Cut a long story short, I now need to remove some brassy tones in my dark blonde hair. I have heard of purple (and blue) shampoos but never tried them before, and not happy with the few advice and videos I have watched. Do you have any experience with using a purple shampoo? Do they work on darker hair (ie. not light blonde)?

Go to a hair salon and ask. They can take a look at your hair.

Genesia said:

Having recently gone blonde, I do have some experience with purple shampoos. They should be used with caution - they can be very drying and can actually dull your hair. You don’t want to use one every time you wash your hair - every three washes or so is adequate. I really can’t speak to what they’ll do on darker hair or on hair that isn’t color treated.

Thanks Genesia. My hair isn't very dark at the moment (between 7/8), but not blonde either. I recently went lighter and although it is a nice colour, the result is much warmer than I would like it to be. I could try and put a semi-permanent shade over it but was wondering if perhaps I should simply use a purple shampoo or a toner to cool the shade down a little. I could also just be patient and let it fade naturally...

luv4u said:

Go to a hair salon and ask. They can take a look at your hair.

That's a very sensible advice luv4u, thanks. Over here though this usually means paying for a personal consultation, followed by a costly visit and not necessarily happy results.
Trust me, I've been there!

CherryMoon57 said:

luv4u said:

Go to a hair salon and ask. They can take a look at your hair.

That's a very sensible advice luv4u, thanks. Over here though this usually means paying for a personal consultation, followed by a costly visit and not necessarily happy results.
Trust me, I've been there!

I tried to help

CherryMoon57 said:

Genesia said:

Having recently gone blonde, I do have some experience with purple shampoos. They should be used with caution - they can be very drying and can actually dull your hair. You don’t want to use one every time you wash your hair - every three washes or so is adequate. I really can’t speak to what they’ll do on darker hair or on hair that isn’t color treated.

Thanks Genesia. My hair isn't very dark at the moment (between 7/8), but not blonde either. I recently went lighter and although it is a nice colour, the result is much warmer than I would like it to be. I could try and put a semi-permanent shade over it but was wondering if perhaps I should simply use a purple shampoo or a toner to cool the shade down a little. I could also just be patient and let it fade naturally...

I was in exactly the same boat a month ago. I'll tell you what my stylist told me: the shampoo might help a little, but probably not as much as you'd like. You still have some warm tones in your hair that will push their way to the front unless you go further with the color. Semi-permanent probably won't do it.

My hair is still a little warmer than I'd like, too - but I'm in a hold for a couple of months, since my hair just can't take another lightening session at the moment. I'm dealing with some breakage and need a couple good cuts (and more Olaplex) before we go any lighter.

Genesia said:

CherryMoon57 said:

Thanks Genesia. My hair isn't very dark at the moment (between 7/8), but not blonde either. I recently went lighter and although it is a nice colour, the result is much warmer than I would like it to be. I could try and put a semi-permanent shade over it but was wondering if perhaps I should simply use a purple shampoo or a toner to cool the shade down a little. I could also just be patient and let it fade naturally...

I was in exactly the same boat a month ago. I'll tell you what my stylist told me: the shampoo might help a little, but probably not as much as you'd like. You still have some warm tones in your hair that will push their way to the front unless you go further with the color. Semi-permanent probably won't do it.

My hair is still a little warmer than I'd like, too - but I'm in a hold for a couple of months, since my hair just can't take another lightening session at the moment. I'm dealing with some breakage and need a couple good cuts (and more Olaplex) before we go any lighter.

Yes, I still have a lot of natural warm undertones to get rid of before I can achieved my desired shade. I started the lightening process 3 months ago and it is slowly getting there. I do it one step at at a time so that my hair fully recovers in between. I also get it trimmed more regularly to keep it healthy.

The fist time I coloured three months ago I had totally virgin hair and went for a natural tone (which contained a similar ingredient to Olaplex) so it wasn't too bad, just not very light. This time I went for a slightly lighter shade and a golden tone. I realise now that the 'golden' part was a mistake. I am now ready to wait another 2-3 month if I have to, rather than rush and damage it. It's only in some light that it looks more coppery though. I have actually washed it twice with a tone correcting shampoo which also contains a purple tint (but not an actual purple shampoo), and it has helped neutralising it a little. I think with time, it will hopefully become more of a caramel shade.

