If you choose to be blonde and have all the fun blondes have, you must be ready to deal with the challenges too, brassy tones in hair among them. Purple shampoo seems to be an easy solution. But how do you actually use it and which purple shampoo suits your tone desires best (yeap, they are not all the same)?

Recommended Video Read on for an ultimate purple shampoo guide by a hair professional to get all the know-how without running to your salon.

What Does Purple Shampoo Do?

Purple shampoo is a toning shampoo for gray and blonde hair maintenance that works by ousting yellow brassy tones. As the name suggests, these shampoos add a purple tone that is needed to neutralize the unwanted yellow shades, making gray and blonde hair appear cleaner, brighter, or more smokey. If your hair is white, a purple toner can help you can achieve a cool platinum and silvery shade.

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This effect is due to the basic hair color principle – violet pigments on the color wheel sit directly opposite to yellow pigments, meaning they neutralize this shade – yay! Again, we use a purple-toned shampoo for color correction. Despite the strong formula, it is not a color by itself and adds just a temporary change to your base shade. Thus, if your hair is significantly warm and more on the red spectrum, you may need to lift the orange tones out of your hair at the salon before the purple shampoo can work.

Advertisement Sometimes, a purple shampoo helps with orange tones too, because orange has yellow in it. However, if you’re a brunette and struggle with orangey-red tones in bleached blonde hair or blonde highlights, a blue shampoo would be a preferred choice, as it can neutralize those deeper warms in the hair.

How to Use Purple Shampoo?

During the blonding session, you are likely to have a toner applied to your bleached hair to bring you to the desired shade. Since purple shampoos can be strong and open the cuticle, it is better not to use any after your hair is freshly toned in a salon, as it can encourage fading of your color. Instead, just use a quality shampoo and conditioner for color-treated hair – don’t attempt to fix something that isn’t broken.