Blue shampoo vs purple shampoo which one do you use? Check out how to use blue and purple shampoo and how often to use them.
Blue shampoos are meant for brunettes (or people with dark colored hair) whose hair succumbs to brassiness when they choose to bleach or lighten their hair color.
While brunette’s lighten their hair, there could be underlying natural hair pigments of orange, reddish-orange or copper that tend to show up in the hair. That’s when a blue shampoo comes into play.
On the other hand, purple shampoos are meant for blondes (or people with lighter colored hair like silver, ash, platinum etc), when their hair develops brassy tones like yellow or yellowish-orange. That’s when they’d require you to use a purple shampoo.
Blue and purple shampoos are helpful in the removal of brassy tones from the hair and also further retaining the vibrancy of the hair color over time and keeping it from fading.
Blue Shampoo Vs Purple Shampoo
The primary difference between the two lies in their respective purposes. Blue shampoo is great for neutralizing brassy, yellow tones in hair. Thanks to its high level of direct dyes, blue shampoo can help cancel out these undesired yellow tones, resulting in a more desirable shade.
Whether you have natural blonde hair or have given yourself a light blonde hue through coloring processes, blue shampoo can be your saving grace. On the other hand, purple shampoo is wonderful for bringing out the cool shades in hair.
The secret lies in the lighter pigments present in this type of shampoo, which can enhance the natural cool tones in the hair, giving it a healthier and shinier look. This type of shampoo is usually suitable for individuals with blonde or brunette hair.
In summary, blue shampoo is great for counteracting yellow, brassy tones while purple shampoo works to enhance the cooler tones in your hair color.
Whether you choose one or the other is up to you, as it depends heavily on the desired effect and type of your hair. Both options can lead to fantastic results, so give both of them a try!
Why Should I Use A Blue/Purple Shampoo
Hair brassiness can be a result of many factors. Here are some of the reasons as to why your hair could have turned brassy.
Firstly, if you’re a brunette and decided to dye your hair blonde or any other lighter shade, then obviously you’d have to bleach it before that.
Now, in the process, after your hair got bleached, you soon realize your hair has turned orange to your horror!
Well, don’t worry, as this is a normal and common problem that occurs in many people.
Brassiness mostly occurs because you didn’t leave the bleach on for the right amount of time and therefore, the color didn’t lift off correctly, letting the warmer undertones of your hair show up.
Secondly, if you’re a blonde and tend to use hard water to wash your hair or often go swimming, the mineral deposits in the water can cause the minerals to get stuck onto your hair shaft, causing your hair to become brassy.
Lastly, if your hair is overexposed to sunlight, it will fade over time and then it may begin to look brassy.
So this is the reason why you need a blue or purple shampoo as blue neutralizes the orange pigments in hair and removes brassiness.
And purple removes yellow undertones making warm blonde/brunette hair look “cooler”.
How Do Blue and Purple Shampoos Work
I’m sure most of you must be wondering why brunettes should use a blue shampoo and blondes a purple shampoo. Why will a regular shampoo not work?
Well, it is important to keep in mind the importance of the color wheel whenever we talk about brassy tones in hair.
So, what is the color wheel? The color wheel shows us a spectrum of colors and is placed in a specific manner. You will notice that half the color wheel has warm colors, while the other half has cool colors.
Now when the warm pigments like orange, copper or yellow overpower the cool pigments in the hair, we notice brassiness.
Therefore, the only way we can get rid of this brassiness is by neutralizing and balancing out these warm pigments.
In order to neutralize these warm pigments, we require to pick the colors opposite to the color we want to neutralize.
So, in this case, a blue shampoo will neutralize the orange or copper tones in the hair, while a purple shampoo will neutralize the yellow tones in the hair.
How To Choose A Good Blue Or Purple Shampoo?
If you want to choose a good blue or purple shampoo, then here are some points to consider.
- Remember to buy a shampoo that is thick in consistency and is opaque in color, not translucent or transparent.
- Find a shampoo that is free from harsh chemicals like sulfates, parabens etc. This is especially for color-treated or bleached hair, because the hair is already likely damaged to a certain extent and using a shampoo with chemicals will only create more damage to the hair.
- Look for shampoos that are salon-grade or of high quality (which are used by professionals), even though they may be a little expensive.
- Search for products that have high customer ratings with good reviews, if you aren’t buying it from a store.
Related: How To Use Blue Shampoos
Related: How To Use Purple Shampoo
How To Use Blue Shampoo and Purple Shampoo
Yes, using a blue or purple shampoo will require nothing additional as compared to washing your hair with a regular hair washing shampoo. It is just as simple and easy -to-use.
All you need to do is rinse your hair properly under running water and let it get completely wet before shampooing it.
Using warm water is recommended, so that the cuticles on the hair shaft will get raised and the blue or purple shampoo will penetrate properly into the hair strand, making the product work more effectively.
Then, use a sufficient amount of shampoo so that all your hair is covered and lather it well, gently massaging it into your hair and then leave it on for a few minutes.
For those who have a lot of brassiness in their hair, you will have to keep the shampoo on for longer, but for a maximum of 15 minutes per hair washing session.
If your brassiness hasn’t completely gone away, then try to repeat shampooing your hair another time, until the brassiness goes away.
Lastly, wash off the shampoo properly and condition your hair well.
FAQs
1. What are the good brands to buy for blue or purple shampoo?
These are some of the best purple shampoo brands – John Frieda, Kevin Murphy, L’Oreal Paris, Redken, Fanola. In these purple shampoos the L'Oreal Everpure one is sulfate-free.
2. How often can blue or purple shampoos be used?
For those who want to maintain their hair vibrancy, you can also use a blue or purple shampoo (depending on your hair color) from time to time.
3. Should I use a blue or purple shampoo to get rid of green pool hair?
The reason why only a red shampoo will work and not a blue or purple is again with reference to the neutralizing of colors according to the color wheel.
4. Are blue or purple shampoos the same as blue or purple toners?
The final takeaway about blue vs purple shampoo
Well guys, I hope this article has cleared out your doubts about which shampoo you should use for your hair.
Remember if you have brassy, orange hair then you need a blue shampoo to neutralize these undertones.
However if you have yellowness in your blonde hair then you’d require a purple shampoo.
Also remember to choose a good quality shampoo (whether it’s blue or purple!) which is free from harsh chemicals like sulfates and suits your hair type and texture.
Also Read:
How To Remove Purple Hue From Purple Shampoo Out Of Hair