I hope you don't mind me asking, but did your hairdresser use any bleach? How dark was your hair to start with?

CherryMoon57 said:

Genesia said:

I was in exactly the same boat a month ago. I'll tell you what my stylist told me: the shampoo might help a little, but probably not as much as you'd like. You still have some warm tones in your hair that will push their way to the front unless you go further with the color. Semi-permanent probably won't do it.

My hair is still a little warmer than I'd like, too - but I'm in a hold for a couple of months, since my hair just can't take another lightening session at the moment. I'm dealing with some breakage and need a couple good cuts (and more Olaplex) before we go any lighter.

Yes, I still have a lot of natural warm undertones to get rid of before I can achieved my desired shade. I started the lightening process 3 months ago and it is slowly getting there. I do it one step at at a time so that my hair fully recovers in between. I also get it trimmed more regularly to keep it healthy.

The fist time I coloured three months ago I had totally virgin hair and went for a natural tone (which contained a similar ingredient to Olaplex) so it wasn't too bad, just not very light. This time I went for a slightly lighter shade and a golden tone. I realise now that the 'golden' part was a mistake. I am now ready to wait another 2-3 month if I have to, rather than rush and damage it. It's only in some light that it looks more coppery though. I have actually washed it twice with a tone correcting shampoo which also contains a purple tint (but not an actual purple shampoo), and it has helped neutralising it a little. I think with time, it will hopefully become more of a caramel shade.

I hope you don't mind me asking, but did your hairdresser use any bleach? How dark was your hair to start with?

Oh, yeah - there was absolutely bleach involved. Had to be - I'm naturally a level 4 brunette. Well, I used to be, anyway. I actually undertook this color shift because I'm now about 50% gray on top - and it's better to have a color toward which I'm heading than one I'm leaving, if that makes sense. To keep it dark, I was in the chair every four weeks. This way, I can go a minimum of eight weeks - and, with time, wean myself off coloring altogether. (That's the goal, anyway.)

She's been doing full foils each time - a month apart. The first time (in April), she was able to lift the pieces she was lightening to a caramel color. The second time (May), she got them to a medium (still warm) blonde. Since the June appointment, my lightest pieces are very light - sort of a creamy white - but some warm tones are still coming through. And it is definitely blonde - versus the gray I was going for. But after almost three weeks, I cannot detect any outgrowth. (And by now, I'd've been able to see that if my hair was still dark.) So at my next appointment (on Friday - moved up because she's due to have a baby next week), I may just let the color ride and have her glaze it. It's looking kind of frizzy, at the moment - despite her using Olaplex when she did me the last time. It's actually in good shape for what it's been through - lightening one's hair that much, some degree of damage is just unavoidable.

Basically, I did this because I started thinking that the last thing I want when I retire (which is not that far off, now) is to be tied to a haircolor regimen. I'd really like to kick that habit.

Genesia said:

CherryMoon57 said:

Yes, I still have a lot of natural warm undertones to get rid of before I can achieved my desired shade. I started the lightening process 3 months ago and it is slowly getting there. I do it one step at at a time so that my hair fully recovers in between. I also get it trimmed more regularly to keep it healthy.

The fist time I coloured three months ago I had totally virgin hair and went for a natural tone (which contained a similar ingredient to Olaplex) so it wasn't too bad, just not very light. This time I went for a slightly lighter shade and a golden tone. I realise now that the 'golden' part was a mistake. I am now ready to wait another 2-3 month if I have to, rather than rush and damage it. It's only in some light that it looks more coppery though. I have actually washed it twice with a tone correcting shampoo which also contains a purple tint (but not an actual purple shampoo), and it has helped neutralising it a little. I think with time, it will hopefully become more of a caramel shade.

I hope you don't mind me asking, but did your hairdresser use any bleach? How dark was your hair to start with?

Oh, yeah - there was absolutely bleach involved. Had to be - I'm naturally a level 4 brunette. Well, I used to be, anyway. I actually undertook this color shift because I'm now about 50% gray on top - and it's better to have a color toward which I'm heading than one I'm leaving, if that makes sense. To keep it dark, I was in the chair every four weeks. This way, I can go a minimum of eight weeks - and, with time, wean myself off coloring altogether. (That's the goal, anyway.)

