In your younger years, you may have gotten away with using whatever drugstore shampoo and conditioner were on sale or smelled the best. But, as your hair started to go gray, you probably learned quickly that this approach was no longer cutting it. One common piece of advice for keeping strands soft and shiny is to use a purple shampoo to neutralize the yellowing that often occurs with gray hair. However, according to Lisa Fennessy, a gray hair influencer and the founder of The New Knew, a blog about clean beauty, there’s one common mistake women make when growing out their gray hair, and it has to do with purple shampoo.
RELATED: 7 Secrets for Growing Out Gray Hair, According to Stylists.
First, it’s important to understand the yellowing effect that can happen with gray hair. Since gray hair has lost its pigment, it’s easy for it to become discolored.
“Think of a white T-shirt: the more you wear it, the less crisp and clean it becomes,” Brandie Devillier, platform educator at the Aveda Arts & Sciences Institute, previously explained to Best Life. “The same thing happens to our gray hair—pollution, hard water, and even too much sun can cause it to become lackluster.”
To counter this, stylists recommend using purple shampoo and conditioner.
“Purple shampoos neutralize yellow tones in gray hair, keeping it bright and vibrant,” Krysta Biancone, co-founder of Amari Salon & Spa and a hairstylist at Hair by Krysta, shared with Best Life earlier this year.
However, Fennessy says in a TikTok video that the biggest styling mistake with gray hair is using blue shampoo since the two are easily confused.
“When using blue-toned shampoo, the gray hair is very porous and will grab the blue tone which will turn gray or white hair blue,” Cindy Marcus, a professional hairstylist in Las Vegas and editor-in-chief of Latest Hairstyles, previously advised Best Life readers.
Fennessy also says that even if you’ve selected a purple shampoo, you could be using it incorrectly.
“If you’ve tried using purple shampoo to brighten your gray (or blonde) hair, but it doesn’t work—you are probably doing it wrong!” she wrote in the caption of another TikTok video. “The trick is, you have to leave it in and let it actually tone your hair!”
So, even though it’s a shampoo, you’ll want to treat it almost like a leave-in conditioner.
You’ll also want to make sure a purple shampoo is extra moisturizing because when hair goes gray, the scalp produces less sebum, an oil that naturally hydrates the hair.
Fennessy says one of her favorite moisturizing products for gray hair is a non-stripping shampoo.
“Most conventional shampoos are gonna strip the oils from your hair, which leave your scalp and your hair dry,” she explains. “You want a shampoo that’s low in surfactants and leaves the natural oils that your scalp produces in place while removing dirt and grime.”
Her recommendation for the perfect purple shampoo is from the German brand Bruns, which she sells on her website. Biancone had previously recommended Clairol Shimmer Lights.
As for the dreaded blue shampoo, that’s formulated to tone down brassiness on brunettes.