Love the look of fresh color but hate how quickly it fades? Try these shampoos for colored hair.
Love how your hair looks with fresh color but hate that it fades within a matter of days? Want to extend the life of a hair-coloring session at the salon? You might need to switch out your shampoo.
Maintaining that salon-perfect shade or keeping your highlights bright enough to pop can be tricky if you're using the wrong hair products. It all comes down to the ingredients. Try to avoid shampoos filled with harsh chemicals, like sulfate and parabens, which can speed up the color fading process. (You should be looking for paraben and sulfate-free products even if you don't color your hair -- they can strip it of natural oils and irritate your scalp.) Other things that can accelerate color fading include UV rays, hard water and heat damage inflicted by hair tools like flat irons.
With that in mind, we've rounded up the best shampoo options for every budget and all hair types, from colored hair and damaged hair to curly hair and natural hair. Each product is available online, and a few are currently on sale.
Below, ET Style's picks for the best color treated hair shampoo to maintain your fresh color -- and the indescribable feeling that goes with it.
Reflection Sulfate Free Shampoo for Color-Treated Hair
A professional hair care brand that's constantly innovating, Kérastase has developed a nourishing formula that creates an anti-deposit effect on the hair fiber’s surface, resulting in long-lasting color and shine. The Reflection Sulfate Free Shampoo for Color-Treated Hair is one of our top picks for your daily shampoo. Reminder: Sephora is currently offering free shipping on all orders, no minimum.
Raw Shea Butter Moisture Retention Shampoo
Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Moisture Retention Shampoo is a hydrating shampoo that fortifies and restores dehydrated, damaged hair. This moisturizing shampoo blends fair trade shea butter, argan oil and sea kelp to replenish and seal in moisture to dehydrated strands. This is a great sulfate free option.
Caviar Anti-Aging Infinite Color Hold Shampoo
Sephora customers rave about Alterna's anti-aging shampoo from the brand's Caviar line, reporting squeaky clean hair and scalp along with less color fading from this volumizing shampoo. No parabens, sulfates or phthalates here -- and if you have thinning hair, this can be used as a thickening shampoo to add volume.
Strength & Length + Golden Turmeric Shampoo with Coconut Milk
For healthy color treated hair on a budget, add this sulfate free shampoo to your next Amazon haul. OGX also makes an golden tumeric conditioner and oil, in addition to its cult Moroccan argan oil.
Color Care Shampoo
In addition to a delicious citrusy scent, Living Proof's Color Care Shampoo has a patented "healthy hair molecule" that keeps hair cleaner, longer by repelling dirt and oil without the use of sulfates. Try the mini size if you're not ready to commit to this clarifying shampoo.
Biolage Colorlast Orchid Shampoo
Not all shampoo brands are created equal. Matrix's paraben free Biolage Colorlast Shampoo features a low pH formula and fade-defying orchid extract to prolong your color's vibrancy, depth and tone.
Shampoo for Beautiful Color
The name says it all. Color treated hair and even damaged hair are no match for this paraben free Oribe shampoo.
Color Balance Purple Shampoo
Reach for this purple bottle two or three times a week to prevent fading -- it's also the best shampoo to neutralize brassy tones. Lather up from scalp to tips, then let it sit for up to five minutes so the formula can work its magic repairing and protecting hair, fighting frizz and adding shine. If you have an exceptionally brassy tint, double up with the shampoo and conditioner set. Score the price below by using promo code FLASH12 at checkout.
Color Protect Infused with White Nectarine & Pear Fragrance
Hair Food's Color Protect Infused with White Nectarine & Pear Fragrance is sulfate free and non-irritating. This shampoo is perfect for dry, damaged, thick and textured hair. This color protectant shampoo has a matching conditioner you can check out here.
Okara Color Protection Shampoo
Rene Furterer's Okara Color Protection Shampoo is a sulfate free luxurious natural shampoo for colored hair with ingredients like soybean and witch hazel.
Color Me Brilliant Mushroom + Bamboo Color Protect Shampoo
A unique offering from clean hair care brand Briogeo, this shampoo is formulated with a complex of bamboo and turkey tail mushroom (a vegan keratin alternative). With regular use, expect stronger, shinier hair with longer-lasting color. And for a well-rounded hair routine, the Color Me Brilliant collection also includes a creamy conditioner and a liquid primer to apply before drying or styling.
Each product has been selected, and each product’s style has been reviewed by our editorial team; however, we may receive affiliate commissions from some links to products on this page. Prices listed are subject to change by the retailer. Promotions in this article are subject to availability, expiration and other terms as determined by partner.
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