Purple Shampoo

I would say that every blond out there knows that they need a purple shampoo to keep the colour looking fresh between visits but is it that simple?

Have you ever used a purple shampoo on your blonde hair and it’s gone a flat kinda greenish colour?

Let’s start with a bit of simple colour theory that we all learned in primary school. Before I go on if you don’t remember it, don’t worry, primary school was how long ago and like trigonometry, only those of us that need to know it have remembered it!

Do you remember in art class mixing certain colours together and they neutralised each other, effectively turning them brown?

Still don’t remember, don’t worry because I’ll explain it.

There are 3 primary colours, yellow, blue and red. Primary means you can’t make them from another colour.

There are 3 secondary colours, which come from mixing together 2 of the primary colours, purple, orange and green.

When we mix together yellow and purple, they neutralise each other. The same thing happens when we mix blue and orange together and also red and green.

With all this in mind it makes sense that a purple shampoo will keep light blond hair toned and neutralised but what about when the purple shampoo we are using starts going that flat greenish tinge?

Not all purple shampoos are created equal.

Let’s go back to the 2 colours that makes purple, red and blue.

When the ‘purple’ in the shampoo is actually more of a purple with extra blue in it, what can happen is the blue from the shampoo mixes with the yellow of the hair and makes it…… that’s right green!

Have I lost you completely?

To simplify, some purple shampoo is just purple and will gently tone out the yellow in your blond hair, whereas some of the stronger stuff has blue pigment which with extended use can put a slight green tinge in your hair.

The good news is that shampoo colour isn’t permanent and you can simply wash with your normal shampoo until the overtones colour is gone.

Not sure what kind of purple shampoo is right for your needs? Check with your hairdresser as that’s why we do the 3-4 year apprenticeship, so we can help you look and feel amazing!

If you’d like to book an appointment to give your hair or scalp some love, I’d be happy to talk through it’s current condition as part of your initial consultation. All the details to make a booking can be found here.