This article was updated in September 2024 to reflect recent price changes and stock levels.
Whether you've spent too much time watching hair transformations on TikTok, or you just fancy a change, many of us love to switch up our hair shade with the seasons.
According to a Pantene study, more than a third of women in the UK don't wear their natural hair colour, so it's safe to say, we're not all au naturel.
But, if you're going to spend the money and time perfecting your hue, you need to get the aftercare down. That could mean switching to a sulphate-free shampoo, to protect both your strands and your shade.
If you're not totally sure what sulphates are (no judgement here) and whether it makes sense to ditch them, don't worry —we've asked an expert all your burning questions.
What are sulphates used for?
While sulphates do have a huge part to play in the formula of a shampoo, they're not always essential.
Zoe Irwin, Creative Director at John Freida Salons, explains: 'They're chemicals that are used as cleansing agents. They're essentially the element that creates a lather to remove the oil and dirt.'
The lather gives us that squeaky-clean feeling we know and love, but it also works beneath the surface. 'Sulphates are great surfactants,' adds Irwin.'That means they attract both oil and water. One part attracts the oil and dirt from the hair, and the other the water, so when you rinse, the grease and dirt is washed away.'
Does my hair need sulphates?
'Those with coarse and naturally curly hair will find their hair is over-cleansed when using a shampoo with sulphates. And those with rosacea, eczema or a sore, sensitive scalp might find sulphates to be aggravating,' says Irwin.
As there's less lather, a sulphate-free shampoo will provide less of an aggressive clean and often leave more of the natural oils behind – great if you're on the dryer side. But if you use a lot of styling products or are prone to oiliness, a sulphate shampoo will be of greater benefit.
A more hardcore cleanse can cause your hair colour to fade at a more rapid rate too, and while there's no shampoo that is 100% guaranteed to keep your shade intact, a sulphate-free option is going to be gentler and less stripping.
Irwin also advises that those who have keratin or straightening treatments shouldn’t use sulphates, as it will stop the treatment working as well.
How we test sulphate-free shampoos
To discover the best sulphate-free shampoos on the market, we asked our panel of 510 women to try them out for a month, to see what differences they saw to their hair. They noted any differences in colour and hair health, as well as how well each shampoo lathered.
To see how effectively each one cleansed, we also added artificial skin oils to fake hair switches and measured how much each shampoo removed, using a Sebumeter machine.
Want to know the best sulphate-free shampoo? Here are the sulphate-free shampoos that impressed the most:
Having your hair tied up while exercising — or indeed just managing the UK's temperamental weather — can leave strands looking frazzled. However, this shampoo aims to calm unruly tresses, keeping hair in shape for up to 72 hours.
It was a winner for boosting smoothness, shine and hydration with our testers, and removed any dry shampoo build-up to leave them with fresh scalps. Once dried, hair was softer and more manageable, too.
Key specifications
| Conditioner: | Kérastase Discipline Fondant Fluidealiste |
|---|---|
| Size: | Shampoo, 250ml. Conditioner, 200ml |
| Paraben free: | Yes |
Injecting some energy back into lacklustre hair, this shampoo boosted vibrancy for our testers, thanks to its hard-working formula that's designed to banish free radicals and environmental aggressors. Frizz was managed too, leaving testers with softer, smoother and more hydrated hair.
Key specifications
| Conditioner: | Fekkai Technician Color Conditioner |
|---|---|
| Size: | Shampoo, 250ml. Conditioner, 250ml |
| Paraben free: | Yes |
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3
Best for bleached hair
Christophe Robin Colour Shield Shampoo with Camu-Camu Berries
If you're after Gigi Hadid-level blondness, you'll need to take extra care of your hair. For those with bleached locks, try adding this shampoo to your haircare routine, as it was our blonde testers' top pick.
It increased shine for our testers, while also effectively cleaning their scalps and brightening their colour. One tester praised how it improved their overall hair texture, too.
Key specifications
| Conditioner: | Christophe Robin Color Shield Mask With Camu-Camu Berries |
|---|---|
| Size: | Shampoo, 250ml. Conditioner, 250ml |
| Paraben free: | Yes |
If you've experimented with colour before, you may well recognise Pureology. Brimming with nourishing jojoba and protein-rich soy, this delivered hydration to frayed ends. Hair looked healthier too, with our testers saying their colour looked brighter and faded slower than usual.
