9 Top Hair-Darkening Shampoos for Rich, Deep Tones

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Do you want to darken your hair without using harmful chemicals?

Using permanent hair dyes may ruin your beautiful locks and scalp, so we understand the need for an alternative. 

a woman is smiling at the camera while being surrounded by bubble bath at the bathtub and shampooing her hair with hair darkening shampoo

Luckily, a lot of hair-darkening shampoos have popped up on the market.

This type of shampoo is usually made with natural ingredients that can help darken hair or minimize gray spots, making it a fantastic alternative to permanent hair dyes.

Wondering what your top options are? Read on for our list of the top hair-darkening shampoos you can get your hands on today!

ARENCIA Night Shadow Shampoo Bar
Best Overall
  • Darkens hair 
  • Helps strengthen hair cuticles
  • Adds volume
  • Makes hair shiny
Just For Men Control GX Grey Reducing 2-in-1 Shampoo and Conditioner
Budget Pick
  • Minimizes gray hair
  • Helps keep hair strong and healthy
  • Cleans, nourishes, and moisturizes hair
CARICARE Naturally Gray Reduce Shampoo
Premium Pick
  • Minimizes gray hair
  • Helps repair damage and adds hair volume
  • Provides scalp relief

What Is a Hair-Darkening Shampoo?

The name itself is self-explanatory: hair-darkening shampoos help your hair achieve a darker color. This happens because of ingredients that stain or deposit a darker color on light or graying hair. 

Unlike permanent hair dyes, these shampoos are usually formulated with natural ingredients. They’re not only effective but also gentle on both your hair and scalp. 

That’s because hair-darkening shampoos typically contain natural dyes that can cover, stain, or darken your hair, regardless of your original hair color. 

However, that’s not their only purpose as they can also be used to take care of your hair and scalp.

Besides darkening your locks, these shampoos can also hydrate and nourish hair, help prevent hair loss, reinforce hair strength, and repair damage. 

If you have unwanted lightening or graying hair or want a deeper tone to your natural brunette hair color, hair darkening shampoos are great alternatives to the usual, chemical-based, hair dyes. 

How to Choose the Top Shampoo to Darken Hair

When you’re looking for shampoos that darken hair, there are a few things you need to consider before buying the right one.

Here are some considerations you need to make.

Hair Type

In choosing most hair care products, it’s a general rule to identify your hair and scalp type before buying a product. Some shampoos work great with textured hair while others don’t. Some may irritate a person’s scalp while keeping another’s oily. 

Shampoos are not created the same, so it’s best to get one that will work well with your hair.

Luckily, many hair-darkening shampoos are made with natural ingredients that are gentle enough for most hair types. 

Hair Color

Since you’re trying to darken your hair, consider the hair color you want to achieve.

On top of this, you should also consider the hair color you will start with. By doing so, you can narrow down the color saturation you’d want a hair-darkening shampoo to have. 

If you start with a lighter shade and want to end up with dark brown or even black hair, you should get a shampoo that deposits color that can be as vivid as your goal. 

Ingredients

Like skin care, hair care also calls for ingredients that benefit you. If you want to find a hair-darkening shampoo, you also need to ensure it can keep your hair healthy.

One of the main reasons people opt for hair-darkening shampoos over permanent dyes is that the former tend to use hair- and scalp-friendly ingredients.

As such, to find the top ones, you also need to make sure they’re free from irritants that can equally harm your hair and scalp as much as chemical dyes do.

9 Top Hair-Darkening Shampoos for Rich, Deep Tones

1
John Frieda Midnight Brunette Deepening Shampoo

The draw of this hair-darkening shampoo is the deep and vivid color it provides the hair.

Key Benefits: Gives your hair a deep and natural brunette color, nourishes the hair, helps your hair achieve a lightweight texture

Features:

  • Formulated with natural cocoa
  • Also contains primrose oil
  • Perfect for all hair types, including dry, color-treated hair

Achieve a rich and vibrant brunette color for your hair with this shampoo from John Frieda!

Looking for a fabulous and effective shampoo to darken hair?

Look no further than this John Frieda Midnight Brunette shampoo. Let your hair have a rich, deep color without harmful hair dyes.

This shampoo features natural cocoa and oil from evening primrose to provide its main benefits: darkening and nourishing hair. 

It also has several other natural ingredients that keep your hair healthy and help it achieve a lightweight texture.

John Frieda’s hair-darkening shampoo also effectively cleans your hair and scalp. However, it’s also quite gentle, making it perfect for all hair and scalp types. 

This shampoo is particularly ideal for dry, color-treated hair.

2
TruuMe Hair Darkening Shampoo Bar

This shampoo bar has gained a following thanks to the amazing hair care it provides!

