Listen Up Blondes: You Need a Purple Shampoo

You: Have blonde hair. We: Talked to celebrity colorist Jenna Perry (she’s known for painting the hair of Bella Hadid, Jennifer Lawrence, Emily Ratajkowski, and many, many more) about one of the cardinal products of blonde hair maintenance, purple shampoo.

First off, “purple shampoo” isn’t a euphemism—it’s literally shampoo with purple pigments inside. Any blonde knows that the shade of your hair tends to change over time due to sun exposure, simple fading, or even the elements in the water you wash your hair in. Tones switch from golden or white-based to brassy or orange. That’s where purple shampoo comes in, says Perry. Because sometimes it can be fun to act brassy—but you never want your hair to look brassy. Perry answers all of our questions about how purple shampoo works, below.

What does purple shampoo do?

“Purple is opposite on the color wheel to yellow; therefore, purple cancels out any unwanted yellow tones to make the perfect blonde.”

Can every hair color use purple shampoo? Or is it only for blondes?

“Nope—it’s only for blondes. Purple is opposite from yellow on the color wheel, which means that the purple tones will neutralize any unwanted yellow tones.” Brunettes can use dark blue shampoo and redheads should use green—just look at the color wheel if you don’t believe me!

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What are the drawbacks of using purple shampoo?

“Sometimes people complain their hair feels like straw after using purple shampoo. Using it too often can make your hair feel dull—this means that it’s actually depositing too much pigment in your hair. The other reason your hair might feel dry is if you’re using a low-quality formula.”

How often should a blonde be using purple shampoo?

“I recommend a maximum of once a week. And always follow it up with a hydrating mask after.”

Meet the Expert

Celebrity colorist Jenna Perry is known for making hot girl hair (she’s also a hot girl herself, too). Her Manhattan salon is frequented by all of the City’s cool girls and celebs like Bella Hadid, Jennifer Lawrence, and Emily Ratajkowske.

Why Trust ELLE Beauty

Margaux Anbouba is a former blonde and the beauty editor at ELLE. Jenna Perry was actually the woman who did the deed, taking her strands from a faux black to vitamin C serum blonde in only nine hours (you can read about it here). She still thinks about returning to the light side daily—and because of that, she won’t let any dark dye touch her strands.