The 9 Best Purple Shampoos of 2022

While it’s still up for debate if blondes have more fun, one thing is true: maintaining a bright blonde color requires some extra TLC. No matter what type of blonde you are, you’re probably fighting to keep your hair color from looking brassy, orange, or downright green (yikes!). Thankfully, a special breed of toning purple shampoo treatments exists to simplify all that blonde maintenance into just one weekly cleanse — and it’s the not-so-well-kept secret to keeping blonde hair bright and beautiful.

Because purple is the opposite of orange on the color wheel, dark purple pigments counteract the brass, which help cool and tone your hair color. All you have to do is lather up with a quarter-size dollop of shampoo and rinse it out. Just don't leave it on for more than five minutes, or you might find yourself with a few purple-tinted highlights.

However, not all purple shampoos are created equal, so we've rounded up a few that we count on to keep our own heads of hair the perfect shade of blonde. We’re huge fans of Amika’s Bust Your Brass Cool Blonde Repair Shampoo because it not only brightens color, but it also smooths away frizz.

But for more choices, keep on scrolling and get ready to kick some brass.

Our Top Picks

Best Overall:

Amika Blonde Repair Shampoo at Amazon

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Best Drugstore:

John Frieda Purple Shampoo at Amazon

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Best Splurge:

Olaplex No.4P Toning Shampoo at Sephora

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Best for Damaged Hair:

Redken Purple Conditioner at Amazon

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Best for Curly Hair:

Clairol Shimmer Lights Shampoo at Ulta

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Best for Fine Hair:

Kevin Murphy Blonde Angel Wash at Amazon

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Best for Dry Hair:

Moroccanoil Purple Shampoo at Amazon

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Best for Frizz :

Joico Color Balance Purple Shampoo at Ulta

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Best for Colored Hair:

Matrix Total Results Shampoo at Amazon

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Amika Bust Your Brass Cool Blonde Repair Shampoo

Sephora

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What We Love: It brightens color and noticeably smooths frizz.

What We Don’t Love: It has a heavy fruity scent.

This purple shampoo does so much more than cleanse — it feels more like a deep conditioning treatment, with a powerful amino-acid formula that’s packed with mango butter, shea butter, and borage oil to hydrate hair, instead of drying it out. The neon, ultra-violent formula freshens up color and highlights in minutes, while also leaving dry, brittle strands smoother and stronger. Your hair will look noticeably glossier after a single wash.

While the scent may be too sweet for some discerning noses, others find it an added draw that makes this shampoo experience feel even more pampering.

Size: 9.2 oz | Hair Type: All | Sulfate-Free: Yes

Amazon

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What We Love: The impressive blonde brightening results.

What We Don’t Love: The formula contains sulfates.

Don’t let the bargain price tag fool you. The powerful neutralizing formula absorbs UV light to counteract yellow tones in the hair and give your blonde an instantly cooler, brighter appearance. This affordable find contains crushed purple pigments that enrich your hair color and rid your strands of brassiness that leave it looking dull and blah. It works up to a luscious, satisfying lather as you massage over the scalp, and rinses clean without stripping hair of any ounce of moisture.

Size: 8.3 fl oz. | Hair Type: Normal | Sulfate-Free: No

Olaplex No.4P Blonde Enhancer Toning Shampoo

Kohl's

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What We Love: The reparative formula noticeably smooths damaged hair.

What We Don’t Love: For best results, you have to let it sit on hair for a few minutes before rinsing.

There’s a reason beauty pros swear by Olaplex for breathing new life into tired, brittle, frayed hair: it works – and impressively well at that. And this souped-up purple version of the formula, created specifically for blondes, features the same patented bond-repair ingredient (bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate) to repair hair from the inside out, while also neutralizing brassiness and brightening blonde tones. The sulfate-free formula works up to an impressive lather and leaves hair saturated in hydration — so much so you’ll question if conditioner is even necessary.

