The Best Purple Shampoos to Brighten Blonde, Gray or Lightened Hair
Keep your locks from looking brassy with these violet-infused haircare products.
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Celia Shatzman
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August 4, 2021 5:00pm
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How do all the famous blonde bombshells in Hollywood keep their hair color looking so fresh? Chances are the best purple shampoos have a lot to do with it. They say that blondes have more fun, but we’re guessing that whoever coined that one isn’t referring to blondes who are dealing with their hair turning brassy shades of funky yellow or orange. When blondes have to spend a load at the salon on a toning treatment for their highlights, they definitely aren’t having more fun.
If you’re wondering what the culprit is that causes blonde hair to go brassy, consider this a mini science lesson: When hair oxidizes, the pH level rises, which opens up the cuticle and then releases the controlling pigment that was making your color look pretty. For blondes, that controlling pigment is typically violet. So, what can cause hair to oxidize? There are a few common causes including overusing heat-styling tools, harsh shampoos, and too much fun in the sun.
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This is where purple toning shampoos come to the rescue. They can keep your honey-hued locks, well, honey-hued. It all goes back to the color wheel: Because violet and yellow are opposite colors, violet cancels out yellow, bringing you back to cooler blonde tones and also bringing silver tones to gray hair.
How often you should use a purple depends on a few factors, including how frequently you shampoo your hair, how brassy it is, and how well your hair holds tone. If you’re just starting to see minor brassiness now, use a purple shampoo once a week.
Whether you’re going for Debbie Harry’s platinum locks or Kim are the best purple shampoos for sudsing up blonde hair.
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, we may receive an affiliate commission.
1. Sachajuan Silver Shampoo
Los Angeles-based colorist Lorri Goddard, who was responsible for Kim Kardashian‘s dramatic blonde makeover, previously told The Hollywood Reporter that Sachajuan’s Silver Shampoo “helps blonds stay creamy and not brassy, [while] the Silver Conditioner helps hair stay conditioned without excess oil, so hair feels soft, not weighed down, and cleaner.”
Sachajuan Silver Shampoo $29
2. Rene Furterer Okara Silver Toning Shampoo
For clients who want to maintain “bleach and tone” platinum hair (a la the “ultimate blonde” Debbie Harry) during the summer, L.A. colorist Sulekha Hilton once told THR that she looks to Rene Furterer’s silver toning shampoo, which is designed to cancel out the yellow resulting from air pollution and exposure to minerals in water.
Rene Furterer Okara Silver Shampoo $30+
3. Moroccanoil Blonde Perfecting Purple Shampoo
Whether your hair is blonde, gray or lightened, Moroccanoil’s Blonde Perfecting Purple Shampoo will bring your color back to all its glory, making it one of the best purple shampoos. Color-safe and sulfate-free, the tone-correcting shampoo cleanses and tackles brassiness with violet pigments to wash away yellow and orange tones. It also features the brand’s signature ArganID technology to seal the cuticle, locking in moisture and delivering high shine.
Moroccanoil Blonde Perfecting Purple Shampoo $12
4. John Frieda Violet Crush for Blondes Purple Shampoo
An OG in the space, John Frieda was the first drugstore brand to target products by hair color and they are still winning. This purple shampoo‘s formula deposits crushed violet pigments into hair to cancel out yellow tones, helping blonde hair look cooler and brighter in as fast as one use. By balancing your blonde, hair will look salon fresh, with reinvigorated color or highlights.
John Frieda Violet Crush for Blondes Purple Shampoo $10
5. Pureology Strength Cure Blonde Purple Shampoo
Bye-bye, brassiness! As one of the best purple shampoos, Pureology’s color-depositing shampoo tones and strengthens damaged hair with keravis, astaxanthin and purple orchid toning pigments, leaving hair lighter, brighter and healthier. The vegan formula is sulfate-free and features an aromatherapy blend of pear, rose and sandalwood that will delight every time you suds up.
Pureology Strength Cure Blonde Purple Shampoo $32
6. Amika Bust Your Brass Cool Blonde Shampoo
Add harsh blonde dyes to already damaged hair and you have strands that are in serious need of some help. Amika’s Bust Your Brass Cool Blonde Shampoo will come to the rescue. It strengthens hair’s elasticity to prevent more breakage and fortifies with protein, amino acids, and minerals, as well as vitamins A, D, E and B. The ultraviolet formula knocks out brassy tones and replaces them with cool tones, leaving hair soft and shiny.
Amika Bust Your Brass Cool Blonde Shampoo $12
7. Oribe Bright Blonde Shampoo for Beautiful Color
Designed for daily use, this Bright Blonde Shampoo by Oribe (the haircare line founded by celebrity hairstylist Oribe Canales) brings blonde and silver locks back to life. It gently cleanses while its pure violet and reflective pearlized pigments cancel brassiness and tone. Meanwhile, the brightening complex — with lemon, ginger root and chamomile extracts — perfects your shade while leaving hair glossy. It’s infused with the Oribe Signature Complex, which protects hair from environmental stressors, oxidative stress, photo-aging and the breakdown of natural keratin.
Oribe Bright Blonde Shampoo for Beautiful Color $46
8. Joico Color Balance Purple Shampoo
Keep your blonde cool and your gray silver with Joico’s purple shampoo that neutralizes brassy tones while preserving the color of your hair. The color-correcting formula is quite a multitasker, as it also safeguards strands from the elements, strengthens strands, adds brilliant shine and fights flyaways and static. Thanks to Joico’s SmartRelease Technology, its unique liposome delivery system continuously releases a nourishing blend of rosehip oil, arginine and keratin to help repair and protect hair from the damage caused by daily styling.
BUY NOW: $6
9. dpHue Cool Blonde Shampoo
If you’re a natural blonde — and if you’re not we’ll keep your secret and still recommend this shampoo — this dpHue shampoo is for you, and it also works wonders for gray and white hair. Formulated with violet pigments to neutralize yellow and brassy tones, the hydrating shampoo leaves your hair looking like you just walked out of the salon, with shine and life. It’s spiked with silk proteins and hibiscus flower extract to strengthen hair and boost brightness and luster.
dpHue Cool Blonde Shampoo $26
10. OGX Blonde Enhanced + Purple Toning Shampoo
Achieving your hair goals is a lot easier with this top purple shampoo. Designed to tone, brighten and color-correct yellow tones on silver, pre-lightened or natural blonde hair, Ogx’s Blonde Enhance + Purple Toning Shampoo is ideal for extending your color between trips to the salon, since it also works to prevent color fade. Made with keratin, purple fig and iris, it has all the right ingredients to baby your blonde from root to tip. Plus, its scent of blood orange, papaya butter and coconut milk will flood your shower.
Ogx Blonde Enhanced + Purple Toning Shampoo $8
11. Clairol Professional Shimmer Lights Shampoo
Clairol’s Shimmer Lights haircare line is a true classic famous for being one of the best purple shampoos. The protein-enriched formula works to tone silver or blonde hair. An incredible budget buy, it fights brassy tones and replaces it with high shine. True to its name, hair really does look shimmery after just one wash.
Clairol Professional Shimmer Lights Shampoo $10
12. Kérastase Blond Absolu Anti-Brass Purple Shampoo
Put brassy tones in neutral with Kérastase’s color-correcting shampoo that will be a best friend to lightened, cool-blonde, bleached or gray hair. The ultra-violet formula takes care of brassy and yellow tones, while hyaluronic acid soothes and softens strands. There’s also edelweiss flower to reinforce the hair fiber, repairing it from damage to ensure uniform porosity.
Kérastase Blond Absolu Anti-Brass Purple Shampoo $35
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