Hair
These Are The Best Shampoos For Colour-Treated Hair
Melanie and Ramon
There are few things quite as satisfying as leaving the salon with freshly coloured hair. Whether it’s a glossy brunette, expensive-looking balayage or a painstakingly perfected blonde, for those first few days your colour is exactly as your colourist intended: bright, dimensional and impossibly shiny. Keeping it that way until your next appointment? That’s where things get trickier.
Vogue’s best shampoos for coloured hair at a glance:
Because while we tend to reserve much of our haircare budget for masks, oils and increasingly sophisticated leave-in treatments, shampoo can make a surprisingly big difference to how your colour wears. After all, washing is one of the things we do most regularly to our hair – and using the wrong formula can leave salon colour looking dull long before you’re due back in the chair.
In this article
The best shampoos for coloured hair are designed to cleanse without unnecessarily stripping hair, while many now do considerably more. There are bond-building formulas for hair that has been weakened by bleach, purple and blue pigments to keep unwanted warmth at bay, and deeply hydrating shampoos that help restore some of the softness and shine that can disappear after repeated colouring.
And while you don’t necessarily need something with “colour protect” written across the bottle, depending on your hair, prioritising damage repair, hydration or toning might be just as important – which is why finding the right formula for your particular colour and condition matters. See the Vogue top picks below.
Best for brightening: Redken Blondage High Bright Shampoo
Redken
Blondage High Bright Shampoo
Why it’s Vogue-approved: If your blonde looks noticeably brighter after a salon appointment but progressively duller as the weeks go on, this shampoo is worth adding to your rotation. Designed with vitamin C for blonde and highlighted hair, it helps to brighten lengths that have become dull or darkened between appointments. A particularly good choice if mineral and product buildup tends to take the shine off your blonde.
Best for copper and red hair: Davines Alchemic Shampoo Copper
Davines
Alchemic Shampoo Copper
- Why it’s Vogue-approved: Copper and red shades are notoriously difficult to keep vibrant, which is where a colour-depositing shampoo comes in. Davines’s Alchemic formula deposits pigment as you wash to intensify warm red and copper tones, while leaving hair shiny and hydrated.
Best for gentle cleansing: Larry King Good Life Shampoo
Larry King
Good Life Nourishing Shampoo
Why it’s Vogue-approved: A good rule of thumb for maintaining coloured hair is to prioritise moisture and opt for a sulphate-free shampoo – and Larry King’s shampoos tick all the boxes. A good choice if you don’t necessarily need toning pigments but simply want a gentle cleanser that won’t undo the work of your colourist every time you wash your hair.
Best for very dry, damaged hair: Oribe Gold Lust Repair & Restore Shampoo
Oribe
Gold Lust Repair & Restore Shampoo
Why it’s Vogue-approved: If years of highlights, heat styling and regular colour appointments have left their mark, make this your next shampoo. Oribe’s Gold Lust is less about altering your tone and more about looking after the condition of processed hair, leaving dry lengths feeling softer, smoother and considerably more polished.
Best luxury shampoo: Hair Rituel by Sisley Colour Perfecting Shampoo
Sisley
Hair Rituel Colour Perfecting Shampoo
Why it’s Vogue-approved: One for anyone whose priority is making an expensive colour appointment last. Created for dyed and highlighted hair, Sisley’s Colour Perfecting Shampoo gently cleanses while helping to maintain colour intensity and luminosity.
Best for fine hair: Color Wow Color Security Shampoo
Color Wow
Color Security Shampoo
Why it’s Vogue-approved: Some colour-protecting shampoos can err on the side of rich, which isn’t particularly helpful if your hair is fine or easily weighed down. Color Wow’s cult Color Security Shampoo takes a different approach, cleansing away buildup without leaving the sort of residue that can make hair look flat. The result is clean, bouncy hair with plenty of shine – and it works across reds, blondes and brunettes.
Best for breakage: Living Proof Restore Shampoo
Living Proof
Restore Shampoo
Why it’s Vogue-approved: Colour protection isn’t always about preventing fade. If bleach or repeated colouring has left your hair feeling rough, dry or more prone to breakage, focusing on its condition can make just as much difference to how good your colour looks. Living Proof Restore is made for damaged hair, gently cleansing while helping lengths feel smoother, stronger and easier to manage.
Best overall: Amika The Protector Color Protect + Strengthen Shampoo
Amika
The Protector Colour Protect + Strengthen Shampoo
Why it’s Vogue-approved: A very good all-rounder for anyone who wants one shampoo to tackle both colour fade and the damage that can come with dyeing hair. The Protector is designed to maintain colour while strengthening and hydrating – which is particularly useful if your lengths tend to feel noticeably drier in the weeks following a colour appointment. If you’re not sure which specific colour concern you need to target, start here.
Best for brunettes: dpHUE Cool Brunette Shampoo
dpHUE
Cool Brunette Shampoo
Why it’s Vogue-approved: Blondes aren’t the only ones who have to contend with brassiness. Highlighted and lightened brunettes can develop unwanted orange and red tones, and this blue-pigmented shampoo is designed to neutralise them. It’s particularly good for cooler, glossy brunette shades.
Best for hydration: Cécred Hydrating Shampoo
CÉCRED
Hydrating Shampoo
- Why it’s Vogue-approved: Cécred’s Hydrating Shampoo isn’t exclusively a colour-care product, but that doesn’t make it any less relevant. Moisture is one of the most important things to put back into hair after colouring, and this rich, sulphate-free cleanser is excellent on dry, thirsty lengths. It also works across hair textures, making it a good option when hydration – rather than correcting or enhancing your shade – is the priority.
