From the iciest platinum blonde to the deepest shade of auburn, once you’ve had your hair professionally color-treated, you’ll want to protect your investment for as long as possible between appointments. You may have heard you should stay away from sulfates in your shampoo if you have colored hair, but does the shampoo you use on color-treated hair actually make a difference? Let’s dive into the most common questions about this hot topic, including:

• What are sulfates?

• What is sulfate-free shampoo?

• Is sulfate-free shampoo best for color-treated hair?

• What is the best sulfate-free shampoo for colored hair?

What are sulfates?

Sulfates are an active ingredient in shampoo that acts as a cleaning agent. They give shampoos their foamy, sudsy texture, and they function by cleansing away dirt, oil and built-up styling products on your scalp and hair. You’ll often see sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) included in shampoos as well as other hair and skin products.

What is sulfate-free shampoo?

Sulfate-free shampoo does not use SLS, SLES and other sulfate-based cleaning agents. Sulfate-free shampoos rely on alternative ingredients to clean your hair.

Is sulfate-free shampoo best for color-treated hair?

The hairstyling industry continues to recommend sulfate-free shampoos for color-treated hair. While sulfates cleanse away the oil and dirt in your hair, they can also fade your color over time.

“When you use a shampoo with sulfates such as SLS, your hair may feel clean, but sulfates may strip away too much moisture from your hair and scalp,” says board-certified dermatologist and LovelySkin CEO Dr. Joel Schlessinger. “Hair that lacks moisture is more prone to breakage as well, which is why I prefer SLS-free products.”

The 10 best sulfate-free shampoos for colored-treated hair

Looking for the best sulfate-free shampoo for colored hair? We’ve pulled together some of our favorites. In addition to being sulfate-free, these shampoos offer a variety of other hair benefits, from boosting moisture to helping repair split ends.

OLAPLEX No. 4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo

The entire OLAPLEX hair care line is sulfate-free, including its signature shampoo. What makes OLAPLEX products so unique is the brand’s signature patented active ingredient, Bis-aminopropyl Diglycol Dimaleate, which repairs and strengthens the broken disulfide bonds in hair that result in frizz, dryness and breakage. This shampoo keeps your color fresh and reduces frizz and split ends for smoother, softer-looking hair.

L’ANZA Healing Color Care Color Preserving Shampoo

Missing the luxurious lather of your regular shampoo? This gentle shampoo relies on gugo tree bark instead of sulfates to provide lather, so you can still enjoy a sudsy experience without risking color fade. It also contains keratin to help condition and nourish your hair, leaving your locks softer, smoother and protected from the damage of heat styling.

Surface Trinity Color Care Shampoo

Salon hair care company Surface created the Trinity Color Care line to support healthy hair and long-lasting color. The three powerhouse ingredients featured in this product include moringa oil, amaranth protein and babassu oil. They work together to help strengthen strands, protect the scalp and nourish hair with protective lipids to keep color looking vibrant and fresh. The Trinity Color Care line also includes a number of complementary products, including a protein cream for heat styling and a bonding mask for intense conditioning.

ColorProof Moisture Shampoo

ColorProof prides itself on creating concentrated and effective hair care products safe for color-treated hair. This is one of the best sulfate-free shampoos for color-treated hair thanks to the Advanced Color Last System, a proprietary blend of proteins and antioxidants that preserve color and prevent fading.

Hyaluronic acid and vitamin B5 help retain moisture levels in the hair and scalp for softer, smoother-looking strands. What’s more, the minty mojito-inspired fragrance will have you stepping out of the shower feeling refreshed.

Miriam Quevedo Extreme Caviar Shampoo for Color Treated Hair

To minimize color fade, this shampoo from Miriam Quevedo features peptides as well as a coconut oil-derived cleansing agent. It also utilizes caviar to help protect and restore strands for a stronger, silkier look. For those with gray or color-treated blonde hair, Miriam Quevedo also makes a toning version of this shampoo with violet pigments to help neutralize unwanted brassy undertones.

PHYTO Color Anti-Fade Shampoo

French hair care brand PHYTO specializes in plant-based formulas that nourish both the hair and scalp. Botanical ingredients such as sunflower seed tannin and rice peptides help preserve the vibrancy of color-treated hair, while white mallow extract derived from Malva sylvestris helps restore shine.

Color Wow Color Security Shampoo

Entirely sulfate-free, the Color Wow line dedicates itself to keeping color-treated hair looking wow-worthy. To fuel its cleansing power, this shampoo includes a blend of eight non-stripping cleansers to gently wash hair without stripping color or its natural moisture. It also features a Japanese amino acid typically found in facial cleansers to produce a rich, foamy lather.

Rene Furterer Color Glow Protecting Color Shampoo

This color-safe shampoo combines fragrant lemon oil with cleansing witch hazel and protein-rich okara extract to effectively cleanse hair while keeping your salon-fresh shade intact. In a consumer test, this shampoo helped prevent color fade for up to ten weeks, and users also reported their hair felt two times less dry after one month of use.

Moroccanoil Color Care Shampoo

This shampoo for color-treated hair doesn’t contain sulfates, but your hair will love what it does have: nourishing argan oil. Derived from the kernels of the Argania spinosa tree, argan oil helps detangle hair, boost shine and improve moisture levels. It also features a sun-protection quat (short for quaternary ammonium compound), a positively charged ion that absorbs the sun’s UV rays before they can damage your hair color.

ReTress Shampoo

Do you color your hair and have concerns about hair loss or thinning? If so, this sulfate-free shampoo from board-certified dermatologist Dr. Candace Spann’s ReTress deserves a place in your hair care routine.

A proprietary formula featuring ingredients such as biotin tri-peptide, licorice extract and saw palmetto helps nourish hair follicles. It also encourages blood flow to your scalp and supports your hair’s natural anchoring process. Used in combination with the ReTress System (shampoo, conditioner, serum and supplements), 95% of women in a sixteen-week clinical study saw moderate to significant improvement in hair density.

Are you looking for more hair care intel? You can read about organic hair products, the best hair masks for bleached hair and more hair care advice on the LovelySkin Blog.