Megan CurtinBefore you go any further, let me reassure you with a fun fact. I am a licensed cosmetologist who has held a license since 2008. Fun fact two: I am a Mexi-Irish, which means my natural hair is as dark as it can come. Even being born a natural level 1 (the darkest color you can be on the color scale), I can maintain a pure white color.
Unless you were born a natural blonde, everyone has a warm undertone, hence why achieving a pure white color is so hard for people. Salons usually tone blondes with some sort of toner, and over time it will fade, leaving your hair to deal with its brassy nasty enemy. Unfortunately, this usually happens before you have a chance to get back to your salon for a touch-up.
Contents
Purple Shampoo Toning Products At A Quick Glance
| IMAGE | PRODUCT | DETAILS | |
|---|---|---|---|
Top Pick |
Fanola No Yellow and No Orange Shampoo |
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Paul Mitchell Platinum Blonde Shampoo |
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Pravana The Perfect Blonde Shampoo |
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Best BUDGET PICK |
Joico Color Balance Purple Shampoo |
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I’ve experimented with both professional and internet-bought products for at-home toning, and below are all my recommendations. Â Each product description will also include notes to help you with each product to use to your full advantage.
An important thing to remember when going over this post is everyone’s hair IS different! A variable of factors plays into how each individual’s hair takes to products. Age, diet, genetics, and medication are all huge factors in how your hair will show color and determine how you maintain color. Keep that in mind when comparing the results of each product to the results you achieve at home.
Paul Mitchell Platinum Blonde Shampoo
As you can see above in the picture, I started with an ombre. I had the whole color scale ranging from dark black to light blonde. In the middle, you can see a hot tone!
I decided to bleach my hair entirely to achieve an even and uniform color instead of the ombre I had going on.
My roots were the first thing I bleached, and then towards the end of the processing, I bleached the ends. I suggest bleaching should always be done by a professional since I was in good hands. Next, I rinsed out the bleach and toned it with Paul Mitchell Platinum Blonde Shampoo.
How to use the shampoo
Paul Mitchell Platinum Blonde shampoo is used like any other shampoo; leave it in for a few minutes. Zero warnings/precautions come along with Paul Mitchell Platinum Blonde Shampoo. Because my hair pulls so brassy, it could get rid of 65% of my overall brass. However, my underneath hair remained very brassy.
This shampoo is recommended for people who have slight yellow undertones and are already a light blonde. Overall, the feeling to my hair was left feeling super soft and manageable.
You can use this as an alternative to any shampoo you currently use.
Smells great and doesn’t have a waxy smell to it!
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Pravana The Perfect Blonde Shampoo And Mask
Pravana Shampoo was able to take 5-10% more of the brass out of my hair vs. the Paul Mitchell product.Â
After a few uses, my underneath hair was still pretty brassy versus the top half of my hair.
This can be used as an everyday shampoo.
Pravana Perfect Blonde smells nice, and it can be categorized as a tier above the first toning shampoo I tried.
I decided to get the Pravana Mask to use with the shampoo to see if the results would improve.
When used together, the two products made a difference!
It’s recommended to use Pravana Perfect Blonde Mask with the shampoo.
Results on the top half of my hair were greatly improved, but the bottom didn’t change much.
This picture was taken in sunlight and shows how two different tones pop throughout my hair. Hair tones can’t hide from direct sunlight but can blend better from inside light.
Final Thoughts: Before I had brass everywhere, so it looked more of a cohesive color, where now I didn’t have as much brass on the top and bottom, so it looked very uneven. My hair was more of a cool tone on top, where my bottom was still hot.
 Pravana Shampoo and Mask combo are great for people with yellow undertones to their hair. It can be used as an everyday product.
Joico Color Balanced Shampoo and Conditioner: Purple
After a few washes with the Joico Purple Toning Shampoo and Conditioner, I noticed my bottom layer still didn’t match up with my hair’s top layer.
While it wasn’t 100% unform, my overall result was a HUGE improvement. Unless I was in direct sunlight or a room with a lot of natural light, the normal eye couldn’t tell much difference.
