Anyone with color-treated hair who wants their shade to last longer between salon visits: permanent or demi-permanent color, highlights, balayage and pre-lightened hair. Biolage lists it for fine to thick hair, so texture is not a limiting factor.

It is a salon-brand retail shampoo meant for regular home use. People who specifically want a sulfate-free wash should look elsewhere, since the cleanser is sodium laureth sulfate.

Much of the fading that happens between salon visits happens in the shower. Color Last keeps the pH low so the wash itself is gentler on color, and adds soybean oil to put back some of the moisture that coloring and lightening take out. With the matching conditioner, Biolage measured color that holds its depth and tone for up to 4 weeks, along with more shine and smoother, stronger-feeling hair after one use compared with a non-conditioning shampoo.

If you pay for salon color, it is a simple way to protect it without changing your routine: use it in place of your regular shampoo.

• Apply to wet hair
• Lather through the scalp and lengths
• Rinse thoroughly
• Follow with Color Last Conditioner, which is part of the brand's tested fade-protection claim

Pros

• Low-pH formula designed to cleanse without stripping color
• Brand-tested claim of up to 4 weeks of fade protection when paired with Color Last Conditioner
• Suitable for pre-lightened and highlighted hair
• Litre size available for heavy users and salons

Cons

• Contains sodium laureth sulfate, so not for sulfate-free routines
• Contains a silicone (dimethicone), which matters if you avoid silicones
• The 4-week result is measured with the matching conditioner, not the shampoo alone
• Fragrance allergens such as limonene, linalool and coumarin are listed