She's been doing full foils each time - a month apart. The first time (in April), she was able to lift the pieces she was lightening to a caramel color. The second time (May), she got them to a medium (still warm) blonde. Since the June appointment, my lightest pieces are very light - sort of a creamy white - but some warm tones are still coming through. And it is definitely blonde - versus the gray I was going for. But after almost three weeks, I cannot detect any outgrowth. (And by now, I'd've been able to see that if my hair was still dark.) So at my next appointment (on Friday - moved up because she's due to have a baby next week), I may just let the color ride and have her glaze it. It's looking kind of frizzy, at the moment - despite her using Olaplex when she did me the last time. It's actually in good shape for what it's been through - lightening one's hair that much, some degree of damage is just unavoidable.

Basically, I did this because I started thinking that the last thing I want when I retire (which is not that far off, now) is to be tied to a haircolor regimen. I'd really like to kick that habit.

Well it sounds like you're nearly there now, you probably just need to cut it to get some strength back and perhaps use some nourishing masks. Sometimes I apply argan or even olive oil on my hair before I wash it or go swimming, as water is the worse thing for coloured hair, it really helps protect it.

At least you've given me some hope as I've started at a level 6/7 and although my greys are only still about 10%, my ultimate objective is the same as yours: to gradually get to an easy maintenance cool 'blonde'. And after going down only a couple of levels, the greys are barely noticeable already. If feel brave enough I might get a professional balayage done in a couple of month. Hopefully that'll get rid of those unwanted tones.

It's interesting how we both kind of started this in April.

What exactly is "purple" shampoo? Interested in hearing a response, not Google, thanks.

purplethunder3121 said:

What exactly is "purple" shampoo? Interested in hearing a response, not Google, thanks.

A purple or blue shampoo is like a toner that contains a high concentration of chemical purple pigments. It is not a permanent dye and so just temporarily helps counteract the brassiness or yellow tones in light blonde or white hair by depositing the purple pigments onto the surface of the hair.

This concept is based on colour theory: each colour on the colour wheel has an opposite (or complementary) colour. And so the colour opposite to yellow on the colour wheel being purple, the purple counterbalances the yellow. Similarly, a blue dye or pigment should in theory neutralise orange tones, the green should do the same for red tones, etc. The same principle is applied in the manufacture of laundry detergents that have added blue pigments (also called optical brighteners) designed to make fabrics (especially whites) appear 'cleaner'. https://en.wikipedia.org/...brightener

The result after using a purple shampoo should differ from the lilac dyes often used on grey hair, although some reviewers have mentioned that some purple shampoos can leave a strong mauve tone on the hair, especially if either left on too long, used too often or on damaged and porous hair or if the concentration of purple pigments in the shampoo is too high.

[Edited 7/2/19 6:36am]

purplethunder3121 said:

What exactly is "purple" shampoo? Interested in hearing a response, not Google, thanks.

It's exactly what it sounds like: shampoo that's purple in color.

You were lucky to get an answer, at all - given the snotty tone of your question.

CherryMoon57 said:

Cut a long story short, I now need to remove some brassy tones in my dark blonde hair. I have heard of purple (and blue) shampoos but never tried them before, and not happy with the few advice and videos I have watched. Do you have any experience with using a purple shampoo? Do they work on darker hair (ie. not light blonde)?

Purple and blue shampoos will work. They wont' make your hair purple or blue, but those colors are opposite of the orange and brassy yellow tones on a color wheel. They will help neutralize it.

I don't know if you've lightened your hair and reached this brassy stage, or it's just naturally happening. But, often a good toner can fix that. Whether it's shampoo or a toner, it's going to be temporary, and you need to keep it up to fix the problem. Of course a toner is a chemical process, shampoo is just shampoo.

Just a note, because I don't know how you've gotten the brass coloration: When people lighten their hair, they'll often say "it turned my hair yellow!" or "it turned my hair orange!". No, it lightened it to that point. We all have a range of colors underneath our natural color. Orange or yellow is just part of the scale of color from black to lightest blond. The problem is that with lightening (not bleaching; we bleach whites, we lighten hair; 10 levels in total; the orange is a tonal level not a light level) the product will only work so far and lighten so much - based on how dark the hair color is to begin with. The key is to rinse (not shampoo) it out (cool water), dry the hair, and reapply to lighten again. Dark hair may only reach a light orange or a rich brassy color. Then stop working. The stuff oxidizes and will stop being potent, sorta like a soda bottle left open and losing its fizz. Rinse it out, then reapply freshly mixed product and continue to lighten. It's like bleaching denim. That denim will turn orange for a while until you continue to bleach it until it goes white.

