From Golden Age of Hollywood greats such as Gene Harlow, to Marilyn Monroe and beyond, it’s been said that blondes have more fun. That being said, those who are not born blonde often make the extra effort to turn themselves blonde. With so many gorgeous shades of blonde dyes out there, choosing the perfect shade is not so much of an issue, but maintaining it just might be. Factors such as the elements, sunlight, pollution, heat from blow dryers, as well as taking a dip in a chlorinated pool, all work to alter the appearance of your perfectly color treated hair.
To avoid the brassiness, the orange and unsightly yellow discolorations which are a direct result of such assaults, people seek out the best purple shampoo for their needs, in order to restore the color balance to their hair. Why purple shampoo? Well, it’s basic color theory 101. If you take a color wheel, and look at purple, then trace to the direct opposite of purple, you land at yellow. This means that the purple in these shampoos will work to cancel out the brassy yellows to restore balance to your overall color.
5 Best Purple Shampoo Products of 2018 Review
When searching for the best purple shampoo for you, it’s good to keep a few things in mind. First of all, know that these purple shampoos are really just to introduce purple pigment to your strands. So, they might not clean as well as you’d think they should. As they are not truly designed to clean, it’s a good idea to wash your hair with your standard shampoo first, before you use the purple shampoo. This is an important factor, as you’ll read some reviews where users lament that the purple shampoo is not lathering up enough, or does not clean deeply enough.
Joico Color Balance Purple Shampoo Plus Conditioner
Joico’s Color Balance Purple Shampoo Plus Conditioner gives your hair the gentle treatment it deserves while helping you to neutralize any yellow tones, preserving 89 percent of hair color in the process. This shampoo works wonders for blonde, grey and silver hair, giving your hair a salon like finish.
Features include Joico’s own Multi-Spectrum Defense Complex which works to protect your hairs color from fading, and Bio-Advanced Peptide Complex, which heals, repairs hair as well as helping to keep frizzing to a minimum. In short, you’ll be getting a shampoo loaded with UV protectors and antioxidants, that works to prevent alterations in tone and fading. All in all, you’ll be left with soft, shiny, manageable and easy to style hair, while protecting your color for up to 8 weeks, ridding you of unsightly, brassy tones.
- Neutralizes yellow tones
- Works for blonde, grey and silver hair
- Multi-Spectrum Defense Complex protects from fading
- Bio-Advanced Peptide Complex repairs hair
- May leave hair dry for some users
- Can leave in residue if not rinsed properly
Scruples Platinum Shine Shampoo
Brassy tones can get in the way of the perfect hair color, so Scruples came up with the perfect solution: Scruples Platinum Shine Shampoo. Once you feel the rich, creamy lather working it’s way into each strand, you’ll know that your hair color will be shiny, gorgeous and consistent. Formulated with a deep purple toning base, this shampoo works to neutralize brassy tones on your blonde, gray or brown hair, while vitamin A enriched sea kelp and chamomile extracts restore health to your hair.
In fact, sea kelp is so rich in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, that it is often included in natural hair care products as a way to nourish the scalp, and strengthen and hydrate hair. As you can see, this sulfate-free shampoo is gentle on both your hair and scalp, while working to stamp out brassiness. In order to get the absolute best overall results, the manufacturer advocates using their Scruples conditioner as well.
- Formulated with a deep purple base
- Neutralizes brassy tones on blonde, gray, or brown hair
- Vitamin A enriched from sea kelp
- Contains chamomile extracts
- May leave hair feeling dry for some users
- Some users may need to condition their hair after using this shampoo
TIGI Bed Head Dumb Blonde Purple Toning Shampoo
Let the purple toners in TIGI’s Bed Head Dumb Blonde Purple Toning Shampoo help get rid of those loud, brassy tones, due to exposure to the sun, elements, pollution and hot air styling. After just one application of TIGI, you’ll notice the unsightly yellows disappear, and instead experience an even, balanced color.
This tone-correcting shampoo not only works to brighten your hair, but condition and clean as well. All you need to do to tame those brassy tones is to apply, and leave on for up to 10 minutes. Designed and developed specifically for blonde hair, this tone-correcting shampoo uses purple toning pigments to bring out the cool tones of your hair, while polyquatenium 10 minimizes frizziness, leaving you with beautiful, easy to style hair.
- Corrects your tone as well as cleans
- Easy to use, simply leave on for 10 minutes
- Formulated with polyquatenium 10 to lessen frizziness
- Leaves hair easy to style
- Tangles hair after use for some
- The dispensers pump malfunctions at times
Sexy Hair Blonde Sulfate Free Bright Violet Shampoo
Experience the sweet smelling, moisturizing, natural goodness of chamomile, quinoa, and the hydrating power of honey when you use Sexy Hair Blonde Sulfate-Free Bright Violet Shampoo. Packed with natural ingredients such as camellia sinensis leaf extract, calendula officinalis flower extract, lemon and crocus extracts, your color-treated hair will not only be revitalized, but nourished and hydrated as well.
