How many times have you stood behind someone at the store and noticed their faux-blonde hue was in distress?
That it was less the color of sunshine and more like wet straw on the barn floor. Or exceedingly yellowish.
This is where toning shampoo for blondes comes to the rescue. Fixing such color mishaps in the making that will surely only get worse over time.
Now if you’re like many you may be using your violet pigment infused shampoo wrong. Which causes you to mistakenly conclude that purple shampoo doesn’t work.
So if you so very sick of the heartbreak of egg yolk yellow strands….the videos below offer toning shampoo hacks to try.
But first things first.
What is toning shampoo exactly? These are purple or blue pigment depositing shampoos. Those cool colors cancel out any harsh, brassy tones that creep into your otherwise ashy blonde hues. They correct the dingy color getting rid of any unwanted warm orange and yellow tones in your locks. Using them can keep your color fresh and bright between visits with your colorist.
So I guess, yes, in a way purple shampoo is a toner. Because strictly speaking any hair product that delivers a pigment to alter the tone of your mane is.
Quick Section Navigation
- VIDEO: Can a Lemon Help You Fix Brassy Hair Color At Home?
- Tips On How To Use Purple Shampoo To Tone Hair
- VIDEO: How To Tone Your Damp Blonde Hair With Purple Shampoo
Why Toning Shampoo For Blondes With Brassy Hair?
Sure blondes have more fun. That is until their color in a bottle starts to turn brassy on them.
That’s why toning shampoo for blondes exists. It’s a temporary fix that breathes new life into any summery salon shade going dull on you and crying out for professional help.
Simply put, the purple pigment infused formula cancels out the brass. It cools down those warm yellow orange shades that crop up sooner than most of us want.
You just need to look at your color wheel to see why.
Think of any colors that oppose each as like big ole Magic Erasers. That neutralize their opposing color on the color wheel.
The right purply product can leave you with hair that’s the blondest it’s ever been except right after coloring.
With that explanation you can see why purple is like a do-over for cool blonde hues. It tones warm shades down restoring the brightness and freshness of your platinum or icy blonde color.
There you go. Now you know what color cancels out brassy orange hair!
Just don’t overdose on the stuff. You probably don’t need to use it any more often than once a week. Twice at the most to keep your blonde dazzling!
Can a Lemon Help You Fix Brassy Hair Color At Home?
Now if you don’t have the time or money for regular salon visits for blonde toning then listen up.
Or maybe you’re going through what seems like bottles of shampoo infused with purple pigment yet aren’t satisfied with results?
Relax. You can too restore luminous blonde hues at home and eliminate brassiness yourself.
That is if you follow a process that actually works like the one laid out in this video.
Now to get the toning results you seek your hair needs to be cleansed. Believe the proper term is chelation. It’s a process that takes clarifying to the next level.
For this Silvia, a stylist in San Francisco, turns to lemon to get the gunk off her strands and rebalance the pH.
The video shows the simplified version which is to
- Take half a lemon and squeeze the juice all over your head.
- Take the other half and focus that on your ends.
- Then work that in.
- Rinse.
Now your hair is going to feel anything but smooth and soft. Don’t panic. That’s exactly what you want at from this lemon juice treatment.
The idea is to change the pH balance in your hair. This preps your strands for what’s to come.
Oh and the lemon treatment has an added bonus. It has a volumizing effect on your tresses.
Once the lemon juice is rinsed out you’re ready for the next step. Purplizing.
- Apply your purple shampoo
- Lather up
- Then leave it be for two or three minutes
- Rinse
Finally apply your purple conditioner. You know? something like the highly rated L’Oreal EverPure.
Silvia is passionate about this conditioning being an essential step. Because she feels it locks the pigment into your strands. So you don’t want to skip it.
Keep in mind you’ll want to use less conditioner than shampoo.
Also focus it on the ends first.
Because going heavy on the roots with the conditioner will do nothing but weigh your hair down.
