How to use purple shampoo and conditioner

While purple shampoo will not replace your regular shampoo and conditioner, working it into your routine if you have lightened, color-treated hair is essential for maintaining your desired color. Purple shampoo makes a big difference on your hue but there’s a right way and a wrong way to use it. So ahead we break down what you need to know about adding a purple shampoo to your hair care routine and the best practices for caring for color-treated blonde hair.

If there’s one product every blonde needs, it’s a purple shampoo! Blonde hair goes through a lot (especially if you’ve recently bleached your hair!) and it can sometimes look yellow, dull or even brassy. Purple shampoo, or sometimes even silver shampoo, cools down the tone of your hair and neutralises the brassiness, keeping your blonde stronger for longer.

What Is Purple Shampoo?

As you may have guessed from its name, purple shampoo is a shampoo formula that has purple or violet pigments to neutralize warm tones in color-treated hair. This toning shampoo gets its name from its boldly colored formula, though it’s sometimes also referred to as silver shampoo thanks to its ability to also neutralize brass in silver hair, leaving it with a cool-toned finish.

You’ll want to reach for a purple shampoo when you notice your strands are starting to look yellow, this can range anywhere from once a week to every other shampoo depending on how often you wash your hair.

How Does Purple Shampoo Work?

To understand why purple shampoo is a must-have for brassy blondes, all you have to do is think about color theory. Purple and yellow are opposites on the color wheel, which means they can be used to counteract one another. Since blonde hair that’s turned brassy looks yellow, a pigmented purple shampoo can actually neutralize the yellow hue and take you back to the ashy blonde color you wanted in the first place.

The reason color-treated blonde hair gets brassy is because of bleach. When your hair is bleached, hydrogen peroxide is used to remove the melanin from your color, which leads to a lightened shade with residual yellow and orange tones that become more predominant over time — thus leading to brassy color. In addition to hair color chemicals, things like UV rays, chlorine and mineral deposits in your shower water can also mess with your hair color and cause brassiness.

How to Use Purple Shampoo

Purple toning shampoo is an easy addition to your blonde hair care routine to help brighten your shade and help cool your hair color.

To use purple shampoo;

• Wet hair
• Lather the purple shampoo on your hair
• Depending on your hair’s level of brassiness, leave the purple shampoo on for two to three minutes
• Rinse the shampoo out
• Apply a purple conditioner to nourish your hair and prevent breakage

Our purple shampoo is designed to be used as a daily shampoo until your desired color is achieved. Once you’ve reached your perfect blonde color, alternate between purple shampoo and your regular shampoo.

3 Most Common Purple Shampoo Mistakes and How To Use It Correctly

1. You’re overusing it

Most purple shampoos should not replace your regular cleanser every day—or even multiple times per week. While you’re likely curious about how often you should use purple shampoo, the answer is largely subjective. Otherwise, an overdose of cool-toned purple could make your hair appear darker and duller. Limited use allows for the warmer tones in your strands to reflect more light for a healthier overall look.

2. You’re applying it incorrectly

Purple shampoo is still shampoo, so you might think that the best way to use it is by massaging it into your strands and quickly rinsing it out.

3. You’re using purple shampoo on the wrong hair type

When thinking about how to apply purple shampoo, it’s important to also consider your hair type. After all, you could be making a mistake just by using purple shampoo.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD I USE PURPLE SHAMPOO?

How often you use purple shampoo depends on your hair type and current shade. Some purple shampoos can be used as part of your daily routine. These formulas gradually neutralize brassy tones without over-toning, so they may be good to try if you have never used a purple shampoo before.

If you use purple shampoo too often, you may notice a slight purple hue on your hair—especially if you have very light or damaged hair. If this is the case, try using purple shampoo a few times a week instead of daily.

How Often Should Blondes Use Purple Shampoo?

Purple shampoo is meant to be used when your hair is looking brassy, not every day. A good rule is one to three times a week. How often you use it should depend on how often you wash your hair and how long it takes for it to look brassy.

If you wash your hair twice a week, then you may find that using purple shampoo once a week works best. If you wash your hair every day, then something more frequent like washing with purple shampoo two or three times a week may be better for you.

When Should You Not Use Purple Shampoo?

Purple shampoo is great at treating hair that needs a little taming, but there are some situations when you should refrain from using it. If you’re scheduling trips to the salon for color or consultation on color, your hair stylist needs to see what your natural hair is like.That doesn’t mean you must stop using your purple shampoo. Simply switch to a different shampoo in the week leading up to your appointment to have more of a blank canvas with your natural hair!

You know your hair best. While your hair starts to shift from a bit more salt than pepper, it could be time to see if using purple shampoo is right for you. Gray, silver, and white hair that looks its best is often completely neutralized. If your gray hair tone appears brassy or yellow, grab the purple shampoo to see how it works for your specific hair type.

Many other brands are not intended for use more than once a week. Many of those same brands recommend not using their purple shampoo on your hair if it is already dry.But just because hair can become more dry and brittle as we age doesn’t mean we have to accept that. Our purple shampoo was created with aging hair in mind. The best purple shampoos should moisturize your hair to prevent breakage!

Frequently Asked Questions