Key Benefits: Restores and supports hair health, prevents hair loss, softens hair

Features:

  • Made with organic ingredients, including ginger oil and Polygonum multiflorum extract
  • Perfect for all hair types
  • Easy to carry and use
  • Zero-waste shampoo bar that can last from four to six months

It’s time to pamper your hair with TruuMe’s Hair Darkening Shampoo Bar!

This TruuMe organic darkening shampoo bar is one of the most popular hair-darkening products around that use all-natural products. 

For one, the brand prides itself in only using organic and natural ingredients, including Polygonum multiflorum extract, ginger oils, ginseng extract, and olive oil, among others. 

Apart from helping darken hair, this natural hair-darkening shampoo is well known for its effective hair care properties.

While it helps you achieve a deeper color, it also strengthens your hair follicles, repairs damaged hair, and supports hair health. 

This product is great for all hair and scalp types. It’s also easy to carry and use! 

If you’re looking for a natural shampoo bar that’s also zero-waste and great for the environment, try this one out!

3
Deity Color Change Shampoo - Natural Dark Brown Rinse

People rave about this shampoo for the rich color it offers to noticeable gray hair!

Key Benefits: Effectively covers gray hair using natural ingredients; long-lasting color; gentle on most hair types

Features:

  • Features natural ingredients including Tibetan ginseng and red flower
  • Leaves a long-lasting color
  • Gentle on most hair types, including chemically treated hair

Darken your hair without using harsh chemicals! Try out Deity’s Color Change Shampoo!

Don’t knock this one until you’ve tried it. Deity’s Color Change Shampoo Rinse feels more like a natural hair dye, even though it’s still a shampoo. 

It’s deemed by many as arguably the top shampoo for darkening hair because of how long the color it provides lasts. 

Because it features natural ingredients to color the hair, such as Tibetan ginseng and red flowers, it’s gentle enough to be used by most hair and skin types. 

In fact, anyone with any hair and scalp type can use this shampoo, even those with damaged, color-treated hair. 

While it doesn’t have a lot of hair care benefits, the staining power this color-depositing shampoo brings is worth the mention on this list.

4
Biogreen Roots Shampoo

This shampoo has become the go-to hair-darkening shampoo for many as it effectively deposits color to your hair while using natural ingredients

Key Benefits: Deposits color to light or graying hair with a natural finish; volumizes, strengthens, and hydrates hair; cleanses hair and scalp 

Features:

  • Contains argan oil
  • Formulated with aloe vera and echinacea 
  • Perfect for all hair types

Give your graying hair a natural-looking dark finish using Biogreen Roots Shampoo!

If you’re looking for a hair color-depositing shampoo that uses natural ingredients, try this one from Biogreen. 

Featuring ginger, ginseng, and angelica as their star ingredients, this shampoo not only helps color your hair darker, but it also provides nourishment to your hair and scalp. 

Other than bringing a natural dark finish to your light hair, this product also helps volumize your tresses while hydrating your scalp, making your hair become stronger, shinier, and healthier. 

Best of all, this shampoo is also safe for all hair types. 

5
CARICARE Naturally Gray Reduce Shampoo

Many swear by this shampoo for bringing color, nourishment, and protection to the hair!

Key Benefits: Minimizes gray hairs, helps repair damage, adds hair volume, provides scalp relief

Features:

  • Uses tannin acid and gallic acid as natural colorants
  • Formulated with natural ingredients like goji berries and sumac extract
  • Hypoallergenic and can be used by most people

Bring new color back to your hair using CARICARE’s hair-darkening shampoo!

Looking for one of the top shampoos that make your hair darker? Look no further than CARICARE’s shampoo offering.

It uses the natural colorants tannin acid and gallic acid, which are both antioxidants that provide protection and nourishing benefits to the hair. 

Apart from this, the shampoo offers a keratin treatment to increase hair volume. It also helps repair hair damage and relieve the scalp from inflammation. 

With this hair-darkening shampoo, you will not only minimize gray areas but also achieve stronger, shinier, and healthier hair and a calmer scalp!

6
ARENCIA Night Shadow Shampoo Bar

Many love this hair-darkening shampoo for its effectiveness in providing color to gray hair using sustainable ingredients. 

Key Benefits: Darkens hair, helps strengthen hair cuticles, adds hair volume, makes hair shiny

Features:

  • Contains natural ginseng roots and activated charcoal
  • Made with sustainable materials
  • Can be used by most hair and scalp types

Add strength and volume to luscious hair with ARENCIA’s Night Shadow Shampoo Bar.

Some of the top hair-darkening shampoos in the market also put a premium on sustainability. ARENCIA’s Night Shadow Shampoo bar is one such product.

