Gray or white hair, which contains little or no pigment, sometimes gets yellow because it picks up pigments from the environment; for example, if you use a yellowish shampoo or conditioner, rather than a clear one, a trace of the color might be deposited on your hair.
Purple shampoos are the best shampoos for gray hair turning yellow, as purple is the opposite of yellow on the color wheel. A great purple option is BTWCo's purple shampoo & conditioner. It's very gentle, has a light fragrance, and really makes silver hair shine.
For some seniors, when their hair loses pigment, it has a yellow tone that naturally shows through, so hair color changes may be age-related or genetic. For the majority of seniors, however, a yellow hue is a result of external responses to both pigment loss, as well as the surrounding environment.
Using a purple shampoo on grey hair can help to remove brassy yellow shades, leaving you with a flattering silver undertone.
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.
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.
Best overall: Olaplex No.
Their purple shampoo revives hair, brightens gray hair, color-corrects any brassiness, and is sulfate-free, so it won't cause dryness or irritation.
Swap in a clarifying shampoo
To keep your gray hair bright and shiny, switch out your hydrating shampoo for a clarifying shampoo once a week. This helps to remove impurities and product build-up. Follow the clarifying shampoo with a purple-based conditioner (more on this in a minute).
Apple Cider Vinegar: I make a diluted rinse using about 1 to 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar to 1 quart of water. An ACV helps remove the residue in hair that can cause yellowing. Since gray hair tends to be dryer, this recipe is more dilute. A simple ACV rinse is easy to make.
Purple Shampoo
This is your best bet at removing yellow and orange tones from your hair. A purple shampoo contains violet pigments that can neutralise the yellow and orange to give your hair an even colour. You need to wet your hair with hot water so that the cuticles open up.
PURPLE/VIOLET PRODUCTS
Purple is the exact opposite colour to yellow on the colour wheel, so when mixed together they essentially cancel eachother out. Purple/Violet Shampoos are super popular with blondes, and for good reason.
Understand How Purple Shampoo Works
To put it simply, purple shampoos can get rid of those brassy yellow tones from your hair because purple and yellow are complementary colors.
Using a clarifying shampoo in addition to an everyday shampoo like those above will help keep gray hair looking bright by removing yellowing pollutants and preventing the buildup of products and minerals found in water, all of which can dull hair.
Heat causes yellowing on your gray hair by degrading the proteins in your hair, this oxidization turns the white hair yellow. Repeated use of heat damages the protective lipid and cuticle layers of the hair; this raises the cuticles and allows moisture to escape the hair.
Hydrogen peroxide attacks the enzyme tyrosinase by oxidizing an amino acid, methionine, at the active site. As a consequence, this key enzyme, which normally starts the synthesizing pathway of the coloring pigment melanin, does not function anymore.
If your parents experienced premature graying, chances are that you may see the same. Despite the claims made online and by product marketers, it's not possible to reverse white hair if the cause is genetic. Once your hair follicles lose melanin, they can't produce it on their own.
Just like blondes, brunettes and redheads can benefit from using color-specific shampoos, those with gray and silver hair are no exception. Gray hair, since it lacks pigment and can be coarser, needs a little extra TLC to keep it shiny and healthy.
Sun: Because white hair still contains pigment, that pigment can be bleached by the sun and the natural molecules that contain more blue are removed leaving the molecules with more yellow to become more prominent. Sun damage unfortunately, cannot be removed or undone.
Another option is to mix a bit of apple cider vinegar into a dollop of shampoo. This clears build up from environmental toxins and hair products. It also seals the hair cuticle, making your grays silky, shiny and frizz-free.
Purple shampoo has been used for decades by hairdressers, mostly to help tone and neutralize blonde and gray hair, getting rid of brassy or yellow tones for an overall more cool-toned look.