What Does Purple Shampoo Do? A Guide on How to Use It

As the saying goes, blondes have more fun… but it does require the right level of commitment to keep your hair colour looking amazing. Whether you’re a natural blonde or embracing a new colour, the one thing you can’t live without once you’ve gone to the light side is a great purple shampoo. Keeping your blonde locks bright and fresh is one of the many benefits of purple shampoo, and for this reason, it’s something to have at the ready post-salon visit. Here’s everything you need to know about purple shampoo.

What is purple shampoo?

Why do you use purple shampoo? As its name suggests, purple shampoo is essentially a pigmented shampoo in a purple hue. The formula is designed to neutralise and remove brassy, yellow undertones in blonde hair often caused by the sun, saltwater, chlorine and heat styling. Your colourist will usually apply a toner when you have your hair coloured to eliminate these unwanted tones. This can fade over time, which is why using a purple shampoo acts as an at-home toning treatment to keep your colour looking fresh. 

What does purple shampoo do?

So, why do blondes have to use purple shampoo, and how does purple shampoo work? Think back to the good old days when you were learning about colour theory at school. If you look at the colour wheel, whatever hue is opposite a particular colour cancels it out, and opposite the colour yellow is – you guessed it – purple. So, a purple shampoo helps to neutralise unwanted yellow tones (which is what causes blonde hair to look brassy) and helps brighten up the colour to a cooler tone. 

Purple shampoo is also necessary due to how hair is lightened in the first place. When a colourist lightens your hair, a ‘raw blonde’ colour comes up which can often draw out yellow, yellow-orange or sometimes a reddish undertone. To get your hair to a richer blonde, a toner is used to eliminate these unwanted undertones. The effect of this fades over time, so you need a purple shampoo to adjust your colour back to the right hue of blonde.

Why should I use purple shampoo?

As mentioned, blondes need to incorporate a purple shampoo into their hair routine as over time, the toner your hairdresser applied during your last colour will fade. If you want your colour to look the way it was when you had it newly coloured, you need to use a purple shampoo to act as a top up and get rid of any yellow undertones. Even if you’re a natural blonde, using a purple shampoo is still important as it can help to counteract the brassiness that is caused by things such as the sun and using heat styling tools. 

How to use purple shampoo

Purple shampoo isn’t designed to replace your regular shampoo, so you can opt to use it separately or mix a little bit in with your regular shampoo to add some of the violet pigment into your regular cleansing routine. There is such a thing as using too much purple shampoo, though, so you don’t want to risk going overboard by using it several times a week. As for how long to leave purple shampoo in for? It depends on the product, but as a rule, always follow the instructions on the bottle to ensure you’re leaving it in for the right amount of time. You don’t want to be left with a lilac hued stain on your hair!

When to use purple shampoo

When it comes to how often you should use purple shampoo, it’s something that should become a part of your regular routine. However, while using purple shampoo is important for maintaining your colour, using it once or twice a week is enough. If you use purple shampoo too often, it can eliminate too much yellow and make your hair look darker. The aim is to keep the hair bright without becoming yellow. 

The best purple shampoo for your blonde hair

The process of going blonde can put your hair under stress, so it’s important to use the right products. The products you use should not only tone the hair and prevent any unwanted brassy undertones, but they should also protect and strengthen your locks.

Redken’s Colour Extend Blondage range is formulated with a Triple Acid Protein complex – amino, citric and maleic acids and wheat protein – that not only neutralises unwanted undertones, but also helps strengthen the hair’s cuticles. With this in mind, here are the best purple shampoo and conditioner options for your tresses:

•The  Color Extend Blondage Purple Toning Shampoo deposits a violet pigment that helps to neutralise red and orange tones. Not only does it refresh your hair back to a brilliant blonde, but it also nourishes the hair, leaving it feeling ultra soft and luxurious.

•For a complete hair toning system, use the Color Extend Blondage Conditioner alongside purple shampoo to hydrate hair  while toning and strengthening it.

•To truly show blonde hair some TLC, try to incorporate an ultra-pigmented hair mask like the Color Extend Blondage Express Anti-Brass Mask into your routine, which only takes five minutes and can transform your hair instantly. Applying a mask will help to deep condition colour-treated hair while neutralising brassy tones to keep hair looking cool and bright. It’s easy to do, too. Simply replace the Color Extend Blondage Conditioner with the mask once a week or more as needed.