16 Best Shampoos For Color-Treated Hair (2023)

Do you have color-treated hair? You love it when you leave the salon looking fresh and feeling great, but as time goes on, do you find it is more frizzy, dry, fades fast, and is harder to manage? Not to mention, it’s expensive to maintain.  

Dying your hair can make hair maintenance that much harder and it is in everyone’s best interest to do all you can to stretch out the time between appointments as long as you can. Color-treated hair has the tendency to already be drier than normal, so it is important to follow appropriate hair care routines, using products that are guaranteed to improve the quality of your hair.  

It can be overwhelming deciding what's best for your hair color, with so many hair care products out on the market offering this, that, and the next, so let's get you started and help you out on the first step: shampoo. Shampoo is an important part of looking after color-treated hair—it must moisturize, without stripping the color.  

Read on to learn more about the 16 best shampoos for color- treated hair, including shampoos targeting different colorings, textures, and hair types. Thank me later.   

1. Blu Atlas Shampoo 

Starting off strong is Blu Atlas Shampoo. This brand only pumps out the best of the best—it provides quality and great value for your money. The gentle shampoo comes in two scents, classic and coconut apricot. Made with saw palmetto and vegan biotin, this shampoo can defend against all stressors to your hair.  

Saw palmetto is a key ingredient holding vital anti-inflammatory properties, and has been known to counter the hormone DHT, which contributes to the loss of hair. This is a great hair-volumizing ingredient and, more importantly, hydrates your scalp after color treatments without causing product buildup.  

Blu Atlas Shampoo is infused with jojoba protein from jojoba oil, rich in vitamins A, E and D, antioxidants, and fatty acids. This shampoo helps to repair color-stressed hair. Aloe vera from the aloe barbadensis leaf, a succulent plant which acts as a natural moisturizer to soothe your scalp. Along with jojoba, these plant leaves are rich in antioxidants, such as beta carotene, or more commonly known as vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin E.  

Aside from these soothing and nourishing properties, Blu Atlas shampoo uses coconut-infused surfactants to gently cleanse away your daily dirt and oil buildup, without stripping your hair of its natural defenses, to reveal healthy, glowing, color-treated hair. For best results, pair Blu Atlas Shampoo with Blu Atlas Conditioner.  

2. Olaplex No. 4 Shampoo 

Coming in a close second on our list of the best shampoos for color-treated hair is Olaplex No. 4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo. If you haven’t heard of this brand, we have no idea where you have been! A key player in the hair-coloring world, Olaplex is both an in-salon reparative treatment and highly beloved home self-care product. The shampoo works to rebuild the bonding in hair which becomes highly stressed and can break during the coloring process, building stronger, healthier hair.  

This shampoo is free from sulfates, DEA, aldehydes and formaldehyde, which is vital for any type of shampoo for color-treated hair. If you’re worried that due to this quality, the shampoo won't foam up like others, don’t be. It foams up beautifully and will easily rinse from your hair.  

This award-winning shampoo protects and strengthens your hair from the stressors of everyday life, including color treatment, which can cause frizz and split ends. The price may seem steep, but you will thank yourself later when your hair is easier to manage, healthier, shinier, and softer. Formulated for all hair types, less is more when it comes to this shampoo. Trust us, a little goes a long way. This product will provide moisture without adding excess weight. 

Not only does No. 4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo work wonders for your hair, but it’s also kind to our planet. Olaplex saves 0.7 gallons of water per product and 0.4 LBS of greenhouse gas emissions per product. It also saves 44,000 trees a year from being cut down, and 8,239 acres of US land from deforestation. It's hard not to want this product! 

3. Virtue Recovery Shampoo 

Virtue Recovery Shampoo works by enriching, cleansing and repairing color-treated and damaged hair. Just like Olaplex, this shampoo is sulfate free, cruelty free, vegan, and will gently remove product build-up and oil without stripping hair from its natural defenses or oils. 

This shampoo leaves your hair refreshed, clarified, smooth, and frizz-free. A vital ingredient in  Virtue Recovery Shampoo is Alpha Keratin 60ku, which is a pure keratin that fills in damaged, cracked, dry hair and ultimately helps heal the cuticles. As the cuticles repair, your hair will become softer and more supple. 

This shampoo is scented with yuzu, coconut and warm woods making it even more refreshing and restorative to use. It is also paraben-free and gluten- free—what more could you want? It is best to combine Recovery Shampoo with the corresponding conditioner; your hair will never feel better. 

4. Sachajuan Color Protect Shampoo 

Does your hair look dull? Or does it lack shine? Well, don’t worry, Sachajuan Color Protect Shampoo has your back, it’ll leave your hair with that healthy bounce and a lovely, silky shine!  

