Makeup At Midnight says…Ever since I’ve been dying my hair blonde, I’ve been told by many people to treat my hair with a “purple/silver” toning shampoo or conditioner every few days to help prevent my hair from getting a brassy tone to it. Supposedly, this works by ‘color theory’ in the way that the purple toner in the shampoo is able to cancel out the brassy yellow colors in the hair. An example of such a product is the AG Sterling Silver line, one that I’ve been using myself (although I’m still skeptical). My question is, does these types of products actually work to keep brassy colored hair at bay?
The Beauty Brains respond:
There is a good bit of science at work here but don’t get your hopes up too high. Here’s why:
The cause of yellow hair
Back in the late ’60s or early ’70s companies recognized the need for shampoos focussed on the problems of people with gray or silver hair. Specifically consumers complained about their silver hair developed a yellowish cast. The yellowing effect could come from protein degradation, lipid oxidation or perhaps even residue from other haircare products. And it makes senses that it would be apparent on silver hair subtle shifts in color are more visible on such a light background (hair that doesn’t have any dark pigment). Regardless of the cause, women (and men) wanted some way to stop their silver mane from looking like it had been peed upon. (We exaggerate for dramatic effect but you get the idea.)
Colors can cancel
Enter an enterprising chemist who remembered the basic physics of the color wheel. The color wheel shows that colors that are at opposite positions on have wavelengths that will cancel each other. So, if one wanted to cancel the color yellow one would look across from their color wheel and find violet. Then, pulling out their trusty cosmetic ingredient dictionary, this chemist would have likely found that a dye, External Violet 2, which has two very important properties: first it produces an intense violet color and second it can stain surfaces like hair and skin. Being water-soluble Ext Violet 2 is is easy to incorporate into shampoos at sufficiently high levels where it can sustain hair. When done properly, this light violet stain is enough to counteract the yellow cast of hair thereby returning hair to its true silver shade.
What about blond hair?
Unfortunately, the effect of violet dye shampoos on blonde hair will be very subtle if there is any effect at all. Unlike silver hair that has a slight yellow cast that really stands out from the background, blonde hair essentially consists of ALL yellow shades. Canceling out a little bit of yellow on a very yellow background will be a barely noticeable improvement.
That doesn’t mean you can’t try it. If your hair has the right shade of yellow (brassiness) the violet may make a noticeable improvement. Just be careful because depending on the hair, the violet over yellow could give the blonde hair a greenish cast. It might be advisable to try the product on a part of the hair that’s not to obvious until the right routine is identified. Also, these dyes will build up if used repeatedly and depositing too much violet dye could leave your blonde locks looking like Purple Rain.
AG Sterling Silver Shampoo Ingredients
Water/Aqua/Eau, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Ammonium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Cocamide Mea, Glycol Distearate, Laureth-10, Lauryl Pyrroudone, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Cinnamidopropyltrimonium Chloride, Dimethicone PEG-8 Meadowfomate, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Extract, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavander) Extract, Trifolium Pratense (Clover) Extract, Pinus Palustris Leaf Extract, Dianthus Cariophyllus (Carnation) Flower Extract, Panthenol, Silk Amino Acids, Cocodimonium Hydroxypropyl Hydrolyzed Keratin, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Hydrolyzed Wheat Starch, Sodium PCA, Tetrasodium Edta, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Citric Acid, Parfum/Fragrance, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Ext. Violet 2 (CI 60730), Blue 1 (CI 42090), Red 33 (CI 17200).
Image credit: http://farm3.staticflickr.com/
Has anyone in the Beauty Brains community tried “purple” shampoo on blond hair? Leave a comment and share your experiences.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
My light blonde hair can get brassy yellow or white with too much sun or swimming. I’ve used purple shampoo and condition, it helps a bit, but don’t expect a huge difference. There are also rinses, like FanciFull, that help.
I have used them in the past as a blonde, and they DO help. It was noticeable, for me. I used Shimmerlights though
If when
If when I am an old person I have silver hair I will use the frig out of it so its a purpleish silver color. Sounds cool.
By it I mean this shampoo of course or a similar one.
I have used the Clairol Shimmer Lights (Sally Beauty Supply) before and it did seem to help with the color somewhat. I haven’t used it in several years so, obviously, it didn’t make enough of a difference for me to keep using it. Plus it has sulfates which don’t agree with my scalp nowadays.
Dont knock yellow hair Lady Gaga rocked it and when it is in a golden tone I think it looks lovely. Also was the pee thing really necessary? ( I have a phobia I know the world cannot accommodate it though just saying it was an annoying trigger)
Oh! That explains the blue rinses, that I used to see when I was a kid. Also laundry bluing.
I’m with Rozy, when I get silver hair I going to use the frig out of it too.
I have super-bleached platinum hair, and silver shampoos are a godsend for getting rid of yellowness and keeping it looking more white. If your hair’s a bit darker blonde, they can just leave it looking a bit dirty though, so are better for very pale blondes.
I think purple toners DO work, but only on the palest streaks. whenever I bleach my hair, I use shimmer lights and after a few applications the palest streaks are more of a champagne/beige color. however, shimmer lights (and similar toners) don’t seem to work on anything darker than that.
I think it also helps for the hair to be bleached so it’s more porous.
I have the same situation as Sarah. I have white-blonde hair and it is totally different looking when I use toning shampoo and when I don’t for a while.
I use the knockoff version of shimmerlights.
Thanks Beauty Brains for your blog response to my question! I’ve been curious for a long time to know if these claims were legitimate!
Shimmer Lights has definitely helped tone my dyed-blonde hair. That said, I only notice a difference when my hair is a pale blonde; as the BB predicted, the violet doesn’t make much of a difference in golden blonde. I guess there’s just too much yellow to cancel out. Another important thing to note: If you overuse the shampoo on light blonde hair, it stains your hair light purple. It comes out in a few washes, but it looks pretty silly in the meantime.
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