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The 7 Best Shampoos for Dark Colored Hair in 2024

Suppose you’re looking for the best shampoo for dark-colored hair. In that case, we’re dropping 7 of our top selections for every situation and scenario. Keep reading to find the shampoo for your needs.

Looking for Shampoo for Dark Colored Hair?

It matters what shampoo you use for your grooming needs. Whether your hair is naturally dark or color-treated, you need a shampoo that doesn’t change your hair’s feel and appearance.

Many shampoos clean dirt but lack the natural and nourishing ingredients to maintain hair color. And we think that the best shampoo for dark-colored hair is TRESemme Color Vibrance Protection.

While it’s one of the best at keeping your dark-colored hair vibrant with a luxurious luster, we also have 6 solid picks on our list below.

Our Top Picks for the Best Shampoo for Dark Colored Hair:
  1. Best Overall: TRESemme Color Vibrance Protection
  2. Best for Damaged Hair: Olaplex No.4 Bond Maintenance
  3. Best for Color Protection: Wow Color Security
  4. Best for Color Maintenance: John Freida Midnight Brunette
  5. Best Value: Love Beauty and Planet
  6. Best for Dry Hair: R+Co Gemstone Color
  7. Best for Naturally Dark Hair: OUAI Fine Shampoo

Why You Need a Shampoo for Dark-Colored Hair

Woman using the best shampoo for dark colored hair on her hair with soapy suds sticking up from her hair

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A shampoo for dark colored hair can be the difference maker in obtaining salon-quality hair. These shampoos have gentle ingredients that reinforce color without stripping or causing build-up.

Additionally, the shampoo must have the basic ingredients that clean hair, moisturize the scalp, and provide a freshness that lasts for an extended time. Let’s quickly look at the top shampoos below, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses.

Best Shampoo for Dark Colored Hair: Top 7 Picks

Without mincing words, the shampoos below should be your first choice for dark-colored hair.

1. Best Overall: TRESemme Color Vibrance Protection

Best Overall
TRESemme Color Vibrance Protection
Pros:
  • Wallet-friendly
  • Excellent for curly hair
  • Contains Advanced Color Vibrancy Technology
Cons:
  • The container isn’t watertight
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TRESemme Keratin Smooth is the best overall because it can help you maintain your hair’s color better than the competition. This shampoo contains Advanced Color Vibrancy Protection, including protective antioxidants that moisturize and nourish hair follicles.

The scalp easily absorbs the shampoo ingredients, ensuring its smoothness and natural movement. The product also features keratin to strengthen hair and prevent color damage.

You’ll love the newly redesigned formula that contains green tea, rosemary, and sunflower to combat frizz, control stubborn hair, detangle knots and boost luster.

It’s a complete moisturizer that hydrates the barren wastelands that make you self-conscious. More importantly, this product is a professional-grade shampoo that resurrects dead hair with a lasting softness that makes it a favorite for salons.

2. Best for Damaged Hair: Olaplex No.4 Bond Maintenance

Best for Damaged Hair
Olaplex No.4 Bond Maintenance
Pros:
  • Repairs damaged hair
  • Requires a little amount to lather
  • Non-toxic ingredients
Cons:
  • Expensive
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Olaplex claims to be the only patented formula that noticeably repairs extreme hair damage — turning brittle, dry hair into luxuriously soft and resilient hair.

This shampoo product excels at relinking broken bonds and split ends with a single molecule, significantly enhancing hair strength from within with immediate results. Olaplex is suitable and beneficial for all hair types, including curly and straight.

Moreover, the shampoo is free from oils and silicones that clog pores and cause breakage. It’s also gluten and sulfate-free, containing non-toxic chemicals to preserve scalp health.

This shampoo has a thick consistency and requires small amounts for a thorough lather, leaving your scalp fresh and squeaky clean. You only require a few days’ washes to notice a softer hair texture without any tangles or dryness.

The only drawback is the price which is higher than the competition. That said, it’s a powerful product that works wonders for damaged and thinning hair.

