How to Use Purple Shampoo Correctly, According to Experts

Platinum blonde hair is known for its gorgeous bright color, yes, but it’s also notorious for its dedicated upkeep. That’s because the color can quickly transform from bright to brassy depending on your habits, the environment, and your natural hair color.

Before you book a hair appointment every two weeks to maintain it, though (which also gets expensive), remember that purple shampoo exists for this exact reason: to keep blonde hair looking its best between salon appointments. It's a basic lesson in color theory: purple sits opposite of yellow on the color wheel, and when used in shampoo (and other hair treatments like conditioners and masks), the color can balance the yellow pigment in the hair. Ahead, we dive into everything you need to know about using purple shampoo correctly, plus our top purple shampoo picks to shop for to enhance your hair color.

What is purple shampoo?

"Purple shampoo is used as a very gentle way of controlling extra yellow tones in your hair, which is the underlying pigment in light blonde hair—especially for blondes or those with blonde highlights," explains colorist Juliana Ohlmeyer. "Essentially it is a way to upkeep your blonde at home in between color services." Since purple shampoos don't have ammonia in them, she adds, they're not a permanent solution but rather a temporary fix. They won't totally stand in for your colorist, but they can at least tone down the brassiness between visits. And, since they can stretch the window between appointments, they can lend to your overall hair health, too, considering too-frequent platinum dye jobs can wreak havoc on hair.

How to use purple shampoo

Whatever you do, though, don’t just grab any purple shampoo and go to town. Because newsflash: There’s a right way and a wrong way to use purple shampoo (spoiler: leaving purple shampoo in hair for an hour isn’t the right way). When used correctly, the best purple shampoo will quickly become any blonde’s BFF beauty product; when used incorrectly, it can lead to less-than-stellar results. With that in mind, keep reading to learn how to use purple shampoo. Plus, find out our top picks for the best purple shampoo for blonde hair (and some fantastic options for purple shampoo for gray hair) ahead.

First, pick the right formula for your hair type:

As with any shampoo, it’s important to think about your hair type and look for a formula that best suits your needs. Some purple shampoos are formulated with deeply nourishing ingredients that can provide hydration and even strengthen strands of dry hair that are prone to breakage. Other purple shampoo formulas are a little more clarifying and might work better on oily hair types to help balance sebum production and provide a good cleanse that doesn’t weigh down the hair.

“To support the health and luster of your hair, it is important to ensure your purple shampoo is leaving behind hydrating ingredients that won’t weigh your hair down,” says Graciano. She recommends looking for ingredients such as glycerin which is a natural humectant and keeps hair’s hydration balanced. Ohlmeyer also says that if you're purchasing a purple shampoo, don't check out without a conditioner or hair mask since some formulas can make your hair feel dry.

Use lukewarm water to wet your hair

"Lukewarm water is a great temperature for hair washing as it helps to open the hair cuticle, allowing it to absorb more product," says Potempa. Lukewarm water is recommended for wetting hair before applying purple shampoo, as it helps open the hair cuticles for better absorption.

Massage the purple shampoo in your hair

You can use purple shampoo like any other shampoo. However, you should focus it on your roots (if that is where you're experiencing new growth) or at your lengths if you have more color at the ends of your hair.

While, yes, purple shampoo is designed to tone your blonde hair color, it'll still get your hair and scalp pretty clean. Potempa recommends using a scalp massager once you've evenly distributed the product throughout your hair to help stimulate blood flow and remove product buildup.

Don't rinse it out immediately

Don't just quickly lather up your purple suds; rinse and go. To see the most difference in your hair color, you want to let the purple shampoo sit in your hair for up to five minutes, allowing the pigments to neutralize yellow and brassy tones.

Purple shampoo is still shampoo, so you might think that the best way to use it is by massaging it into your strands and quickly rinsing it out. Ohlmeyer, however, advises slowing down the process for better results. "Rinsing it off too quickly makes it less effective," she says. "Applying it on damp, towel-dried hair as if you were applying a mask, combing it through evenly, and leaving it alone for three to seven minutes is the most effective [way to use purple shampoo]."

How long should I leave purple shampoo in my hair?

“The longer you leave purple shampoo in, the more pigmented the purple will be,” says Tiffanie Richards, a colorist and blonde specialist at Louise O'Connor Salon. With this in mind, she recommends starting with less at first to get an idea of how your hair takes to the purple shampoo. “The texture of your hair has a lot to do with timing—if your hair is extremely porous it will soak up the ash tone of the purple very fast and potentially turn a grayish color.” 

To take a “less is more” approach with purple shampoo, you either leave the shampoo on strands for half the recommended amount of time or you can even try mixing a little bit of the formula into your non-pigmented shampoo to dilute the color.  

Do you use purple shampoo before or after regular shampoo?

When using purple shampoo, you don’t technically have to use a regular shampoo alongside it. However, if you take the double cleanse approach, Devin Graciano, hair stylist and head of product development at Goldie Locks says the best approach is to first use a regular shampoo and then follow up with the purple shampoo. The reason for this is that the normal shampoo can actually strip the purple pigment, reversing the effects of the tinted shampoo. “I always use a clarifying shampoo first,” says Kenna Ehman, a hairstylist, and co-owner of Kenna Kunijo. “The reason for this is that you want to get all of the build-up and oil out of your hair before putting that pigment in there, otherwise it will take unevenly to your hair,” she adds.  

Will purple shampoo lighten hair?

Although purple shampoo might create the illusion of lighter hair, Richards says it doesn’t actually have a lightening effect. “Purple counteracts yellow and taking yellow tone out of the hair will make it appear more neutral which can therefore appear lighter,” she explains. Instead, purple shampoo provides a brightening effect that cools blonde and gray tones. 

How often should I use purple shampoo?

As far as the usage is concerned, Ehman says “Overusing purple shampoo can cause your hair to have too much pigment in it, so if you’re starting to see a purple tint, back off a little bit.” In general, it’s best to shampoo hair with purple shampoo no more than once a week in order to tone hair color. Daily use could add too much purple to your hair and essentially over-tone the hair.