Got your eye on some eye-catching rainbow locks or that beautiful balayage colour that melts into the ends, but afraid that your colour job won’t last past the week? You’ll need to get a good colour shampoo if you want your hair to stay the way it looked when you walked out of the salon.
If you’re wondering about the science behind the need for a special shampoo for coloured hair, here’s a quick summary in one sentence: every time you wash your hair with shampoo, a little bit of the dye particles is washed off.
Colour protecting shampoos are specially formulated to be gentler, with a lower level of cleansing soaps that strip the colour along with any grime or oil. You’ll want to look out for the words “colour-safe” or “colour-protecting” on your shampoo label. These shampoos also help to replenish moisture to your dyed hair, which could dry out from the chemicals. (Check out our DV guide to the best shampoos that keep your coloured hair looking luscious and silky!)
There’s another category of colour shampoos that actually deposit colour into your hair every time you use it. Think of it as giving your hair a colour boost with every wash! You’ll need to choose the correct colour depositing shampoo for your hair colour, so read the label carefully.
With so many options on the shelves, we’ve done the hard work for you in shortlisting the best colour shampoos, according to beauty blogs and websites. We’ve got both colour-protecting and colour-depositing shampoos in this list, as well as salon and drugstore options, so you know you’ve got your tresses fully covered here with these highlights!
Colour Protecting Shampoos
1. KEVIN.MURPHY EVERLASTING.COLOUR WASH
Not familiar with this haircare brand that’s loved by celebrities? Well, let us introduce you to it. Celebrity hairstylist Kevin Murphy created his namesake brand and its philosophy revolves around treating your hair the same as your skin – with the utmost care!
If you have coloured hair, you’re going to love this colour-locking shampoo. Powered with amino acids, this sulphate-free and pH-balanced formula helps to protect and nourish your hair while improving hair colour retention. It also protects your hair from hard water accumulation to ensure the shiniest locks.
It also contains chicory root extract, which helps to support the scalp’s microbiome. Plus, it conditions and detangles your hair, so you can enjoy vibrant, silky smooth tresses after every wash. Score!
KEVIN.MURPHY EVERLASTING.COLOUR WASH is available from KEVIN.MURPHY salons in Singapore and on WOOSHOP at S$47.25. Plus, we’re having a giveaway on our Instagram now, so if you’re lucky you might be able to receive two sets of their full EVERLASTING.COLOUR regimen!
2. L’Oreal Paris EverPure Sulfate-Free Colour Care System Moisture Shampoo
You may have seen L’Oreal Paris’s EverPure Sulfate-Free Color Care Moisture Shampoo at your neighbourhood pharmacies. This is an awesome shampoo for coloured hair that’s sulfate-free and paraben-free. Its ingredient list includes rosemary leaf oil to deeply nourish dry strands while gently cleansing your hair without stripping its colour. L’Oreal Paris promises four weeks of vibrant colour with this shampoo and conditioner – and those who’ve used it seem to agree!
L’Oreal Paris EverPure Sulfate-Free Color Care Moisture Shampoo is available at most pharmacies and supermarkets islandwide at S$15.90.
3. Wella Professional Invigo Color Brilliance Shampoo for Fine/Normal Hair
As one of the most established salon brands, Wella is known for its high performing hair care products. There’s no surprise that its colour-protecting shampoo made our list! Refreshed with a new formula that includes the new Microlight Crystal Complex Technology, the shampoo keeps dyed hair looking lush and vibrant by protecting the keratin in the hair from free radicals in the environment. It protects the colour in your hair thanks to its low pH value, which seals the colour particles into your hair cuticle for a longer time. This one is for those of you with fine/normal hair, there’s another version for you if you’ve got coarser hair.
Wella Professional Invigo Color Brilliance Shampoo for Fine/Normal Hair is available from Lazada and distributing salons at S$39.90.
4. Redken Color Extend Magnetics Shampoo
Another big salon name, we wouldn’t expect Redken’s products to disappoint. And people who used it weren’t! This range contains the full works – shampoo, conditioner, mask and treatment. Its secret? Special amino-ions, which protect your hair colour by holding on to the colour molecules so that they don’t get washed away. It’s also gentle, sulfate-free and contains Interlock Protein Networks (IPNs) and amino acids to keep hair feeling strong and flexible from root to tip.
Redken Color Extend Magnetics Shampoo is available from selected salons and Lazada at S$22.90 (300ml).
5. Olaplex No. 4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo
Beauty enthusiasts absolutely love this miracle shampoo. It promises to repair and rebuild the bonds in your hair with every wash, and not just mask the dryness which is inevitable after chemical treatments. These benefits make this colour-safe shampoo a must-try for those of you who’ve done some heavy-duty bleaching lately. A little goes a long way with this!
Olaplex No. 4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo is available from Sephora at S$22 for 100ml and S$46 for 250ml.
