How To Make Purple Shampoo Work Better

So you want to get better results from your purple shampoo, huh?

As refresher, it’s used by blondes, and some with grey hair, to remove brassy yellow undertones from their strands.

And it does a pretty good job. Once you find the one that works with your hair that is. Yeah you may have to audition more than one or two before you find the star for your hair care routine.

So finding the belle of the ball is priority one.

But say you’ve done that and now you’d like to give your results a boost?

What’s a girl to do?

Some would suggest you go for the darkest and most vibrant the shampoo color you can. Feeling the inky color is sign of extra pigmentation. Which may be true. But may or may not matter for your hair.

Then you can always leave it on longer. Here the thinking is the more time on your hair the more pigment gets deposited.

There is some truth to that too. So yeah, time on hair can be a difference maker.

It can be the difference between hair with lilac hints to restored platinum to your tresses staying on the buttery side.

Some would say lather it up well and be sure to work it in thoroughly.

Good advice too. This will insure even coverage so you avoid any splotchiness that sometimes happens.

So yeah. Lathering up well can be a real difference maker too.

Then here’s a crazy idea that may not be so cray cray. Some swear using this on dry hair super charges the impact it has. That’s because using it this way means your hair will absorb even more pigment.

If you want the deets on how to use purple shampoo on dry hair you’ll want to check our deep dive into this hack. We list the pros and cons plus share a video demo that reveals the big benefit of using purple shampoo this way.

Simply click that link to read more about this potential game changer on our site.

Hopefully those ideas give you some food for thought.

Still there are lots of questions you could be asking about how to best use this to get the yellow out of your blonde hair.

12 More Questions No One Ever Answers About Purple Shampoo

• Why Use Purple Shampoo Really?
• How Does It Help Brassy Hair?
• How Long Should You Wait To Use This Shampoo After Dying Your Hair?
• What Does The Color Purple Do To Natural Blonde Hair?
• Will It Lighten Bleached Hair?
• What About Blue Vs Purple For Blondes?
• What About Mixing Blue And Purple Together?
• Why Use This On Gray Hair?
• How Do I Know If It’s Time to Use Purple Shampoo?
• Do You Use It Before Or After Regular Shampoo?
• Does This Shampoo Work On Orange Hair?
• Can Purple Shampoo Dye Your Hair?

Yeah But, Why Use Purple Shampoo Really?

Common reasons given for why you might want to use it include

• you’ve got dyed blonde hair and you want to maintain the ashy color
• you’ve got light blonde highlights in a brunette mane you want to keep bright
• you think you see dingy brassy yellows in your bleached blonde color
• you’re not even a blonde but you’re using it because you think you’ve noticed some orange tones in your hair. You read somewhere that purple can make brassiness magically go away. For some it’s almost like a magic wand cure all for all that ails your mane.

Bottom Line: The primary reason you want to use purple shampoo is to cancel out any developing yellow undertones.

So the first three are good reasons for reaching for the typically lavender bottle in the bathroom. You’re looking to brighten your blonde with a cooler, ashier color.

However purple does little to nothing for orange brassiness.

Oh and before you ask about using purple shampoo on brown hair. Well we wrote a post about what you can expect should you try it.

Click away and you’ll be learning all about it.

How Does Purple Shampoo Help Brassy Hair?

What should your holy grail toning shampoo do?

This clip gives clues. (Please just ignore the occasional plug for Loral Ever Pure. It’s not obnoxious I promise.)

In two minutes you’ll find out your perfect purple shampoo should excel at one thing. While avoiding two drawbacks:

• Does it actually tone your hair?
• Does it not turn your hair lilac, lavender, or the worst, purple?
• Does it leave you with a straw like feel to your hair or it is conditioning?

Bonus points for being sulfate free so it’s gentle on your color.

There’s more to it. But those are the highlights.

Now we have an article on how to take yellow out of bleached blonde hair. It includes a video that compares 12 brands of purple shampoo.

This shows how different products can produce drastically different levels of toning.

So, no Virginia. Not all such toners are alike.

But at the least any should beat back the brass without harming your mane or your color.

How Long Should You Wait To Use Purple Shampoo After Dying Your Hair?

Restated this is the “how soon is too soon” question many have about using this purple stuff after going blonde. And it’s a biggy.

You see, it’s important to get the right answer to your “when to use purple shampoo after bleaching?” question. Because sooner or later every salon blonde is desperate to know how to get brassiness out of her locks.

Fact is some do reach for the purple shampoo the day after they get their hair colored. Often because they mistakenly believe they need to jump on the color depositing shampoo bandwagon right away.

But the truth is most stylists would tell you to postpone this step until you absolutely need to. That’s because purple shampoo is a high pH product. So turning to it too soon can actually trigger color issues sooner than you’d like.

Tip: That pH thing is why it’s always a good idea to follow up a purple shampoo shesh with a moisturizing deep conditioner. Or why some prefer to use the companion purple conditioner many brands put out.

But going with the same brand is not an absolute must do.

And for those wondering is purple conditioner necessary? In that case click that link if you’re unsure the role this product plays in keeping your hair healthy.

But hold on. There’s another reason to hold off. Because the second the purple touches your locks it starts to affect the toner. Meaning you likely won’t likely be loving your color as long as you should.

So the best answer is to wait until you see actual brassiness.

