Colour Shampoo

Hair colour shampoo falls into two categories: colour depositing shampoos that temporarily add tone or refresh fading hues, and colour protection shampoo formulas that prevent artificial pigment from washing out between salon visits. A hair colour shampoo does one of two jobs, sometimes both. It tops up pigment between salon visits, or it cleans gently enough that the colour you paid for stays put.
Our colour shampoo range sits inside the wider Hair Care range and the full Shampoo collection, so you can match what you wash with the rest of your routine. AMR stocks the brands real salons, reaching for trade-friendly prices, with delivery Australia-wide.

Colour Depositing Shampoo Vs Colour Care Shampoo

There are two product types living under the same search term, and it pays to know which one you actually need.

The first is a colour depositing shampoo: a wash with pigment built in. Every time you lather, a small dose of tone is left on the hair fibre. Purple and blue for blondes and silvers, violet and copper to refresh reds and brunettes, and bold semi-permanent rinses for fashion shades. The Olaplex No.4P Blonde Enhancer Toning Shampoo is the obvious pick for brassy blondes that need bond repair at the same time. The Natural Look Colourance line is the value workhorse, covering nearly every natural shade (Beige Blonde, Intense Violet, Caramel, Rich Chocolate, Intense Red). For fashion colour, the Punky 3-In-1 range goes hard on direct dyes, from Purpledacious to Tealistic and Pinktabulous. It washes, conditions and re-deposits in one bottle, which is why so many salons hand it to clients with vivids.

The second is a colour care shampoo, also sold as colour protection shampoo or shampoo for colour-treated hair: sulphate-light or sulphate-free, ammonia-free, and built around moisture and gentle cleansing rather than pigment. It won't tone anything. Its job is to stop your colour from rinsing down the drain faster than it should. Limitless C1 Colour Care Shampoo is a clean salon staple and works well as a daily wash for fresh colour. BackBar Colour Care Shampoo is the 5L bulk format colourists use behind the chair when they're rinsing back-to-back clients. The 12 Reasons Argan Oil Shampoo sits in the same family but leans more hydrating, useful for ends that feel straw-like after a lift.

If you're not sure which you need, ask yourself one thing: do I want the wash to change my tone, or just protect it?

How To Choose The Right Shampoo for Your Dyed Hair

Start with what your colour is doing right now.

• Blonde, highlighted or bleached hair turning brassy. You want a violet-based toner. Olaplex No.4P Blonde Enhancer Toning Shampoo is the gold standard when blondes are also fragile from bleach. Natural Look Colourance Intense Violet is a cost-effective option that delivers the same neutralising effect for a fraction of the price. Punky Colour Blondetastic suits cooler ash blondes that pull yellow within a week. The full purple shampoo for blonde hair collection lines every purple and blue option up side by side if you want to compare pigment depth.

• Silver, grey or platinum. Go cooler still. L'Oreal Professionnel Serie Expert Silver Shampoo is formulated to remove yellow from white and grey hair, and the 1500ml size makes it the format most salons keep on hand.

• Brunette losing depth or pulling warm. Natural Look Colourance Cool Chocolate or Intense Brown refreshes the base tone without darkening the overall shade.

• Red, copper or fashion shade fading fast. Reds drop pigment quicker than any other colour, full stop. A weekly depositing wash with Natural Look Colourance Fire Red, Intense Copper, or one of the Punky Colour semi-permanents stretches the cycle by weeks.

• Recently coloured, not yet faded, you just want it to last. Reach for a colour care shampoo partner like Limitless C1 Colour Care Shampoo or 12 Reasons Argan Oil Shampoo. If the hair is also dry from chemical work, a wash with nourishing shampoo does double duty.

• Coloured and damaged. That's where keratin shampoo comes in. Repair-led formulas like Hi Lift Cureplex No1 Bond Creator and K18 Peptide Prep reduce breakage without stripping pigment.

Whatever you pick, check that the formula is ammonia-free and, ideally, sulphate-free. That's the difference between a shampoo for coloured hair and one that quietly undoes the colour you just paid for.

How to Use Colour Shampoo Properly

1. Start with lukewarm water, never hot. Wet hair through completely. Hot water swells the cuticle and gives deposited pigment a way out, so you lose tone before you have even started. This matters most with the strong-pigment formulas in our range, where every degree of heat costs you a ton.

2. Use a 20-cent piece, length first. Work it through the mid-lengths and ends, then bring it up to the scalp. The lengths fade fastest, so they get first contact with the pigment. For the colour care formulas in our range, you can be more generous, as they protect rather than deposit colour.

3. Time is to your goal. A depositing shampoo needs to be left on the hair for 3 to 5 minutes for a genuine tone refresh. If you only want to knock back a little brassiness or warmth, rinse straight away. The timing is the difference between maintenance and a real shift, and it's why a single bottle from our range can take you from weekly toner to gentle daily wash.

4. Rinse cool to seal it in. Cold water closes the cuticle and traps the tone you just deposited. Skip this step, and the colour will not last between washes, no matter how good the shampoo is. Colour-treated hair from chemical services holds its tone better after a cool rinse, especially when used alongside the bond and repair products in our range.

5. Finish with a matched conditioner. Every colour shampoo in our range has a partner conditioner in the same line. Using the pair keeps your tone consistent and stops the cuticle from roughening up again.

What to Pair With Your Colour Shampoo

A colour shampoo only does half the job. Lock it in with a colour-safe colour conditioner. Add a weekly mask from the colour intensifier range to refresh pigment between washes. If chemical work has left the fibre fragile, a treatment from a salon colour service or products for damaged hair will properly rebuild the structure. Stocking a full range of shampoos for coloured hair, the Australia range, AMR ships every hair dye shampoo Australia-wide, direct from the same back-bar inventory salons use. For the full routine view, browse products for coloured hair from the coloured hair concern hub.