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All About Hair...and So Much More.
EP 351: Purple vs Blue Shampoo Explained
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Tired of chasing brass every time you wash your hair? We unpack the real difference between purple and blue shampoo using plain-language color theory, so you can choose the right product for your undertone and your level—and finally keep your color looking intentional between salon visits.
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Unless you've been living under a rock, you've heard of purple shampoo. So today we're going to talk about the differences without getting too technical, but I am going to throw in a little bit of color theory in there for y'all too, just so you understand. Okay, let's go. Welcome to All About Hair. I'm Denise. This is where we talk about hair, confidence, and why a good hair day can seriously change your whole mood. It's like hanging out and chatting about life, feeling good, and loving your hair. No pressure, no perfection. So grab your coffee, settle in, and let's talk about loving your hair and yourself a little more. Okay, so what are these shampoos? What is a purple shampoo? What is a blue shampoo? Well, technically, they are shampoos, but I don't like to say that they actually clean your hair. That's just the delivery system on how to get it on your hair. Some manufacturers actually do claim that they clean your hair, so you can actually use them as your shampoo. I don't tend to use them that way. I usually shampoo with a shampoo for your scalp, and then I'll use my toning shampoo, and then I'll use my conditioner. That's just how I use it. But let's let's just break it down. There's no dyes in them, that there's not lighteners in there. They're just a corrective tonality shampoo. Meaning if you're seeing brassiness or if you're seeing yellow in your hair, you might want to get yourself a blue or a violet shampoo. But first, we need to know which one are you gonna get. So that's why I'm gonna throw a little bit of color theory your way today. If you're not watching this on my YouTube channel, you might want to go over there and take a look. If not, I'll try to explain it in best of terms. But if you can see me right now, I'm holding up a color wheel. This is a basic color wheel that you learn in in art class in school. It is basic. But what you see here are all of the colors on the color wheel. Now, in basic hair color theory, if you take two tones that are opposite each other on the color wheel, you will neutralize them out and you will get a neutral base. It might be brown, it might be blonde. For example, you see this yellow up here. If you go opposite on the color wheel, you'll see purple. See where I'm going with this? You get purple shampoo will neutralize any yellow in your hair. If you go orange and you go opposite the color wheel, what color do you see? Blue. Yes. So if you have orange in your hair, you would use a blue shampoo. I mean, you can work this the whole way around, the color wheel. Green, red. So if you have red in your hair and you really don't want to see red in your hair, you would get something with green in it to balance that out. See how I'm going with that? It's a little bit more complicated than that when you're a stylist and you're formulating hair color. But just for the sake of simplicity and for basic color theory, we're gonna go with this color wheel. So that might show you why you might not be getting the results if you are using a toning shampoo. They will both neutralize warmth in the hair. However, it just depends on how light your hair color is to start with. For example, purple shampoo. If you're using purple shampoo and you're like, wow, it's really not doing anything for me. I don't see anything, it might be because your hair is too dark. Purple shampoos contain the violet pigments that you see on the color wheel. And those pigments, like we said before, they'll neutralize yellow tones in your hair. But yellow is basically a tone that shows up in blonde hair, platinum hair, silver hair, or icy gray hair. Yellow is not a tone that typically shows up in brown hair. My color is brown, and if I used a purple shampoo on my hair, it would not do a thing. Nothing, unless I have these little tiny tips of that are old highlights, and it might get a little bit of yellow out of there. It might. This will not change in any color line. This remains the same. Let me show you something else, okay? Anytime that you see different hair colors, they have underlying pigment in them. Underlying pigment is the level of pigment that's in your hair. Hopefully, you could see this. And again, if you're listening podcast, you might want to flip over to my YouTube channel and just see this graphic. I think it's really good to see. What this shows is the level of color. Okay, levels of hair color goes from one being black to ten being the lightest blonde. This is what this shows. One being black all the way up to ten being the lightest blonde. In the lightest blondes, these blondes right here, you can actually see that yellow, pale yellow, and palest yellow are the undertones living in those blondes. So you would want to use a violet shampoo to neutralize the yellows, if that's what you're trying to do. Once we go down to a level seven, six, which in many cases you would call that light brown, brown hair, you will want to switch over to a blue shampoo, and we'll talk about that in just a second. So violet shampoos or purple shampoos, who are those best for? They are best for bleached hair or light blonde hair, highlights, or balayage on light hair, not brown hair. Or if you have gray or silver tones that pull yellow just from you know the sun exposure or minerals in your water or anything like that, you might want to use a purple shampoo just to neutralize those yellow tones. It'll actually brighten up your gray hair and your silver hair. So, how do you use this? I would not use it for every day, and absolutely not, because over time it'll cast a purple tone, especially on gray hair, my gray-haired friends. I would use it once or twice a week. Swap it in for your regular shampoo if it says it will clean your hair. Most shampoos, like I said, is just the process of getting it on your head. So think of it like that. Don't don't think of it like it actually shampoos your hair. I would shampoo with your shampoo for your scalp, whatever that might be. If you have an oily scalp, use it a shampoo for oily hair. Or if you have a dry scalp, dry hair. And then I would use the pigmented or the purple shampoo, leave it on for two to four minutes, and then rinse it, and then put your conditioner on. Sometimes too, if you wanted to, or if you don't need that much pigment, you can also put it in with your shampoo or with your conditioner. Depends on what kind of product you're using. I use one that acts more like a treatment or a conditioner. So I actually put it into my conditioning agent and leave it on when my conditioner's on there. But some shampoos act like a shampoo, so