Does purple shampoo work on orange hair? How long should I leave it in?

Purple shampoo doesn’t get rid of orange tones that appear in your hair after bleaching it. If you use it, you’ll end up with purple hair.
In order to cancel out orange in your hair, what you need to do is use BLUE SHAMPOO, and leave it in your hair for 1-3 minutes, depending on the instructions that come with your shampoo.
Some of the best blue shampoos are MATRIX TOTAL RESULTS, JOICO COLOR BALANCE and FANOLA NO ORANGE, and I’ll tell you a little more about each one in a moment.

to cancel out yellow and orange

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There is a basic premise in the world of hair color that goes like this: “Tell me what color you want to get rid of and I’ll tell you what color to use.”

And that premise is based on color theory, which you probably learned about from your time in elementary school.

Do you remember the color wheel? Maybe you heard it called the chromatic circle.

opposite colors are complementary

The color wheel is an important tool for hair colorimetry.

In the color wheel, the primary, secondary and tertiary colors are represented, differentiated between cool and warm colors.

And that wheel and its classification of the colors is what us hair colorists use to decide how to cancel out unwanted tones in your hair, which are generally yellow, orange or red.

You should only use purple shampoo for yellow hair. Do you know why?

I’ll put it like this:

Purple is made up of two colors:

Blue + Red.

Orange is made up of two different colors:

Yellow + Red.

Do you see any color that appears in both formulas?

Yep, that’s right! Red is part of both purple and orange.

So, if you add to your orange hair – which already has red in it – a purple shampoo that also has red in it, all you’ll end up doing to your hair is changing the orange in it to a purple color, that is made up of more red than blue.

Do you want to have purple hair all day long?

If not, then the only color you should use to cancel out orange is blue because all colors have a complementary color that cancels them out:

Green cancels out red
Blue cancels out orange
Purple cancels out yellow

So, in this case, blue is what will cancel out your orange.

And where can you find blue pigments to cancel out that orange in your hair?

In blue shampoo, another one of the most common shampoos for bleached dark hair. Why?

Because when you bleach dark hair, the underlying tones that remain are orange.

And one of the easiest ways to make them disappear is by using blue shampoo.

Do you want to learn how to use it correctly? I’ll tell you that in just a moment.

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How to use blue shampoo and how long to leave it in your orange hair

how long to leave it in hair

“You should use blue shampoo in your hair on nights when the moon is full, while you dance a ritual in the moonlight, begging the universe to make the orange in your hair disappear forever.”

Nah, that’s just a joke!

In reality, blue shampoo is very easy to use, since all you need to do is replace your normal shampoo with the blue shampoo each time you wash your hair and leave it in for 1-3 minutes.

The exact amount of time you’ll need to leave it in your hair depends on each brand, since some shampoos have stronger blue pigments in them, so they work quicker, and you should leave them in for less time.

Another thing that will depend on the brand you choose is how often you should use it, since some are made to be used daily while others just once a week.

I usually tell my clients to start cancelling out those orange tones like this:

Use it daily the first week
Then, use it 3-4 times the second week
The third week, just use it once or twice

Do you know why you can use it every day?

Because blue shampoo doesn’t harm your hair in any way and most of them are made with oils and proteins that actually strengthen your hair.

What you do need to be careful about is how long you leave it in your hair, because if you leave it in for longer than the necessary amount of time, your hair will absorb the blue pigments and it might darken.

Do you want to know which three blue shampoos I’d recommend for your orange hair?

Keep reading and you’ll find out.

3 best purple shampoos for hair with orange tones

Any blue shampoo will work on orange hair, cancelling out that color.

Now, you can find different options out there, since toning carrot orange hair is difference from toning a balayage.

Do you want to find your ideal blue shampoo?

Here are three options.

Matrix total results

neutralize oranges

This shampoo is specifically formulated for dark hair that has been lightened or bleached, whether through balayage, highlights or even if you’ve just bleached it a few shades.

It contains coconut oil which will leave your hair much soften and moisturized, with no orange tones.

In order to get the best results, leave it in for 3-5 minutes each time you wash with it.

Joico color balance

apply 2 to 3 times a week

This blue shampoo has few sulfates, so it will cancel out those orange tones without fading the color in the rest of your hair.

And if that weren’t enough, you’ll notice that as you use it, your hair will be stronger and less prone to breakage, since this shampoo has a mix of anti-breakage proteins.

You should use it 2-3 times a week, leaving it in for 3-5 minutes to cancel out orange tones.

Fanola no Orange shampoo

fanola

This brand is ideal for gray hair, extra light hair, bleached hair and platinum hair. It contains a lot of blue pigments, so you’ll get the results you’re looking for in just one or two washes.

It has one more special thing to keep in mind: How long you leave it in will depend on how strong the orange you’re looking to cancel out is.

For example: