Don't use purple shampoo if you've got orange tones in your hair. You'll need a blue shampoo to cancel those out. Do ease into purple shampooing. Before using it at full strength, dilute it with your regular, normal shampoo – 1-part regular shampoo to 2 parts purple shampoo should work fine.
To use purple shampoo, wet hair, and lather on your hair. Depending on your hair's level of brassiness, leave the purple shampoo on for two to three minutes. After rinsing the shampoo out, apply a purple conditioner to nourish your hair and prevent breakage.
You'll leave the shampoo on for 5-15 minutes before rinsing with cool water if your colored hair has been recently dyed or is discolored. If it's your first time trying purple shampoo, experiment with leaving it on for only 5-10 minutes before washing it out.
“It's almost like a way to brighten the color to a cooler tone,” Harwood adds. “So, if the hair has a little bit of a yellow tone, a pigmented purple shampoo is going to neutralize that warmth.” Because of this, violet hued shampoo can also neutralize those yellow, brassy tones in more than just blonde hair.
Step 5: Follow Up With Conditioner
We've said it before and we'll say it again: you should always apply conditioner after shampooing your tresses. It not only locks in hydration, strengthens and repairs, but it further tones the hair too. We recommend using our Everyday Clean Blonde Damage Rewind Conditioner.
Purple shampoo is for already bleached hair, so if you're hoping to lighten brown hair with purple shampoo, you'll be disappointed. This is all down to the fact that purple shampoo isn't lightening. Instead, it brightens blondes by canceling out yellow tones, which just happen to be opposite purple on the color wheel.
Leaving purple shampoo in your hair for an hour or more can cause your hair to look dull and lifeless. To leave purple shampoo for more than 10 minutes is already too much.
“Purple shampoo does not cancel out orange so if the hair has any orange or yellow orange tones in it, the purple shampoo would actually make them warmer depositing red into the hair.”
Purple shampoo should be applied in the shower or during a hair wash. While your hair is wet, apply the shampoo and lather it onto your hair. The amount of shampoo that you use will vary depending on your choice of product and how brassy your hair is looking.
Using gentle circular motions work the product around the scalp, between strands, and down the shaft. Let the product sit on your strands a bit longer than you might a traditional shampoo. About one or two minutes but not much longer than that, as it can be drying.
Adding this simple step to your routine can keep your color vibrant and prevent brassiness while you lather, rinse, and repeat.
So to have any visible color-correcting impact, the intensity of the purple in the shampoo formula has to be an inky dark dye. It stains your hair, but it's also super messy.” Yes, we know. It gets all over the bathroom, stains towels, and clothes.
If you find yourself asking, will purple shampoo fade red hair? Don't worry, it's perfectly safe. This hair care product will only help to tone your hair color, not fade it. In fact, it can actually help to neutralize unwanted yellow and orange tones as your red hair color starts to fade.
DOES PURPLE SHAMPOO DAMAGE HAIR? The cool violet pigment in purple shampoo won't damage hair, but if you leave it on strands too long, those purple pigments will take their job a little too far and could turn tresses a purple-violet colour.
How Often Should You Use Purple Shampoo? Purple shampoo is meant to only be used weekly or when your hair is looking brassy — not every day. Generally, you'll want to incorporate it into your hair care routine one to three times a week in place of your usual shampoo for color-treated hair.
Things You Should Know
Let the shampoo sit on your hair for 2-3 minutes if you're a natural blonde or 15 minutes for brassy color-treated hair. For gray or platinum hair, wait 30 minutes.
It's important to note that the pigment in purple shampoo isn't a lightener or hair dye but a gentle toner that works overtime. So it can't darken your hair or make it any lighter. For this reason, if your hair tone is too dark, it won't make it any brighter.
Yellow and violet are opposites on the color wheel, so purple is used to cancel out overly warm, brassy tones. Invest in a purple shampoo to help crush brassy tones for a cooler, brighter blonde.
Others may be too weak, meaning they need 10 minutes or more to make a noticeable difference to brassy tones if they manage to do anything at all. However, we've created the 'Goldilocks' of purple shampoos; a product with just the right level of purple tones, which takes 3-5 minutes to work its magic on brassy strands.
You're applying it incorrectly.
"Rinsing it off too quickly makes it less effective," she says. "Applying it on damp, towel-dried hair as if you were applying a mask, combing it through evenly, and leaving it alone for three to seven minutes is the most effective [way to use purple shampoo]."
Purple shampoo is purple colored shampoo that distributes purple pigment to neutralize brassy, yellow tones. Purple is used because, if you take a look at the color wheel, it is the direct opposite color of yellow. This means purple and yellow cancels one another out.
Whether blonde or brunette, many tones can benefit from a purple shampoo. The unexpected hue may just be the secret to keeping your color fresh and vibrant. Using a purple toning shampoo is a key step in keeping your hair color looking fresh, vibrant, and like you just left the salon.
Purple shampoo can be used as a regular shampoo, or as an intensive treatment by applying it generously to dry hair. It won't affect, or damage brunette hair, but it can leave a lilac tint on light hair if left on too long. Always rinse, and follow with a moisturizing conditioner.
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.