Best for maintaining salon colour: L’Oréal Professionnel Vitamino Color Spectrum Shampoo
L’Oréal Professionnel
Vitamino Color Spectrum Shampoo
Why it’s Vogue-approved: Fresh colour isn’t just more vibrant – it has a particular shine and dimension that can gradually disappear between appointments. L’Oréal Professionnel’s Vitamino Color Spectrum is designed to preserve five dimensions of colour, including saturation, contrast, tone and brightness, while keeping that high-gloss finish intact. A solid salon-grade choice for anyone more concerned with maintaining their existing colour than changing its tone.
Best affordable shampoo: TRESemmé Colour Chroma Vibrance Shampoo
Tresemmé
Colour Chroma Vibrance Shampoo
Why it’s Vogue-approved: TRESemmé’s colour-focused formula makes a particularly good everyday option if you wash your hair frequently, get through bottles quickly or simply prefer to save the bulk of your beauty budget for the salon appointment itself. An affordable, easy-to-find option for keeping coloured hair clean, soft and glossy without overcomplicating things.
FAQs
What is the best shampoo for colour-treated hair?
The best shampoos for coloured hair cleanse without unnecessarily stripping the hair of moisture or accelerating colour fade. But exactly what you should look for will depend on what you’ve had done: heavily highlighted blonde hair may need more hydration and damage repair, while a brunette gloss or copper colour might benefit from a formula focused predominantly on maintaining vibrancy.
“When we colour hair, we chemically change its structure, so we need to put back some of what’s lost during the colouring process,” explains Harriet Muldoon, senior colourist at Larry King. “Both moisture and protein are important, but I think the focus should be more on moisture, as too much protein can make the hair more brittle and have the opposite effect.”
In other words, don’t get too distracted by the words “colour protect” on a bottle. Consider what your hair actually needs post-colour – whether that’s moisture, strengthening, toning or a combination of all three.
Do you really need a special shampoo for colour-treated hair?
If you’re spending a considerable amount of money having your hair coloured, it makes sense to consider what you’re washing it with at home. Colouring alters the hair, and the right home care can help keep both the colour and condition looking better between appointments.
“Home care is just as important as the salon service,” says Muldoon. “Using the wrong shampoo can strip the colour, leaving it looking flat and muted. It may also mean you need to go back to the salon for a gloss top-up sooner, which ends up costing you more money.”
Should you use sulphate-free shampoo on colour-treated hair?
Sulphates are cleansing agents responsible for creating the satisfyingly foamy lather associated with many traditional shampoos. They’re effective cleansers, but if preserving freshly applied colour is your priority, Muldoon recommends looking for a sulphate-free alternative.
“I recommend looking for a sulphate-free shampoo, as sulphates can strip the colour and leave it looking flat and muted,” she says. “All of the Larry King shampoos are sulphate-free and great for coloured hair.”
Is purple shampoo good for colour-treated hair?
If you’re blonde, chances are there has been a bottle of purple shampoo in your shower at some point. Violet pigments help neutralise yellow tones, making purple shampoo particularly useful for maintaining cool, platinum and pearly blondes between appointments.
“For blondes, purple shampoo is amazing for maintaining platinum and pearly shades,” says Muldoon. But she cautions against overdoing it – particularly given the shift towards softer, warmer blondes in recent years. “We’ve seen a major trend towards warmer shades, so don’t go crazy with the purple shampoo. I like to mix a little with my regular shampoo to dilute the pigment and avoid over-toning. This avoids brassiness without making the hair too ashy.”
What is the best shampoo for colour-treated brunette hair?
While purple shampoo is probably the best-known toning shampoo, brunettes can benefit from pigment-depositing formulas, too. Blue-toned shampoos can help counteract unwanted orange warmth, while colour-enhancing formulas can help rich brown shades maintain their depth.
“For brunettes, there are colour-depositing shampoos that can help maintain those expensive brunette tones,” says Muldoon. “But generally, I’d focus on a hydrating, sulphate-free colour shampoo.”
The key is to identify whether you actually want to neutralise warmth before automatically reaching for a toning formula. If your brunette is supposed to be warm and glossy, hydration and colour preservation may be considerably more useful than trying to cool it down.
What is the best shampoo for red and copper colour-treated hair?
Red and copper are notoriously high-maintenance shades, not least because their vibrancy can change noticeably between salon visits. Rather than attempting to neutralise warmth, as you might with certain blonde or brunette colours, the aim is usually to keep those warm pigments looking rich.
“For redheads and coppers, there are colour-depositing treatments that can help keep those tones topped up, as well as shampoos designed to maintain vibrancy,” says Muldoon. “The Davines Alchemic Copper and Red treatments are great.”
Pigment-depositing treatments can be useful between appointments, but choose one designed for the colour you actually have rather than attempting any ambitious DIY colour correction at home.
Does hard water fade coloured hair?
Your shampoo might not be the only thing conspiring against your colour. If you live in a hard-water area, mineral deposits can accumulate on the hair, affecting how it looks and feels over time.
“Hard water can affect your colour, too, as minerals and build-up can accumulate on the hair,” says Muldoon. “I recommend Redken Blondage High Bright, which contains vitamin C and is designed to remove build-up and help brighten the hair.”