Colored hair requires special care, and this is never more true than it is for light shades including highlights, blonde, silver, and gray hair. If you’ve recently gone through a color treatment to achieve one of these lighter shades, you may have questions about how to properly care for your hair to keep the color for as long as possible. Maybe your stylist gave you some tips, or maybe you did some research on your own — whatever you heard, you’ve likely seen a lot of discussion about purple hair products.



If you’re unfamiliar with what they are, this guide will share everything you need to know including a purple hair product routine that’s perfect for blonde, silver, and gray hair.

What are purple hair products?
Purple hair products are formulated with purple pigment, which helps to counteract brassy and warm tones like yellow, orange, and red. If you’ve changed your hair color from a darker shade to a lighter one, these brassy tones will slowly start to reappear over time at the roots resulting in discoloration. To prevent brassy tones from ruining your look, many people use purple hair products to neutralize warm tones.

Purple hair products work based on color theory —  colors opposite of each other on the color wheel will cancel out. Since purple is across from yellow on the color wheel, the purple pigment in these products will neutralize brassy tones when applied to your hair. It should be noted that the purple pigment in these products is not enough to turn your hair purple, though you may notice a slight violet hue from overly-excessive use.



What are the types of purple hair products?
In general, there are three types of purple hair products:
- Purple Shampoo: By far the most common purple product, these shampoos are intended to be used once to twice per week in order to tone brassy hues and keep hair light and bright.
- Purple Conditioner: Purple conditioners are designed to be paired with Purple Shampoo, though their focus is typically more about adding moisture than toning. These products aren’t too common, as you can typically get by with your regular conditioner.
- Purple Mask: Purple hair masks are a deep-conditioning treatment that tones, hydrates, and softens color-treated hair.

Purple hair product routine
If you’ve recently gone through a color treatment to achieve highlights, blonde, silver, or gray hair — using the right products is essential to keeping your hair color for as long as possible. Not only will switching up your routine help your hair look great, it will also save you money by helping you extend the time between salon visits for touch ups.

The foundation of your purple hair product routine should be Purple Shampoo, as it offers your best defense against brassy undertones. When choosing between purple shampoos, pay close attention to the ingredients and make sure to avoid options containing sulfates, which will strip your hair of it’s color. If you’re unsure what to choose, check out our Purple Shampoo — which is free of sulfates and other harmful ingredients in favor of nourishing alternatives like açaí extract and coconut oil. Our Purple Shampoo works to cleanse and brighten and one study found it reduced brassiness by 24% after a single use* (*on average, in a third party lab setting on 10 tresses after one use of Purple Shampoo alone). 

After using your purple shampoo of choice, next comes the conditioner. While you could seek a purple conditioner, this isn’t necessary by any means. Your conditioner’s main job is to replenish moisture, not tone hair. As such, you’re fine to use your regular conditioner or any moisturizing option.

While a purple conditioner is optional, we highly recommend a Purple Mask as a once a week treatment. Purple masks provide an extra boost of toning and moisture to help keep your color-treated hair healthy, hydrated, and soft. Beyond what a purple shampoo can do, a purple mask is usually packed with nourishing ingredients to give your hair what it needs. For example, our Purple Mask contains pro-vitamin B5 and sunflower seed extract, which add vibrancy and provide natural UV protection to prevent color fading. Finally, make sure to use Ghost Oil to give your hair shine and nourishment! If your strands are dull, check out our Glossy Shampoo, Conditioner, and Shine Spray with Heat Protection.

Try our Purple Shampoo and Purple Mask
Whether you have highlights, blonde, silver, or gray hair — the purple hair product routine we provided should help to keep your strands light and bright. Check out our Purple Shampoo and Purple Mask to learn more about these products, and try them to see the difference they can make for your hair.