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Best Purple Shampoo

Updated July 2023
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Pros
Cons
Best of the Best
Moroccanoil Blonde Perfecting Purple Shampoo
Moroccanoil
Blonde Perfecting Purple Shampoo
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Luxurious Moisture
Bottom Line

This purple shampoo is both tone-correcting and nourishing to make hair vibrant, soft, and healthy.

Pros

Infused with antioxidant-rich argan oil to help repair damaged hair and seal the hair cuticle. Violet pigments impart color, enhance depth and dimension, and create a natural sheen. Lovely scent. Sulphate-free.

Cons

A quality product, but it's somewhat pricier than similar shampoos.

Best Bang for the Buck
Milk_shake Silver Shine Shampoo
Milk_shake
Silver Shine Shampoo
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Feature-packed
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Happy customers love how well it works for removing yellow tones from hair.

Pros

This purple shampoo uses milk protein to help keep your hair moisturized. It also features organic extracts for healthy hair. Great for removing yellow hair colouring.

Cons

Some buyers found it to be drying.

Fanola No Yellow Shampoo
Fanola
No Yellow Shampoo
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Best for Grey Hair
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Great for hair that is highlighted, grey, or very light.

Pros

This Fanola No Yellow Shampoo will help greyness to be less pronounced in your hair. Ideal for those who want to fight grey hairs in a more natural-looking way. It is affordable and comes in a 1000 Milliliter bottle.

Cons

It can sometimes dry out your hair, and there are some complaints about staining.

L’Oréal Paris Ever Pure Sulfate-Free Purple Shampoo
L’Oréal Paris
Ever Pure Sulfate-Free Purple Shampoo
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Customer Favorite
Bottom Line

A purple shampoo by a much-loved brand that's effective and free of harsh ingredients.

Pros

Protects color and neutralizes brassy, yellow, and orange tones. Sulfate- and paraben-free and formulated without harsh salts. Excellent for blonde, bleached, highlighted, and silver hair. Great value for its price.

Cons

Some are not crazy about the scent of this product.

Clairol Shimmer Lights Shampoo
Clairol
Shimmer Lights Shampoo
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Customer Favorite
Bottom Line

High-quality conditioning and color-enhancing shampoo that shows results after one use.

Pros

This shampoo is effective for toning down brassiness and can be used on natural or color-treated hair. It's suitable for balanced brunettes, blondes, shades of gray and silver and gray enhancement.

Cons

The scent isn't as pleasant as other purple shampoos.

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BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. We only make money if you purchase a product through our links, and all opinions about the products are our own. About BestReviews  
BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. We buy all products with our own funds, and we never accept free products from manufacturers.About BestReviews 
HOW WE TESTED

We recommend these products based on an intensive research process that's designed to cut through the noise and find the top products in this space. Guided by experts, we spend hours looking into the factors that matter, to bring you these selections.

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Buying guide for Best purple shampoo

If you dye your hair blonde or add blonde highlights, you probably know that the salon-fresh color doesn’t last forever. After a while, your blonde can take on an unwanted brassy hue. Or, if you have gray hair, you may experience yellow or brassy tones. For this reason, it’s a good idea to consider adding purple shampoo to your haircare routine.

Purple shampoo corrects the “off” tones in your hair using the principles of color theory: Purple opposes yellow on the color wheel, so the hues cancel each other out. If you have yellow or orange tones in your hair, a purple-hued shampoo will neutralize them, returning your hair to an ashier cool tone.

If you have blonde, platinum blonde, silver, gray or beige hair – or if you have highlights in any of these colors – incorporating a purple shampoo into your hair-washing routine can keep your strands looking fresh and polished. Our favorite purple shampoo is Moroccanoil Blonde Perfecting Purple Shampoo because the tone-correcting wash contains nourishing ingredients to keep hair soft and healthy. But if you’re curious about other great options at different price points or with particular ingredients, read on. 

A person washing their hair in the shower with purple shampoo
Purple shampoos aren’t really known for their cleansing properties. Use a traditional shampoo first, and then follow up with the purple formula.

Buying guide for Best purple shampoo

Moroccanoil Blonde Perfecting Purple Shampoo

While purple shampoos can sometimes be drying, this luxurious formula is tone-correcting and nourishing to make hair vibrant, soft, and healthy. The secret? The sulfate-free product is infused with antioxidant-rich argan oil to help repair damage and seal the hair cuticle.

Violet pigments impart color, enhance depth and dimension and create a natural sheen – all with a lovely scent. 

Milk_shake Silver Shine Shampoo

Conditioning milk proteins are the key ingredient in this violet pigment wash. Beyond that, raspberry, blueberry and mango extracts protect and invigorate your strands and give the product its signature fruity scent. 

