Best Purple Shampoos for Blondes That Actually Work
Four purple shampoos that genuinely neutralize brassiness in blonde, highlighted, and gray hair. Honest reviews from drugstore to salon-grade picks.
My hair has been some shade of blonde for most of my adult life. Highlights, full bleach, balayage, back to highlights again. And one thing I have learned the hard way is that keeping blonde hair looking cool and fresh between salon visits is almost entirely about finding the right toning shampoo and actually using it correctly.
The first time someone told me to try purple shampoo, I was skeptical. My hair was turning that warm, coppery-orange shade about three weeks after leaving the salon, and it looked like the color was just fading fast. Turns out the issue was not fading at all, at least not entirely. It was oxidation and water minerals pulling out the cool tones and leaving the warm underlying pigment visible. Purple shampoo works by depositing a small amount of violet pigment that sits opposite warm tones on the color wheel, which cancels them out visually.
That explanation made sense once I understood it, but it took a lot of trial and error to figure out which purple shampoos actually work versus which ones just smell nice and make your shower purple for a few minutes.
After trying probably eight or nine different options over the years, these four are the ones I keep coming back to depending on how much toning I need and how my hair is feeling.
What Purple Shampoo Actually Does
The color wheel explanation is the one that clicked for me. Blonde hair, whether naturally light or lightened through bleach or highlights, contains underlying warm pigments. When your hair is freshly toned at the salon, those warm tones are balanced out by ash or cool-toned color. Over time, that cool tone fades and the underlying warmth becomes more visible.
Purple and violet are directly opposite yellow and orange on the color wheel. When you apply a small amount of purple pigment to blonde hair, it visually cancels the brassiness rather than dyeing your hair a different color. The effect is subtle but meaningful: hair looks cooler, ashier, and closer to how it looked right after a toning appointment.
The challenge is calibration. Too little purple pigment (or too short a contact time) and you will not see much difference. Too much pigment, or leaving the shampoo on too long, and you end up with a lilac or gray cast that is difficult to remove. The right product and timing depends on how porous your hair is, how light it is, and how brassy the starting point is.
Fanola No Yellow Shampoo
The Fanola No Yellow Shampoo is the most aggressively pigmented shampoo on this list, and that is both its greatest strength and its biggest caveat.
I first heard about it from my colorist, who used it as a toning treatment in the salon diluted with a regular shampoo. She warned me that the formula is strong enough that even leaving it on for five minutes on very light, porous hair can result in a noticeable purple tint. She was right.
What Fanola does better than anything else I have tried is produce a dramatic, immediate toning effect on very yellow or brassy blonde hair. If you have bleached blonde hair that has gone significantly warm and you want to get back to a cooler tone without a salon visit, this is the most effective at-home option I have found. One or two uses typically delivers a visible shift toward ashy or silver-blonde tones.
The key with Fanola is timing. For most light blondes, one to three minutes is enough. For platinum or very porous hair, even one minute produces a strong result. The bottle will turn the water in your shower a dark purple, which looks alarming but rinses out completely.
I use this once every three to four weeks when my blonde has gone noticeably warm, not as my regular every-wash shampoo. Used that way, it is genuinely one of the most effective toning products available at any price point.
The limitation is worth being honest about: the formula is not designed to be gentle. It is not sulfate-free, which means it is not ideal for daily use on color-treated hair. It is a tool for periodic toning resets, not a regular conditioning cleanser. If you want a gentler option you can use every time you wash, one of the other picks on this list is a better fit for day-to-day use.
Fanola No Yellow Purple Shampoo, 11.83 oz
The most powerful toning option on this list. Highly pigmented formula delivers visible brassiness correction in one to three minutes. Best for very yellow or warm blonde hair that needs a dramatic reset. Not for daily use or for those with dry, damaged, or fragile hair, but unmatched for periodic toning when hair has gone significantly warm between appointments.
Clairol Shimmer Lights Purple Shampoo
The Clairol Shimmer Lights has been around long enough that my mom used it in the early 2000s to keep her silver hair looking bright and cool-toned. The formula has been updated over the years, but the philosophy is the same: a moderately pigmented shampoo that works well when left on for a few minutes.
What I like about Shimmer Lights is that it lands in a useful middle ground. It is not as punishingly strong as the Fanola, which means there is less risk of going too purple if you lose track of time in the shower. But it is strong enough to make a noticeable difference on regular blonde or highlighted hair, which is more than I can say for a lot of drugstore toning shampoos that are so lightly pigmented they barely do anything at all.
It works particularly well on silver and gray hair, which was its original purpose. If you are embracing natural grays or silver highlights and want to keep them looking bright and cool rather than yellow, Shimmer Lights is one of the most reliable options at the drugstore level.
For blonde and highlighted hair, I find five to seven minutes produces a clear toning effect without going purple, though I always check at the five-minute mark since my hair is fairly porous. For natural or lightly highlighted hair, you could leave it on longer without much risk.
The price is genuinely good for how well it performs. At under $20 for 16 ounces, you are getting a lot of product that lasts months if you are using it correctly rather than every single wash. This is also widely available at drugstores and grocery stores, which matters if you travel and run out or just prefer to pick things up in person rather than ordering online.
Clairol Professional Shimmer Lights Purple Shampoo, 16 fl. oz
The classic drugstore toning pick with a long track record. Moderately pigmented formula tones well with a five to seven minute contact time and is less risky than stronger formulas. Great for silver and gray hair in addition to blonde. Under $20 for 16 oz, widely available in stores. Best as a weekly or bi-weekly toning shampoo rather than a daily cleanser.
