What Does Purple Shampoo Do to Your Gray Hair?

Have you been struck by the inevitable march of time? Now that you’re sporting those gray locks, have you wondered how purple shampoo on gray hair will affect your silvery strands? Wonder no more.

Read on to learn how often to use purple shampoo on gray hair, whether blue shampoo is better, and how to help maintain your silvery mane.

What Does Purple Shampoo Do to Your Gray Hair?

Purple shampoo is a type of shampoo that deposits pigments into your strands to counteract or neutralize tone issues that your hair color can experience.

Using the right colored shampoo for your hair color ensures that your hair color always looks great. Now, what exactly does purple shampoo on gray hair achieve?

Using purple shampoo on your gray hair will help combat one of the most significant issues that natural gray hair experiences, yellowing strands. That’s right; natural gray hair is constantly at risk for unattractive yellowing of the hair follicles due to various factors.

That’s where purple shampoo comes in handy because the shampoo’s purple pigments help neutralize the yellowing—keeping your gray hair looking stunningly silvery.

For further context, it’s important to note a few scenarios that can cause the yellowing of natural gray hair. Hair turns gray when it starts to lose melanin; once it completely loses melanin, it turns white.

Melanin is what gives pigmentation to your skin, eyes, and hair. As your gray hair lacks melanin, it’s easier for your light hair to experience discoloration.

Some of the most common causes of the yellowing of gray hair include:

• Chlorine
• Hard water
• Heavy pollution
• UV rays

Let’s look at these causes in more detail.

Chlorine

If you regularly swim in a chlorinated pool, your gray hair is at risk of experiencing yellowing, thanks to the chlorine.

Hard Water

If you live in an area with hard water (water high in mineral content), your gray hair is at risk of yellowing.

Heavy Pollution

If you live or work in an area with heavy pollution, the polluted particles in the air can turn your gray hair yellow.

UV Rays

If you spend a lot of time in the sun, oxidizing proteins in your gray hair can react with UV rays and turn them yellow.

When Should You Use Purple Shampoo on Your Gray Hair?

Next, let’s discuss how often you should use purple shampoo on gray hair. How frequently you should use purple shampoo depends on the current condition of your silvery strands.

So, the first thing to consider is whether your gray hair is already experiencing yellowing or if you want to prevent your gray hair from yellowing to determine if you need to:

• Counteract yellowing
• Prevent yellowing

Counteract Yellowing

If your gray hair is currently yellowed, you should use a purple shampoo for every wash until your gray strands return to their natural beauty. Then follow the below recommendations for preventing yellowing.

Prevent Yellowing

If your gray hair isn’t currently yellowed, you’re at a lower risk of yellowing hair. If you don’t often swim in a chlorinated pool, spend too much time in the sun, and live in an area with heavy pollution or hard water, then you should use purple shampoo once a week.

However, if your gray hair isn’t currently yellowed but you’re at a higher risk of yellowing, you should use a purple shampoo with every other wash.

Which Is Better For Gray Hair: Blue or Purple Shampoo?

Finally, for those wondering if purple shampoo is the best option for your gray hair or if blue shampoo would be better, let’s discuss the difference between the two and how they compare when it comes to gray strands.

Blue and purple shampoos are color-depositing shampoos used to counteract tone issues that hair can experience.

Blue Shampoo

Brunettes typically use blue shampoo to cancel out the orangeness that their darker strands tend to experience.

However, orange or coppery tones aren’t an issue for gray hair, so gray hair doesn’t need blue shampoo.

Purple Shampoo

As previously discussed, Purple shampoo counteracts and prevents the yellowing of natural gray hair, and it also neutralizes hair to look shiny and vibrant.

Yellowing is an issue that is common in lighter hair shades, and this is why purple shampoo benefits those with blonde, silver, or gray hair.

Use purple shampoo once a week on your brassy gray hair to get the best results.

Good luck rocking those silvery strands!

FAQs

If you still have questions about purple shampoo on gray hair, let’s look at some frequently asked questions.