We’ve all heard it before, “shampoo strips moisture,” “shampoo makes the color fade,” “shampoo is bad!” I used to be a passionate no-shampoo advocate; my hair doesn’t really get greasy and has never responded well to shampoo, so eventually, I stopped using it altogether and opted for a co-wash routine. You would think that since bleaching your hair makes it more prone to damage, breakage, and a lack of moisture, that shampoo would be the last thing you want to touch your lightened curls; but it turns out purple shampoo, due to its relation to yellow on the color wheel, is something every bleached blonde needs.
After I began regularly bleaching my hair my stylist highly encouraged the use of a toning shampoo weekly or bi-monthly to keep the color vibrant. Since then, I swear by the results of my purple toning shampoo when my hair is starting to look brassy, but there are definitely some things you should know so you don’t accidentally dye your hair blue or strip the natural oils from your curls.
1. Purple shampoo should not be used multiple times a week
Like my stylist said, purple toning shampoos are best used once a week or every other week. This is primarily due to the extreme pigment in purple shampoos that can be very drying, but also overusing it can dull the color of your hair rather than make the color more vibrant. Using a purple shampoo can be addicting when you first use it because they can work SO well. But don’t let their magical brass erasing powers fool you into thinking you can use it daily.
2. Pre-Poo
I have talked about this silly-sounding regimen before, but names aside, this is one of the most essential parts of incorporating purple shampoo into my weekly wash routine. Since my hair does not respond well to the drying properties of shampoo, doing an oil treatment beforehand helps keep my hair soft, healthy, and my curls nourished. There are many options to pre-poo, like creating you own DIY oil treatment, but since wash days already make my morning routine longer, lately I’ve opted for a pre made pre-poo. Right now I’m loving the brand “Flawless” by Gabrielle Union and I use the Flawless Oil Treatment which has a five-oil blend of avocado, argan, marula, coconut, and macadamia oil that leaves my hair SO soft and moisturized.
3. ALWAYS condition after
You should be conditioning after you shampoo anyways, but if you don’t, you definitely need to after using a purple shampoo. Pre-pooing is not always enough, and after leaving the toning shampoo in for a few minutes, your hair can be hard to detangle when you rinse it out. If my hair feels extra tangled or unmanageable and dry after washing or if I forgot/didn’t have time to pre-poo, a moisturizing conditioner is necessary to bring my curls back to life. Like many product junkies and curly women I switch conditioners often, but there are a few I always come back to. My favorites that I alternate between are Camille Rose Naturals Jansyns Moisture Max conditoner, Mielle Organics Babassu Oil & Mint Deep Conditioner, and Redken All Soft. In addition, I always use Olaplex on days that I shampoo to help with stripped moisture.
4. Don’t leave it on too long
I learned this the hard way when I left a purple shampoo on my hair and it turned a bluish gray color. I thought the longer I kept it on, the better the results would be. Wrong. There are directions for a reason, read them! I have noticed that I am able to keep my purple shampoo in longer than 2-3 minutes like Clairol Lights Shimmering Shampoo advises, but I try not to keep it in longer than 5 minutes. If you feel that your hair is still brassy after using a toning shampoo, call your stylist for a a stronger in-house toning session. These generally run about $30 depending on your salon. After that, you can start to use a toning shampoo on your own to keep the results looking vibrant and blonde.
5. Listen to your hair
If you follow all of these directions and they aren’t working, either your hair is still dry or maybe the pre-poo weighed your hair down too much; mix it up. My regimen will not work for everyone, just like yours may not work for me. Play around with finding the method that works best, it could be that you only need to use a purple shampoo once a month to sustain your color, or perhaps if your hair does respond well to shampoo you can use it twice a week. The important thing is finding out what routine your hair thrives with. This may take a few tries to get right, so keep track of days that your curls cooperated with you, and try to revisit those steps the next time you have a wash day.
Unfortunately, while purple shampoos do a great job of eliminating brassy tones from your hair, even the ‘moisturizing’ ones I have tried dry out my hair, make it hard to detangle, and leave my curls prone to frizz for the rest of that day. I’ve always used Clairol Lights Shimmering Shampoo, but just like with conditioners I like to mix it up sometimes. Our NC SHOP just received HASK Blue Chamomile and Argan Oil Blonde Shampoo and conditioner that also works great and you can purchase here. Using a moisturizing regimen in conjunction while toning is the best way to incorporate a purple shampoo and still get the frizz-free, moisturized ringlet curls you deserve.
Do you use purple shampoo? What brand is your favorite? Share below!
