Is sulphate-free shampoo better for coloured hair?

For coloured hair, yes. Sulphates are detergents that strip oil, and they take colour molecules with them. A gentler shampoo slows the fade and stretches the gap between appointments.

Why does sulphate-free shampoo barely lather?

Sulphates are what make shampoo foam. Take them out and you get far less lather. That is normal and it does not mean the shampoo has failed to clean your hair.

What fades hair colour faster than shampoo does?

Hot water, washing too often, heat styling and hard water. Warm water and a cool rinse will do more for your colour than switching bottles.

Sulphate-free shampoo: sensible switch or clever marketing?

Q: Do hair extensions need sulphate-free shampoo?

We tell our tape and weft clients to use it. Sulphates can work away at tape bonds over time, and the hair in extensions has no scalp oil feeding it.

Tasha Meyerhoff

Sep 25

3 min read

Sulphate-free shampoo is a sensible switch for some people and a waste of money for others, and the label on the front will not tell you which one you are. Sulphates are detergents. They make shampoo foam and lift grease off your scalp, and they do that job well, which is exactly the problem if your hair is coloured or your scalp runs sensitive.

The short version

• Sulphates are detergents. They clean well and can strip colour over time.

• Sulphate-free shampoo foams less than you expect. That is normal.

• Worth switching if your hair is coloured or your scalp is sensitive.

• Less useful if you have oily roots and use a lot of product.

• Water temperature and washing frequency matter more than the bottle.

What sulphates actually do

Turn over most high street shampoos and you will find sodium lauryl sulphate or sodium laureth sulphate near the top of the ingredients list. Both are surfactants, which is a long word for something that grabs hold of oil so water can rinse it away. That is why a supermarket shampoo lathers up in your palm and leaves your hair feeling squeaky.

Squeaky is not the goal. When a shampoo strips every scrap of oil off your scalp it takes colour molecules with it, and your scalp tends to answer by producing more oil to replace what it lost. The British Association of Dermatologists lists frequency of exposure to detergents, and how strong they are, as the most important factors in irritant contact dermatitis. Shampoo is a detergent like any other, so if your scalp is already cross with you, a gentler one is worth trying.

Who should switch to sulphate-free shampoo

Anyone wearing colour gets the clearest benefit. If you have paid £70 to £85 for a full balayage or £35 to £40 for a toner, a gentler shampoo slows the fade and stretches the gap before you need me again. I would much rather you got a few extra weeks out of your toner than came back early because it went brassy.

Next is anyone whose scalp tightens, itches or flakes after washing. If that is you, the shampoo is the first thing I would change before you start buying treatments. Curly and coily hair benefits too, because it is drier by nature and does not enjoy being stripped back to nothing twice a week.

If you wear tape or weft extensions, use sulphate-free as well. Sulphates can work away at tape bonds over time, and the hair in extensions has no scalp oil feeding it, so it dries out faster than your own.

Who does not need to bother

If your hair is your natural colour, your scalp is comfortable and your roots go oily by day two, a normal shampoo is doing you no harm at all. Paying two or three times as much for a bottle that cleans less thoroughly is not an upgrade.

The same goes if you use a lot of dry shampoo, wax, mousse or hairspray. Heavy product needs a proper clean. A gentle shampoo can leave residue sitting on your scalp, and that turns up a fortnight later as flaking, or roots that go flat by lunchtime. Some of the girls in the salon use a sulphate shampoo once a fortnight to reset, then a mild one the rest of the time, and that works well.

What matters more than the bottle

Hot water lifts the cuticle and speeds up colour fade far more than your shampoo does. Wash in warm water and finish with a cool rinse. Washing less often will do more for your colour than any product on the shelf.

If you live around Stopsley you are also washing with hard water, which leaves mineral deposit on the hair and dulls colour on its own. We wrote about hard water in Luton separately because it catches so many of our clients out. Heat styling and strong summer sun sit in the same bracket. Sort those out first, then worry about the shampoo.

Not sure which camp you are in?

Bring your shampoo to your next appointment, or take a photo of the back of the bottle. I will tell you straight whether it is doing anything for you, and I have no interest in selling you something you do not need. If you are booking colour, ask at your appointment and we will match the aftercare to whatever we have just done.

You can see what we charge for colour on our price list, call the salon on 01582 730381, or book online. We are at Shop 660, Jansel House, Hitchin Rd, Stopsley, Luton LU2 7XH, and we are open until 8pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays if daytime is awkward.