This shampoo is formulated with ocean silk and microemulsion technology to protect the color and nourish the strands. Your hair will gain the added bounce and shine from the inside out. This is a gentle shampoo with low-acidity cleansers to preserve the color pigments and prevent early fading—a long-term money saver!  

Sachajuan came about in 1997 when internationally recognized hairdressers opened the Sachajuan salon in Stockholm. The salon soon became the go-to in Sweden before launching their well-known high-quality hair care line in 2003. Along with this shampoo having all the right benefits for color-treated hair, the packaging also reflects a sleek and contemporary look.  

5. Pureology Hydrate Shampoo 

Pureology Hydrate Shampoo is for those with hair that needs extra special attention and TLC. This sulfate-free shampoo will intensely replenish moisture and fight your dry, frizzy hair with its best-selling and concentrated formula.  

The luxurious, creamy, and rich lather this shampoo provides will hydrate and protect the color of your hair with touchable softness. This shampoo is 100% vegan and is infused with soy, oat, and wheat proteins which will strengthen, rebuild, and repair your damaged hair while protecting the color vibrancy.  

The carefully selected sustainable, naturally-derived ingredients included in the thirst-quenching formula include the California emollient jojoba, which will moisturize your hair while the green tea supports a healthy scalp and sage stimulates your hair follicles. Rose extract and multi-weight proteins will add moisture and replenish dry hair with immediate results.  

This shampoo uses an advanced hydrating micro-emulsion technology which, in conjunction with the other moisturizing ingredients, will help enhance your hair's natural color radiance. And as a final touch, Pureology Hydrate Shampoo has a signature aromatherapy blend of ylang ylang, bergamot, and patchouli scents to make the cleansing process even more enjoyable. 

6. Shu Uemura Urban Color Lustre Shampoo 

This one is for the red-heads out there—it’s one of the best on the market. The most important thing with red color treatments is to make sure the color pigment stays in your hair, and doesn’t wash out or fade too fast. This unfortunately can happen when red-colored hair is washed with shampoos containing sulfates or too many detergents.  

This is where Shu Uemura Color Lustre Shampoo comes in. It contains musk-rose oil, which is known for its impressive healing properties, and is rich in fatty acids to help strengthen and nourish your hair. This shampoo also contains the antioxidant-rich goji berry extract, which helps to protect red-dyed hair from fading sooner than it should, and balances the scalp's natural oils without causing unwanted product buildup.  

Not only will this shampoo enhance the shine of color-treated hair, but it will prevent the color from fading for many weeks. As we all know, spending money to get color treatments warrants the most delicate cleansing to maintain your hair's best conditions. This award-winning shampoo develops into a luxurious foam that easily and quickly lathers your hair to prevent the fading process. It is best used every time you wash your hair and can be used alone, so no need to worry about buying the conditioner along with it. 

7. Moroccanoil Moisture Repair Shampoo 

Everyone has heard of the fan favorite Moroccanoil, and if you haven’t then it is time you try it out. This is an affordable daily-care moisture repair shampoo tailored to repairing damage caused by hair coloring treatments, chemical processing, and heat styling. Moroccanoil Moisture Repair Shampoo will gently cleanse your dry, textured, frizzy hair effectively and revive it back to that fresh salon quality we all love, leaving it nourished, stronger and much more manageable.  

This shampoo is infused with the antioxidant-rich argan oil, reconstructive keratin proteins, and multiple fatty acids to moisturize and strengthen broken hair and those unwanted dead ends. It will help to recover your hair's natural elasticity, promoting a healthier feel and look. This shampoo is also sulfate-free, phosphate- free, and paraben-free, preventing the unwanted product buildup on your scalp, which prevents your color from fading too soon.  

The Moroccanoil brand also has a very well-known restorative hair mask which goes perfectly with its moisture repair shampoo. The mask targets damaged hair that needs instant repair, and is perfect to use once a week for hair maintenance. 

8. Love Beauty and Planet Blooming Color Shampoo 

We all know good shampoos often come at a cost, which can be off-putting—look no further as this Love Beauty and Planet Blooming Color Shampoo is the best (less expensive) shampoo for color-treated hair. Blooming Color Shampoo is formulated just like the other more expensive brands out there with ingredients that are ethically sourced.  

This shampoo holds a fragrant kiss of nature and juicy freshness, with ingredients including hand-picked Bulgarian rose petal oil and Amazonian murumuru butter that will nourish your hair, give your tresses a healthy-looking gloss, and provide an immense amounts of shine, keeping your color-treated hair vibrant with the nice scent of rose. Its vegan formula is plant-based and cruelty-free, so there isn’t really much more you could ask for! 

