This post contains affiliate links.
About a year ago I finally jumped on the balayage train and I love it!! I finally found someone local who could lighten my super dark hair and not make it orange or brassy! And all the brunettes tased their hands in the air and shouted hallelujah!!
Along with keeping up the color, which isn’t too bad because it’s balayage and my roots are the same so growing the color out doesn’t matter, comes maintenance. Anyone who has lightened their hair knows how dry it can get and how important it it to keep it moisturized and as damage free as possible. So while growing the color out isn’t a problem for me I have other issues.
Since my hair is so super dark, keeping the blonde ends blonde and not brassy is a challenge and luckily for me my amazing hair stylist recommended using a a blue shampoo over a purple shampoo which made me question…blue shampoo vs. purple shampoo, why should I use blue over purple??
When I initially googled what shampoo to use for blonde hair the first result that popped up was purple shampoo. It makes sense, the purple will neutralize yellow/brassy tones and keep the blonde more of an icy blonde which is the goal, right? Short answer, YES! Long answer? Since my hair is so dark it tends to pull orange instead of yellow so purple shampoo isn’t the best thing for my hair. So what should I be using? Blue shampoo!
Before last year I had never even heard of blue shampoo and now I swear I see it everywhere! HA! Blue shampoo is for naturally dark brunettes with salon highlights/balayage. Blue shampoo tones down orange/brassy tones and helps keep my blonde an white/icy blonde. Basically blue shampoo is for brunettes what purple shampoo is for blondes. Who knew?
I found this graphic on Twitter from Joico (maker of my fave blue shampoo) and I think it does an amazing job of explaining the differences between blue and purple shampoos and which one is best for your hair!
So what are some good blue and purple shampoos? Here are my recs…
BLUE SHAMPOOS – Joico Color Balance Blue (duh), Matrix Total Results Brass Off, Fanola No Orange, DPHUE Cool Brunette Shampoo
PURPLE SHAMPOOS- Joico Color Balance Purple, Clairol Shimmer Lights, Redken Color Extend Blondage, Bed Head Dumb Blonde, Not Your Mother’s Blonde Moment, Kristin Ess The One Purple, Fanola No Yellow
Honestly I could go on and on and list every brand of purple shampoos but I think that list is a pretty good mix of high end and drugstore shampoos.
How often should you use a blue or purple shampoo? I use mine with every other wash unless I notice it’s getting super brassy looking. I wash my roots really good with my regular shampoo and shampoo brush and then rinse it out. Then I apply the blue shampoo to my ends (making sure to cover all of the blonde) and leave it on for about 5-ish minutes and then rinse and condition like normal. I tried using a blue conditioner but honestly like my regular conditioner better so that’s what I use.
I know some people who use their blue or purple shampoo with every wash, it just depends on how icy blonde you want your hair and if you think it needs it. It’s really up to you!
So there you have it, the differences between blue and purple shampoos and hopefully now you know which one you should be using!
Do you use a blue or purple shampoo?
I like the break down between the blonde and brunettes. I don’t color my hair anymore but this is very useful information to know.
I never heard of Blue or Purple Shampoo I just purchase what catches my eye but since I do color my hair I will know which shampoo to look for.
How interesting. I hadn’t heard of these shampoos before. I just buy shampoo and conditioner for color treated hair and it seems to work well for me.
I have these shampoos before. I had no idea that there were different shampoos for different color hair. I’m quite intrigued and I think I definitely need to try this.
I don’t use blue or purple shampoos. However, thanks for giving a breakdown of each product. These would be perfect for my friend.
Ah interesting! Although, I have to admit – I don’t see any benefit or anything of me using purple shampoo, ever! haahah!
This is really interesting, I’ve heard of purple shampoo but not blue before. I definitely need to try some blue shampoo and see how it works for me!
I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t even know these existed. Though someone did just tell me about balayage today, so at least I’m not completely in the dark.
This is awesome, I had never heard of the blue shampoo either but I am definitely going to try this purple shampoo for my hair!
I learned something new today! I didn’t know there’s such thing as blue shampoo. My friends who have balayage hair and bleached hair just use purple shampoo as recommended by their hair stylists.
I love it when science overlaps beauty! This is cool stuff.
This is super interesting I never knew these existed! I will have to purchase some when I get my hair done this summer!
This is really helpful information. My daughter loves to dye her hair and i think she would find this information useful. That is if she doesn’t already know about it, lol. She knows a lot when it comes to hair products.
I’ve heard about purple shampoo from a colleague at work and it looks perfectly on her hair. Unfortunately my hair is very black, I don’t think it will work good on me
Your hair looks great! I love it! And balayage is a good compromise! I should try Joico products, too. Seems to be what I need!
I think I know someone who would love that Bed Head product. I have tried some Not Your Mother’s products before and loved it.
Now you got me into wanting to try the Blue Shampoo. :) It sounds like a good one. I will check it out, for sure.
I didn’t even know there was such a think as purple and blue shampoo. Glad to know about it now. I’m a red head, so not really sure which one I would try?
I always use a purple shampoo/conditioner for my hair! I’ve been recently using the Pravana purple conditioner and really loving it!
How fascinating I hadn’t heard of blue shampoo before. I’m blonde so I use purple but this would be great for my daughters.
I use Joico conditioner for years and I love it. This is first tine i heard about their blue and purple shampoo. Sounds intriguing i would like to try it
I’ve never heard of blue shampoo before. Purple, yes, but not blue. Interesting!
A lot of people have heard and use purple shampoo but if your hair is super dark like mine and pulls brassy or orange the blue will help!!
I had no idea there was blue shampoo. I recently got balayage and have noticed some of the blond sections of my hair looking brassy, even when I use a color treated hair specific shampoo. I think adding blue shampoo would help.
It will help!!
I need to get the blue shampoo! My hair always ends up turning brassy by the time I get my hair recolored, no matter what shampoo I use.
You will love it!!
I have natural brown hair. I color my hair a dark ash blonde. Which I like, but after a few weeks I get a brassy orange red highlights. Blue or purple which should I use. Thanks
If you have ban hair then I suggest a blue shampoo!
I just moved to central Arkansas (Little Rock) a bit ago after growing up in MI. I read your post since I am also a brunette who has balayage highlighted hair and am looking for a good blue shampoo as well as for a good stylist who can balayage to maintain my look! May I ask for your salon recommendation that you went to? I have looked around but am not sure who to trust!
I enjoyed the article, but I’m still confused. I still have natural mostly dark hair, with bright white/silver streaks. Blue or purple?
If you have dark hair I would use blue shampoo!