The Best Easy Color Depositing Shampoo and Conditioner

Add hair dye to your shampoo and conditioner. Making your own color depositing shampoo and conditioner is an inexpensive and easy way to help your bright hair color last. Add dye into your shampoo and conditioner to make DIY Overtone, a color depositing conditioner. Don’t let your expensive hair color fade with this colorizing shampoo and conditioner tutorial. 

 Dye in shampoo and conditioner

I love having pink hair but I must admit the upkeep and maintenance to keep it looking bright and fresh is a total pain in the butt.

Bright hair dye colors like pinks and blues make a really big mess in the bathroom when you are applying them. It’s easy enough to clean up with a bleach based cleaner but if I can reduce the frequency that I have to do a big dye job on my hair I will be much happier.

Last month I showed you how I went from dark brown hair to bright pink. Now I will show you an easy way to keep your hair color bright!

Check out my video for Mermaid Hair Dye below, and check out the full tutorial here.

DIY Overtone!

Mix hair dye with conditioner

Color depositing shampoo’s and conditioners are nothing new. They come in all sorts of formulations and varieties. There is shampoo for blondes to keep brassiness at bay. Red heads and brunettes also have brightening shampoos available so your professional hair color will fade more slowly.

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For funky colors the only company I have stumbled upon that makes color depositing shampoos and conditioners is Overtone. Their products look wonderful and I am sure they work great but I am not willing to spend a lot of money on shampoo and conditioner right now.

My go-to products are the moment are $2 a bottle Suave shampoo and conditioner in Rosemary Mint scent. Any time I try more expensive shampoo or conditioner I can’t say that I have noticed enough of a difference to justify the price. As far as I am concerned drugstore shampoo works just as well for me as salon products.

I tried my hand at making my own color depositing shampoo and conditioner for my pink hair and I am thrilled with the results. Now instead of my color fading every time I wash my hair, the color is actually getting brighter and more vibrant. Right now my hair varies from light pastel pink to a light peach color.

Can you really mix hair dye with shampoo and conditioner?

Yes! But there are some things to keep in mind with this tutorial

FYI, the overall tone and color your hair will turn with the bright hair dye depends on how blonde it is when you start. Some parts of my hair couldn’t be bleached super white so when I put the pink on top the result is a warmer pink. Eventually I will get all my hair bleached light enough but I don’t want to overdo the bleach and completely melt my hair off.

Supplies for color depositing shampoo and conditioner

• semi-permanent hair dye
• clear shampoo
• white conditioner

How to Mix Hair Dye with Shampoo

I have been using Color Jam dye from Sally Beauty Supply in Raspberry Kamikaze and Bubble Head Pink. They work well and only costs about $5 per bottle. In the past I also used Adore Dye Even if you don’t dye your hair funky colors like pink or blue you can still make your own color depositing shampoo for hair colors like brown or red. The Adore brand comes in natural colors like brown, red and black. You can use this same technique with these colors to give your natural or colored hair a boost.

Homemade color enhancing shampoo:

Mix a ratio ¾ shampoo with ¼ hair color. Put it in a little bottle and mix it up. Shampoo your hair like usual.

It’s best to use a clear or white colored shampoo to mix with so that it doesn’t mess with the color of the dye too much. Right now I am using an argan oil shampoo because it was on sale but after it is all used up I will probably go back to my trusty Suave.

DIY color depositing conditioner

Mix a ratio ½ conditioner with ½ hair dye. After I shampoo my hair I apply my conditioner like usual and let it sit while I wash the rest of my body, shave or use body scrubs, etc. I rise the conditioner out right before I finish my shower.

Again, it’s best to use white colored conditioner. I mixed mine with regular Suave but you can also mix it with a deep conditioning mask and apply it once a week for a dye boost and deep condition in one. Your hair will be so soft and silky.

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How to use hair dye shampoo

I like to store the shampoo and conditioners I mix in little travel sized bottles that I leave in the shower. I can make enough to last a couple of weeks and I don’t have to mix up a batch everyday.

Simply wash and conditioner your hair like normal with the color depositing shampoo and conditioner every time you take a shower.

The end result is nice bright color that lasts!