Purple Shampoo and Hair Extensions

Purple shampoo, the staple product for all of you beautiful blondes. With those icy tones trending big time, a good purple shampoo is a MUST and it’s all about the pigment.

What is purple shampoo?

If you are a blonde you should know what purple shampoo is and if you don't, you've been missing out. Purple shampoo is used to make blonde hair ashier ( think more grey or silver and less yellow). You may think why do I need this? But if you have ever coloured your hair blonde you may have noticed that when it was freshly done the blonde was a perfect cool ashy blonde. But with time your blonde faded to a yellow blonde that you weren't so fond of. Well purple shampoo can help your hair from turning the dreaded yellow colour and keep it nice and ashy if that's the look you desire.

Using purple shampoo on your hair extensions

Can purple shampoo be used on extensions? Well yes of course but there are a few things you need to know beforehand.

1. Keep in mind that purple shampoo isn’t intended for daily use. Wash your hair with purple shampoo once a week or whenever your hair needs it, and keep using your regular shampoo between uses.
2. Hair extensions are very porous, so purple shampoo will deposit fast. That means that you shouldn't leave the shampoo on too long otherwise your blonde can turn grey. Apply shampoo liberally to your hair and let it sit for 1 to 5 minutes. If your hair is very yellow, let the purple shampoo sit for about 5-7 minutes. If it still isn't the colour you want then apply again. Rinse your hair with luke warm, or cool water. This will close the cuticle of the hair, sealing in the colour and leaving hair smoother and shinier.
3. Purple shampoo can have damaging effects on hair extension bonds. Don't use it too regularly and keep it away from the bonds and just use it on the lengths of your extensions. Below is an example of a hair extension bond that has been weakened and is breaking down because of the overuse of purple shampoo.
4. Make sure your purple shampoo is sulfate free and a professional line. Purple shampoo can be very drying and using a cheap brand will not only wreck your bonds but also dry out your extensions.

What if your hair extensions turn grey or purple?

In the event your extensions soaked up too much of the pigment, another wash or two with a clarifying shampoo will remove the excess purple, keeping in mind clarifying shampoo isn't necessarily healthy for your hair either, so try and avoid getting yourself into that situation.

Pre-applying purple shampoo to hair extensions

Most hair extension colours are naturally warm (yellow) so you may want to pre purple shampoo the extensions before installing them. Here are a few tips if you want to apply purple shampoo to extensions before they are installed.

1. Start off by making sure the extensions are bundled, brushed out, and have some sort of protection around the bond area. In the picture below you’ll see one bundle of Hair Flair Extensions nano links in #60, platinum blonde. We have secured the bond area with a paper towel held in place with an elastic band.

2. Fill your sink or wash station with a few inches of hot water and pour the purple shampoo into the hot water. Mix up the shampoo in the water until there are no clumps of shampoo and the water and shampoo is mixed thoroughly. Keep your extensions bundled and just swirl the hair through water. This will allow the colour to deposit evenly from root to end.

3. Once you achieve a colour that you like rinse the shampoo off to see what the underlying colour is. If you are not happy with it, put the bundle back in the purple shampoo. Repeat this until you are happy with the colour after washing away the purple shampoo. The longer you do this/ leave the hair in the water, more product will be deposited in the extensions. It doesn’t take long for them to go from icy blonde, to purplish – grey, so keep an eye on them.

Result:
Regular Hair Flair bundle of #60 on the left, toned bundle of Hair Flair #60 to the right.

What purple shampoo should I use?

When it comes to purple shampoo, money talks. Professional and salon brands are going to give you better results, so keep this in mind when you make your purchase. Some blondes swear by locking it in with a purple conditioner, however, as the purple shampoo does most of the work, we think it’s OK to use any conditioner you like. Check out our recommendations for purple shampoo here.