The rub on this is that you're doing a double chemical application to lighten it to where you want it, then adding another chemical treatment with the toner. It'll wreck your hair. So it's something to consider.

If the brassy is just natural, a purple shampoo is what you need. (If it's more orange/reddish, use blue.) Paul Mitchell used to have color shampoos to enhance or combat coloring in hair. They have a newer line now. Here's the Platinum Blonde Shampoo. they also have a conditioner and other product. Remember, the more you use it, the more results you get, so you won't get 100% change the first time. Let it build up, and be patient. Your hair won't turn purple. It's not an old lady rinse. PM is good stuff. Nexus may have something similar. But it's been a while since I've looked at their product line. It wouldn't hurt to use their shampoo & conditioner for the blonde hair.

And yes, I've been a stylist for 25-years. I specialized in color with Clairol (twice), Logics, and Nexus Aloxxi Chroma. I was a featured stylist in a Paul Mitchell hair show, too. (I did a female version of Prince's typhoon D&P style, it was a hit!)

TrivialPursuit said:

CherryMoon57 said:

Cut a long story short, I now need to remove some brassy tones in my dark blonde hair. I have heard of purple (and blue) shampoos but never tried them before, and not happy with the few advice and videos I have watched. Do you have any experience with using a purple shampoo? Do they work on darker hair (ie. not light blonde)?

Purple and blue shampoos will work. They wont' make your hair purple or blue, but those colors are opposite of the orange and brassy yellow tones on a color wheel. They will help neutralize it.

I don't know if you've lightened your hair and reached this brassy stage, or it's just naturally happening. But, often a good toner can fix that. Whether it's shampoo or a toner, it's going to be temporary, and you need to keep it up to fix the problem. Of course a toner is a chemical process, shampoo is just shampoo.

Just a note, because I don't know how you've gotten the brass coloration: When people lighten their hair, they'll often say "it turned my hair yellow!" or "it turned my hair orange!". No, it lightened it to that point. We all have a range of colors underneath our natural color. Orange or yellow is just part of the scale of color from black to lightest blond. The problem is that with lightening (not bleaching; we bleach whites, we lighten hair; 10 levels in total; the orange is a tonal level not a light level) the product will only work so far and lighten so much - based on how dark the hair color is to begin with. The key is to rinse (not shampoo) it out (cool water), dry the hair, and reapply to lighten again. Dark hair may only reach a light orange or a rich brassy color. Then stop working. The stuff oxidizes and will stop being potent, sorta like a soda bottle left open and losing its fizz. Rinse it out, then reapply freshly mixed product and continue to lighten. It's like bleaching denim. That denim will turn orange for a while until you continue to bleach it until it goes white.

The rub on this is that you're doing a double chemical application to lighten it to where you want it, then adding another chemical treatment with the toner. It'll wreck your hair. So it's something to consider.

If the brassy is just natural, a purple shampoo is what you need. (If it's more orange/reddish, use blue.) Paul Mitchell used to have color shampoos to enhance or combat coloring in hair. They have a newer line now. Here's the Platinum Blonde Shampoo. they also have a conditioner and other product. Remember, the more you use it, the more results you get, so you won't get 100% change the first time. Let it build up, and be patient. Your hair won't turn purple. It's not an old lady rinse. PM is good stuff. Nexus may have something similar. But it's been a while since I've looked at their product line. It wouldn't hurt to use their shampoo & conditioner for the blonde hair.

And yes, I've been a stylist for 25-years. I specialized in color with Clairol (twice), Logics, and Nexus Aloxxi Chroma. I was a featured stylist in a Paul Mitchell hair show, too. (I did a female version of Prince's typhoon D&P style, it was a hit!)

Paul Mitchell was the first "salon brand" I ever used back in the 80s - and I've always had a soft spot for it. Awapuhi shampoo, sculpting foam, and Freeze and Shine were total game changers.

Genesia said:

purplethunder3121 said:

What exactly is "purple" shampoo? Interested in hearing a response, not Google, thanks.