6. Verb Hydrating Shampoo
If a mild yet hydrating shampoo is what you’re looking for, you’ll want to try this. Perfect for frequent washing of coloured hair, it keeps your hair feeling soft and clean without washing out the colour. Its ingredient list is packed full of natural goodness: quinoa protein to smoothen the hair, vegetable keratin protein to keep hair strong and flexible, sunflower seed extract for UV protection and prevention of brassiness and dullness.
Verb Hydrating Shampoo is available from Sephora at S$12 for 68ml, S$24 for 355ml, and S$54 for 950ml.
7. TRESemmé Color Revitalise Shampoo
Originally only available in salons, TRESemmé is now more readily available and we are loving it! This shampoo delivers a salon-quality wash for your coloured hair, keeping your hair looking fresh and bright.
It smells heavenly too, with scents of melon, apple and peach layered with feminine muguet, rose and jasmine. Backing this shampoo’s colour-protecting properties is its unique colour locking complex, with natural ingredients like green tea, rosemary, and sunflower.
TRESemmé Color Revitalise Shampoo is available from most pharmacies islandwide, distributing salons, and LookFantastic at S$9.
8. Herbal Essences Color Me Happy Color Safe Shampoo
We know that Herbal Essences shampoos smell wonderful, and this one is no exception. This colour-safe shampoo is scented with the romantic fragrance of Moroccan rose and contains corn silk extract to keep your hair feeling soft and smooth. People who have used it love it for its colour-protecting properties, even working to keep red hair radiant! It contains absolutely no silicones, parabens, gluten or heavy mineral oils.
Herbal Essences Color Me Happy Color Safe Shampoo is available from Lazada at S$8.90.
9. Kérastase Reflection Bain Chromatique Shampoo
Salon brand Kérastase’s colour-protecting shampoo has its fans for good reason: it’s known for reviving the colour in your hair while gently cleansing away the dirt and grime of everyday living. The science behind this shampoo is intense. (We’ve talked about it previously too, check it out here.)
It contains the Système Capture Advanced complex that neutralises external aggressors that attack your hair’s colour and vibrancy, as well as a chelating complex that removes metals and minerals that build up on your hair from chlorine in the water. Rice bran oil helps refract light from your hair so it looks mesmerisingly glossy and shiny, too. What’s not to love?
Kérastase Reflection Bain Chromatique Shampoo is available from selected salons island-wide and Lazada at S$36.90.
10. Aveda Colour Conserve Shampoo
Aveda’s well known for their natural formulations, and this colour protecting shampoo is ace at providing a gentle clean yet keeping your hair colour fresh. This is especially so thanks to its plant-intensive ingredient list, which is a lot gentler than synthetic components.
Plant extracts that make up this shampoo include Babassu betaine which cleanses, guar bean which conditions, wintergreen and cinnamon bark oil which offers UV protection, and green tea which is an antioxidant. Washing your hair in the morning with this grapefruit and ylang-ylang scented shampoo is also a real treat!
Aveda Colour Conserve Shampoo is available from TANGS at S$47 f0r 250ml and S$140 for 1,000ml.
11. Shu Uemura Art of Hair Colour Lustre Sulphate Free Shampoo
Hands up if you love that satisfyingly rich lather of a good shampoo wash! Most of us do, but that’s not great for coloured hair. Shu Uemura’s offering for coloured hair will be your go-to if you’re a big fan of a luxurious lather because it suds up like a dream yet will not strip your hair of its colour! With ingredients like musk rose to balance the scalp, and goji berry extract to protect from oxidation and prevent colour fading, you’ll want to give this a try to keep your hair colour in tip-top condition.
Shu Uemura Art of Hair Colour Lustre Sulphate Free Shampoo is available from Amazon at US$38 (approximately S$51).
12. Aesop Colour Protection Shampoo
Crafted especially for coloured hair, Aesop’s colour-protecting shampoo is lovely to use, leaving your dyed hair soft and shiny. With a refreshing minty scent, you’ll feel your scalp perk up with every wash! Its sulfate-free formula includes hydrolyzed oats and Provitamin B5 to nourish and smoothen your hair whilst keeping your colour intact and fresh.
Aesop Colour Protection Shampoo is available from Aesop outlets at S$37.
13. Pantene Pro-V Radiant Colour Shine Shampoo
If you’ve used a Pantene shampoo before, you’ll be familiar with its iconic Pro-V formula, which leaves hair feeling soft and looking brilliant. Its colour-protecting shampoo is no different (why fix what ain’t broke, right?) Backed by the brand’s Pro-V formula that wraps around each hair follicle to protect and hydrate it, people love it for this very reason! Perfect for plumping out those stressed-out tresses after all the salon dye work.
This particular formula is not available in local pharmacies but you can get it online at Amazon at US$23.49 (approximately S$31.52).
