Graying hair doesn't mean your hair will fall out, but you do need to start using specialized shampoos to help protect your strands. These include purple shampoos that prevent your gray strands from turning yellowish in tone and those that keep your hair from becoming brittle.
"Gray hair typically has a yellow hue to it, so adding a cool color (like purple) can make it look whiter and brighter," explains Michael Dueñas, celebrity hair stylist and founder of Veluer Creative. He advises using a shampoo with a violet or purple tint to keep gray hair color vibrant and fresh.
From sun exposure to colour and toner wearing off, grey hair is (sadly) just as prone to brassiness as blonde locks are. There's no need to panic though! Using a purple shampoo on grey hair can help to remove brassy yellow shades, leaving you with a flattering silver undertone.
As we mentioned, gray hair's lack of sebum can make it feel dry. To reduce further dryness, you'll want to wash it as infrequently as possible. "Washing every other day or three to four times a week can help with this," says Mazzei.
Silver shampoo is designed to maintain vibrancy in grey or silver hair. Purple is opposite yellow on the colour wheel, this means the deep purple formula in the silver shampoo targets and eliminates yellow tones and brassiness to liven up the bright shades.
Everyone's hair is different, but we recommend using it once every week or two, then building it up from there until you find your own cadence. Just know that it is possible to overdo it—especially if you have high porosity hair—which results in a (temporary!) purple tinge.
Silver shampoo is also perfect for natural grey hair which can develop a yellow tinge from exposure to elements such as wind, rain and pollution. The shampoo can help correct this brassy colour, as well as strengthen hair fibres.
Try a purple shampoo: If you have blonde hair to blend or dingier grays that need brightened, a purple toning shampoo can help. Duenas recommends Aloxxi's Violet Shampoo. “It has a very strong violet pigment that will help fight brassiness and make your gray the most beautiful it can be,” he says.
Your hair turns gray or white from a loss of melanin, a pigment-producing component that produces melanocyte cells. These make up your natural hair and skin color. The less melanin you have, the lighter your hair color. Gray hair has minimal melanin, while white has none.
Since baking soda is a scrubbing agent, washing your hair with it can gradually strip the dye from your locks. Baking soda can lighten all hair colors, but it might take a few washes to get your hair to the desired color.
The pigment in our hair is caused by melanin— the same pigment that is also responsible for our skin color. Gray hair is caused by a loss in melanin, whereas white hair does not have any melanin at all. As you age, your hair produces less and less melanin that leads your hair to appear gray, and then eventually white.
There's a lot of misinformation about gaining back your natural hair color once it's started turning gray or white. While certain nutrient deficits and health conditions may spawn premature gray hairs, it's impossible to restore your natural hair color if your grays are genetic or due to natural aging.
And since gray hair is more likely to turn yellow or brassy, folks should use purple and blue shampoos to correct these undertones. If you want more advice on using purple shampoo, check out our guide to the product.
To combat silver hair's tendency to adopt a brassy tone, you can commit to using a shampoo or conditioner with purple or blue pigments at least twice a month. This is super effective in preserving your silver hair tone because of the types of molecules that purple shampoo contains.
Best overall: Moroccanoil Blonde Perfecting Purple Conditioner, $26. Best for frizzy gray hair: Pureology Hydrate Soft Softening Treatment, $41. Best for natural gray hair: Pattern Lightweight Conditioner, $25. Best for short gray hair: Kérastase Blond Absolu Strengthening Conditioner, $44.
Don't overuse the purple shampoo, or you'll dry out your hair. Once a week should be more than enough.
First things first, we want to let you in on a secret — there is no difference between silver shampoo and purple shampoo. Just like purple shampoo, the term silver shampoo refers to a pigmented shampoo that's purple in color and helps neutralize brassy, yellow tones in blonde and silver hair.
This violet and silver pigment shampoo and conditioner is ideal for brightening gray and silver locks, especially those prone to dullness and yellow brassy tones. After use, your gray hair is left looking and feeling brighter and healthier. Say goodbye to brassiness with the right toning shampoo for your hair hue.
If you leave it on for too long and don't like the result, don't panic. Simply wash your hair again with a clarifying shampoo and it should dull down the silver-tone from even the best purple shampoo for silver hair. Remember to always condition your hair after washing, especially when using a clarifying product.