Read Next: How to Use Olaplex, Steps 0-8

3. Best for Color Protection: Wow Color Security Shampoo

Best for Color Protection
Wow Color Security Shampoo
Pros:
  • Doesn’t strip hair color
  • Cleans scalp without leaving build-up
  • No silicones or conditioning resins
  • Enhances shine and texture
Cons:
  • Requires a lot to lather
  • It contains glycerin which has a drying effect
  • Tube design may cause spillage
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Look no further than Wow Color Security if you’d like a shampoo that won’t leave behind any residue. This shampoo doesn’t contain thickening agents, silicones, or conditioning resins. It’s fantastic for all hair types — particularly for dark color-treated hair.

This shampoo encourages healthier hair by ensuring no residue or build-up that blocks hair follicles and stops new hair growth, leading to thinning. It requires a small coin-sized amount to apply on wet hair for the soapiest lather and excellent results.

This product also contains trace amounts of citric acid to act as a neutralizing agent and maintain pH balance. The liquid is gentle on hair and scalp while protecting hair color and vibrancy.

4. Best for Color Maintenance: John Freida Midnight Brunette

Best for Color Maintenance
John Freida Midnight Brunette Shampoo
Pros:
  • Excellent for hiding grays
  • Cocoa fragrance doesn’t overpower
  • Wallet-friendly
Cons:
  • Not the most amazing scent
  • Requires a strong grip to squeeze the tubing
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The fact remains that dark hair can become lifeless, losing its vibrancy and oomph. It’s of utmost importance to use a shampoo that can return its luster. You’d be hard-pressed to see any product better than John Freida Midnight Brunette.

This shampoo is designed for natural and color-treated hair and contains proprietary ingredients, including primrose oil and cocoa.

Additionally, the shampoo successfully masks gray hair while keeping the color intact. It contains moisturizing agents to lock in moisture, providing hydration to the scalp and keeping dryness at bay.

This shampoo is exceptional for daily use to maintain hair color, delivering a rich texture. Even though the cocoa-caramel scent isn’t appealing to everyone, you can’t doubt the product’s potency.

5. Best Value: Love Beauty and Planet Shampoo

Best Value
Love Beauty and Planet Shampoo
Pros:
  • Bulgarian rose fragrance excites the senses
  • PETA-certified, cruelty-free and vegan
  • It contains murumuru butter and coconut oil
Cons:
  • It may not be the best for frizz control
  • Slightly oily feeling
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Love Beauty and Planet is a color-protecting shampoo designed to make hair glossy and healthy. It’s great for color-treated hair and contains murumuru butter and coconut oil for a rich moisturizing effect.

The shampoo is silicone, sulfate, dye-free, and uses ethically sourced rose extracts. A little goes a long way to offer a rich lather for a healthy wash. It also contains detangling components to prevent snarls.

The Bulgarian rose fragrance delights the senses lingering hours after washing your hair. The only drawback is the slightly oily feeling and its inability to tame frizz. Still, it’s worth its weight in quality and is PETA-certified as a vegan shampoo.

Read Next: The Best Vegan Hair Products to Buy in 2024

6. Best for Dry Hair: R+Co Gemstone Color

Best for Dry Hair
R+Co Gemstone Color
Pros:
  • Hydrates the hair and scalp
  • Amazing fragrance
  • It offers color protection and improves moisture
Cons:
  • Not wallet-friendly
  • It doesn’t have a rich lather
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R+Co Gemstone Color shampoo infuses a number of minerals and vitamins that moisturize hair and promote optimal hydration balance for hair and scalp.

The shampoo ingredients ensure the hair looks multidimensional, with a noticeable luster and sheen. R+Co uses a scientifically proven formula to protect hair color and prevent stripping, especially for individuals that color their hair.

The shampoo benefits people with color-treated hair and contains hibiscus extract to soften hair texture and provide conditioning. The pea extract helps to maintain hair hue, protecting against discoloration.