This shampoo features activated charcoal and natural ginseng roots, along with natural ingredients that darken your hair and keep them healthy. 

On top of this, it’s made with sustainable ingredients that are also vegan, cruelty-free, environmentally friendly, and ethically sourced. 

Of course, your help to the environment by using this shampoo isn’t just a gimmick; it is also effective in breathing new life into your hair. 

Suitable for all skin and hair types, this shampoo darkens hair, strengthens the follicles, and repairs damaged strands. Additionally, it helps your hair become thick and shiny. 

7
Just For Men Control GX Grey Reducing 2-in-1 Shampoo and Conditioner

This shampoo is recommended by many thanks to its effectiveness in minimizing gray hair.

Key Benefits: Minimizes gray hair, helps keep hair strong and healthy; cleans, nourishes, and moisturizes hair

Features:

  • Formulated to reduce gray hair gradually
  • Color darkening with every wash
  • Produces natural-looking results
  • Free from ammonia and peroxides

Get natural-looking dark-colored hair using Just For Men’s Control GX Grey Reducing Shampoo and Conditioner

Don’t let the brand name fool you; this shampoo to darken hair is suitable for everyone — all races, genders, skin types, and hair types. 

This shampoo is especially well known for darkening one’s hair gradually. This means you get more color saturation after every wash, resulting in a natural finish that many users love.

Apart from this, the product is excellent at cleaning your hair, and it helps revitalize your hair and scalp while helping you get more volume. 

This shampoo and conditioner duo is the one to beat for stronger and healthier locks.

8
Illuminex ProVoke Color Depositing Shampoo

Hair care lovers rave about using this shampoo because of its effectiveness in giving color to gray hair!

Key Benefits: Effective in darkening hair; hydrates and nourishes hair, helps add hair volume and thickness

Features:

  • Uses brand’s IoPlex Technology™ to provide vibrant hair color
  • Formulated with Inca inchi oil for added nourishment.
  • Shampoo also adds UV filters for extra hair protection

Give your hair new life and vibrance with Illuminex’s ProVoke Color Depositing Shampoo!

Another popular shampoo that will help darken your locks is Illuminex’s Provoke Color Depositing Shampoo.

The brand has its own safe and effective IoPlex Technology that helps your hair get a rich, vibrant brunette color. 

The best part is that the color builds after every wash!

Besides its hair-darkening properties, this shampoo is also infused with Inca inchi oil to nourish the hair and scalp. It also provides UV filters to block any sun damage to your hair. 

The Illuminex shampoo is also paraben-, silicone-, and sulfate-free. It’s suitable for all hair and scalp types too. 

9
Modamoda Natural Grey Reducing Shampoo

Lauded by many, this shampoo is known for its hair-darkening benefits and use of natural ingredients.

Key Benefits: Helps reduce gray hairs, cleanses hair and scalp well, helps prevent hair loss

Features:

  • Contains natural ingredients like black sesame, mulberry, black truffle, cumin seeds, and black cherries
  • Free of silicones, sulfates, fragrances, and chemical-based hair dyes
  • Perfect for all skin and hair types

It’s time to reduce all that gray hair with MODAMODA’s Natural Gray Reducing Shampoo!

Another natural hair darkening shampoo that you should try out is MODAMODA’s Natural Gray Reducing Shampoo. 

It features natural and organic ingredients that take care of and nourish your hair. Such ingredients include black sesame, truffle, cherries, mulberry, and cumin seeds.

On top of its hair-darkening benefits, this product also thoroughly cleanses the hair and scalp. It helps remove impurities and dead skin cells.

Additionally, it helps strip away excess sebum and control oil overproduction.

Free from sulfates, silicones, and parabens, this is one shampoo you should definitely check out. 

a woman with long dark and healthy hair is flaunting her hair infront of the camera

Achieve Dark and Healthy Locks

You don’t have to sacrifice the health and condition of your hair and scalp for darker hair color. 

While permanent hair dyes are popular choices, amazing and effective alternatives are also widely available. These shampoos are the way to go if you want to get darker and healthier hair using nature-derived ingredients.

Hopefully, this article has helped you narrow down your choices as you decide which hair-darkening shampoo you should get. 

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Author

  • Ashley Pena

    Ashley Pena brings over 13 years of seasoned writing and editing expertise, fortified by her Bachelor of Science in Management. Esteemed in the beauty domain, her content captivates readers with its depth and authenticity. While she navigates a broad spectrum of beauty trends, Ashley shines particularly as our resident K-beauty guru. Her articles are a harmonious blend of passion and profound knowledge, inspiring readers on their unique beauty journeys.

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