It's exactly what it sounds like: shampoo that's purple in color.

You were lucky to get an answer, at all - given the snotty tone of your question.

??? What "snotty tone?" You're reading something into my comment that wasn't there at all. I'm sincerely interested in learning about "purple" shampoo from those who have used it. Wny the color purple, for instance? If anything, your response is the snotty comment.

TrivialPursuit said:

CherryMoon57 said:

Cut a long story short, I now need to remove some brassy tones in my dark blonde hair. I have heard of purple (and blue) shampoos but never tried them before, and not happy with the few advice and videos I have watched. Do you have any experience with using a purple shampoo? Do they work on darker hair (ie. not light blonde)?

Purple and blue shampoos will work. They wont' make your hair purple or blue, but those colors are opposite of the orange and brassy yellow tones on a color wheel. They will help neutralize it.

I don't know if you've lightened your hair and reached this brassy stage, or it's just naturally happening. But, often a good toner can fix that. Whether it's shampoo or a toner, it's going to be temporary, and you need to keep it up to fix the problem. Of course a toner is a chemical process, shampoo is just shampoo.

Just a note, because I don't know how you've gotten the brass coloration: When people lighten their hair, they'll often say "it turned my hair yellow!" or "it turned my hair orange!". No, it lightened it to that point. We all have a range of colors underneath our natural color. Orange or yellow is just part of the scale of color from black to lightest blond. The problem is that with lightening (not bleaching; we bleach whites, we lighten hair; 10 levels in total; the orange is a tonal level not a light level) the product will only work so far and lighten so much - based on how dark the hair color is to begin with. The key is to rinse (not shampoo) it out (cool water), dry the hair, and reapply to lighten again. Dark hair may only reach a light orange or a rich brassy color. Then stop working. The stuff oxidizes and will stop being potent, sorta like a soda bottle left open and losing its fizz. Rinse it out, then reapply freshly mixed product and continue to lighten. It's like bleaching denim. That denim will turn orange for a while until you continue to bleach it until it goes white.

The rub on this is that you're doing a double chemical application to lighten it to where you want it, then adding another chemical treatment with the toner. It'll wreck your hair. So it's something to consider.

If the brassy is just natural, a purple shampoo is what you need. (If it's more orange/reddish, use blue.) Paul Mitchell used to have color shampoos to enhance or combat coloring in hair. They have a newer line now. Here's the Platinum Blonde Shampoo. they also have a conditioner and other product. Remember, the more you use it, the more results you get, so you won't get 100% change the first time. Let it build up, and be patient. Your hair won't turn purple. It's not an old lady rinse. PM is good stuff. Nexus may have something similar. But it's been a while since I've looked at their product line. It wouldn't hurt to use their shampoo & conditioner for the blonde hair.

And yes, I've been a stylist for 25-years. I specialized in color with Clairol (twice), Logics, and Nexus Aloxxi Chroma. I was a featured stylist in a Paul Mitchell hair show, too. (I did a female version of Prince's typhoon D&P style, it was a hit!)

Thank you, this is the kind of information I was interested in learning about.

Genesia said:

Paul Mitchell was the first "salon brand" I ever used back in the 80s - and I've always had a soft spot for it. Awapuhi shampoo, sculpting foam, and Freeze and Shine were total game changers.

Awapuhi is so great. The smell, the way it treats hair. The Conditioner had awapuhi in it as well, and I loved that. It was even good on the skin. Freeze and Shine wasn't playin' around!! It was serious shit! Its only real rival was Sebastian Shaper spray, which came in these super tall aerosol cans, and we used it for every old lady getting a shampoo/set. A lot of stylists also used a lot of the Sculpting Foam for the old lady roller sets because it just held great. The 90s was still about scrunching hair into its natural curl, using a diffuser on the hair dryer. The Freeze and Shine was a great finisher.

I was a fan of Nexus product because there were recipes for mixing a couple of their conditioners with hair color, putting the client's hair in a plastic bag over it, and putting them under the dryer, and the color was done in like 10 or 15 minutes, vs 45 minutes without it. It conditioned and colored at the same time. It was so easy to double up your money that way, which was good because normally you'd do a haircut while a color or perm was processing. And I loved doing color, so doing more was great.

