Is Purple Shampoo Good or Bad For Your Hair?

Good question to ask, don’t you think? Is purple shampoo good or bad for your fake blonde hair?

Cause the last thing you want to do is damage any strand of your crowning glory.

You especially don’t want to make things worse when trying to fix a brassy hair problem.

Well, the answer about being good or bad kinda depends on who you talk to.

Some Youtubers can’t seem to get enough of the stuff.

While some stylists aren’t so sure. They are more cautious. They are more leery of going purple crazy knowing it can be a little harsh.

But hey! All you know is your head-turning blonde hue was oh so cool until it wasn’t. As that pale, icy blonde shade morphed into straw gold seemingly overnight.

Brassy yellow? Ugh!

But brass happens eventually to every bottle blonde.

The good news is there’s a way to bash the brass and cool down unwanted warmth. Purple shampoo.

To help you use it right we’re all about answering questions that can help you avoid damaging your locks.

Quick Section Navigation

• How is purple shampoo bad for your hair?
• Is it bad to use purple shampoo everyday?
• Why Does Blonde Hair Turn Brassy In The First Place?
• Related Questions

How Is Purple Shampoo Bad For Your Hair?

If you paid to be blonde your color may live or die by what purple shampoo can do. So it’s kinda important to know what this color pick-me-up does to your hair. Both good and bad.

Let’s quickly cover five potential problems that could crop up.

First should you be blessed with high porosity hair it can suck up the purple pigments like there’s no tomorrow.

Doing so can leave you with an unattractive purple haze shade.

Yes, it’s only temporary. And while not revolting it may not be what you bargained for.

Along the same lines there’s always the risk of ending up a dingy blonde hue more so than a bright and vibrant one.

Gray tones. Lilac tints. Not necessarily bad but not good.

Third, by their nature most purples are drying. That’s because they are formulated to open the cuticle and deposit a small amount of pigment. To do that they have to be a higher pH or be more alkaline.

For comparison your hair naturally has a pH of 4.5-5.5. Or something like that. The pH of purple shampoos can be around 9.0.

That’s why if overused, and many tend to overuse this stuff, you can end up with hair that feels like straw. Because some of them totally strip away the natural oils from your hair and scalp.

So if you’re wondering does purple shampoo dry out your hair, the answer is probably.

And as you know dry hair tends to be harder to style and manage. Plus it can also go all frizzy on you.

Tip: Using a deep conditioner, an oil mask or other hydrating product after washing can limit the damage to your thirsty, color-treated hair.

Finally there’s one lesser drawback. That is it can make your color flat tending toward one-dimensional. Just saying.

Look I’m not saying purple shampoo can’t be good for your hair. Used correctly it can clear away the yellows and leave with you a really shiny mane. Just don’t overdo it.

Speaking of overdoing it.

Is It Bad To Use Purple Shampoo Everyday?

“Can I use purple shampoo every day?” is another often asked question.

You can.

But I’d suggest you not. Also you probably don’t need to.

Look at that list of things that can happen again if you use this to excess. Drying should pop out there.

The other thing is the cost can add up. You may need to use a ton of product each time you lather up. Some purple shampoos are not exactly what you’d call affordable.

Why Does Blonde Hair Turn Brassy In The First Place?

For blondes beating back the brass is a never ending battle. Why is that?

Here’s an explanation from Instyle.com of what happens when you color your hair that doesn’t get too technical. Yet it can help you understand why your color goes brassy so soon. If you’re curious do check out this brief article.

Okay so as to why hair goes brassy sometimes comes down to insufficient color lift.

Cause even with you go blonde there still are underlying warm pigments in your strands. For blondes that would be yellow.

It’s like your natural hair color calling home reminding you it exists.

It’ll start to break through a few weeks after your coloring appointment.

Then too any blue color molecules, being smaller, tend to make a break for it faster. There goes the ashy down the drain.

Tip: Using sulfate free shampoos can help keep the cuticles closed making it harder for the color molecules to leach out.

Another possible cause of brass? Porous hair that gloms onto product residue.

Then too there’s the minerals and other contaminants flowing from your shower head. Well water is the worst.

So the move here to would be to install some kind of shower head filter to keep that gunk from ever hitting your locks. Helping to keep brass at bay that much longer.

Related Questions

Whether you swear by it or at it the more you know the more you’ll approach using purple shampoo with confidence. So here’s three or four more often asked questions answered.

• How Much Purple Shampoo Should I Use?
• How Soon Can I Use Purple Shampoo?
• What Happens If You Use Purple Shampoo Too Much?

How Much Purple Shampoo Should I Use?

It depends.

First the safe answer. That is to say to follow what the label says.

Beyond that consider how pigmented your product of choice is. You can see from this quick clip that not all of these guys are created equal. The darkest one shown is almost black which suggests a stronger formulation.

Third keep in mind how thick your hair is. Obviously the thicker your hair the more product you’ll need to get to total saturation. While those with thin or fine hair will be able to get by using much less.

Fourth are you applying to wet or dry hair? That’s another factor that plays in a role in the how much to use question.

Now I’ve seen videos where the Youtuber literally held the bottle of shampoo over her head and squeezed away. In that case you measure the amount used in terms of the portion of the bottle used to get to saturated.

Another Youtuber freely admitted to using almost half a bottle at a go.

I’m not saying that will be what you need to do. But this does go to show it may take more than ever might imagine to do the job.

PSA: If using purple shampoo on dry hair hadn’t occurred to you we’ve got a recently updated article that gets into the ins and outs of doing that.

If nothing else click that link and watch the video tutorial that shows you how to use this hack to keep your blonde epic.

How Soon Can I Use Purple Shampoo?

I’m taking this to mean how soon can you break out this product after getting your hair colored.

Short answer: You want to hold off as long as you can.

Longer answer: Too many are having at their hair with the purple like days after getting their color treatment.

That would be a mistake. And can undo much of the work your colorist did to give you the best color possible. Not to mention shorten the life of your color too.

This is not a brassiness preventative. It’s a cure. It kills brassiness.

So don’t start using it until your hair is telling you you need to. As in you’re seeing brassy undertones. That’s ideally when to use purple shampoo and not a minute before.

One other point. Often when you start to see the brass it’s about time for another color treatment anyway. If that’s the case and you’re got an appointment scheduled you might be better off not using it at all.

What Happens If You Use Too Much Purple Shampoo?

When it comes to using too much purple shampoo or using it too often, we’ve already looked at some of the issues that result.

One additional problem not already covered might be your color isn’t as bright. Yes you’ll get rid of the brassiness. But over use can leave you with a color that’s darker and duller than you like.

If you want to use it more regularly you can avoid going crazy by simply mixing the purple shampoo in with your regular shampoo. That way you’re giving your hair a regular dose of purple pigment without overdoing it.

Anyway, we will color you vibrant if you use this stuff right. With a fierce looking blonde for all to see where the brassiness used to be.

Oh and if you’re looking for more tips to breathe new life into your colored locks please follow our hair color ideas board on Pinterest! Then get ready to happy dance your heart out!