Anyone with blonde or silver color-treated hair knows that over time the color will fade or sometimes even become brassy. To keep your hair light and bright with unwanted warm tones at bay — your best strategy is to use products formulated for color-treated hair. Purple shampoo can help your hair color last longer, but how exactly does it work?
Here’s everything you need to know about purple shampoo including what it is, how it works, and why you should use it.
What is purple shampoo?
Purple shampoo is a shampoo formulated with purple pigment, which helps counteract warm hair undertones including yellow, orange, and red. For hair that’s been color treated, or highlighted hair purple shampoo neutralizes these tones to prevent brassiness. While color won’t last forever, purple shampoo can help you maintain blonde or silver color and extend the time between salon visits.
How does purple shampoo work?
Purple shampoo works based on the science of color theory, where colors on opposite sides of the color wheel neutralize each other. The key ingredient in purple shampoo is violet pigment, and violet is opposite of yellow on the color wheel — so the violet pigment in purple shampoo cancels out yellow and other brassy tones.
Why should you use purple shampoo?
After a color treatment like bleaching, or even highlights your hair will be light, bright, and cool. However, over time the color will fade and your natural undertones will start to come out at the roots. When this occurs, you’ll need to take a trip to the salon for touch-ups, usually every six weeks to maintain the look. Not only is this inconvenient, it’s also expensive.
Using purple shampoo can help you maintain your color-treated hair so you can extend the time between salon visits. Purple shampoo helps cancel out brassy hues, and some also contain nourishing ingredients to give color-treated hair the moisture for locks that are soft, shiny, and healthy.
Is purple shampoo only for blonde hair?
Purple shampoo isn’t just for blondes, it’s also great for highlights, silver, and gray color treated hair.
How to use purple shampoo
Use purple shampoo once a week, replacing your normal shampoo on that wash day. In the shower, massage into wet hair, lather well and rinse. Follow with Verb® Purple Mask. Use as needed. If you notice brassiness appearing, increase the usage to twice a week or every other wash.
How often should you use purple shampoo?
Start by using purple shampoo once a week, but increase usage to twice a week or every other wash if you see brassy tones appearing at the roots. Using the product too often could lead to a brighter and cooler hair tone than what you desire, so it’s best to start slow and increase usage only when needed.
Does purple shampoo turn your hair purple?
While purple shampoo does contain violet pigment, it will not turn your hair purple. However, leaving purple shampoo on for an extended period of time or using it too often may result in a light lavender tint. If this occurs, stop using purple shampoo until the lavender tone disappears.
What other products should you use with purple shampoo?
The color treatment process can be damaging to your hair, and while purple shampoo is a good start — using it in combination with a few other products can help improve hair health and keep your hair color longer.
To start, we’d recommend using a Hydrating Shampoo and Conditioner. Coloring your hair dries out strands which can lead to breakage and dullness. If you aren’t already, make sure to use a shampoo and conditioner that replenishes the moisture in your hair so it stays strong, soft, shiny, and healthy. We’d also recommend using a deep conditioning treatment once a week, like our Purple Mask that is formulated to brighten and tone color-treated hair.
Another tip is to cut down your washes, ideally you should wash every two to three days. Washing your hair too often strips your hair of color and the natural oils that keep it healthy. To avoid bad hair days between washes, use Dry Shampoo for fresh hair that doesn’t hurt your color.
Prevent brassy hair with purple shampoo
Verb® Purple Shampoo cleanses and brightens to bring blondes back to life. Formulated with professional grade violet pigment and açaí extract, this shampoo was designed to neutralize brassy yellow hues in blonde, grey and silver hair tones.
Benefits:
-
Pro-grade violet pigment: helps cancel out yellow, brassy tones
-
Açaí extract: the purple superfruit is rich in antioxidants which help provide extra moisture
-
Coconut fatty acids : easily absorbed by hair, helps to hydrate and nourish
- Frankincense oil : helps add shine and moisture to hair
