The Best Color-Enhancing Shampoos to Keep Your Locks Vibrant

Summer can wreak havoc on color-treated hair, whether you’re a balayaged, beachy blonde, a vibrant redhead, or a rich chestnut brunette. The summer presents the perfect storm of color-fading elements: increased sun exposure, chlorine, salt water, wind, and amplified heat. Incorporating a richly pigmented color-enhancing shampoo can help you push back frequent trips to the salon for color refreshes, saving you both money and time.

There are a few preventative measures that will prolong the life of color by shielding your strands from environmental stressors, from wearing hats with UPF (sunscreen for textiles), keeping your hair conditioned with regular masks and treatments (color binds better to healthy hair), and investing in a good shower filter to remove hard water damage. However, adding a color-dispensing shampoo to your routine will make the most visible and immediate impact.

Some tinted shampoos are so pigmented that the color payoff is actually pretty comparable to the result you’d get after an appointment with your colorist for a color refresh, toner, or glaze — and they’re (presumably) a lot cheaper. There are plenty of color-depositing shampoos to enhance each color of hair — whether natural or color-treated. Silver and purple shampoos will help to brighten light blonde and platinum hair color and combat brass. Redheads on the other hand can especially benefit from a cherry or copper toned shampoo, as red is one of the fastest fading color — and ironically the most difficult to remove. Brunettes can also benefits from a rich chestnuts or mahogany hue to add some dimension to their color. See below for some of the best options for blondes, redheads, and brunettes.

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1. Joico Color Infuse Red Shampoo

This red-infused shampoo is ultra pigmented and will deposit a noticeable red-refresh with just one wash. You can leave it on for 10-15 minutes for a more amplified effect, or for 2-5 minutes for a less intense look. This formula is so opaquely-hued that some lighter-haired reviewers even used to it go from blonde to copper using only this shampoo. It’s also sulfate-free and gentle on comprised hair.

Buy: Joico Color Infuse Red Shampoo $16.99

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2. Fanola No Yellow Shampoo

As a bottle blonde myself, I’ve interviewed and gotten my highlights done by a vast array of different colorists, and I’ve spotted this top-selling purple shampoo at several of salons over the years. In fact, I know colorists who actually use this shampoo in clients in lieu of an actual toner — it’s that good. As most violet shampoos, this ultra-pigmented brass-buster cancels out yellow and orange tones in blonde hair, making blonde locks brighter and icier.

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3. John Frieda Brilliant Brunette Visibly Deeper Shampoo

This upgraded version of their original Brilliant Brunette Shampoo is even more intensely tinted with dimensional, brown dies to give your locks a lustrous vibrancy when summer’s elements have left it looking dull. Because it is much more pigmented than the original version, lighter brunettes will notice a darkened effect with a couple uses. You can leave it for an extended period of time (10-15 minutes) for more intense results or rinse immediately for subtle touch-up.

Buy: John Frieda Brilliant Brunette Shampoo