Do Color Safe Shampoos Really Work?

By Leah Williams •  Updated: 08/27/22

Don’t be too sure that your latest dye job ends when you leave the salon. As it turns out, you’ll have to do some more work to keep your shade vibrant and fresh looking. 

As we all know, shampoos are designed to keep your scalp and hair clean. Color shampoos do the same thing and minimize the amount of dye that is washed away while cleaning your hair.

If you want to know, do color-safe shampoos really work, Lucky Curl stance for this…

Color-safe shampoos work! Aside from preserving your dye job, they also keep your hair stronger, smoother, and softer. 

What makes a shampoo color-safe?

Color-safe shampoos are designed to preserve your hair color and keep your dyed hair looking fresh longer. It contains ingredients that are mild on your hair cuticle and enough to keep your hair color longer. 

These gentler cleansing ingredients also moisturize and condition the hair to preserve its luster. Some fine examples are a combination of sodium PCA and sodium lactate which are amino acids that support hair health.

So, if you want to preserve the color of your hair longer, you should look for shampoos with “color-safe” labels. (Sulfate-free shampoos are also good colored treated hair.)

How long will color-safe shampoo extend my hair color?

The brief answer is, that it all depends on the products that you’re using, as well as the length and texture of your hair. Color-treated hair tend to last for weeks to a month. 

Some color-safe shampoos can extend color treatment for weeks or months, and by then, you should go for a touch-up.

For those with average hair length and texture, real hair color could emerge anywhere between 6 to 10 weeks after the color treatment. 

Can you use regular shampoo on colored hair?

Regular shampoo can be used on color-treated hair. However, chances are your color treatment is going to fade out super fast. As a result, this can cause an undesirable outcome on your hair such as brassiness and other color changes as the dye reacts to the shampoo. 

Although many people think there’s not much difference between shampoos for color-treated hair and regular shampoo as both are considered safe as long as they’re well-formulated. 

Still, it’s best to side on color-safe shampoo for longer-lasting hair color treatment.  

Wrap Up! 

Color-safe shampoos do work! It prevents your dye from fading for weeks to a month depending on the products used. Of course, TLC for your hair is also a must! 

Color depositing shampoos are definitely a good choice to replace pigments lost in your hair while washing. But, no matter how good this sounds, you shouldn’t overdo it to avoid damaging your hair. 

If you just dyed your hair recently and are looking for the best shampoo for colored hair, read this article. 

Leah Williams

Leah Williams is the founder of Lucky Curl and has been in the hair care and styling industry for the last 15 years. Since then, she has developed incredible expertise and a deep understanding of how to treat and style the most difficult hair types and is passionate about sharing her knowledge with the readers of Lucky Curl.

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