Blooming Color Shampoo is infused with natural coconut oil to further nourish and hydrate your dry, damaged hair. Love Beauty and Planet believes life should be filled with color, and that starts with maintaining your hair. Don’t worry about spending a lot of money on products when you can pay less for the same results with this shampoo—all while looking out for the planet. 

9. Kevin Murphy Angel Rinse 

Do you have fine colored hair? Well, we have the shampoo for you. Kevin Murphy’s Angel Rinse has a name that says it all. This shampoo is infused with green tea extract to help increase your hair's elasticity and oat protein to add fullness—all this while protecting your color and adding shine and body to your fine, dry hair. The packaging of this shampoo is made from recycled ocean plastic waste, deeming this shampoo beneficial not only for your hair, but also for the earth. 

Angel Rinse Shampoo will treat even the most fragile and broken hair. It holds a weightless and volumizing formula created with the intention to soothe and protect color-treated, fine hair. Delicately scented with mango and cocoa butter, these ingredients also help nourish and moisturize your hair without weighing it down or causing product buildup.  

This Shampoo has an antioxidant rich formula that will shield against unwanted free radicals, while helping to protect against other environmental stressors. With hydrolyzed wheat protein, angelica archangelica root extract, Mangifera indica (mango) seed butter, Theobroma cacao seed butter and citrus reticulata peel oil, this shampoo is perfect for all hair types and is sulfate-free, paraben-free and cruelty- free.   

If you want to treat your hair even more, we recommend using this product as part of Kevin Murphy’s Volume regimen, which includes Angel Wash, Rinse, and Masque—a group of gentle but highly effective defenses against stressed, flat, dry, or fine color-treated hair.  

10. Davines Oi Shampoo 

This is the shampoo for all hair types, but especially for those with color-treated hair that needs to be washed daily. Davines Oi is a milky-smooth shampoo which is infused with the nourishing roucou oil full of beta carotene and antioxidants to stimulate melanin synthesis. Helping maintain your hairs pigment and the ellagic content will neutralize those nasty free radicals which cause cellular damage.  

Sunflower seed oil makes this shampoo extremely hydrating and gentle on your hair, leaving it soft, shiny, and stronger. The added moisture also helps to protect your hair against the natural effects of aging and environmental stressors. Your color will remain looking freshly done with a frizz-free, super smooth finish.  

Key benefits of Davines Oi Shampoo include its detangling action, immediate cosmetic effect, and persistent fragrance. Its delicate sensory cleansing properties will leave you with full-bodied, luxurious hair. This is your hair’s go-to cheerleader; when you use it once, you’ll be jumping out of bed and into the shower every day to use it again.  

11. K18 Peptide Prep pH Maintenance Shampoo 

If you haven’t heard of K18 yet, then where have you been? This brand is often grouped in with Olaplex and is a favorite of many hairdressers. It’s a lifesaving brand with formulas created to treat color-treated and heavily bleached hair.  

This pH-optimized shampoo will deliver a patented amino acid chain to the inner structures of your hair and replace the vacant amino acids to help regenerate the bonds of the hair strands and repair your hair. Luckily, since 2021, K18 has moved from only being available in salons—it now offers at-home formulas. 

Like Olaplex, the price may put you off, however, a little goes a long way and is highly effective. Prep pH Maintenance Shampoo is best for color-treated hair, frizzy hair, tangle-prone, and dry hair. This amazing shampoo will gently cleanse a sensitive scalp without weighing your hair down or causing the color to fade.  

Your hair will not only look and feel better, but you will notice a huge difference in the ease of styling. In fact, 91% of customers surveyed report their hair feeling healthier, smoother, and less weighed down. The optimized pH will preserve your scalps microbiome and can be used for every wash. And to make it even better, it produces a nice lather and delicious scent.  

12. Rahua Color Full Shampoo 

Here is one for the double-processed bleached blondes out there. Rahua Color Full Shampoo is one of the best purple shampoos on the market. Color-treated blond hair is prone to developing yellow and green tones over time. Protection from brassy tones is the main game player of this shampoo which deposits violet pigments into the cuticles of your hair.  

Rahua Color Full Shampoo harnesses potent rainforest oils and pure plant- derived ingredients, and is ideal for all shades of highlighted or bleached hair. After all, plants do the best job of preserving color. The fine rahua oil molecules are used to push the pigment deep into your hair strands fortifying your damaged hair. Lilac clay will fill your porous, dry, color-treated hair to balance tonality, improve texture, and reduce those unwanted brassy tones.  