For the most vibrant results, you have to let the formula work its magic, absorbing into hair for about five minutes before rinsing out, but your patience will pay off with brighter, glossier, salon-worthy bounce and shine.

Size: 8.5 fl oz. | Hair Type: All| Sulfate-Free: Yes

Redken Color Extend Blondage Color Depositing Purple Conditioner

Ulta

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What We Love: You’ll see fast results that extend time between coloring appointments.

What We Don’t Love: It can leave hair feeling a bit dry post-cleanse.

Blondes and hair professionals alike love this staple shampoo for many reasons. “It’s both color protecting, as well as color depositing, which is perfect for fighting brassiness that occurs over time,” Gina Rivera, celebrity hairstylist and founder of Phenix Salon Suites, told InStyle. It’s packed with pure violet pigments that cancel out unwanted yellow tones and cool down any brassiness, so your blonde looks as bright as the day you left the salon. It’s also spiked with citric acid to repair damaged strands, while also smoothing flyaways and frayed cuticles for a softer, glossier look and feel. Whether you air-dry or bring on the heat, you’ll notice improved elasticity and a healthier bounce once dry.

Size: 10.1 oz | Hair Type: All | Sulfate-Free: No

Clairol

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What We Love: It works to brighten a range of shades including brunette, blonde, and silver.

What We Don’t Love: It doesn’t soften hair as much as other formulas.

This is the cult classic of purple shampoos, and one that brunette and silver hair tones can also benefit from. It's strong enough to lift orange and brassiness from platinum, silver, and brunette hair colors, to keep color looking bright and refreshed. It even removes dull, yellow tones from gray hair and works wonders on fading highlights to instantly boost vibrancy, all without leaving any residue or staining on the scalp. Just remember to follow up with a rich moisturizing conditioner to seal in that fresh new color with a glossy, softness you once only thought possible post-salon visit.

Size: 16 oz. | Hair Type: All | Sulfate-Free: No

Amazon

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What We Love: It’s an impressively moisturizing formula.

What We Don’t Love: You get fewer ounces of product for your money.

This splurge-worthy shampoo infused with lavender proves that you get what you pay for — even though you receive fewer ounces for the cost, your extra investment will not disappoint because the shampoo is chockfull of conditioning butters and botanicals, like the Brazilian murumuru seed butter (for improving elasticity), shea butter (for restoring moisture), mango seed butter (to nourish the scalp), and sunflower seed extract (to preserve color) that work together to gently cleanse, intensely hydrate, and noticeably improve the overall look and feel of hair. It’s also spiked with optical brighteners that lend a gorgeous pearlescent finish to hair and salon-worthy shine that vividly enhance blonde, silver, and gray tones. It’s a transformative formula in more ways than one, improving color and texture in as little as one washing.

Size: 8.4 fl oz. | Hair Type: All | Sulfate-Free: Yes

4.8

Moroccanoil Blonde Perfecting Purple Shampoo

Sephora

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What We Love: The included argan oil deeply nourishes dry hair.

What We Don’t Love: The scent is strong.

This favored sulfate-free shampoo harnesses the reparative powers of the brand’s signature argan oil, which is “terrific for infusing moisture into the hair,” Rivera told InStyle. “While the violet pigments act to offset both yellow and orange tones that can appear in blondes over time,” she adds.

The antioxidant-rich purple formula feels more like a conditioning treatment than a shampoo, transforming the driest, most straggly strands by sealing and smoothing frayed hair cuticles. The result: color revived, silkiness restored, and your senses ignited, thanks to the brand’s illustrious sweet musky scent. “I recommend using this product twice a week by itself or you can add it to your daily routine by mixing it with your everyday shampoo,” Rivera says.

Size: 6.7 oz. | Hair Type: All | Sulfate-Free: Yes

Ulta

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What We Love: The impressive results last up to 12 washes.

What We Don’t Love: The formula contains sulfates.