it depends on what product you're using. You can overuse it, like I was saying. Too much can start to tint your hair with purple hues. And so moderation's the key. But don't worry, it is not a permanent product. If you feel like it's pulling too purple, all you have to do is use a deep cleansing shampoo, and I'll usually get it off there. It depends on how porous your hair is. Okay. Blue shampoo. Okay, let's go back to the color wheel again. Find our blue, and you go the opposite of that, and it's orange. So blue neutralizes orange tones, which is exactly what brunettes and dark blondes pull. Almost nine times out of ten, a brunette or a dark blonde, just from being out in the sun, their hair will just start looking orange or copper or red. If it starts doing that, then your blue shampoos, that's your go-to. That's what I would reach for. A lot of people make this mistake of thinking, oh, I see brassiness in my hair, and then they'll reach for the uh purple shampoo, and it's just not enough pigment in there. So why is this different? Well, I showed you on the color wheel. Blue sits directly across from the orange. Now, say you're a dark blonde and you're like, Denise, I can't tell if it's yellow that I'm seeing or orange that I'm seeing. You can get the two. You can get the blue and the purple shampoo, mix them in your hand, and guess what? That lives right there. Okay, that's like a blue violet. And so if you can't tell if it's too orange or too yellow, go ahead and do a little chemistry in your bathtub. I don't know what I'm saying. If you've got darker hair, I would definitely do the blue shampoo for sure, because blue will cancel out the orange and the warm reds. Uh, who's this best for? Brunettes with highlights or balayage? Because for me, it takes me like three days and I start pulling warm. So I don't know about you. Dark brown hair that's pulling orange tones, definitely a blue shampoo. It's not going to turn your hair blue. And then those bronze or the darker blondes with deeper warm in there that's kind of messing with the tone, you can cancel out those tones that you don't want with just a blue shampoo. You want to use the blue shampoo the very same way that you would use the purple shampoo. You just swap it into your routine weekly and do it like every third shampoo or every other wash and just let it sit on there for a few minutes and then you rinse it. But depends on the porosity of your hair. The blue pigment's gonna have a little bit more dilute in it. And yes, I did say it doesn't contain dyes, it's just a dye load, it's a it's the color in there. But you can overuse it if you're using it every day and leaving it on there for too long. You might start seeing a little cast of blue in there. Just don't use it that often. So let's talk about some real-world examples. If you are a platinum blonde, think about it. I get that I get this all the time. Platinum blondes and gray haired ladies, and you feel like your shade is just turning a little bit yellow. Purple shampoo brings that down to like a cool icy blonde. It doesn't have any kind of lightener in there, it's not gonna lighten your hair. All it is is neutralizing the yellow in your hair, so it makes your hair appear brighter and icier. If you are seeing yellow in your hair and you're blonde, then use a purple shampoo. If you're a brunette with a balayage, especially, with the lighter pieces starting to look orangey, that's the job for a blue shampoo. Purple will not cut it. And like I said, you can even switch this up or mix them together, cocktail it in your hand, and do it that way too. If you feel like you need a little bit more. Okay, here's some tips to get the best results. First, you want to start with clean hair because toners work best when there's no buildup at all. If you've got a lot of stuff on your hair, it's gonna have to cut through that and it's gonna lay on top of the buildup. So start with good clean hair, meaning maybe you want to start with a deep cleaning shampoo. I'll leave the the links in the show notes below. Uh my favorite products. You can also go over to my Amazon storefront, and I have a ton of products over there too. So start with clean hair, leave on for the right amount of time. If you don't leave it on long enough, two to four minutes, it's it's basically not going to do anything. If you want it a stronger pigment, leave it on even longer. Most times you don't want to leave it on over five minutes. Watch brassiness, not labels. Look at what tone you want to eliminate yellow versus orange, and choose your shampoo according to that. Say you might be level six brunette, but you have a really light, almost ombre balayage going on your tips. You might need a purple shampoo because your hair tips are so light blonde. Everybody's different. These are just general guidelines, okay? And don't overuse it because if you start overusing it every wash, it could lead up to like a cast buildup. Think about once or twice a week or every third shampoo. And then always follow these up with a conditioner because, well, sometimes depends on the product, it makes your hair feel a little bit dry. Don't ask me why. Some of them do, but the hydration that you get from a conditioner, even if you've got fine hair, you need a conditioner. Okay, it just makes your hair feel smooth and shiny too. And shiny hair is always looking healthier than dull hair. Okay, so why does this matter when we go to the hair salon all the time? Well, let's let's be honest. Our hair doesn't look perfect all the way up until the next time we go to the salon, does it? I've told you time and time again on this show, in fact, that I could tone my hair and three washes later it looks like I haven't done a thing. So toning shampoos is just a really simple way to keep your hair looking on point. It really is. And it just maintains that salon finish a lot longer. It reduces the brassiness so you're not unhappy with the way your hair looks, and it just keeps your color looking intentional, which is what we want, right? And so whether you've invested in balayage or hair lightening or all over, just understanding which toning shampoo matches your hair's undertones is 90% of the game. Is it gonna be perfect? Maybe not, but it sure helps in the long run, right? Okay, so just remember this. Purple shampoo tones yellow undertones. It's great for blondes. Blue shampoo, it tones orange. It's great for brunettes. Um, and if you're ever unsure of what undertone you're seeing, pick the shampoo that neutralizes the exact tone. Questions about how often to use or product recommendations, just drop them down in the comments. I love helping you get the best from your color routine and best from your hair care products. And anyway, thanks for tuning in. And always remember, when you know better, you do better. Thanks for hanging out with me today. If you love this, make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss what's next. And if you want a little extra good hair energy delivered to your door each month, go check out my good hair energy subscription box.
