Kayla Young
Purple shampoo is the secret weapon in the arsenal of all bleach-blondes with ashy or platinum tones. It easily gets rid of those pesky yellow and brass colors, which allows cool tones to come through.
What if you have red hair? Could you use purple shampoo, too?
What does purple shampoo do to red hair?
Well, the short answer is that purple shampoo neutralizes the yellow tones in your hair! No matter what the color of your hair is, the purple shampoo will simply affect the yellow and orange tones and make them less obvious.
That means if your hair is leaning on the yellow side, you can make it less brassy and and more striking red if you use a purple shampoo.
Let’s learn more about the use of purple shampoo for your red hair so you can decide whether you’d want to use it or not.
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What Does Purple Shampoo Do To Red Hair?
The shampoo is mainly used to clean the hair and remove the dirt and excess oil in it. There are different types of shampoo available in the market.
Those who want to maintain their blonde hair are very familiar with the purple shampoo.
Purple shampoo is a product that is used to help neutralize the brassiness of the hair.
Purple shampoo is a product that is used to help neutralize the brassiness of the hair.
When hair is bleached, the darker hair colors are removed and the hair is left with brassy yellow or orange tones. By making use of purple shampoo, the yellow color is neutralized.
Purple shampoo is able to do this because it has something to do with the color theory. Purple and yellow are opposite colors so they cancel out each other.
That’s why purple shampoo is capable of neutralizing the yellow tone of the hair. Green shampoo can neutralize red tones. Blue shampoo can neutralize orange tones.
See the color wheel below and you’ll get the idea.
Purple shampoo is capable of neutralizing the yellow tone of the hair. Green shampoo can neutralize red tones. Blue shampoo can neutralize orange tones.
Purple shampoos function just like your other shampoo but there are added purple pigments in them. These are the ones that cancel out the unwanted yellow hue on your hair.
When the yellow hue on blonde hair is toned down, they won’t look brassy. When the hair color is already fading, the brassy tones of the hair can be more obvious.
Using the purple shampoo helps tone down the brassiness to make the hair color look refreshed, cool, and more platinum.
What Does Purple Shampoo Do To Red Hair?
Although purple shampoo is more commonly used by those who bleach their hair or those who have blonde hair, you can still use it on red hair if you want to!
There are still a few benefits to using purple shampoo on red hair because of the effect on the yellow tones of your hair.
1. Counter The Yellow Tones
If your hair has brassy yellow tones in it that you would like to get rid of, grab your purple shampoo! A purple shampoo will deep, cool red hair by removing yellow. It’s not going to turn your hair purple, but it will move your tone in a cooler direction.
What about Orange Tones in Red Hair?
Many people with red hair have orange tones in them. Sometimes, those orange strands can blend well with the red hair, but some may find them annoying.
If you have unwanted orange hair that you want to remove, should you use purple shampoo? No!
If you have unwanted orange hair that you want to remove, should you use purple shampoo? No!
Let’s look at the color wheel again.
Orange is the opposite of blue on the color wheel. You will want to use a blue shampoo to counteract orange tones. However, if you have color tones that are yellowish-orange (as is often the case for redheads) you could combine blue and purple shampoo to target those in-between tones.
2. Tones And Prevents Fading Of The Hair
Another thing that purple shampoo does for your hair is to tone it down. Even if you are only using a purple shampoo and not a toner, it can still affect the hair color.
The purple color of the shampoo with regular use will help darken the color of the hair. Eventually, the color will spread all over the hair to make it look even.
The purple color will help boost the redness of the hair.
Just make sure to test it out first, because using it too often could cause your hair to take in the purple pigment. It can result in looking unnaturally purplish so take it easy. You don’t need to use the color-depositing shampoo more than 1-2 times per week.
When purple shampoo is used on natural red hair, it can take on a deeper burgundy shade. Usually, if the purple shampoo is used on bleached hair, it could make hair look like it’s lighter because the yellow tones are canceled.
However, for red hair, using the purple shampoo won’t lighten the red shade. It might deepen the red shade because the yellow shades are toned down so the red shades become more obvious.
3. Makes Red Hair Vibrant And Healthy
Purple shampoo when used on the hair makes it look more vibrant. When the brassiness is removed, it makes the hair look more healthy and vibrant.
When hair is colored, it is possible for the dye to fade unevenly. That would lead to the brassiness being more obvious.
Brassy hair doesn’t look great because of the tone, but when purple shampoo is used, the color would look refreshed and vibrant.
This is also true for those with red hair.
Proper Way Of Using Purple Shampoo On Red Hair
Now that you know that you can use purple shampoo on red hair, you might be wondering how to use it properly. Here are the steps to take on applying purple shampoo to your red hair. We don’t generally recommend using purple shampoo on dry hair, but you can try if you really want to.
1. Wet your hair with water.
Like any other shampoo, the first step is to wet your hair with water. This makes it much easier to lather the shampoo on your hair.
Some people prefer to wash their hair with regular shampoo and rinse it out before using the purple shampoo. You can do this if you want to make sure that you remove all the dirt and excess oils on your hair.
2. Apply The Purple Shampoo All Over
Apply the purple shampoo. Once your hair is wet, you can now apply the purple shampoo to your hair. It would be best to make sure that your hair is completely covered with shampoo from the root to the tip.
With regular shampoo, you may just need to use it on the roots. However, for purple shampoo, you need to make sure that your hair is fully covered so that the color is absorbed by the entire hair strands.
With regular shampoo, you may just need to use it on the roots. However, for purple shampoo, you need to make sure that your hair is fully covered so that the color is absorbed by the entire hair strands.
3. Let It Absorb
Let it soak for a few minutes. The main difference between using regular shampoo and purple shampoo is that you have to let the purple shampoo stay for about five minutes on your hair before rinsing.
This will make sure that it properly tones the hair and works on the unwanted brassiness due to the orange and yellow tones in your hair.
Rinse
Rinse out your shampoo and apply your conditioner. After rinsing out your purple shampoo, you can now apply your conditioner.
You use your regular conditioner or you can use a purple conditioner if you like.
Things To Remember About Purple Shampoo And Red Hair
Purple shampoo uses purple color-depositing pigments to tone down the yellow, brassy color of the hair. Although the purple color doesn’t usually show up because it just cancels out the yellow tones in the hair, it is still possible for it to become somewhat visible.
Purple shampoo isn’t a substitute for your regular shampoo. You should only be using it to maintain your hair’s vibrant color. You don’t need to use more than 1-2x per week, and with red hair you may be able to get away with using it less frequently than that.
It’s a good idea to let your hair towel dry or air dry rather than blow dry or use heat stylers, if you can.
If you ever find your hair too purple because you used a purple shampoo, don’t worry. The purple tinge is only temporary and will be washed out in a few shampoos.
Taking Care Of Your Red Hair
If you want to maintain your dyed red hair, there are a few more things you can do aside from using a purple shampoo.
One of the first things is to only wash your hair with shampoo after about 48 hours after getting it dyed. Don’t wash it immediately to prevent the color from prematurely fading.
If you are going to wash your hair, it would be best to use sulfate-free products so that the hair color lasts. Although they could be more expensive than regular shampoo, they help make your red hair look better for a longer time.
You should also make sure that you take good care of your hair’s overall health. Keep it moisturized. Dyeing and bleaching the hair can really do a number on it, so make sure you use a hair mask regularly.