Joico Color Balance Purple Shampoo
The Joico Color Balance Purple Shampoo is the option I reach for most when I want to tone and also actually take care of my hair at the same time.
Most toning shampoos are primarily about pigment delivery, and they can leave hair feeling stripped or dry, especially if your hair is already processed. Joico includes rosehip oil and green tea extract in the Color Balance formula, which sounds like marketing fluff but actually makes a difference in how hair feels after washing. It leaves hair softer and shinier than straight-up toning formulas, without sacrificing toning effectiveness.
The pigment level is lighter than Fanola and slightly lighter than Shimmer Lights, which means it is safer to leave on longer. I typically do five to ten minutes and find it produces a gentle but clear toning effect. For very warm or brassy hair, it is not the quickest fix, but for maintaining cool tones between salon visits when hair has gone only slightly warm, it is genuinely my favorite.
The UV protection is a real feature, not just a label claim. Sun exposure is one of the main reasons blonde hair goes brassy between appointments, and protecting against UV while toning at the same time is a practical combination.
At around $15 to $20 for 10 ounces, it is slightly more expensive per ounce than Shimmer Lights, but the conditioning ingredients and UV protection justify the price for anyone with color-treated hair who washes frequently.
Joico Color Balance Purple Shampoo, 10.1 fl. oz
The toning shampoo that also genuinely conditions. Rosehip oil and green tea extract keep hair soft and shiny, while the UV protection formula helps prevent future brassiness from sun exposure. Lighter pigment than Fanola or Shimmer Lights, so safer for longer contact times. Best for color-treated hair that needs regular toning maintenance without dryness. Around $15 to $20 for 10 oz.
L'Oreal EverPure Brass Toning Purple Shampoo
The L'Oreal EverPure is where I send friends who are new to purple shampoo and a little nervous about getting it wrong. It is the most forgiving option on this list, which makes it the easiest place to start.
The formula is sulfate-free, which is a meaningful distinction. Sulfate-free shampoos are generally gentler on color-treated hair and on the scalp, and they are the option I recommend most when someone is asking about purple shampoo but has highlighted or dyed hair that they are worried about damaging. This one is safe to use more regularly than the other options on this list, which makes it a good choice as a go-to weekly shampoo for maintaining tone rather than a corrective treatment you pull out periodically.
The toning effect is subtle. On hair that has gone only mildly warm, one use with a five-minute contact time makes a noticeable difference. On very brassy hair, you might need several washes to see a clear shift, which is the honest tradeoff for a gentler formula. If your hair is significantly warm and you want fast results, start with the Fanola for a reset and then switch to the EverPure for ongoing maintenance.
The price is excellent. Under $10 for 6.8 ounces makes it very accessible, and because it is available at virtually every drugstore, it is the easiest purple shampoo to replace when you run out. The hibiscus scent is also genuinely nice, which is not always true of toning shampoos.
L'Oreal Paris EverPure Brass Toning Purple Shampoo, 6.8 fl. oz
The gentlest and most beginner-friendly option. Sulfate-free formula is safe for regular use on color-treated hair and produces subtle toning with a pleasant hibiscus scent. Best for maintaining cool tones when hair has gone only slightly warm, or as a weekly maintenance shampoo after a corrective toning treatment. Under $10 for 6.8 oz, widely available in stores.
How to Use Purple Shampoo Correctly
Getting the most out of any of these shampoos comes down to three variables: how often you use them, how long you leave them on, and what you do afterward.
Frequency depends on how much toning you need. If you use a lot of heat styling, spend time outdoors, or swim in chlorinated water, your hair will go brassy faster and you will probably want to tone once a week. If your color holds well and you are just doing maintenance, every two to three washes is plenty. Daily use of any toning shampoo is too much and will eventually leave hair looking dull or purple-tinted.
Contact time is where most people go wrong, in both directions. Lathering and rinsing immediately the way you would a regular shampoo means the pigment barely has time to deposit. The sweet spot for most formulas is three to five minutes for moderate toning or five to ten minutes for stronger correction. I set a timer because I get distracted in the shower.
What comes after matters more than most people realize. Purple pigment can make hair feel drier or rougher, especially with stronger formulas like Fanola. Always follow toning shampoo with a conditioner, and use a deep conditioning mask whenever you do a longer treatment. The conditioner also helps neutralize any excess pigment that has deposited, which smooths out the result and adds shine.
After toning, I follow up with my favorite leave-in conditioner to lock in moisture, especially on the ends where bleached hair tends to be most porous and most prone to absorbing too much pigment.
For more on building the complete routine, my posts on best deep conditioning hair masks and best leave-in conditioners for women go into detail on what to use alongside your toning shampoo.
How to Tell If Your Purple Shampoo Is Working
Toning results are subtle when you are doing it right, and dramatic when you overdo it. Here is what to look for.
The ideal result is a slight visual shift toward cooler, ashier tones. Hair should look more like it did right after your last salon visit. If you hold a strand up in natural light and the harsh yellow or orange color is less visible, the shampoo is working.
If your hair starts to look lavender, silver, or grayish in person (not just in artificial light), you have either left it on too long or used it too frequently. The fix is to skip toning for two to three wash cycles and let the pigment fade naturally. A clarifying shampoo speeds this up significantly if you need a faster reset.
If you have used toning shampoo consistently for three or four weeks and see no change at all, either the formula is not pigmented enough for your level of brassiness, or the contact time is too short. Try the Fanola or Shimmer Lights with a slightly longer leave-on time before concluding that toning shampoo does not work for you.