Anyway leave the conditioner for a minute or so then rinse.
Finally finish with a COLD shot. The cold water seals the cuticles insuring the purple goodness stays locked into your strands.
Try it. You may just discover luminescent blonde hues are possible. Without any hint of brass or looking flat and one dimensional.
By the way if you’re new to chelating your hair, which is what that lemon treatment essentially is, you may need some more tips. In that case why not check out our article on how to chelate your hair at home. It can help you get up on the speed on detoxifying your mane the right way.
Tips On How To Use Purple Shampoo To Tone Hair
First remember this isn’t task to rush. You need to give it time. Mentioned before but worth repeating. That’s because the magic pigments need time to work.
So don’t be in all fired hurry to rinse it all down the drain. Apply it evenly. Maybe even comb it through. Then leave it alone so it can do its thing.
Then second maybe toning shampoo isn’t for you. They tend to be drying. If you have parched strands naturally it might be better to use a moisturizing shampoo first. Then hit the brass with a purple mask or conditioner.
Third, when it comes to how long the rule of thumb is the cooler your blondeness the longer you need to let the purple shampoo sit. So your ideal time could be as short as 3-5 minutes. Or it could run all the way to 15. Just depends.
Last but not least the color purple isn’t your only choice. But it is the best choice if annoying brassy yellow tones are the issue. Now if you want to get rid of an orange cast then maybe a blue shampoo might work better.
And just in case things go wrong here’s a post of ours covering how to fix over toned purple hair. It might come in handy. Because sooner or later over toning happens to the best of us.
How To Tone Your Damp Blonde Hair With Purple Shampoo
Finally! A hack I hadn’t seen before but was similar to one I had.
Given how brassiness can be a blonde color and highlights killer one popular hack is to use purple shampoo on dry hair. Many find it to be quite effective. If you’re unaware of that you might want to check out our full post on the ins and outs of that technique.
Meanwhile here’s another way to tone your hair with purple shampoo that’s similar to that yet different. Different in that it’s used on barely damp hair.
Sure purple shampoo does not replace a toner per se. But that that doesn’t mean it can’t be used as a quick fix to maintain your color over time.
Still you want to know how to use it as a toner of sorts, right? So let’s lay it out for you in five quick steps that are demonstrated in the video.
Step #1 Dampen your hair
The water opens the cuticle a bit. So a good way to do this is with a spray bottle. Yet dampen ever so slightly because you want the purple shampoo in an undiluted state.
Being damp also makes it easier to distribute the pigmented shampoo.
Step #2 Work in sections
Start by sectioning the hair around your crown. Working with smaller sections makes it easier to apply with good coverage.
Step #3 Apply the shampoo
Squeeze out a blob onto your hands and run it through your hair. If need be wet your fingers just slightly to make the shampoo easier to work into your strands. But again not enough to dilute the pigments.
When done flip each treated section over to the opposite side of your head and grab another. Repeat until all the hair on your head is coated.
Just apply it much like you might a mask. Maybe even combing it through if you like to insure even coverage. The idea is to get all your strands super saturated. But you’re not looking for lather here.
Step #4 Be patient
This is no time to be in a hurry. Leave it sit for like 10-15 minutes. This will give the pigments time to penetrate into the hair shafts to neutralize the unwanted brassy yellow or orange tones.
Step #5 Lather up in the shower then rinse it out.
How well this works depends somewhat on the porosity of your hair.
Also anyone who colors their hair quickly learns the porosity varies down the length of the strand.
That nearest the scalp is probably the healthiest and least porous. While the ends suck up the color like there’s no tomorrow. Another good reason to start at the crown and work the purple shampoo into the ends last.
Find this how to mini guide on how to tone your hair with purple shampoo helpful? Could you use more brilliant hair hacks like this? If so don’t forget to follow our Pinterest boards. That way you’ll never miss a fresh hack, tip or idea shared on our site.

Leave a Reply