Morete oil, rich in Vitamins A, C, E, essential fatty acids, tocopherols, and carotenoids such as beta-carotene oil provides a shield from external forces that encapsulates and protects your color from fading sooner than it should. Gardenia flower, which symbolizes purity and sweetness, provides an exotic scent. Rahua shampoo utilizes centuries-old enfleurage processes which can extract the fragrances purest essence while also maintaining the powers of the antioxidants.  

13. Fanola No Orange Shampoo 

This one is for the brunettes. Are you sick of that brassy orange color that develops after an oxidation process occurs between your color treatments? Well don’t you worry, Fanola No Orange Shampoo has you covered. You only need to wash with this citrus scented shampoo once a week, and all your worries will be gone. 

Fanola is a professional haircare brand bringing salon-quality hair products to the market and into your home, making the time between salon visits just a bit longer and making your hair that much easier to maintain. No Orange Shampoo is a highly potent blue-pigmented shampoo tailored to brunettes or dark blondes with those annoying orange and copper tones, and extending the lifetime of expensive highlight color treatments.  

Along with neutralizing the undesired copper color in just minutes, Fanola No Orange Shampoo also gently cleanses and hydrates your hair, leaving it smooth and shiny. This shampoo is cruelty-free, vegan-friendly, paraben-free, sulfate-free and silicone-free. However, be careful not to overuse this shampoo as it may cause hair to dry out, and too much of the blue pigment may taint the intended color initially created.  

14. Mr. Smith Balancing Shampoo 

If you have stressed-out hair it would be hard to look past this color-safe shampoo. Do you find yourself making multiple trips to the salon for heavy treatments, such as highlights, bleaching, and more and as a result your hair becomes frail and stressed? Then this pH balancing and restoring shampoo is the one for you. Mr. Smith Balancing Shampoo will not only soothe your hair, but it also holds extremely moisturizing factors for your scalp—after all, we can’t forget your skin needs some love also.  

This shampoo holds a delightful jasmine, mandarin, and lavender scent that leaves your hair smelling as fresh as ever. Mr. Smith Balancing Shampoo restores your hair and scalp’s harmony by gently cleansing away the buildup of product while softening the strands and relaxing stressed out hair.  

The jasmine oil in this shampoo helps to deliver moisture and tame frizz and flyaways. Hydrolyzed wheat proteins strengthen your hair, adding body and shine. Along with the benefits already mentioned, this shampoo is Australian-made, cruelty-free, artificial fragrance-free, sulfate-free, paraben-free, and vegan. 

15. Innersense Organic Beauty Hydrating Hairbath 

This is an ideal shampoo for people with very textured, coarse, thick, and curly hair. Innersense Organic Beauty Hydrating Hairbath is infused with coconut oil, shea butter, tamanu seed oil, and jojoba oil. These natural ingredients infuse your hair with moisture, while ylang-ylang and sage essential oils cleanse and balance your scalp without fading your color treatment.  

Key ingredients in Innersense Organic Beauty Hydrating Hairbath include coconut, which provides a sulfate-free gentle cleanse to your hair; this cleansing agent is derived from the fatty acids found in coconut oil. Along with a gentle cleanse, this ingredient  has conditioning qualities and helps the foaming process without stripping your hair of natural oils.  

Shea butter is a natural fat that comes from fruit of the African karite tree and will intensely moisturize those dry hair strands while providing other important nutrients. Tamanu oil is a fatty acid and a nutrient that helps strengthen, protect, and regenerate your hair. It is so light, it won’t weigh down your hair or cause buildup on your scalp. This oil also contains vitamins A, B, D, E amino acids, and proteins; it  is essential in protecting your color-treated hair from damage.  

16. David Mallett Shampoo No. 2: Le Volume 

David Mallett Shampoo No. 2: Le Volume is targeted towards highlighted or balayage-treated hair. With a soft green tea scent, this color-safe shampoo will provide an extra hydration dose to those extra stressed-out strands of hair from all those salon services. This shampoo will restore shine and strength to your hair, leaving behind that “bouncy” and volumizing effect everyone loves after a blowdry.  

Just like some of the previously mentioned shampoos, this one does not contain silicones or other ingredients that can weigh down your hair. Key ingredients in Shampoo No. 2: Le Volume include the Japanese red algae known as Nori which is plentiful in proteins, vitamins A, B, and C to nourish your hair.  

The formula also contains mild surfactants with low soap content to stop aggressive, damaging chemicals, which makes this shampoo a great choice for sensitive scalps. After using this product your hair will be left invigorated, full of vitality, and shiny after each and every wash. You’ll have peace of mind knowing that there are no allergens, unnecessary chemicals or fragrances added to this shampoo. 

And there we have it, the 16 best shampoos for color-treated hair for 2023. This should give you a better idea about what is best for you and your hair journey. Go get those fresh locks and maintain your color for as long as you can.