a bit drying.

2.  Best for Hard Water: K18 Peptide Prep™ Detox Shampoo

If your shower has hard water, look no further than the K18 Peptide Prep™ Detox Shampoo to wash out all the minerals that can make your color looking patchy and dull. This color-safe, sulfate-free shampoo can get rid of 76% of copper found in hard water as well as 99% of product buildup in your strands, making it feel fresh and clean. It also eliminates remnants of iron, nickel, zinc, and other nasty minerals you can find in tap water.

This shampoo is also formulated to give your hair the deepest cleanse possible. With activated charcoal and salicylic acid, it sucks out toxins in your scalp and refreshes it.

Pros:

• Washes out minerals from hard water in your shower.

• Charcoal and salicylic acid give your scalp a deep cleanse.

• Removes product buildup and copper.

• Color-safe and non-stripping.

Cons:

• Can make your scalp dry and flaky afterward.

3.  Best for Oily Hair: OUAI Detox Shampoo

If you have oily hair, you need something with extra cleansing power, like the OUAI Detox Shampoo. Not only is it great at washing away stubborn dirt and oil in your strands, but it detoxifies your hair and scalp with apple cider vinegar, too. As a bonus, it has keratin to strengthen your damaged, color-treated hair, giving it extra body and movement. With its lovely rose scent, it’s a delight to use once a week on weighed-down strands!

Pros:

• Gets rid of stubborn impurities in your hair.

• Detoxifies oily hair with apple cider vinegar.

• Keratin strengthens damaged hair.

• Has a nice rose scent.

Cons:

• Can make your scalp itchy and irritated.

• May lead to hair fall.

4.  Best for Dry Hair: Moroccanoil Clarifying Shampoo

Got dry, thirsty, colored hair that needs a deep cleanse? Use the Moroccanoil Clarifying Shampoo. Although it’s excellent at removing oil, gunk, and product buildup in your hair, it doesn’t leave it dry and parched. Instead, it has argan oil, avocado oil, jojoba extracts, and keratin to smoothen, soften, and moisturize your strands. If you want extra shine to show off your vibrant color, this is the clarifying shampoo for you.

Pros:

• Argan oil, avocado oil, and other botanicals moisturize hair.

• Makes hair soft and smooth while cleansing it deeply.

• Adds shine to hair.

• Sulfate-free formula.

Cons:

• Doesn’t create suds that well.

• The bottle’s pump leaks, so it wastes product in the shower.

5.  Best for Curls: Bounce Curl Gentle Clarifying Shampoo

Of course, we can’t forget about our curly gals! If you have luscious curls, try the Bounce Curl Gentle Clarifying Shampoo, a lightweight formula that clarifies your hair without drying it out.

This shampoo has pomegranate and pumpkin enzymes that exfoliate your scalp, giving it a refresh and cleansing the gunk from it. Meanwhile, pro-vitamin B5 and organic black seed oil soften and hydrate the hair. The formula is also free of sulfates, silicones, parabens, and other harmful ingredients, ensuring your hair won’t fade fast.

Pros:

• The lightweight formula won’t weigh hair down.

• Pomegranate and pumpkin exfoliate the scalp.

• Black seed oil and pro-vitamin B5 soften the hair.

• Sulfate-free and silicone-free.

• Has a nozzle tip bottle for easy application.

Cons:

• Too pricey for the size of the bottle.

• Can leave sensitive scalps itchy.

Fair Warning: Clarifying Shampoo Can Still Strip Your Hair Color

Clarifying is great for a deep cleanse once a week or so. But don’t get too complacent using it, even if it’s designed to be color-safe and free of sulfates.

The fact of the matter is that clarifying shampoo is always designed to remove product buildup in your hair. And if you use it too often, you could potentially end up scraping off some of that rich, bold pigment, leaving you with dull, faded strands.

Too much of anything is too much, and that includes using clarifying shampoo. Make sure to use a clarifying shampoo sparingly—about 1-2 times a month or once a week at most. And when you do, don’t leave the formula on your strands for too long or use hot water, as these can hasten the fading process.

Washing your hair with clarifying shampoo—no matter how sparingly you do it—can lift your color and fade it to some degree. Sure, your strands are getting a deep cleanse that is necessary for your hair’s health, but it speeds up fading in your bold, dramatic locks.

