The best shampoo for coloured hair is one specifically formulated to protect and extend your colour — not a general-purpose shampoo repurposed for dyed hair. Professional colour care shampoos use gentle, sulphate-free surfactants that cleanse without stripping the pigment molecules from your hair shaft, along with UV filters and antioxidants that protect colour from environmental fading.
Key ingredients to look for include milk proteins, keratin, hydrolysed wheat protein, and UV protection complexes. Avoid shampoos containing sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) or sodium laureth sulphate (SLES) — these aggressive cleansers accelerate colour fade significantly.
Top-rated colour care shampoos available at My Haircare & Beauty include Redken Colour Extend Magnetics, Keune Colour Brillianz, Wella Color Motion, Milkshake Colour Care, and Davines NOUNOU — all professional salon formulations trusted by hairdressers across Australia.
Highlighted hair — whether balayage, babylights, or foils — undergoes a chemical lightening process that leaves the hair shaft more porous and susceptible to damage and colour shift. The best shampoos for highlighted hair are gentle, moisturising, and colour-safe.
For balayage and warm highlights, a colour-protecting shampoo with moisturising properties works best. For cool-toned highlights or blonde highlights, look for a toning or purple shampoo that neutralises brassiness while protecting your colour investment. Avoid clarifying shampoos on highlighted hair — they strip colour rapidly and leave hair dry.
Yes — sulphate-free shampoos are widely recommended by colourists for colour-treated hair. Sulphates are effective cleansing agents but strip the hair of both natural oils and colour molecules, causing your colour to fade faster.
Sulphate-free formulas use milder surfactants derived from coconut or other plant sources, which clean effectively without opening the hair cuticle aggressively. This keeps colour locked in between washes and extends the life of your salon colour. Most professional colour care shampoos in this range are sulphate-free as standard.
Colour fade is caused by a combination of washing, heat styling, sun exposure, and oxidation. Here's how to extend the life of your colour:
Shop trusted colour care brands including Keune, Kevin Murphy, and Davines — all available with free shipping on orders over $50 and Afterpay at checkout.