Rice extract smoothens hair while allowing it to retain moisture and improve shine. More importantly, the product is free of sulfates and parabens, including mineral oils and petrolatum — both known for causing scalp dryness.

The only drawback is the price which might deter some, and the shampoo doesn’t have a rich lather. Still, it offers an excellent rinse for dark-colored hair without depositing residue.

Read Next: The Best Shampoos for Dry Scalps and Hair Loss in 2024

7. Best for Naturally Dark Hair: OUAI Fine Shampoo

Best for Naturally Dark Hair
OUAI Fine Shampoo
Pros:
  • Removes product build-up without stripping
  • Introduces luster and shine
  • No sulfates or paraben
  • Requires a small amount to work up a rich lather
Cons:
  • A bit pricey
  • Packaging needs to be better
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OUAI Fine shampoo is excellent for ridding hard water and product build-up, not forgetting oils and dirt. It’s a clarifying shampoo containing apple cider vinegar, which is rich in vitamins B and C and is great for hair.

The product is concentrated, making your hair squeaky clean. This high-performance detox shampoo also features hydrolyzed keratin to combat frizz and soften hair strands while improving luster.

Apply a small amount to the scalp and let it sit for a bit to allow the apple cider vinegar to work its magic. After that, a cold-water rinse will close the hair cuticles and infuse shine.

Finding the Best Shampoo for Dark-Colored Hair

Woman looking at the best shampoo for dark colored hair in a store

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The best shampoo for dark-colored hair depends on your concerns. Still, you’ll need to consider certain factors.

Scalp Type

Even for dark-colored hair, the scalp is a factor to consider before opting for shampoo. Oily scalps require a cleansing shampoo to remove excess oils. Some scalps are prone to drying, which needs a more moisturizing shampoo to hydrate the hair and scalp.

Ingredients

Millions of shampoo brands provide various main ingredients, depending on your hair needs. Some shampoos contain properties that control oil, while others manage frizz.

Additionally, these ingredients must be organic, without harsh chemicals like parabens and silicone that cause long-term damage. After all, there are many ingredients in shampoo that cause hair. loss.

Dark-colored Hair

Dark-colored hair requires a shampoo with the mildest ingredients that preserve and deposit color. This shampoo strengthens graying or discoloration areas to enhance luster and shine.

Dandruff

Dandruff is a huge problem for individuals with dark-colored hair because of the build-up and flakes on the scalp. Consequently, opting for a shampoo with natural anti-dandruff agents is necessary to rid the scalp of flakes and kill the yeast and fungus responsible for dandruff.

Frequently Asked Questions

Shampoo bottles and soap in a shower caddy sitting on a table

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Below are some common questions about the best shampoo for dark-colored hair.

What shampoo is best for dyed brown hair?

John Freida Midnight Brunette is the best shampoo for dyed brown hair. It maintains hair color without causing build-up or stripping.

How do I keep my dyed black hair from fading?

The best way to keep dyed black hair from fading is to use a color-preserving shampoo like Olaplex No.4 Bond Maintenance to maintain hair color and improve hair texture.

How do I choose the best shampoo for my hair?

The best shampoo will clean the hair without clogging follicles. Moisturizing shampoos provide hydration for dry hair, while non-moisturizing shampoos rid the scalp of excess oils.

Shampoo for Dark Colored Hair: Final Thoughts

Haircare is critical to maintaining one’s appearance and style. Even though shampoos come in various shapes and sizes, individuals with dark hair need a shampoo that keeps the hue. TRESemme Color Vibrance Protection is our top pick for the best shampoo for dark-colored hair.

Best Overall
TRESemme Color Vibrance Protection
Pros:
  • Wallet-friendly
  • Excellent for curly hair
  • Contains Advanced Color Vibrancy Technology
Cons:
  • The container isn’t watertight
Check Latest Price
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It’s easy to absorb into the scalp and contains premium natural ingredients designed to soften hair while improving radiance and texture. Still, the shampoos on this list are excellent for dark-colored hair, and you won’t regret opting for any of the choices above.