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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:
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Best Overall Shampoo for Colored Hair
Keratin Smooth Color Shampoo TRESemmé
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Best Value Shampoo for Colored Hair
Color Protect Shampoo Hair Food
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Best Clarifying Shampoo for Colored Hair
Color Assure Radiant Color Care Shampoo Nexxus
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-
Best Drugstore Shampoo for Colored Hair
EverPure Sulfate Free Moisture Shampoo L'Oreal Paris
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Best Shampoo for Brunette Colored Hair
Fade-Defying Orchid Oil Shampoo OGX
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Best Overall Shampoo for Colored Hair
TRESemmé
Keratin Smooth Color Shampoo
Dry, frizzy |
No |
22 fl. oz |
Best Value Shampoo for Colored Hair
Hair Food
Color Protect Shampoo
All |
Yes |
10.1 fl. oz |
Best Clarifying Shampoo for Colored Hair
Nexxus
Color Assure Radiant Color Care Shampoo
All |
Yes |
13.5 fl. oz |
Best Drugstore Shampoo for Colored Hair
L'Oreal Paris
EverPure Sulfate Free Moisture Shampoo
Oily |
Yes |
8.5 / 11 fl. oz |
Best Shampoo for Brunette Colored Hair
OGX
Fade-Defying Orchid Oil Shampoo
Oily |
Yes |
13 fl. oz |
Best Dandruff Shampoo for Colored Hair
Head & Shoulders
Supreme Color Protect Shampoo
Dry, itchy scalp |
Yes |
11.8 fl. oz |
Best Shampoo for Fine Colored Hair
Minerals Of Eden
Clarifying & Volumizing Shampoo
Fine |
Yes |
16.9 fl. oz |
Best Shampoo for Textured Colored Hair
Goldwell
Kerasilk Color Shampoo
Damaged, dry, frizzy or curly |
Yes |
9.6 fl. oz |
Best Shampoo for Blonde Colored Hair
Matrix
Strengthening Shampoo
Damaged |
Yes |
33.8 fl. oz. |
Best Shine Shampoo for Colored Hair
shu uemura
Color Lustre Sulfate-Free Brilliant Glaze Shampoo
All |
Yes |
10 fl. oz |
Best Moisturizing Shampoo for Colored Hair
Pureology
Strength Cure Shampoo
All |
Yes |
9 / 33.8 fl. oz |
Best Luxury Shampoo for Colored Hair
Kerastase
Reflection Bain Chromatique Riche Shampoo
All |
Yes |
8.5 fl. oz |
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.