Tips & Tricks For Purple Shampoo

Let’s talk purple shampoo.

Popular for folks who have dyed or color-treated hair, purple shampoo is also recommended for blonde and grey hair. The main draw: removing the brassiness that sometimes happens with blonde hair. And removing the yellowing common in silver hair.

Before you purchase purple shampoo, we do have a few tips and caveats:

• Follow directions carefully. Unlike regular shampoo, many purple shampoo brands have very specific directions that you ignore at your own peril. Example: many require the use of gloves to avoid staining hands.

• Use less than daily. Many purple shampoos suggest only using it two or three times a week—not daily! Otherwise, your hair may end up with a purple cast.

• Don’t leave it on for a long time. Several brands we tried for this article warn to not leave it in the hair for more than a couple of minutes. This is shampoo, not leave-in conditioner. That’s because purple shampoo is stronger than regular shampoo—and it can stain or damage hair if left in.

With all that said, purple shampoo is increasing in popularity for its positive benefits . . . as long as you use it as directed! 

As with all our tests, we tried purple shampoo from a variety of brands. To keep our tests independent, we don’t take sponsorship or free samples from the brands we review. 

After all the testing, here are the purple shampoos our staff judged as best:

About the Authors

Denise & Alan Fields are consumer advocates and best-selling authors. The Fields have authored 12 books with three million copies in print, including the best-selling guide to baby gear, Baby Bargains.

The Fields have been featured and quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times.

As consumer products experts, the Fields have been guests on the NBC Today Show, Good Morning America and ABC’s 20/20.

How We Pick Products To Recommend

We often turn to our readers (3 million strong!) to find products to recommend. We ask our parent readers for their favorites and consider their real-world experiences in our recommendations.

When we test a product, we always purchase it with our own monies. We do not take free samples, as we believe that compromises our independence.

We also fact check manufacturer information with our own measurements. If a maker claims a product weighs X pounds, we will weigh it to make sure. If the battery life is supposed to be six hours, we will see how it stands up in the real world.

In some cases, we will do interviews with experts in the field to get additional feedback on products.

To get hands-on time with products, we regularly meet one-on-one with gear companies and even tour manufacturing facilities. (When we do this, we pay our own travel expenses).

Why Trust Us

We’ve been rating and reviewing products for the home and families since 1994. We do extensive research, evaluating products with an eye toward quality, ease of use and affordability.

We make our living from affiliate commissions, but we always recommend what we think are the best bets for our readers (not the ones that are the most expensive). We are always looking for products that offer the best bang for the buck.

Our independence is a key reason why we have been doing this so long. As we mentioned above, when we purchase a product for hands-on testing, we do so with our own money.

Here’s another key point: we don’t take money from the brands we review. No free samples, no sponsors, no “partnerships.” Our work is 100% reader-supported!