We love this shampoo for how shiny it leaves our hair and how effectively it balances color. Like many of our favorite purple formulas, it contains violet pigments that neutralize unwanted yellowness to instantly brighten dull, fading, tired-looking blonde tones. It’s also spiked with green tea extract and UV absorbers that help to prevent fading and prolong results for up to a dozen washes. The formula touts a special delivery system (what the brand calls, smart release technology) that continuously releases hair-conditioning goodness into the hair, drenching strands in rosehip oil, arginine, and Keratin to strengthen and protect long after you rinse. The results are long-lasting (up to 12 weeks!), so you can enjoy that added shine and smoothness for days (and even weeks) on end. Unfortunately, it’s not sulfate-free, but with how hydrating it is, you shouldn’t experience intense drying.

Size: 10.1 oz | Hair Type: All | Sulfate-Free: No

Matrix Total Results So Silver Purple Shampoo

Amazon

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What We Love: Works great on refreshing gray hair color.

What We Don’t Love: The formula contains sulfates.

This effective formula gently cleanses and neutralizes unwanted brassiness, eliminating dull, yellow tones, and giving hair a refreshed warmth and brightness that looks like you just left the salon. It illuminates highlights on blondes, while adding a shimmering brightness to color-treated and natural hair colors ranging from gray to white shades. If you don’t want to take our word for it, you can browse over 30,000 four- and five-star reviews from Amazon shoppers who feel equally as passionate about it. It does contain sulfates, but that hardly seems to be a deal breaker for some.

Size: 10.1 oz | Hair Type: All | Sulfate-Free: No

What to Keep in Mind

Ingredients

Since purple shampoos can be drying, it’s important to look for formulas that are spiked with conditioning ingredients, like shea butter and argan oil, that help to nourish and hydrate the hair. “I always opt for shampoos with more natural extracts and oils, as those are the most beneficial for the health of your scalp and hair strands,” Michael Canale, celebrity hairstylist to Jennifer Anniston, Kyra Sedgwick, Carolyn Murphy and Denise Richards, told InStyle.

Sulfate Free

When shopping for a purple shampoo, look for sulfate-free formulas or ones that are low in sulfites and packed with hydrating ingredients. “The lower the sulfates, the better the purple deposit,” Canale told InStyle.

Your Questions, Answered

What does purple shampoo do?

Purple shampoo is designed to counteract brassiness that dulls blonde hair overtime. “By cleaning up the yellow colors, [purple shampoo] brightens and lightens your hair color between chemical appointments,” notes Canale.

How does purple shampoo work?

Purple is opposite yellow on the color spectrum. “Purple shampoo introduces purple pigments to yellow tones to neutralize the brassy color we often see in bleached hair between chemical treatments,” explains Canale to InStyle.

How often should you use purple shampoo?

Most purple shampoos are very strong, and should be limited to about once a week use. “If you use it too often, your color can turn dull and become muddy,” notes Canale. “In between washes with purple shampoo, try incorporating a color safe, deep cleansing shampoo or I often suggest regularly washing hair with 50 perfect purple shampoo and 50 percent your regular shampoo to avoid a violet color, and balance out the pigments,” he adds.

Why Trust InStyle

Lindsay Colameo has over 10 years experience as a writer, editor, and beauty industry expert for leading beauty publications including InStyle, Allure, and Byrdie. She has tested and expertly reviewed thousands of beauty products, sifting through an ever-multiplying assortment of products, to bring readers the tried, true, and vetted, best-of-the-best across haircare, skincare, and makeup. For this feature, we consulted Gina Rivera, celebrity hairstylist and founder of Phenix Salon Suites, and Michael Canale, celebrity hairstylist to Jennifer Anniston, Kyra Sedgwick, Carolyn Murphy and Denise Richards, for their expert purple shampoo picks and insight into the best ways to brighten your blonde with these favorited formulas.