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The trend of using purple shampoo on dry hair has grown in popularity lately. After all, it’s less expensive than hitting the salon and can be done at home. Read on to learn why people are doing it and whether it’s worth a try.
Considering Purple Shampoo on Dry Hair? Start Here.
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A recent purple shampoo hair hack on social media recommends using purple shampoo on dry rather than wet hair for more intense toning.
Will it give you better results, or does your hair type put you at risk of leaving you with a head full of lavender hair? We’ll look more closely at this trend to help you decide if you should do it or if you’ll end up wishing you hadn’t.
What Is Purple Shampoo?
The pigment in purple shampoo helps neutralize yellow and brassy tones in white, grey, blonde, and even light brown hair. The pigment sticks to your hair and should last for several washes.
Any time you notice your hair going brassy, you can wash your hair with the product to cool and brighten your hair color.
With both dry and wet washes, there’s a chance that you could end up with slightly violet-tinted hair, but that’s more likely if you have highly-porous hair (more about that later).
How to Use Purple Shampoo On Dry Hair
Here are the steps to follow to try the purple shampoo on dry TikTok hair hack yourself:
1. Choose the Right Shampoo
First, choose your favorite purple shampoo that works best for your hair type. Later in the article, we’ll discuss the right shampoo for your hair type.
2. Protect Your Clothes
The next step is to protect your clothes. Cover the top of your shoulder with a towel, wear a haircutting cape, or wear a shirt you don’t mind getting ruined.
3. Protect Your Hands and Skin
You might want to use gloves for the application step to avoid ending up with colored hands and fingernail beds.
It is also a good idea to apply petroleum jelly on the skin around the edges of your hairline to prevent your skin from getting stained.
4. Apply Purple Shampoo to Dry Hair
To apply the product to dry hair, place a dollop in your hand. You’ll probably end up using more than you usually do in the shower since the only moisture is coming from the product itself. Just be sure that you moisten every part of your hair.
Sectioning your hair and using clips to separate treated from non-treated hair can give you a guide to help ensure you’re not missing parts of your hair.
If you feel an area that isn’t thick with the product, you’ll know you’ve probably missed it. You could also employ the assistance of a mirror or someone in your house to spot any missed areas.
5. Brush or Comb the Purple Shampoo Through Your Hair
Use a wide-toothed comb or wet brush to distribute the product even more through your hair. If you don’t have one of these hair tools, you can always use your fingers.
6. Wait 20 Minutes
The next step involves allowing the shampoo to do its thing while you wait. You can leave your hair down, pin it up, or put it in a shower cap while you wait for 20 minutes.
Cover your hair with a warm towel to help open up your hair cuticles for even better results. Twenty minutes isn’t an exact number, but leaving it in too long could result in purplish hair for some people.
7. Rinse
After you’ve let it stay on your hair a while, it’s time to get in the shower and rinse it out of your hair. When you stop seeing color going down your drain, you’re done.
8. Condition
After rinsing, condition your hair like usual. Since you’re doing something nice for your hair, it’s the perfect time for a deep conditioning treatment or hot oil treatment.
9. Dry and Style
To see your results, dry your hair and style as usual. You should notice a decrease in brassiness, with your hair having cooler rather than warmer tones.
The Best Hair Types to Use Purple Shampoo on Dry Hair
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Hair comes in three levels of porosity:
- Low
- Normal
- High
The hair types that are best for dry hair treatment are high-porosity and normal-porosity hair. In low-porosity hair, cuticles tend to overlap and be tightly packed, making it more difficult for water or hair products to penetrate the hair.
So, a dry hair treatment is less likely to penetrate low-porosity hair well. To determine how porous your hair is, drop some clean hair strands in a cup of water. Your results will indicate how porous your hair is:
- High porosity: If your hair sinks to the bottom of the cup, congratulations; your hair is highly porous and is a good candidate for using purple shampoo when your hair is dry.
- Normal porosity: If it stays in the middle of the cup, you have average porosity, and the results should also be good.
- Low porosity: If your hair stays floating on the top, your hair isn’t very porous, and shampooing while your hair is dry may not give you top-notch results.
Using purple shampoo on your highly porous hair gives you less chance that your hair will turn a violet tint. So, using it on your hair while it’s dry may be an excellent choice for you.
On the other hand, hair with low porosity is less likely to gain any benefits from purple shampoo unless your hair is wet and warm. If you have low-porosity hair and want to try this trend, a clarifying shampoo will give you the best chance of it penetrating your hair while it’s dry.
Should You Use Purple Shampoo On Dry Hair?
Using purple shampoo on dry hair can potentially give you more intense toning. It’s also not going to hurt your hair. However, the technique will yield different results for different people.
Any product you put on your hair penetrates better when your hair is wet, warm, and more porous. Heat lifts your hair cuticles, which allows the product to penetrate your hair shaft more easily.