Joico shampoo and conditioner combo really eliminated brass all over my hair. Some of my lighter pieces from previous highlights pop into the white blonde color I had wanted as an all-over color from the start. Joico Color Balance was the first purple shampoo toning product that achieved some white strands throughout.
Joico purple is used slightly differently than your standard shampoo. You want to keep it in for at least 3-5 min before you rinse it out. Joico’s purple shampoo has a fair amount of pigmentation! For first-time users: Don’t worry, the purple toning comes out in a dark purple color, but it won’t leave your hair purple at all!
The conditioner can be used much like the shampoo. Leave it in for 3-5 minutes before rinsing out.
Because my hair is so brassy and I have hard water, I used the purple toning shampoo and conditioner every day for a month until it lifted more brass out of my hair.
As you can see in the picture to the left, Joico’s purple toning shampoo broke through the orange brassy color. As a result, I achieved a cool blonde tone with just a hint of a yellow undertone left throughout.
Purple Joico Combo would be good for 90% of people looking for an efficient purple toning shampoo.
IÂ suggest using this as your shampoo and conditioner combo until you get the tone you want. Once the tone is achieved, I recommend alternating the Joico for one of the previous purple toning shampoos mentioned above. Because Joico Purple isn’t sulfate-free, it will be a little bit harsher on the hair. Personally, my hair quality didn’t suffer much.
I still wanted to achieve a white platinum look, so I moved onto another toning shampoo. I would have stayed with this Joico Purple Toning Shampoo and Conditioner combo if I wanted just a simple light blonde.
Side Note: The shampoo will be a pigmented, dark purple. The conditioner will be a lighter, less pigmented color.
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Fanola : No Yellow Shampoo
After just one use, I knew I found the perfect purple toning shampoo!
I left it on for 5-10 minutes because I wanted to eliminate all brass and knew my hair was strong enough to handle it.
 A light brown/blonde remanded on my bottom layer of hair, but it didn’t have a trace of warmth in it. The first purple toning shampoo I used gave me an all-over cool-tone result.
After a few uses of Fanola, my hair was finally an all-over white! The bottom didn’t have a trace of brown or brass anywhere. Finally, Elisa herself asked me where she could buy this incredible purple shampoo.
Fanola: No Yellow Shampoo is VERY PIGMENTED! ONE use will be enough for your hair to achieve the white tone you want. If after one use of Fanola you want to tone your hair more, alternate the Fanola; No Yellow Shampoo with other purple shampoos.
Once your hair is at the desired white you want, I suggest you use it once every other week as upkeep. Fanola was made to be used as a once-a-month toner, not an everyday shampoo.
]For first-time applications on very light hair that doesn’t need much toning, I suggest mixing the Fanola shampoo with another toning shampoo from above or any regular shampoo of your choice. This will dilute the purple pigmentation in the Fanola shampoo, and you don’t have to worry about staining your strands or damaging your hair.
IT WILL STAIN YOUR HAIR PURPLE IF YOU OVERUSE THE SHAMPOO.
 I myself know this first hand from using Fanola as my main shampoo for two weeks in a row. Unfortunately, overuse of Fanola left my hair looking purple/grey vs. the pure white tone.
Purple and grey pieces throughout didn’t bother me much, and people assumed I colored my hair that way on purpose.
If you do end up staining your hair, don’t worry! After a few washes, the purple comes out, leaving your hair pure white!
Since this product is so pigmented, it is rather harsh on your hair. For me, it took away some of the strength and integrity of my hair itself because of overuse. I highly recommend using a weekly conditioning treatment while using the Fanola, No Yellow Shampoo.
My overall journey to getting this white hair was a process, and I had tried so many toning shampoos it really made my hair take a beating. But, for those of you who haven’t put their hair through the wringer, you won’t be at such a risk of your hair turning purple.
Below are my final result pictures.
Using the Fanola once a week, I achieved this and combined my shower routine with a conditioning treatment. Additionally, I used the Joico Purple shampoo/conditioner and a leave-in conditioner after my shower!
Fanola offers shampoo to eliminate orange tones and another that eliminates yellow tones.
Update
To this day, I still swear by fanola and recommend it to everyone!
These purple toning shampoos can also be used on dark hair if you don’t want a red or warm undertone.
Megan Curtin