JUST A NOTE ABOUT MY ABOVE POST: Watch what base color of toner you get. If you have very light hair (ie: hair with little natural pigment left in it), whatever the base color of the toner (or regular color) is, the hair will grab that color.

Example: You bleach your hair to the lighest you can make it. then you tone it with a blue or violet base toner, it's likely you'll have a shade of purple in your hair (not like Hot Topic purple, and less than old lady purple). If you were to use something with a red or orange base, that hair would be FIRE after, because it would grab that red or orange base in the coloring or toner.

The same principle applies to gray hair (which isn't gray, it's actually hair with no pigment whatsoever, aka white). If you color gray, always use a neutral base, no matter the shade you're going for. If not, those gray hairs will grab the blue, violet, red, orange, or whatever base and you'll have some odd looking streaks in your hair that ain't pretty. So go for a neutral base.

If you're knocking out some natural brassy coloring that is really harsh and Big Bird-ish, you can use that blue or violet and be fine. So if you see color, use a color base. If the hair leans more neutral (even if it's white or near white), use a neutral base. You can mix toners, too. Have a little brassy, but not a lot? Use 1oz of a neutral toner, and 1oz of a blue base, with 2oz 20 or 30 volume developer (read: peroxide). It's always equal parts coloring (even if you mix) to developer/peroxide, unless it otherwise states. Clairol is equal 1:1 ratio.

You could just find your color level (example, level 7) and apply that level of toner in a neutral base or maybe one that's neutral-blue if you can find it. Mix a neutral & blue base. Remember, a bottle of color is 2 oz, so you'll use half of each, plus 2oz of developer. Keep everything tightly sealed after and you can use it later. Never leave your developer open for any longer than you're pouring it. It's peroxide, and will oxidize and lose its power very quickly when air hits it.

TrivialPursuit said:

CherryMoon57 said:

Cut a long story short, I now need to remove some brassy tones in my dark blonde hair. I have heard of purple (and blue) shampoos but never tried them before, and not happy with the few advice and videos I have watched. Do you have any experience with using a purple shampoo? Do they work on darker hair (ie. not light blonde)?

Purple and blue shampoos will work. They wont' make your hair purple or blue, but those colors are opposite of the orange and brassy yellow tones on a color wheel. They will help neutralize it.

I don't know if you've lightened your hair and reached this brassy stage, or it's just naturally happening. But, often a good toner can fix that. Whether it's shampoo or a toner, it's going to be temporary, and you need to keep it up to fix the problem. Of course a toner is a chemical process, shampoo is just shampoo.

Just a note, because I don't know how you've gotten the brass coloration: When people lighten their hair, they'll often say "it turned my hair yellow!" or "it turned my hair orange!". No, it lightened it to that point. We all have a range of colors underneath our natural color. Orange or yellow is just part of the scale of color from black to lightest blond. The problem is that with lightening (not bleaching; we bleach whites, we lighten hair; 10 levels in total; the orange is a tonal level not a light level) the product will only work so far and lighten so much - based on how dark the hair color is to begin with. The key is to rinse (not shampoo) it out (cool water), dry the hair, and reapply to lighten again. Dark hair may only reach a light orange or a rich brassy color. Then stop working. The stuff oxidizes and will stop being potent, sorta like a soda bottle left open and losing its fizz. Rinse it out, then reapply freshly mixed product and continue to lighten. It's like bleaching denim. That denim will turn orange for a while until you continue to bleach it until it goes white.

The rub on this is that you're doing a double chemical application to lighten it to where you want it, then adding another chemical treatment with the toner. It'll wreck your hair. So it's something to consider.

If the brassy is just natural, a purple shampoo is what you need. (If it's more orange/reddish, use blue.) Paul Mitchell used to have color shampoos to enhance or combat coloring in hair. They have a newer line now. Here's the Platinum Blonde Shampoo. they also have a conditioner and other product. Remember, the more you use it, the more results you get, so you won't get 100% change the first time. Let it build up, and be patient. Your hair won't turn purple. It's not an old lady rinse. PM is good stuff. Nexus may have something similar. But it's been a while since I've looked at their product line. It wouldn't hurt to use their shampoo & conditioner for the blonde hair.

And yes, I've been a stylist for 25-years. I specialized in color with Clairol (twice), Logics, and Nexus Aloxxi Chroma. I was a featured stylist in a Paul Mitchell hair show, too. (I did a female version of Prince's typhoon D&P style, it was a hit!)

