5 Effective Ways to Get Purple Dye Out of Hair

Whether you like light or dark purple hues dying your hair, this color can make a unique statement to those around you. Just because you dyed your hair purple or can’t stand the outcome does not mean you have to live with it for months to come.

Here’s how to remove purple hair dye, just in case you do not like the shade of purple dye you put into your hair.

How to Remove Purple Dye from Hair

Below are five methods that you can try to get purple dye out of your hair so you can move on to trying a different color that matches your style.

#1. Baking Soda and Lemon Juice Paste

When you wash your hair with only baking soda, it is a natural lightening agent to help remove semi-permanent purple or other colored hair dye. It will take about three to five washes to remove it, so be patient when using this method.

To ramp up how quickly the purple dye is removed from your hair, squeeze a lemon, lime, or any other type of citrus fruit into the baking soda. The acidity of the citrus will help to strip your hair of the purple dye in conjunction with the baking soda’s chemical properties.

Follow these steps to apply baking soda to your hair:

• Pour about a half cup of baking soda into a clean, spare bowl.
• Squeeze half of a lemon or lime into the baking soda.
• Mix it with a spoon to create a paste.
• Lightly dampen your hair.
• Work the baking soda and citrus mixture into your hair.
• Let the mixture stay in your hair for five to 10 minutes, then raise your hair thoroughly.

#2. Vitamin C With Your Clarifying Shampoo

Vitamin C, otherwise known as ascorbic acid, is well-known for its healing properties which help to build your body’s muscles, cartilage, and collagen and to keep your blood vessels healthy.

When you add Vitamin C to your clarifying shampoo, the acidic properties interacting with your hair will break down the purple dye, helping it to fade away.

Note that this method is best for semi-permanent purple hair dye and will not be as effective if applied to hair that has received the permanent alternative.

Clarifying shampoos are known to make color-treated hair fade with repeated use. Hence, using this type of shampoo rather than your standard go-to is the best route to get the purple color out of your hair.

Follow these steps when mixing and applying the Vitamin C and clarifying shampoo mixture to your hair:

• Grab any type of Vitamin C tablet. Grind at least five of them into a fine powder.
• In the same bowl, pour in your shampoo and mix until you have created a paste.
• Dampen your hair. Don’t fully wet it.
• Apply the mixture to your hair.
• Wait until a half hour to one hour later to rinse the mixture out of your hair.

#3. Bleach Wash Your Hair

Putting a bleach wash in your hair is another way to get purple dye out of your hair. This type of hair treatment lightens the dye in your hair or completely removes it, depending on how light purple your hair already is from prior lightening treatments.

Bleach wash your hair by:

• Wearing old clothes, you do not mind getting dirty. Bleach wash stains clothes easily, so just in case it drips onto your clothes, you want to be sure you are wearing old ones first.
• Part your hair into workable sections.
• Prepare the bleach wash per the instructions on the package, which usually involves combining it with a developer.
• Put the bleach wash into the highest most sections of your hair where your roots are to start the hair dye removal process.
• Wait at least a half hour to let the bleach wash work into your hair.
• Rinse the bleach wash out of your hair.
• Once your hair is dried, the optional step would be to add a toner of your choice.

#4. White Vinegar Mixed With Warm Water

White vinegar has a pH level of about 2.5. Any pH level that is below a seven is in the category of being acidic. Considering its acidity, the white vinegar will strip the purple dye from your hair while the warm water will open up the cuticles within your hair to expedite the dye removal process.

Apply white vinegar with warm water to your hair by:

• Warm up a half cup of water on the stove to a reasonable temperature you can handle.
• In a clean, spare bowl, pour the warm water and mix with half a cup of vinegar.
• Dump it on your hair and work it into your scalp.
• Let the mixture sit in your hair for at least 15 minutes with a shower cap on. 
• Rinse your hair and shampoo and condition it as you normally would.

#5. Use Anti-Dandruff Shampoo

Just like clarifying shampoo, using an anti-dandruff shampoo can naturally remove purple dye from your hair. Adding a splash of baking soda to the palm of your hand while washing with anti-dandruff shampoo can lighten your hair faster.

Try this method by:

• Dampen your hair.
• Place a small amount of anti-dandruff shampoo in your hair.
• Optional: Splash baking soda on top and rub them together to form a paste.
• Work the mixture (or just the shampoo) into your hair.
• Rinse and condition your hair as normal.

Summary

Here’s how to get purple dye out of hair:

• For permanent purple hair dye, the best method is to use a hair color extractor with hot water.
• For semi-permanent purple hair dye, the best method is baking soda with citrus juice.
• Clarifying shampoos, hair color extractors, and bleach washing, work for either permanent or semi-permanent purple hair color.

Frequently Asked Questions