Best shampoo and conditioner for dry scalp and colored hair

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We updated this article in August 2022 to ensure all picks tested and vetted by the Good Housekeeping Institute Beauty Lab were available, in stock and correctly priced.

Your latest dye job doesn't simply end once you leave the salon — using a top-rated shampoo that's intended for color-treated hair is key to keeping your shade fresh and vibrant, whether it's brunette, black, blonde, red or an even bolder hue (hello, purple and rose gold!). Shampoos of any kind are designed to clean away oil and dirt, and color-protecting formulas use the same basic cleansing ingredients, but also aim to minimize the amount of dye that washes down the drain each time you wash. Not only do color-safe shampoos work to preserve your dye job, but they also help mask any damage by making strands feel softer and smoother, too.

Based on recommendations from Good Housekeeping Institute Beauty Lab product testers and professional stylists' top picks, read on to learn more about the best shampoos for colored hair — and once you get the lowdown on color-protecting shampoos, you can also check out the GH Beauty Lab's top-tested picks for more of the best shampoos on the market, including hydrating shampoos for dry hair, volumizing shampoos for fine hair, dandruff-fighting shampoos and sulfate-free shampoos — plus the best hair products you can buy.

Meet the experts

• Patrick Kyle, a New York City hair colorist
• Meri Kate O'Connor, a colorist at Cooper Salon in West Hollywood, CA
• Daniel Reboh, a master hairstylist at Femme Coiffure in Florida
• Rachel Bodt, a celebrity colorist and Matrix brand ambassador
• April Franzino, GH Beauty Director

Our top picks:

• 

  Best Overall Shampoo for Colored Hair

  Keratin Smooth Color Shampoo TRESemmé

  Read More

• 

  Best Value Shampoo for Colored Hair

  Color Protect Shampoo Hair Food

  Read More

• 

  Best Clarifying Shampoo for Colored Hair

  Color Assure Radiant Color Care Shampoo Nexxus

  Read More

• 

  Best Drugstore Shampoo for Colored Hair

  EverPure Sulfate Free Moisture Shampoo L'Oreal Paris

  Read More

• 

  Best Shampoo for Brunette Colored Hair

  Fade-Defying Orchid Oil Shampoo OGX

  Read More

Best Overall Shampoo for Colored Hair

TRESemmé

Keratin Smooth Color Shampoo

Best Value Shampoo for Colored Hair

Hair Food

Color Protect Shampoo

Best Clarifying Shampoo for Colored Hair

Nexxus

Color Assure Radiant Color Care Shampoo

Best Drugstore Shampoo for Colored Hair

L'Oreal Paris

EverPure Sulfate Free Moisture Shampoo

Best Shampoo for Brunette Colored Hair

OGX

Fade-Defying Orchid Oil Shampoo

Best Dandruff Shampoo for Colored Hair

Head & Shoulders

Supreme Color Protect Shampoo

Best Shampoo for Fine Colored Hair

Minerals Of Eden

Clarifying & Volumizing Shampoo

Best Shampoo for Textured Colored Hair

Goldwell

Kerasilk Color Shampoo

Best Shampoo for Blonde Colored Hair

Matrix

Strengthening Shampoo

Best Shine Shampoo for Colored Hair

shu uemura

Color Lustre Sulfate-Free Brilliant Glaze Shampoo

Best Moisturizing Shampoo for Colored Hair

Pureology

Strength Cure Shampoo

Best Luxury Shampoo for Colored Hair

Kerastase

Reflection Bain Chromatique Riche Shampoo

What to look for in a shampoo for colored hair

✔️ Always look for a "color-safe" formula. When you use products not intended for color-treated hair, they can strip the color and ruin its integrity, according to celebrity colorist and Matrix brand ambassador Rachel Bodt.

✔️ Opt for strengthening ingredients. Look for ingredients like citric acid, which strengthens bonds weakened from the hair-lightening process. Bodt recommends Matrix Unbreak My Blonde collection for its ability to revive damaged hair.

✔️ Look for "sulfate-free" formulas. Sulfates sud the hair and cause pigment loss, says Bodt.When you have heavily bleached hair you will want to incorporate something that has bonding treatment or protein and moisture.

How we test color-safe shampoos

The Good Housekeeping Institute Beauty Lab tests shampoos for colored hair alongside each brand's matching conditioners, putting the pairs through a number of rigorous evaluations to see how well they perform. In our most recent test, Lab scientists prescreened over 160 shampoo and conditioner duos, narrowing them down to the ten top formulas. In the Lab, our chemists performed repeated fade-resistance testing on human hair swatches to mimic real-world conditions, including shampooing, conditioning, blow-drying and repeated exposure to UV light. They also distributed the label-masked shampoos and conditioners to consumer testers around the country, who used the products for two weeks, then evaluated the product's attributes and the look of their color and feel of their hair after use.

Why trust Good Housekeeping?

Jacqueline Saguin works in the Good Housekeeping Institute as the Associate Editor of Products and Reviews, covering all things beauty and beyond. Before GH, she worked on Insider's style and beauty reviews vertical, where she evaluated skincare, makeup, haircare and more. With a journalism degree from the University of Florida, she flexes her research, interviewing and reporting skills by working closely with the experts in the GH Institute Beauty Lab to put together product reviews on the very best haircare out there, according to consumer and Lab testing.

For this article, she also worked with Good Housekeeping's Beauty Director, April Franzino, who has over a decade of experience translating the Good Housekeeping Institute Beauty Lab's rigorous product testing into compelling, factually accurate editorial.

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