How Often You Should Actually Be Using Purple Shampoo

Hair care is no joke, and it can be more of an endeavor than we sometimes think it to be. There are wild formulas, and color theory in the hair-coloring process isn't always the easiest to comprehend. Still, the basics aren't too difficult to understand, and they're worth taking a look at.

When coloring your hair, for example, you have to maintain your new hair color or else you'll lose it to the fading process. Going blond is especially tricky, as dark roots and undertones can surface, causing your blond to turn muddy. This is where purple shampoo comes in. Purple shampoo helps keep undertones from emerging and thus prevents your blond hair from darkening too soon (via Pureology). "As it cleanses strands, it dispenses purple pigment that helps return your hair color to a cooler tone," Pureology explains.

Purple is a cool color, which is opposite of yellow, orange, and red — warm colors. Because yellow and red undertones typically emerge in blond hair, the purple shampoo, which is a cool color, counteracts them when applied, canceling out the undertones and thus making sure your hair remains unabashedly blond (via Well+Good). Naturally, certain mistakes can be made when using purple shampoo, but its benefits easily outweigh them. But one question remains: If purple shampoo is so important, how often should you use it?

Purple shampoo is a godsend for blonds who want their hair to remain as light as possible, but you want to be cognizant of your usage of it. For example, you probably don't want to leave it in your hair for longer than the shampoo bottle tells you to. Still, it's a miracle product that will keep your hair refreshed.

But how often should you use purple shampoo? According to hair care brand Redken, you should max out your purple shampoo usage at once or twice per week. However, purple shampoo can be mixed with your regular shampoo in the shower if you want to give your hair a little pick-me-up without doing a full treatment.

"When you eliminate too much yellow, it visually ends up darker and a lot of people don't want it to look darker," explains Redken hair stylist Jaclyn Harwood. "So if you wash your hair twice a week, use the purple shampoo only once a week to keep the hair bright but not yellow."

Ultimately, then, how often you use purple shampoo will depend on how often you wash your hair generally. If you wash your hair twice a week, only use purple shampoo once a week, but if you wash your hair more often, you can increase it to two times a week.