Key specifications
| Conditioner: | Pureology Hydrate Conditioner |
|---|---|
| Size: | Shampoo, 266ml. Conditioner, 266ml |
| Paraben free: | Yes |
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5
Best for reusable packaging
Beauty Kitchen The Sustainables Everyday Gentle Organic Shampoo
This organic shampoo features zero-plastic and has reusable packaging, plus our testers said it increased softness and hydration.
It wasn't the best at removing oil in our tests, but none of our testers reported it as being an issue. It also helped with reducing breakages too, and was so impressive that the panel said they'd continue to use it.
Beauty Kitchen The Sustainables Everyday Gentle Organic Conditioner
Key specifications
| Conditioner: | Beauty Kitchen The Sustainables Everyday Gentle Organic Conditioner |
|---|---|
| Size: | Shampoo, 300ml. Conditioner, 300ml |
| Paraben free: | Yes |
Packed with orchid oil to boost hydration and smoothness, this shampoo was a top performer in our lab test for removing grime, while all of our testers found it to be gentle on colour and non-irritating on scalps. All testers were left with smoother strands too, and reported seeing fewer breakages.
Key specifications
| Conditioner: | OGX Orchid Oil Conditioner |
|---|---|
| Size: | Shampoo, 385ml. Conditioner, 385ml |
| Paraben free: | Yes |
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Some hair thinning when bleaching is usually a given. Yet this shampoo claims to tackle the issue with its formula designed to prevent the blockage of hair follicles (a cause of hair thinning).
Strands were left gently cleansed, with one tester raving that it 'didn't weigh my fine hair down and lasted longer in-between shampoos'. It was easy on colour too, with testers saying their shade lasted longer than usual.
Key specifications
| Conditioner: | Color WOW Color Security Conditioner |
|---|---|
| Size: | Shampoo, 250ml. Conditioner, 250ml |
| Paraben free: | Yes |
8
Best for strengthening
Herbal Essences Bio:Renew Sulfate Free Shampoo With Potent Aloe + Mango
Want to see fewer strands in your hairbrush? This should do the trick. This budget wonder left our testers with stronger-looking hair, and longer-lasting colour.
The brand has also partnered with the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, to source the right botanical ingredients. And although it didn't score the best in our lab test, our panel found it was nourishing and gentle on hair.
Key specifications
| Conditioner: | Herbal Essences Sulphate-free Pure Aloe & Mango Conditioner |
|---|---|
| Size: | Shampoo, 380ml. Conditioner, 275ml |
| Paraben free: | Yes |
Florence Reeves-White
Senior Beauty Writer
Florence is our Senior Beauty Writer, specialising in expert-tested beauty and grooming reviews — from toothbrushes to the latest skincare launches. She’s committed to sharing recommendations for products that truly work and make people feel confident and healthy. Prior to this she was at Tropic Skincare, where she worked closely with biochemists in the lab, delving into the functions of each fresh, natural ingredient and conveying its efficacy to her audience in easy-to-digest terms.
With over five years’ experience in beauty and health journalism, Florence has written for ELLE, Women’s Fitness, Sister Magazine, National Geographic Traveller and many more, with a strong sustainability angle thread through much of her work.
When she isn’t packing for a trip away, working out, eating out or reading up on retinol serums, you’ll probably find her experimenting with her film camera and building her portfolio of portraits. Florence’s photography can be found at florencereeves-white.com, her Instagram is @florencereeveswhite and her twitter is @floreadsnwrites
Tested byMaria Kumar
Beauty and Grooming Testing Manager
Maria is our Beauty and Grooming Testing Manager, and since joining in mid-2022, she has managed the testing for mutiple categories including scalp scrubs, collagen supplements and retinol serums. In addition to her master's degree in chemical engineering and a diploma in cosmetic science, she recently received her MBA from the London College of Fashion, focusing on case studies within the beauty industry. Prior to joining the company, she worked within the global technical team at the Estee Lauder Companies for over six years, collaborating with the chemists and engineers to launch luxury beauty products at scale and to quality. She has also worked as a formulation scientist within the pharmaceutical industry and takes this evidence based approach into all her product testing.