Use this product if you have highlighted, silver or blonde hair, and wish to replenish your color, as well as moisturize and condition. In fact, it’s formulated to deep condition your hair while it cleans, penetrating the hairs cortex to ensure you get strong, healthy hair which is resistant to breakage. Formulated to be gentle, this hair care product is not only free from the damaging effects of sulfates, but also free from parabens, gluten and salt.
- Contains chamomile, quinoa and honey
- Formulated for highlighted, silver or blonde hair
- Moisturizes and conditions as it corrects tone and cleans
- Free from sulfates, parabens, salt and gluten
- May cause dry hair for some users
- Has an unpleasant smell for some
Marc Daniels Professional Purple Shampoo and Conditioner
Australian Native Blue Cypress Oil is what gives Marc Daniels Professional Purple Shampoo and Conditioner it’s unique ability to neutralize and condition your blonde, silver or color-treated hair. Fortified with vitamins A and C, the ingredient list also contains rosemary leaf extract for growth, and sage leaf extract. Sage is high vitamins C, B, and also contains zinc, magnesium and potassium, so is fabulous when it comes to encouraging hair growth and strength, while rosemary is one of the best known extracts for hair.
Rosemary works to condition your scalp, as well as bolster the health and strength of each individual strand. Say good-bye to those horrid orange tones, and overall brutal brassiness, and say hello to refreshed, glistening, manageable, and soft hair. This product is also vegan friendly, cruelty, paraben and sulfate free. If you’re looking for a gentle shampoo which will create consistent, vibrant color using only 100 percent natural ingredients, Marc Daniels is for you.
- Contains Australian Native Blue Cypress Oil
- Formulated with sage and rosemary leaf extracts
- Paraben, sulfate and cruelty free
- Uses only 100 percent natural ingredients
- May create dry hair for some
- Some like the smell, others find it unpleasant
What is Purple Shampoo?
Purple shampoo contains a purple pigment. This pigment is designed to act to correct the tones of your blonde, grey or silver hair. This means, that when you shampoo your hair with one of the shampoos listed in our purple shampoo review, the purple pigment mixes with the brassy yellows, counteracting them, and canceling them out. In other words, the strands of your hair actually absorb the pigment. You are in effect, color-mixing your hair.
Purple Shampoo Tips and Care Guide
Basic Use
No two individuals are alike when it comes to using a purple shampoo in order to neutralize their brassy tones. People vary depending on the type of hair they have, the brand and color of the dyes they’ve used. This is why it’s extremely important that you get a ‘feel’ for the product to see how it works with your hair. First of all, follow the instructions on the bottle, leaving the shampoo on for the prescribed minutes. Usually, the more yellow and brassy the hair, the longer you leave it on. Once it’s dried and styled, notice how much of the brassiness it neutralized. If it did not neutralize enough, consider using it again. Some users will use it daily, and some will only need to use it once a week.
Application
Apply your purple shampoo liberally to your hair, adding more to the top of your hair, well into the roots. Remember, the ends of your hair are already porous, so the absorption will be easier. Basically, later the roots and just let the remainder trickle down to the ends.
Brown Hair
Purple shampoos are basically for color-treated blonde hair, grey or silver. However, sometimes people decide to add blonde highlights to their brown hair, or ‘frost’ it. For those of you who’ve added highlights to brown hair, and notice the highlights are getting a little brassy, simply apply the purple shampoo to your highlights only, there’s no need to apply it to your entire head.
Using Regular Shampoo
Know this, that purple shampoos are basically made to neutralize brassy tones, instead of being designed to clean your hair. So, feel free to first shampoo your hair with your favorite regular or dandruff shampoo, after which you’ll apply the purple shampoo. You may also see better neutralizing results as well, since your hair strands are free from oils and styling buildup.
Purple Hair?
Not many people wish to have purple hair, but that may happen if you’ve left it on too long or applied too much. If this is the case, simply take your favorite regular shampoo, and wash out the excess purple.
Conclusion
There you have it, our review of the best purple shampoos. if you’ve spent both time and money creating the perfect, salon gorgeous blonde hair, then you’ll want to respect your investment. Over time, the effects of the environment and hot air styling will take a huge toll on your original hair color, turning it yellow, brassy, and in some cases give it an orangey cast. By making purple shampoo a part of your regular hair maintenance routine, you’ll not only protect your intial investment, but also walk out the door every day, with a gorgeous head of hair. Finally, while this shampoo is designed for color-treated hair in the blonde and silver shades, know that when purple shampoo is applied to black hair, it creates a beautiful sheen. So, if you’ve black hair, why not give purple shampoo a try?