"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.
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.
Purple shampoo neutralises brassiness but enhances blonde pigmentation. To maintain a silver shade, your shampoo requires a stronger colour neutralisation. Silver shampoo is formulated with deeper purple pigments to target yellow tones in a much stronger way.
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.
If you've got gray hair, purple shampoos are now officially your new best friend. They'll remove all the unwanted brassy and warm undertones that taint your beautiful silver color, leaving you with bright, shiny locks.
Silver shampoo is designed for those with gray or silver hair, and as silver is opposite yellow on the color wheel. This shampoo fights brassy tones of yellow that can appear in your gray locks, and take away from your color. Thirdly, purple shampoo is used for blonde hair or those with blonde highlights.
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.
Using a purple shampoo on grey hair can help to remove brassy yellow shades, leaving you with a flattering silver undertone.
Celebrity hairstylist Peter Butler says violet- and purple-based shampoos, such as Kérastase Blond Absolu Bain Ultra-Violet Shampoo and L'Oréal EverPure Sulfate Free Brass Toning Purple Shampoo, are super helpful in keeping your gray, silver, white, and blonde hair bright and manageable.
If you have naturally white or grey hair, purple shampoo can be used in the same way as with bleached hair to remove yellow tones and revive vibrant color. It can also be used on red hair to counteract brassy tones for color that stays fresh week after week.
SACHAJUAN Silver Shampoo
To counteract and neutralize any brassy tones, this shampoo, like others, uses pigments, but instead of purple, it uses silver, like the Philip Kingsley shampoo, to better work with gray hair.
DON'T use purple shampoo before your colour appointment
As Anneliese said, it's important not to use purple shampoo in the run-up to your colouring appointment. “Stop using purple shampoo a week or so before you have your colour done,” advises Jimmy.
Keep in mind that purple shampoo does not replace your regular shampoo and should only be used once or twice a week. Doss warns that there is such a thing as too much purple. “When you eliminate too much yellow, it visually ends up darker and a lot of people don't want it to look darker,” she says.
Redken Color Extend Blondage Purple Shampoo
Licensed cosmetologist and hair stylist Jasmine Burnside recommended Redken's Color Extend Blondage Purple Shampoo as a good, salon-quality option.
If you have platinum, gray, or silver hair, you can leave the purple shampoo on for up to 30 minutes, depending on how brassy or discolored your hair is.
4. Joico Color Balance Purple Shampoo. The Joico Color Balance Purple Shampoo has a color-correcting formula that eliminates warm and yellow undertones in gray hair.
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.