The best purple shampoos to brighten your hair
Whether you are a natural blonde or have natural dark hair with lightened highlights, purple shampoo can eliminate yellow and orange brassiness to give you light and cool-toned fresh from the salon color.
If cooler and lighter tones are what you seek, purple shampoo will be your new shower essential.
How does purple shampoo work?
Purple shampoo is color theory at its best. Purple and yellow are opposite of each other on the color wheel, naturally canceling each other out. When your bright blonde hair starts to look ‘yellow,’ purple shampoo can deposit purple pigments to cancel out yellow tones and brighten the hair.
Why does your hair turn brassy?
Over time, several factors such as the environment (pollution, UV rays), heat styling tools (hairdryer, flat iron) and even your health and diet can affect the brassiness of your naturally blonde or salon-lightened hair.
How often should you use purple shampoo?
It is totally up to you how often you want to use the shampoo. You can use the purple shampoo once a week or alternate use with other color-safe shampoos.
Best purple shampoos
Best overall: Moroccanoil Blonde Perfecting Purple Shampoo
Moroccanoil Blonde Perfecting Purple Shampoo is a color-safe, sulfate-free formula that can neutralize brassy tones by adding rich purple pigments. It helps repair and seal the cuticle with ArganID technology. Sold by Saks Fifth Avenue and Sephora.
Best runner-up: Redken Color Extend Color Depositing Purple Shampoo
Redken makes this protecting and color-depositing purple shampoo for blonde hair. It has citric acid that repairs each strand from the core, leaving it firm and soft. Sold by Amazon.
Best toning purple shampoo: Lee Stafford Bleach Blondes Purple Reign Toning Shampoo
This shampoo is a color corrector for blondes that gets rid of the yellow tones, leaving your hair bright and vibrant. It has panthenol (Vitamin B5), chamomile and moringa seed to give hair a natural shine. Sold by SkinStore.
Best for platinum hair: EVO Fabuloso Platinum Blonde Toning Shampoo
This professional strength shampoo can banish all brassiness giving your blonde hair new life with extra softness. It has its own platinum blonde color boosting treatment for a more intense tone. Sold by SkinStore and Amazon.
Best vegan formula: Matrix Biolage ColorLast Purple Shampoo
The vegan, paraben-free formula can also condition and protect your hair. You can get less breakage using this purple shampoo. Sold by Amazon and Ulta.
Best sulfate-free: Pureology Cure Blonde Shampoo
This sulfate-free shampoo can eliminate yellow and orange undertones by toning and fortifying brassy and lightened hair. Its key ingredients are keravis (a strengthening protein to prevent hair breakage) and astaxanthin (a powerful antioxidant to heal and repair damaged hair). Sold by Sephora and Ulta.
Best for dry hair: Kérastase Blond Anti-Brass Purple Shampoo
This ultra-violet, color-correcting shampoo neutralizes blonde, lightened or bleached hair to maintain the cool blonde color. It has edelweiss flowers to strengthen the hair and hyaluronic acid to soften every hair fiber. Sold by Sephora.
Best budget: L'Oréal EverPure Sulphate-Free Purple Shampoo
If you are looking for an affordable paraben-free and vegan formula that can neutralize the warm tones while keeping your blonde hair hydrated, look no further. This salon-quality shampoo also has hibiscus and purple dye. Sold by Ulta and Amazon.
Best drugstore: John Frieda Violet Crush for Blondes Purple Shampoo
Another affordable extra-strength formula that can tone brassy hair to make it look salon-fresh is by John Frieda. Just one use can make your hair appear brighter and cooler. Sold by Amazon and Ulta.
Best for split ends: Kristin Ess Hair One Purple Shampoo
The woman-founded brand is silicone-free, sulfate-free, paraben-free and gluten-free. It is gentle enough to be used every time to maintain ashy cool tones. Sold by Amazon and Ulta.
Best for extra hydration: Surface Pure Blonde Violet Shampoo
This gentle shampoo is infused with deep purple maqui berry and moringa oil to give you a cool tint. This shampoo also adds shine while protecting your hair from radicals. Sold at Lovely Skin.
Anjana Rajbhandary is a writer for BestReviews. BestReviews is a product review company with a singular mission: to help simplify your purchasing decisions and save you time and money.