Cause this isn’t a preventative. It’s a cure. Start to use it too soon and you’re cheating yourself out of some good color days your hair deserves.

I know this may not be the popular answer. But it’s one I’d encourage you to consider carefully.

Then here’s a tip for when the time does come to turn on the purple.

Tip: Some hold off letting the purple touch their ends until the last minute. That’s because they’re the most fragile and will suck up the violet pigment the fastest. Done too soon and you risk over doing them. Leaving you with ends displaying a trace of lavender.

Okay but what if you come upon your light color naturally?

What Does Purple Shampoo Do To Natural Blonde Hair?

Answer. The effect, if any, would likely be minimal.

If you have some yellowing due to hard water you may notice a bit of a difference. But other than that I couldn’t expect much change.

That’s likely due to your hair’s porosity – or lack thereof.

As you know when hair is dyed chemicals are used to lift the cuticles to both remove and deposit color molecules inside the shaft. Doing so leaves you with more porous strands.

Natural blondes don’t have that level of porosity. Which means the violet pigments typically won’t deposit all that well.

So for those wondering “What does purple shampoo do to natural blonde hair?”

The answer? Likely not much.

Will Purple Shampoo Lighten Bleached Hair?

Probably not. It may stain the strands some for a wash or two. But beyond that not much lightening.

What About Blue Vs Purple Shampoo For Blondes?

Got just the video for this.

Let’s call this the battle of blue vs purple.

As you know typically blue cancels out coppery oranges – more common in brunette hair.

While purple eliminates unwanted yellow tones most often found in blondes.

Well, these two YouTubers came up with the idea of trying both blue and purple on the same head of hair.

Here’s an idea of what brassy (or not) hues they each started with:

Then this little two minute clip reveals and analyzes the side by side results.

What do you think?

And if you’d like to know more about blue vs purple shampoo we dig deeper into the differences. You know? To further help you to know which one to use when and why.

Oh and while we’re on the subject

What About Mixing Blue And Purple Shampoo Together?

For those wondering “Can I mix blue and purple shampoo together?” some ideas.

If plagued by both orange and yellow brass unlucky you.

Now, some find if they have both yellow and orange undertones happening mixing blue and purple shampoo can clear that up.

Yes. You can do this and live happily ever after.

You can also do this and end up with splotchy color. Due to not mixing the two well enough.

But maybe a better alternative would be to alternate between the two when using a pigmented shampoo. A blue shampoo day. Then later in the week a purple shampoo day.

Keep this in mind too. Sometimes when trying to neutralize both yellows and oranges at once you run the risk of turning some of the underlying tones an undesirable muddy gray.

Why Use Purple Shampoo For Gray Hair?

Hmmmm? Maybe for the same reason you use it on blonde?

You know. To brighten up your color making it more icy. Taking from warm back to cool.

In other words to take your hair from dull, drab and dingy to a more vibrant silvery hue. Bringing back the dazzle your grey has been missing.

In fact I’ve seen references online that suggest purple was originally developed to brighten gray to more of an icy silver.

Now grey doesn’t have to mean drab.

If you want to know what purple shampoo does to gray hair click that link. You’ll discover how to use this bold pigment to fend off the yellow brassy tones no one with grey hair wants. Delivering a brighter, more vibrant hue – just like it’s supposed to be.

How Do I Know If I Should Use Purple Shampoo?

Several things to watch for that can clue you it’s time.

You’ll notice a yellow tinge to your blonde.

It’s no longer bright. Vibrant. In other words the color looks a little flat.

Any of that might should take two to three weeks after your initial coloring treatment to develop.

You should not be seeing any of this the day after your visit to your colorist.

Do You Use Purple Shampoo Before Or After Regular Shampoo?

How about using the purple INSTEAD of your regular suds?

It is a bone fide shampoo too after all.

It will cleanse your hair just as well. Just with the added benefit of neutralizing that yellow tinge no one wants.

So the right answer is you want to replace your everyday suds with a purple one as part of your color maintenance routine. Not use both of them on the same day. Got it?

Basically you have your regular shampoo days and then the odd purple shampoo day. At least that’s the typical routine most use.

What’s different is how frequent each of us wants to go purple. And the depends on your color and how fast it needs refreshing.

Remembering you usually want to avoid using this stuff daily. It can be drying.

Does Purple Shampoo Work On Orange Hair?

It can.

Sometimes.

For some.

But honestly if you look at the color wheel you’ll see that blue is destined by color science to do a better job of getting rid of orangey brass.

Can Purple Shampoo Dye Your Hair?

Guess it depends on what you mean by “dye”.

If you’re using it in the traditional sense then then the short answer is a big nope.

Because in that case turning your hair lilac or some shade of purple doesn’t count.

That’s because any coloring affect like that is short lived at best.

Besides technically it’s a color depositing shampoo not hair dye. It’s for use on hair that’s already bleached. It’s for brightening by hiding unwanted yellow tones not dying your strands.

But some may be looking to use violet shade of shampoo to extend the life of their purple hair.

Again that’s likely another nope.

If that’s what you’re looking to do maybe a little Manic Panic in your conditioner might do what you’re wanting. Either that or some color depositing mask like those from the Moroccan Oil brand.

Keeping your blonde blonde is often neither easy or cheap. But if you found a nugget here that can help maybe you’d like to follow our Pinterest boards. Cause we share all kinds of great ideas that can help live beautifully ever after.