Keep hair vibrant with the best shampoo for coloured hair as tested by our panel

I'll admit, I was skeptical to test a shampoo from Amazon from an unfamiliar brand. However, I have been so delighted with it!
I can't comment on the smell as I don't have a sense of smell at the moment (don't ask), but the shampoo is thinner than I'm used to. However, it produces a rich lather and a little goes a long way, making it good value for money.

I like that 99.6% of the shampoo is natural ingredients, with organic plant and seed oils and extracts. It's designed to seal split ends and lock in colour and shine, while also softening hair.

The first couple of uses, when rinsing I felt my hair was drier and not as well conditioned. My hairdresser told me that's because it was cleaning the hair rather than coating it, and to stick with it.

I'm glad I did! My hair is in such better condition. The colour has stayed bright and fresh, and my hair is so much smoother and easier to manage! It just feels lovely and clean. I'd really recommend this and will continue using it.

This pure colour shampoo from high-end brand Philip Kingsley is designed to stop colour fading so that you can go longer between salon visits or dyeing at home.

It's sold in a double pack with the conditioner, but for the purposes of this article, we've just tested the shampoo. Our tester was surprised at how thick it was, and said a little goes a long way. She felt it "lathers nicely and cleans really well," but although the fragrance isn't very strong, she couldn't decide if she liked the smell or not.

Our tester's main issue was with the bottle, which is really difficult to open with wet hands! She got around this by making sure it was open before she turned the shower on, but we don't really think that's especially ideal.

The shampoo and conditioner combo is pricey (we feel) at £54 for the two, but wow, it really works well. Because it preserves colour so well, our tester felt it could result in her dyeing her hair fewer times over the course of the year, and so it might actually work out cheaper in the long run.

Take a look at her before and after pics below - her dark reddish brown colour became so much more vibrant and shiny, plus her hair was soft and easy to manage.

Shampoo bars a re a great option if you're looking for a plastic free option. Our tester particularly liked this about the Kin Kind Make Me Shine bar, which is specifically designed for coloured or highlighted hair.

Whilst overall she liked it, it did take some getting used to, for example: "My hair is very thick, so it did take a bit longer than my regular liquid shampoo to produce enough lather to massage it through my hair, but after rinsing the product away, my hair felt clean and light with no residue left behind."

This seems to be a common issue with shampoo bars; they simply don't lather up as well as liquid shampoos, possibly because of the lack of chemical ingredients, but then that's also good for your hair, so it's swings and roundabouts!

Arabella felt the shampoo bar cleaned the hair well, but the conditioner bar took a long time to use as it's hard to get it through all of the hair.

After using both products, Arabella said: "my hair looked clean, although it didn't feel as soft and conditioned as I'd have liked, and was slightly frizzier than normal, requiring extra brushing each morning."

The fragrance was nice and long-lasting, and hair felt lighter. Arabella feels she would use the shampoo bar again but not the conditioner.

The Fudge shampoo is designed to protect hair from the damage caused by styling with heat products and colouring. Our tester has highlights, and her hair is prone to a lot of frizz. She tries to avoid styling it where she can but does straighten it a few times a month as it's naturally curly.

She liked the shampoo, saying "It lathers well and is nice and thick - it feels luxurious and smells lovely. I think the price of £9 is justified."

She was delighted to find her hair felt "clean but soft, and not heavy. It did a great job on my frizz, too. My hair was so much smoother."

However, she also felt it didn't do a great job with her colour: "If anything, I felt like it dulled the blonde rather than making it more vibrant. I really felt like my hair looked darker. So while I loved the smoothing and protection it offered, I'd have liked it to be a bit more uplifting of my highlights."

Completely paraben-free, this shampoo from Philip Martin is designed to liven up hair colour and to keep it looking fresh.

Our tester thought it smelled lovely and produced a rich lather, but she didn't initially notice much difference in her colour, which she found a little disappointing. However, she stuck with it and is glad she did:

"Over time, whether my hair got used to it or not I don't know, but my hair became softer, easier to manage and it looks really healthy. In fact people have asked me if I've had my hair done. I haven't!"

She felt that this was a great day to day shampoo to use on a regular basis, though she will continue to use her purple shampoo for blonde hair once or twice a week.

This is my usual colour shampoo, which I switched to from Aussie to save some money. It does contain sulfates, which isn't great as they can potentially strip colour or make it appear brassy. However, I've not found that to be the case. I will say that my hair condition and vibrancy improved with the Naturtint, but I feel the L'Oreal does a good job of keeping my hair soft and manageable.

It smells lovely, rinses well, and this bottle in particular, is HUGE. Do not underestimate its size! Refill pouches are available too, so you can save on plastic use.

Overall, I'd say this shampoo is good if you're on a budget as it does the job well. However, if you can afford it, it's worth investing in one of the other shampoos on this list as in the long run they will preserve your colour better.

Formerly Aussie Colour Mate, what makes this shampoo stand out is its smell. It's divine! You will get compliments. I do whenever I buy a bottle, and each time I shampoo my hair I think "ooh smells nice." Except for right now as I don't currently have a sense of smell.

Aussie hair products are really good quality, but considered to be within mid-budget range. I adore Aussie colour shampoo and it would be my choice, but I only buy it when it's on offer as its normal price point is just a little outside my budget. That's because I spend a small fortune on the best shampoo for curly hair for my son!

Aussie Monza colour lathers well and leaves hair feeling really soft. It does a great job at keeping colour vibrant, too. I have blonde hair, and they do a range for blondes as well, though I've not tried it. This double pack from Amazon is great value and a good investment.