14. Moist Diane Extra Damage Repair Shampoo
This Japanese haircare brand with its distinctive packaging with major princess-vibes has a shampoo that’s colour-safe and promises to revive damaged, chemically treated hair! It’s specially created for Asian hair and contains botanical extracts such as baobab oil and Moroccan argan oil, to deep cleanse the scalp and nourish the hair cuticle. The keywords here are “botanical extracts” – which is why it works to protect your hair colour since these plant-based extracts aren’t harsh.
Moist Diane Extra Damage Repair Shampoo is available at most major pharmacies and supermarkets islandwide for S$16.90.
15. Oribe Shampoo for Beautiful Color
For a truly luxurious wash, we recommend trying Oribe’s Shampoo for Beautiful Color: a really gentle cleansing shampoo that will lift your dyed hair colour out of the doldrums. This brand is popular among celebrities for its high performance and amazing-smelling products with a signature in-house fragrance (read our introduction to the brand here).
Key ingredients include the Oribe Signature Complex made up of watermelon, lychee and edelweiss flower extracts to protect against oxidative stresses, bioflavonoids that give fruits their rich and vibrant hues, baobab tree extract to hydrate parched tresses, and kaempferia root extract that offers UV protection.
Oribe Shampoo for Beautiful Color is available on Beautylish at US$46 (approximately S$61.74).
16. Goldwell Dualsenses Color Extra Rich Shampoo
Salon stalwart Goldwell does not disappoint with its colour protecting shampoo from the Dualsenses range. Armed with a one-of-a-kind FadeStop formula that reduces the fading of colour with each wash by anchoring the colour molecules to the hair shaft, this cream foam shampoo cleanses gently whilst bringing out the luminosity and depth of colour of your dyed ‘do.
Goldwell Dualsenses Color Extra Rich Shampoo is available at selected salons across the island and LookFantastic at S$22.
17. Matrix Biolage Colorlast Shampoo
Taking a leaf out of the orchid, which is known for its vibrant blooms that last for a long time, this shampoo is formulated with a low pH level to protect your hair’s depth of colour and prevent dullness. It’s a gentle, paraben-free shampoo that your dyed hair will love, promising to keep your hair colour in place for up to nine weeks when used together with the Colorlast conditioner.
Matrix Biolage Colorlast Shampoo is available from LookFantastic at S$26.
Colour Depositing Shampoos
18. Amika Bust Your Brass Cool Blonde Shampoo
This shampoo with a sassy name is a god-sent if you’ve just gone blonde. Blonde turns to brass all-too-easily, but using the right shampoo will help you keep your tone gold for longer. This ultraviolet formula that looks shockingly purple is ace at counteracting dreaded orange tones!
It’s also packed with nutritious ingredients like Wild Cherry Bark Extract and avocado oil, as well as vitamins, amino acids, and minerals, to soften and nourish hair that may be stressed out from the bleaching.
Amika Bust Your Brass Cool Blonde Shampoo is available on Revolve at S$16.15.
19. Oribe Silverati Shampoo
If you’ve decided to go really light with a super sleek grey hairdo or a brilliant platinum blond, you’ll want to try this colour-depositing shampoo by luxury haircare brand, Oribe. People love it for its heavenly scent and that it works so well at keeping the brassiness away from grey or blonde strands.
Its secret is that it contains blue and silver pigments that tones your hair with every wash! You’ll also be glad to know that this luxurious feeling shampoo is formulated without parabens, sulfates or sodium chloride, and is vegan, cruelty-free and gluten-free too.
Obribe Silverati Shampoo is available on Beautylish at US$46 (approximately S$61.74).
20. Joico Color Infuse Copper Shampoo
This restorative shampoo is for you if you’ve got newly attained red hair! It’s a gentle shampoo that cleanses your hair without stripping it of its beautiful bold red tones. It promises to protect the red in your hair for up to 18 washes, so you can go on ahead and wash your hair with ease of mind on these hot, humid days. This shampoo is formulated with Joico’s special Bio-Advanced Peptide Complex to eliminate frizz too!
Joico Color Infuse Copper Shampoo is available in 300ml from LookFantastic at S$29.
21. John Frieda Radiant Red Boosting Shampoo
Red is well-known to be one of the quickest colours to wash out of your hair, so you’ll want to get your hands on this red colour depositing shampoo to keep your locks looking fiery! This John Frieda shampoo contains Pomegranate Extract and Vitamin E, to help keep your hair vibrant and soft while keeping your mane beautifully red.
John Frieda Radiant Red Boosting Shampoo is available on Amazon.sg from S$29.11.
22. Aveda Blue Malva Shampoo
Aveda’s colour-depositing Blue Malva Shampoo is as versatile as they come – it adds silvery brightness to grey hair while neutralising brassiness in all other hair shades. This is still classic Aveda, so it’s formulated with gentle and natural plant-based ingredients!
Aveda Blue Malva Shampoo is available at TANGS for S$110.
Featured image (left) taken from here.