The product restores luster and shine while neutralizing excessive yellow or brassy tones on blonde, lightened and gray hair.

Clairol Shimmering Lights Purple Shampoo

This shampoo is excellent for toning down brassiness and can be used on natural or color-treated hair. It's suitable for various hair colors, including blondes, grays, balanced brunettes and gray enhancing. 

Fanola No Yellow Shampoo

Fanola’s No Yellow Shampoo is our top pick for people with gray hair. It’s suitable for people who want to soften their gray hair in a natural-looking way. It helps you keep your color consistent and vibrant while giving hair a cool, bright and even reflection. 

This affordably priced vegan shampoo has a fresh coconut scent. 

L’Oréal Paris Ever Pure Sulfate-Free Purple Shampoo

This purple shampoo by a much-loved brand is effective without harsh ingredients such as sulfates, parabens and salts. It protects your color while neutralizing brassy yellow and orange tones. It sells for a great price and is effective for blonde, bleached, highlighted and silver hair. 

 

Joico Color Balance Purple Shampoo

For long-lasting results of up to 12 washes, try Joico’s purple shampoo, which uses violet pigments and green tea extract to instantly neutralize yellow and warm tones in blonde and gray hair. The paraben-free shampoo is also great at controlling static, and it boosts shine, strength and smoothness with rosehip oil, arginine and keratin.

 

What to know before buying purple shampoo

Shade of purple

Purple shampoos are not all the same shade of purple. They range in hue from light lilac to rich violet.

The darker the shampoo is, the more effective it will be in countering yellow tones in your hair. Light purple shampoos don’t usually have enough pigment to make much difference. For the best results, we advise potential buyers to choose a shampoo with a deeper, more saturated purple hue.

Consistency

The shampoo’s consistency is almost as important as its hue. The best purple shampoos have a rich, thick texture that coats hair evenly and effectively. This consistency makes it easier for the pigment to penetrate the hair and balance out brassy tones.

Ingredients

Purple shampoos can be fairly drying, which can damage color-treated hair. To maintain a soft, shiny mane, opt for a purple shampoo with moisturizing or nourishing ingredients to counteract the dryness such as olive oil, hydrolyzed wheat protein, vitamin E or shea butter.

Some purple shampoos also contain titanium dioxide, which serves as a UV protectant. This can help prevent the sun from discoloring the hair.

Fragrance

Like most shampoos, purple shampoo is often scented. Because fragrance is such a personal preference, you might wish to sniff a shampoo before you buy it – or at least find out what other buyers think of the fragrance.

Fragrance-free purple shampoos also exist. Consumers with sensitive skin may want to select this type of shampoo to avoid scalp irritation.

Tips for using purple shampoo

  • Before using a purple shampoo, wash your hair with a clarifying shampoo. This will help remove product buildup. Residue from other products could prevent the purple tones from absorbing into your hair.
  • If you’re new to purple shampoo, ease your way into it. Mix some purple shampoo with your regular shampoo to make sure you don’t overload your hair with purple the first time.
  • You don’t have to apply purple shampoo all over your hair. If only the ends are brassy, concentrate the shampoo in that area.
  • If your hair is particularly brassy, follow up your purple shampoo application with a purple toning conditioner.
  • Allow purple shampoo to sit on your hair for only one or two minutes. To combat serious yellow or brassiness, you can leave it on for up to five minutes.
  • Purple shampoo can be somewhat drying. Consider adding a deep-conditioning mask to your hair care routine.

FAQ

Q. How much does purple shampoo cost? 

A. For a basic purple shampoo, you’ll typically spend between $6 and $12. These shampoos might have a lighter shade, a smaller bottle or fewer high-quality ingredients. 

For $13 to $20, you can find purple shampoos with nicer packaging or better ingredients. For a high-end purple shampoo from a prestigious brand, you could spend between $20 and $50. For the higher price, expect an effective, quality-made shampoo that smells great.

Q. Will purple shampoo turn my hair purple?

A. Used improperly, purple shampoo could add lavender tones to light hair. Avoid leaving purple shampoo on your hair for more than five minutes until you know how your hair reacts to it. If your hair picks up lavender tones, you can tone them down by washing with a clarifying shampoo.

Q. Does purple shampoo work on dark hair?

A. Purple shampoo has no effect on dark hair. However, if you have highlights in your dark hair, you can use purple shampoo to tone down brassiness in those areas by applying it to individual sections.  

Q. How often should I use purple shampoo?

A. In most cases, it’s not necessary to use purple shampoo every day. Start by using it every other day. If your hair still looks brassy, increase your frequency. If your hair starts to look ashy, you can use it just once a week.