What Does Purple Shampoo Do to Your Hair?

 Most people wonder what purple shampoo does for the hair. It’s purpose is to deposit a purple pigment into your hair to neutralize any yellow or orange tones. Ideally, it is suited for those of you with highlighted or light hair that looks brassy or discolored. Read on to discover if purple shampoo is right for you!

 Should I use purple shampoo on dry hair or wet hair?

Hair is always more absorbent when it’s dry. But with differing porosity levels, your hair is not evenly absorbent even when it’s dry. Your ends and any highlighted areas will soak up more moisture than the virgin hair growth at your roots. This can create uneven pigmentation, so I’d recommend applying it to wet hair for a uniform appearance and never use it on dry hair.

 How often should you use purple shampoo?

I don’t recommend using purple shampoo. It’s hard to control and has harsh detergents included in the ingredients. These things get left behind on your hair and scalp which never lets it get fully clean. It can stain your shower too and quite often, doesn’t provide the desired results you seek. If you do use purple shampoo, you shouldn’t need to double up with purple conditioner either. One is plenty.

 What if you leave purple shampoo on your hair for too long?

Your hair has the potential to soak up too much of that purple pigment if you leave it on too long. Think weeks or even months! It can be very difficult to remove from your hair and it also can make it feel dried out.

 If you accidentally leave purple shampoo on too long and it becomes too purple, there’s nothing you can really do. It’s a stain so it will wash out over time. But if you have very light highlighted hair, you will need an expensive in-salon color correction. It’s very harsh and should be a last resort to correct it. This is why I don’t recommend using purple shampoo on wet or dry hair ever.

 What do you recommend instead of purple shampoo?

There are two products from Color Wow that I typically recommend over purple shampoo. Dream Filter is a pre-shampoo mineral treatment. It removes minerals and metals from hard water and pollution. When you have colored, highlighted, or processed hair, your hair acts as a magnet for minerals in metals from pollutants lurking in the air and water. You apply Dream Filter onto your dry hair for 5 minutes, hop in the shower, and shampoo it out to get brighter, less yellowed or brassy hair. The minerals and metals wash away without stripping the natural oils from your hair. 

 If you are still looking for some neutralizing then I recommend the Color Wow Color Control Toning and Styling Foam. One is more of a teal for darker tones and one is a violet for lighter tones. The foam gives you an even distribution of the product. You smooth the foam through damp hair and style as usual. It'll make your hair color pop and your style last. That way, you can focus on using a shampoo that gently cleanses and protects your hair, not strips and dyes, for your most becoming looks of all!

xx Joseph Maine, Celebrity Stylist and CoFounder of Trademark Beauty