It’s no secret, coloured hair typically needs some extra TLC. Whether you’ve gone blonde, brunette, silver or blue, the not so secret, secret to mane-taining your signature shade is…the best shampoo for coloured hair. Designed to stop dye from disappearing down the drain, these shielding solutions wash away your daily dirt, oil and other styling residue, while ensuring colour preservation.
Don’t know where to start? No worries, here at Cult Beauty, we’ve done the hard work for you and rounded up all the best shampoos for coloured hair.
WHY DO WE NEED TO USE SHAMPOO FOR COLOURED HAIR…
While washing your lengths benefits most hair care routines, not all shampoos work in harmony with dyed locks. Regular formulas pose the risk of stripping away colour, allowing it to fade more quickly. The best shampoo for coloured hair are created without sulphates (AKA sodium lauryl sulphate and sodium laureth sulphate), which cause a lathering effect that can lighten hair dye. So, the main takeaway? When washing coloured hair, look for shampoos sans sulphates to safeguard your shade while reviving, nourishing and adding some extra shine to your strands.
Now we know why we need colour protecting shampoos, it’s time to reveal which solutions you should be adding to you shower shelfie…
THE BEST SHAMPOO FOR COLOURED HAIR
Made with reds, blues, brunettes and everything in between in mind, Color Wow’s Color Security Shampoo purifies strands from scalp to ends to encourage a fresh, clean and colour-popping finish. Powered by the brand’s Japanese amino-fortified complex, this blend banishes build-up, minimises breakages and leaves lengths feeling, stronger, glossier and brighter than before.
SHOP ALL COLOR WOW >>>Supercharged with the renowned K18Peptide complex, K18’s Biomimetic Hairscience Damage Shield pH Protect Shampoo prevents protein loss, leaving your locks looking softer, healthier and more vibrant. Transforming your tresses with every use, the famed formula shields your scalp too. How? With its pH-optimised blend that avoids excess irritation of the hair cuticle during wash days.
SHOP ALL K18 >>>Cleansing coloured hair (without the fear or fading), Briogeo’s Colour Me Brilliant Mushroom and Bamboo Colour Protect Shampoo enhances softness, shine and your mane’s vitality. Gentle yet powerful, it fuses turkey tail mushroom with bamboo leaf extract and radish ferment to shield against heat styling and environmental damage while prolonging your hue’s longevity. What’s more, enriched with vitamin B5, the formula boosts moisture retention, leaving your tresses refreshed and revived too.
SHOP ALL BRIOGEO >>>THE BEST SHAMPOO FOR COLOUR GREY HAIR
Bringing salon-worthy swishes straight to your home, Philip Kingsley’s Pure Blonde Booster Shampoo keeps platinum locks looking healthy and hydrated (sans brassy tones). Featuring violet micro-pigments, it neutralises warm undertones while intensifying shine for a sleek sign off – without having to make (or wait) for an appointment.
SHOP ALL PHILIP KINGSLEY >>>Battling brassiness, Bleach London’s Fade To Grey Shampoo grants a slate grey sheen ideal for topping up the colour coverage of grey or bleach blonde hair. Designed with an innovative anti-green stain technology, this gentle mask-like cleanser refreshes strands, while maintaining your style and signature shade.
SHOP ALL BLEACH LONDON >>>Intensifying and illuminating your natural (or dyed) shades, Davines’ Alchemic Shampoo in ‘Silver Fox’ is formulated with direct pigments that enhance and maintain your hair’s hue. Neutralising yellow tones, it contains hydrolysed milk proteins to condition and protect your strands and is primed for all tress types – we’re talking fine, thick and damaged.
SHOP ALL DAVINES >>>THE BEST PURPLE SHAMPOO FOR BLONDE HAIR
Doing exactly what it says on the tin, OLAPLEX’s No.4P Blonde Hair Hydrating and Brightening Purple Toning Shampoo quenches thirst and illuminates blonde, lightened and grey hairs. Offering customisable blonde maintenance, the bestselling formula allows you to choose your toning level –as the longer you leave in the treatments the brighter the results. Plus, featuring brand’s OLAPLEX’s Bond Building Technology, it transforms brittle tresses into a soft, shiny strands too.
SHOP ALL OLAPLEX >>>Oribe's Bright Blonde Shampoo for Beautiful Colorcorrects brassiness and yellow-orange tones for hair that is healthier, shinier and lit from within. Combining pure violet pigment and reflective pearls with Swiss garden cress sprouts and purple orchid extract, the fan-favourite is high in phyto-nutrients to prevent moisture loss, shield strands from natural aggressors and repair damage.
SHOP ALL ORIBE >>>The blonder the better, we say. Entre: Christophe Robin’s Shade Variation Shampoo with Florentina Iris. Acting as both your day-to-day cleanser and toning gel, the hybrid hero boasts a lilac hue to colour-correct unwanted brassiness or yellow undertones and is infused with almond butter rich in omega to unveil the ultimate light-reflecting shine.
SHOP ALL CHRISTOPHE ROBIN >>>SHOP ALL PURPLE SHAMPOO >>>THE BEST SHAMPOO FOR COLOURED HAIR FAQS
What shampoo to avoid for coloured hair?
When caring for colour-treated tresses, its essential to avoid formulas which feature sulphates (including SLS & SLES), parabens, sodium chloride and petrochemicals. These components are renowned for removing too much oil from the scalp and contribute to dryness and fading of dyes.
How often should you shampoo colour treated hair?
To prevent water from washing away your color, it’s important to not over wash your hair. To retain natural oils that help condition your color-treated strands, you should typically cleanse your mane twice per week.
What happens if you use normal shampoo on coloured hair?
Most regular shampoos typically contain surfactants to create a lathering effect to cleanse the hair. And, while effective for regular hair care, these ingredients can be harsh on coloured lengths, leading to stripping away the colour and making your locks prone to quicker fading.
SHOP ALL SHAMPOOS >>> 
