So you’ve taken the plunge and decided to colour your hair. Great! What about hair care? There’s definitely a small amount of damage thanks to the chemicals in the dye (and not to forget bleach!). And after all the money spent, the colour better stay on for a while. What’s important to remember is that different people’s hair reacts differently to various products. The general advice is to not wash your hair too often (to prevent fading), use sulfate-free shampoos (you can check out this guide for our picks of sulfate-free options), and ensure that your hair remains moisturised and healthy. People from Team LBB have coloured their hair at some point, and we’ve curated this list of shampoos for colour treated hair. Do note that most of these work best with the conditioner from the same range, and a periodic hair mask/deep conditioner treatment. Some of these shampoos do have sulfates (needed to remove grime though), but are effective nonetheless.
Tried, Tested & User Reviewed: 11 Colour Safe Shampoos Starting INR 150
L'Oreal
We’re recommending more than one option from L'Oreal because it’s relatively budget-friendly, and if you haven’t bleached your hair (for browns and deeper reds), their shampoos work for most hair types except curly or super dry hair.
L'Oreal Paris Colour Protect Shampoo: If you have fairly unproblematic hair to begin with, and have dyed your hair brown or have subtle highlights, pick up the L'Oreal Paris Colour Protect Shampoo to retain shine. Rated 4.4 on Nykaa and Amazon, this one is available online and in most stores offline, so if you ever need hair dye friendly shampoo in a pinch, this one’s your best bet.
Rating: 4.4/5 on Amazon and Nykaa
L'Oreal Professionnel X-Tenso Care Shampoo Sulfate Free: The sulfate-free option from L’Oreal’s X-Tenso range is great for chemically treated hair - of which heavy-duty colour is one. It helps retain the hair’s shine, lathers well, and smells good too. This one lasts long too as a little goes a long way. Using conditioner after this is a must for best results.
Rating: 4.3/5 (Nykaa)
LOreal Professionnel Series Expert Resveratrol Vitamino Color Shampoo: This one is formulated specifically for colour treated hair. What the shampoo does is cleanse as well as fortify the hair strand, by coating it in a moisture and nutrient retaining layer. It works best with its corresponding conditioner and serum, but it helps retain colour for a few weeks longer with the same vibrancy. This one can be drying if used too much, so be sure to deep condition it regularly. You’re likely to get this at the salon as well.
Rating: 4.4/5 (Nykaa), 4.2/5 (Amazon)
Olaplex No. 4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo
The Olaplex No 4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo works by strengthening the bonds between hair cells. Ideal for any dye job that requires a lot of bleach, this is a great option if you’ve dyed your hair in any vibrant shade like blue, purple, red, or even light blonde. As bleach increases the hair's porosity, it weakens the hair making it more susceptible to breakage, and consequently, faster colour fades. By strengthening hair, this shampoo also helps hair retain colour for longer. Suitable for all hair types, it’s super hydrating too and smells like coconut.
Rating: 4.7/5 (Amazon)
Pro Tip: We recommend you pick this up straight at the salon unless you have a trustworthy site to order Olaplex hair products online. Amazon isn't always the best!
Schwarzkopf Professional Anti-Yellow Sulfate Free Shampoo
For those of you who have gone blonde fully or have highlights or patterns to your hair dye, pick up the Schwarzkopf Professional Anti-Yellow Sulfate-Free Purple Shampoo. If you’ve noticed that your cool/ashy blonde hair is getting brassy, then this purple shampoo will help tone your hair and retain the cool tone. While getting your hair toned at the salon is the best way to do this, you can use this as a toner (by leaving it in your hair for a few minutes), or as a regular shampoo regularly for maintenance. You can pick this up at any Schwarzkopf salon, or on Amazon.
Rating: 4.2/5 (Amazon)
Pro-Tip: Don’t use this if you have oiled your hair and are planning to remove that though.
Kerastase Blond Absolu - Bain Ultra-Violet
Another shampoo great for cool blonde or pre-lightened grey hair, the Kerastase Blond Absolu - Bain Ultra-Violet shampoo is formulated with Hyaluronic Acid that prevents hair breakage. This leaves your hair silky and strong, and keeps the colour vibrant. This one smells great, and if you use it once a week for toning is enough if you’re not looking for pastel blue hair. This is not commonly available, but partnered salons will have stock.
Rating: 4.6/5 (Google)
Matrix Biolage Colorlast Color Protecting Shampoo
If your hair isn’t super dry, the Matrix Biolage Color Care Shampoo will work well for browns and reds (basically if you haven’t pre-lightened it). With a few washes, your hair will be soft, and tangle-free and the colour stays vibrant. It doesn't add any extra shine by itself though. The smell is mild, and it washes away grime and grease well too. Definitely use a deep conditioner or hair mask every time you use this shampoo. For the price it retails at, this is a great option and is available in most major supermarkets, and online platforms.
Rating: 4.4/5 (Nykaa), 4.3/5 (Amazon)
Infuse My Colour
Infuse is a UK based brand that sells toned shampoo and conditioner. They have products for hair dyed blue, purple, and blonde (warm and cool tones) among others. In India, the gold and the platinum (both for blonde/bleached hair) are available - mostly on Amazon and Nykaa. They’re vegan and contain no parabens, sulfates or silicones (making anything by them a great option for curly hair too). Users say that it leaves their hair feeling clean, yet not parched, while also keeping the colour intact.
Rating: The gold is 4.5/5 (Amazon) and 4.4/5 (Nykaa)
Sodium Chloride Free Keratin Shampoo
This is a personal favourite which works well whether your hair is dyed or not. It smells great, is highly moisturising, and leaves hair feeling soft and silky (whether colour treated or not). Thanks to effective ingredients like argan oil, vitamin E, and shea butter, the formula is luxurious, and it gives your hair shine. That being said, don’t use it if you’ve oiled your hair as you’ll need more product to wash it away. This is also suitable for people with curly hair.
Rating: 4.4/5 (Amazon)
Schwarzkopf Professional Bonacure pH 4.5 Color Freeze Sulfate Free Shampoo
This Schwarzkopf shampoo has a low pH, which is great news for your scalp because it won’t strip away the natural oils that help preserve your hair’s elasticity, or make your scalp overproduce oil. Since moisture is key in ensuring that your colour treated hair doesn’t get frizzy, this shampoo will allow your hair to be healthy while still retaining colour and shine. What’s cool is that this shampoo also has added UV filters, that will protect it from sun damage. UV breaks down hair dye quickly, so if you’re out and about in the sun, this is the shampoo for you.
Rating: 4.3/5 (Nykaa), 3.9/5 (Amazon)
Herbal Essences bio:renew White Strawberry & Sweet Mint Shampoo
Most shampoos by Herbal Essences (especially the bio:renew range) are colour safe. While they do have sulfates, they're free of parabens, mineral oils, and are Peta Certified (cruelty-free). A personal recommendation, this one cleanses the scalp and hair and helps retain colour, if you've got highlights that aren't heavily bleached, and other warm-toned browns and gold. This is ideal for people who wash their hair regularly, and don't want to compromise on volume and shine. If you enjoy fruity scents, this one smells delicious!
Rating: 4.1/5 on Amazon and Nyka
Pro-Tip: Not suitable for oiled hair washes.