I’m a beauty expert and this is the best shampoo for stripping hair colour 2025

Faith in Nature is a vegan-friendly and cruelty-free brand that uses natural ingredients within its shampoo, and this cleansing shampoo will help remove any residue or build-up on the hair. Tea tree will leave your hair feeling fresh and clean, as it has natural antiseptic properties for scalp health, while lemon has been historically used to lighten the hair. Many reviewers agree this shampoo leaves the hair feeling fresh with one customer saying it helped with their itchy scalp.

One that's often used in salons is Paul Mitchell, so if you want the salon experience from home then this brand is as good as it's going to get for the price. It's recommended to not use on colour-treated hair daily, so we'll be packing on the product as much as possible to help towards stripping unwanted colour. One reviewer loves how well this shampoo foams up and leaves the hair feeling full and voluminous.

A vegan-friendly shampoo ideal for deeply cleansing and clarifying the hair. We love that this shampoo is designed to be used by anyone, with any hair type. Reviewers agree, saying it's 'curly girl friendly', Meanwhile, the added peppermint will gently remove any unwanted build-up of artificial colour and product. Not to mention, this shampoo works wonders at removing any chlorine and pollution build-up if you're looking for a shampoo to deeply cleanse.

Give your hair a really deep cleanse with this apple cider vinegar shampoo from OGX. This shampoo is designed to purify the hair of excess oil, colour and product build-up for shiny-looking results. Using an intense, clarifying shampoo is a great way to naturally reduce any unwanted hair colour without disturbing your daily haircare routine. Reviewers love that this shampoo makes their blonde look refreshed, and that it removes build up while leaving hair feeling super clean.

If you want to cleanse your hair while supporting bond maintenance then Olaplex is the one for you. The pH-balanced formula is suitable for all hair types. It works to remove damaging product build-up, excess oil, hard water minerals, chlorine, and even heavy metals and pollutants to reveal your healthiest hair. Many reviewers love how clean this leaves the hair but doesn't leave the hair feeling overly dry.

A newer brand to the market, K18 comes recommended by hairdressers in salons for maintaining the health of the hair. We at Closer are fans of K18 ourselves, including Deputy Commercial Content Writer, Jade Moscrop and Senior Commercial Content Writer, Samantha Price. This weekly prep detox shampoo clears the path from built-up grime, oils, metals and dirt using a blend of cleansing salicylic acid and activated charcoal.

Fans of Color Wow include Maya Jama and Kim Kardashian, so we're all for the celebrity-endorsed brand. With thousands of glowing reviews on Amazon, the Dream Filter Mineral Remover works as a pre-shampoo to cleanse the hair. Despite being advertised as colour-safe, one reviewer commented that it worked to remove their hair colour, which is great when you're looking for a redo. Reveals lighter, brighter and silky hair free from any unwanted tones, such as chlorine green.

Recommended by our Senior Commercial Content Writer, Samantha Price, she's used this clarifying shampoo before and loved using it for a weekly cleanse. Despite having a sensitive scalp, the gentle Rehab Shampoo from LUSH didn't cause any irritation, but instead provided an invigorating, tingling sensation that left her hair feeling ridiculously clean. Featuring refreshing mint and powerhouse rosemary, reviewers can only agree, even stating they feel like they have a new head of hair after use.

A hydrating shampoo that deeply detoxifies the scalp and helps to remove any artificial colour and product build-up in the hair. It features rosemary and tea tree for a fresh cleansing effect and a beautiful natural scent. Reviewers said the shampoo left their hair feeling silky soft, and, from what we could see, the shampoo also worked across a variety of hair types - including curly hair.

Use this weekly detoxifying shampoo treatment to remove build-up, residue and unwanted colour. The deep cleanser lifts away excess oil and built-up pollutants for a fresh, clean start. A highly popular product and a quoted 'cult classic', it's not recommended for colour-treated hair, which means it's likely to strip the colour in no time. Our Senior Writer, Samantha Price, has used this shampoo before and claimed that it left her hair feeling squeaky clean, removing any build-up and excess oils.

Anti-dandruff shampoos are some of the best for stripping colour, so it's no surprise that Head and Shoulders has made it onto this list. This deep cleansing shampoo with citrus extract leaves the scalp feeling refreshed and soothed, while lightening colour over time. Senior Writer, Samantha Price, revealed to us that after accidentally toning her hair the wrong colour, she used this shampoo for every wash and noticed the colour lift significantly quicker than it would without it.

Clarifying shampoo for gals with curly hair. A hydrating shampoo to gently cleanse and diminish any unwanted product or colour build-up without damaging your luscious curls. It also contains hibiscus seed extract which is ideal for locking in moisture for curls. The reviews speak for themselves with this shampoo and we're super impressed with the quality of this product and how defined curls look after use.

We're expecting big things with the OUAI Clarifying Detox Shampoo. This concentrated shampoo with apple cider vinegar is said to get you back on good terms with overworked hair.Get rid of product and hard water build-up, dirt and oil with this clarifying treatment, suitable for use up to two times a week. One reviewer referred to it as their 'holy grail cleansing shampoo'. Need we say more?

The perfect pre-colour treatment shampoo to use before your colour appointment. If you're looking for a shampoo fit to use before visiting the hairdresser or changing up your hair, you should try this one from Manic Panic. This shampoo promises to remove any excess hair colour build-up, with one reviewer sharing 'I washed twice back to back with this stuff and my hair is significantly lighter'.

This is a great deep cleansing treatment to use before using hair colour or before hair extension application. This shampoo is designed to deeply nourish both natural hair as well as hair extensions with added vitamin E and milk protein. The hardworking formula works to deeply remove stubborn product build-up - ideal before fitting new hair extensions. One reviewer raved about how amazing their scalp felt after use and expressed how they could wait longer between washes.