If you're a darker blonde with orange tones, blue shampoo neutralises orange tones within blonde hair, banishing brassiness. Perfect for brunettes turned blonde converts, whether you've gone ombre, balayage, highlights or gone all the way.
Blue vs.
Purple shampoo offsets yellow undertones that can appear in lighter hair colors (ranging from platinum blonde to gray), whereas blue shampoo counteracts orange tones that can crop up in brunettes.
Blue shampoo is not going to strip out the orange. It's going to coat the hair, giving you a tone that's both darker and cooler. Unless you bleach again, blue will give you a medium to dark ashy blonde.
The blue pigment cancels out orange, and the purple pigment cancels out yellow. All this talk about color comes down to two important points. Blue shampoo removes orange tones from brunette or darker hair, while the purple shampoo is a great option when yellow tones appear in blonde or light-colored hair.
How long should I leave purple and blue shampoo in my hair? The amount of time to leave your shampoo in depends on your hair's condition and desired intensity, but the average time is between two to three minutes. However, you can leave it in for a maximum five minutes if you want to deposit more pigment.
Generally speaking, blue shampoo is meant to be used as a treatment no more than once or twice a week. After wetting your hair, apply a generous amount of blue shampoo to your hair from root to tip, then let it set for about five minutes before rinsing.
If you leave purple shampoo in your hair for 30 minutes, the risk of over-toning increases significantly. While purple shampoo is designed to neutralize brassy or yellow tones, leaving it on for an extended period can lead to overly cool or even purple-tinted hair, especially for those with light or porous hair.
There's two reasons why your hair is still brassy after toning or colouring. Either the undertone of the toner/colour is wrong, or the product is too light for you.
Brass usually shows up as yellow or orange tones in blonde hair and orange or red tones in brunette hair. Brassy hair is caused by an overabundance of warm pigments in your hair, usually caused by bleaching and the hair coloring process.
Use blue shampoo once or twice a week depending on how often you notice brassiness in your hair.
You can think of blue shampoo as a shampoo with blue pigment. But there's more to it than that – it's actually a type of hair toner that helps neutralize or enhance certain undertones in your color.
So if you love dressing up your brown locks with cool caramel highlights or a trendy balayage, blue shampoo is just the thing for you!
Best for Blondes: Davines Heart of Glass Silkening Shampoo, $38. Best for Fast Results: Eva NYC Brass to Sass Brunette Shampoo, $14. Best for Hair Repair: Virtue ColorKick De-Brassing Shampoo, $44. Best for Gray Hair: Aveda Blue Malva Shampoo, $75.
Blue on blonde will be blue, unless the blonde has yellow or orange to it in which case it would come out greenish or muddy. Blue on a very dark colour will create a blue hue to that colour.
Blue shampoo is ideal for darker blondes, Darker blondes are those with hair that is at least a level 7.5 to a level 8.5. Blue shampoo is recommend for those levels because if you use blue shampoo on ultralight blonde hair, it could result in green hair... (yellow + blue = green) Make sense?!
Pureology Strength Cure Blonde Purple Shampoo is perfect for keeping blonde hair vibrant and healthy. Its strong purple pigments quickly neutralize yellow and brassy tones, ensuring a fresh, bright look ✨.
Sun Exposure: Ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun are a silent enemy when it comes to blonde hair. UV light breaks down the color molecules in your hair, with blue being the first to go. Sun exposure is one of the biggest contributors to brassiness because it weakens and lifts those cool pigments over time.
Use Purple Shampoo and Conditioner
If you are seeking an at-home solution, start with purple shampoo and conditioner. "Purple shampoo is great for neutralizing yellow or brassy tones by balancing them with cool pigments," shares Korab.
And because those UV rays are stronger in summer compared to other times of the year, some strands will turn a copper red colour due to the underlying warmer tones in your brunette hair being revealed as it's bleached by the light. Suffice it to say, until new hair grows through, the reddish tint will remain.
If this is the case, Grand suggests allowing the shampoo to sit on the hair for a little less time than suggested. If you leave blue shampoo on for too long (whether you have damaged or healthy hair), you run the risk of leaving a noticeable blue tint on your hair instead of only neutralizing the brassy tones.
Try imagining a straight diagonal line from your current color to the other end of the wheel to figure out what color toner to use. If your lousy bleach job has come out more yellow, you'll need a purple toner. Purple shampoo can help neutralize the yellow. If your hair is orange, you'll need a blue toner.
Any time you go lighter than your natural color, you will bring up your natural underlying pigments.” Brown and black hair have darker orange and red underlying pigments than naturally blonde hair, which is why these hair colors tend to turn more brassy once lightened.
"You want to stop using it two weeks before any lightening service. The purple shampoo can cause build up making the hair look dull and darker if overused." This makes the lightening process more difficult to create a seamless blend.
Level 2–3 is extremely dark brown, as level 1 is black. Level 9–10 is very pale blonde. Color does not lift color; only bleach can make your hair lighter.
Palladino adds that toners aren't one specific product, and you can't go out and just buy a “toner.” Demi-permanent colors, glosses, tinted shampoos, and conditioners can all be considered toners because they all contain pigments that adjust the tone of your hair.