That purple shampoo trick my instructor swore by actually works

I've been doing hair for about 12 years now, mostly in a small salon outside Columbus, Ohio. I always struggled with brassy tones on my gray-haired clients, especially the ones who wanted a bright silver look. Last year I had this one regular, Carol, who kept complaining her highlights looked yellow after a week. My instructor from back in 2007 told me to try mixing a bit of purple shampoo right into the toner instead of just using it as a wash after. First time I did it on Carol, I left the mix on for about 8 minutes and her color stayed cool for almost three weeks. I wasn't sure it would make that big a difference, but it did. Now I do this for any client with medium to dark gray hair and it cuts down on brassiness by a lot. Has anyone else used this trick or have a timing recommendation for different levels of gray?

2 comments

2 Comments

drew_chen1mo ago

But doesn't the toner itself already neutralize yellow, aren't you just wasting product?

the_andrew1mo ago

Haven't you noticed that toner tends to fade faster when it's mixed with developer alone? The purple shampoo gives it a little extra staying power because the pigment is already suspended in a conditioning base. I've had better luck since I started doing it, and it honestly costs nothing to try. Plus if you leave it on too long you can just rinse and condition again, it's not like you're messing up the whole color.