As discussed above, using purple shampoo on dry hair may be more beneficial for hair with normal to high porosity rather than low porosity.
Purple Shampoo On Dry Hair Pros and Cons
Perhaps the best way to decide whether to try purple shampoo on your hair while it’s dry is to look at the pros and cons.
Pros of Using Purple Shampoo On Dry Hair
- Without diluting the pigment with water, it can deliver more intense toning.
- It’s easy to do.
- You only need to do it once or twice a month.
- It saves money on salon toning.
- It keeps your color bright and less brassy.
- Some tests show that hair turns out less purple with a dry wash than a wet wash.
- It prevents highly-porous hair from absorbing as much pigment.
Cons of Using Purple Shampoo On Dry Hair
- It can dry out your hair.
- It’s messy.
- It requires more shampoo than regular washing.
- It can stain your hands, nails, and skin.
- It may not penetrate your hair as well as it would on warm and wet hair, especially if your hair isn’t very porous.
Best Purple Shampoo to Use on Dry Hair for Each Hair Type
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Not all purple shampoos are the same. Fortunately for you, however, we’ve rounded up our favorite options for each type of hair.
Best Purple Shampoo for Low-Porosity Hair
Bellisso Purple Shampoo for Blonde and Silver Hair is a clarifying shampoo that has the best chance of penetrating your dry hair if it’s not very porous. It features natural ingredients like green tea extract, aloe vera, coconut oil, silk proteins, vitamin E, and vitamin B5 to penetrate and hydrate your hair.
Best Purple Shampoo for White, Grey, or Silver Hair
Bold Uniq Purple Shampoo is one of the most popular for all light hair colors, including white, grey, and silver. It neutralizes brassiness and protects your hair from ultra-violet exposure, which can increase your hair’s porosity level.
A vitamin B5 derivative helps add softness and shine. You’ll also be happy to learn that it’s paraben- and sulfate-free, and vegan-friendly.
Best Purple Shampoo for Blonde Hair
Whether you’re a natural or bottle blonde, John Frieda Sheer Blonde Violet Crush Purple Shampoo for Blondes will make your blonde hair look cooler and brighter. The crushed violet pigments in the product deposit onto your hair to counteract any unwanted yellow tones you might have.
Best Purple Shampoo for Balayage and Highlights
If you’re concerned about cutting out the brass in balayage or highlights, Kristen Ess Hair the One Purple Shampoo is a great choice. It is free of sulfates, parabens, and phthalates. It’s also keratin-safe. You can expect it to leave your hair moisturized and shiny.
Best Purple Shampoo for Fine and Dry Hair
Redken Color Extend Blondage Color Depositing Purple Shampoo is a popular shampoo for all hair types and textures, so it works great for curly blonde hair.
It contains ultra-violet pigment and a triple-acid protein complex that both strengthens and brightens blonde hair. Follow up with the companion conditioner and companion hair mask for even better results.
Frequently Asked Questions
You’re not the only one who’s asked more than one question about using purple shampoo on dry hair. We’ve rounded up the most commonly-asked questions we found on Google.
How long should you leave purple shampoo in dry?
You can leave purple shampoo in your dry hair for 5-30 minutes. If you have highly-porous hair and are worried that it might tint your hair lavender, it’s best to leave it in a shorter amount your first time, just to make sure the results are what you want.
Do you use purple shampoo on dry or wet hair?
The directions on the bottle will instruct you to use it on wet hair. However, many people have tried it on dry hair with good results.
What happens if you leave purple shampoo in too long?
If you leave it in too long, you run the risk of turning your hair a shade of lavender if your hair is highly porous. If that’s the results you want, great! Otherwise, set a timer.
Can I leave the purple shampoo in for an hour?
Leaving it in for an hour isn’t going to damage your hair, but it may leave it duller and less shiny than it was before. It’s also possible (but not certain) that it could turn it violet.
If you’ve left it in too long and now have violet hair you don’t want, try using a clarifying shampoo to try to remove the color.
Why isn’t my purple shampoo working?
As we’ve mentioned, hair products have a more difficult time penetrating the cuticle of low porosity hair. It’s even more difficult for it to penetrate if your hair starts out dry. Another reason may be your hair color. Purple counteracts yellow undertones.
However, if your hair has orange undertones, you’ll need blue shampoo to counteract the orange. Additionally, hard water and hair buildup may make it more difficult for the product to work correctly.
So, What Is Purple Shampoo On Dry Hair?
Using purple shampoo on dry hair is an internet trend that many people have tried to remove brassiness from their hair. The thought is that using it undiluted without water will deliver more intense toning. It’s definitely worth a try!
However, the truth is that hair products can’t penetrate your hair as well when it’s dry as they can when it’s wet and warm.
If you have hair with low porosity, it’s best to use the product on wet hair. However, if you have highly porous hair, you might want to try the dry purple shampoo method to avoid tinting your hair.