Everything About Purple Shampoo

Blonde Hair Necessities

All blondes know that finding that perfect blonde shade takes time, money, and a commitment to keeping the color as fresh as when you left the salon. While it's up to your professional stylist to achieve the tone you are wanting in the salon, you should still be committed to maintaining your hair color at home. That’s where the beauty of purple shampoo and conditioner comes in!  Purple shampoos and conditioners are an absolute necessity for blondes to use in between appointments because it helps keep unwanted brassy or yellow tones out of the hair.

What is purple shampoo?

To put it simply, purple shampoo is normal shampoo with additional purple pigments added to it to help control undertones and maintain the longevity of your toner at home. If you haven’t been blonde before, you may not have really heard or thought about purple shampoo before, but it is a must for all blondes alike.

But, Why do I Need Purple Shampoo ?

The reason that you need to add this into your at-home arsenal, actually starts in the salon. When a person's hair is lightened, it reveals the undertone of the hair which is inherently warm or “brassy” depending on how light it is. This is the color of the hair before the stylist uses a toner to help neutralize any unwanted warmth or enhance tonal aspects of the hair. As time goes by between appointments the toner that your stylist applied begins to wash away, which is where purple shampoo or conditioners come into play. Being able to use a product to adjust your tone at home, without permanently altering your color.

There are many reasons why these undertones begin to show themselves, things like sun, hard water, and heat styling all have an effect on your hair. These are some of the reasons why purple shampoo is not just for those not-so-natural blondes. Natural blondes need it as well!

Who Decided on Purple?

This part brings us right back to art class! When you look at the color wheel, whatever color or tone you are wanting to cancel out is directly across from it. On the color wheel the opposite of yellow is purple, so the purple pigment in the shampoo or conditioner works to tone out emerging warmth in the hair.

How Often Would I Use Purple Shampoo?

Purple shampoo alone cannot take the place of your normal shampoo! Think of purple shampoo as a fun accessory to your daily shampoo regimen. You only want to use purple shampoo or conditioner once or twice a week, but how often you use it really depends on how often you wash your hair. Optimally you would use a purple shampoo every second or third wash to keep your hair bright. There is such a thing as using too often! Due to the violet cool tone, using purple shampoo too often can actually make your blonde pieces appear darker. So as an example, if you wash your hair twice a week, use the purple shampoo once a week to keep the golden hues at bay.

Another option you can use is actually mixing your purple shampoo with your normal shampoo, this will help to maintain your color while not over depositing violet pigment on the hair.

Our favorite purple shampoo at Autumn Markley Salon Studio is the Kevin Murphy BLONDE.ANGEL.WASH, which is moisturizing, paraben and sulfate free, and most importantly will not build up on the hair over time! This purple shampoo will bring your blonde back to life.

Shampoo or Conditioner? Which Purple Product is For Me?

Having an option in your shower is great, and having two different Kevin Murphy purple products for blonde hair is a win! Some people like to have the option of a more conditioning treatment mask that you can leave on the hair for longer. BLONDE.ANGEL is a nourishing color depositing treatment that is full of hydrating ingredients that anyone with processed hair needs. Some of the all star ingredients are Sunflower Seed Extract to help to prevent color being stripped from the hair while delivering nourishing added moisture, Olive Oil Extract promotes shine and elasticity, plus its also rich in Biotin, Niacin, Vitamins A and E, Jojoba Seed Oil to provide hydration while soothing both the hair and scalp, Bertholletia Excelsa Seed (Brazil Nut) Oil to help fight frizz while helping to reduce breakage, and Linseed Oil to promote healthy shine.

No matter which option you choose, either would be greatly beneficial to anyone with blonde or silver strands. The next time you are in the salon, ask your stylist which would be best for your hair!