That’s why it’s crucial to use a color-enhancing shampoo in the next few wash days after clarifying your hair. This is the only way to make sure your hair stays vibrant and vivid even after such a deep, thorough wash.

Use COLORLOMO to Lock in Your Color Even After You Clarify

If you want to keep your brilliant color intact, make sure to replenish your hue with the COLORLOMO Ultra Color Safe Shampoo line. Our shampoos are formulated with Chroma Balance Technology, which protects and enhances your hair color, allowing you to keep it bright and salon-fresh for up to 50 washes.

Our sulfate-free shampoos are also infused with hydrating botanicals, from lotus flower extracts to sweet almond oil. This adds extra shine and softness to the hair—a far cry from the dryness most people feel in their locks after using a clarifying shampoo. Meanwhile, amino acids strengthen the hair and add a healthy bounce to it, making your color look even better.

The best part? The COLORLOMO Shampoo only replenishes the pigments lost as you wash, so it won’t alter your hair’s original color. It also doesn’t have ammonia, parabens, and other harsh ingredients. That means you can go longer without clarifying your hair and just sticking to enhancing your hue, making your locks look striking and true to you!

The COLORLOMO Shampoo line has plenty of colors to choose from, too. From fantasy colors like neon pink to baby blue, to more cool, natural tones like ash brown and gray, we can help you maintain your color vibrancy. No matter how wild or tame your hair color, we’ve got a matching shampoo for you.

How to Balance Clarifying and Color-Enhancing Shampoos in Your Routine

So, how do you incorporate both a clarifying shampoo for colored hair and a color-enhancing shampoo in your overall hair care routine? It’s simple. Use the color-enhancing shampoo often, and reach for the clarifying shampoo sparingly.

For example, say you currently have luscious red hair. Red is super hard to maintain, so it’s important to wash it with a color-enhancing shampoo often. So, on the 2-3 wash days you have each week, reach for the COLORLOMO Red Ultra Color Safe Shampoo.

After two weeks of using leave-in conditioners, serums, and dry shampoos to style your locks, you notice that your hair is starting to look dull and weighed down. That means there’s too much product in it. In this situation, use a clarifying shampoo to get rid of all that gunk. Essentially, you use a clarifying shampoo only when your hair gets unbearably weighed down, oily, and heavy.

Keep Your Hair Clean, Fresh, and Bold with the Right Shampoos!

When you start noticing your hair looking weighed down and greasy, it’s time to bust out a trusty clarifying shampoo for colored hair to make it look fresh, bouncy, and voluminous again. And by adding life back to your mane, you can show off that bold, fabulous hue once again!

And don’t just stop at cleansing your hair thoroughly. Make sure to enhance your color as often as you can so you don’t lose your electrifying shade even when you clarify your locks regularly. Use our collection of COLORLOMO products designed to help maintain your vibrant color, so that you can turn more heads for longer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is clarifying shampoo okay for colored hair?

Yes, as long as your clarifying shampoo is color-safe—as in it has no sulfates—then it shouldbe okay to use on color-treated hair. It’s great for boosting volume and removing product buildup in your locks, making your color shine through beautifully again. However, don’t use it too often. Overusing a clarifying shampoo can still end up stripping the dye from your hair.

How many washes with clarifying shampoo to remove color?

If you use a clarifying shampoo more than once a week, you might notice it prematurely fading your color. We recommend using a clarifying shampoo about 1-2 times a month only or when absolutely necessary. Otherwise, stick to a color-enhancing shampoo for your wash days.

What shampoos should you avoid for colored hair?

It’s important to avoid any kind of sulfated shampoo if you have colored hair. Sulfates are harsh cleaning agents that wash off the gunk and grime from your locks but also fade your color fast. Other harsh ingredients like parabens, phthalates, unnecessary alcohol, and artificial fragrances can also dry out the hair and make it lose its color fast.

Is hot water bad for dyed hair?

Yes, hot water forces your hair follicles open, allowing the dye to escape. This results in a dull, faded color in your hair instead of a bold, dramatic hue. It’s best to use cold water when rinsing your hair, although lukewarm water will also do.

How often should you wash your color-treated hair?

The more you shampoo your hair, the faster your hair color will fade. So, it’s best not to wash your hair too often, especially since chemically treated hair is dry, and shampooing dehydrates it even more. Don’t do it every day; washing your hair 2-3 times a week is more than enough.