Wow, I had not expected such expert advice on here, thank you! The brassiness happened as a result of a coloring process that took my hair from a level 6/7 to a 7/8, and I kind of expected it since I do have a lot of natural red undertones, plus the colour I chose (7.3) was a warm one. I realise now that I should have stuck to a 7 (neutral) or a 7.1 (ash) instead.

I am pleased that you mentioned some brands as there are so many out there, I didn't know which one were best. As I was explaining to Genesia yesterday, I have already started using a mild tone correcting shampoo (John Frieda's Colour Renew) but although it has reduced the warmth of my hair a little, it's not a real purple shampoo and doesn't have enough purple pigments to make a real difference. As for now, I will have a look at the brands you've listed and try to find a blue shampoo, based on your advice.

One last question: how long should I wait until I dye or bleach? (My hair is still very healthy and shiny at the moment).

[Edited 7/2/19 14:53pm]

TrivialPursuit said:

JUST A NOTE ABOUT MY ABOVE POST: Watch what base color of toner you get. If you have very light hair (ie: hair with little natural pigment left in it), whatever the base color of the toner (or regular color) is, the hair will grab that color.

Example: You bleach your hair to the lighest you can make it. then you tone it with a blue or violet base toner, it's likely you'll have a shade of purple in your hair (not like Hot Topic purple, and less than old lady purple). If you were to use something with a red or orange base, that hair would be FIRE after, because it would grab that red or orange base in the coloring or toner.

The same principle applies to gray hair (which isn't gray, it's actually hair with no pigment whatsoever, aka white). If you color gray, always use a neutral base, no matter the shade you're going for. If not, those gray hairs will grab the blue, violet, red, orange, or whatever base and you'll have some odd looking streaks in your hair that ain't pretty. So go for a neutral base.

If you're knocking out some natural brassy coloring that is really harsh and Big Bird-ish, you can use that blue or violet and be fine. So if you see color, use a color base. If the hair leans more neutral (even if it's white or near white), use a neutral base. You can mix toners, too. Have a little brassy, but not a lot? Use 1oz of a neutral toner, and 1oz of a blue base, with 2oz 20 or 30 volume developer (read: peroxide). It's always equal parts coloring (even if you mix) to developer/peroxide, unless it otherwise states. Clairol is equal 1:1 ratio.

You could just find your color level (example, level 7) and apply that level of toner in a neutral base or maybe one that's neutral-blue if you can find it. Mix a neutral & blue base. Remember, a bottle of color is 2 oz, so you'll use half of each, plus 2oz of developer. Keep everything tightly sealed after and you can use it later. Never leave your developer open for any longer than you're pouring it. It's peroxide, and will oxidize and lose its power very quickly when air hits it.

This is very useful info TrivialPursuit, thank you so much! (I wish I had read all this before I went for the forementioned 7.3 )

[Edited 7/2/19 14:41pm]

TrivialPursuit said:

Genesia said:

Paul Mitchell was the first "salon brand" I ever used back in the 80s - and I've always had a soft spot for it. Awapuhi shampoo, sculpting foam, and Freeze and Shine were total game changers.

Awapuhi is so great. The smell, the way it treats hair. The Conditioner had awapuhi in it as well, and I loved that. It was even good on the skin. Freeze and Shine wasn't playin' around!! It was serious shit! Its only real rival was Sebastian Shaper spray, which came in these super tall aerosol cans, and we used it for every old lady getting a shampoo/set. A lot of stylists also used a lot of the Sculpting Foam for the old lady roller sets because it just held great. The 90s was still about scrunching hair into its natural curl, using a diffuser on the hair dryer. The Freeze and Shine was a great finisher.

I was a fan of Nexus product because there were recipes for mixing a couple of their conditioners with hair color, putting the client's hair in a plastic bag over it, and putting them under the dryer, and the color was done in like 10 or 15 minutes, vs 45 minutes without it. It conditioned and colored at the same time. It was so easy to double up your money that way, which was good because normally you'd do a haircut while a color or perm was processing. And I loved doing color, so doing more was great.

Yeah, I learned the hard way that Freeze and Shine was not to be trifled with. The extra body sculpting foam was my jam for years. It was the only thing that gave my super fine, super slick hair any kind of lift, at all. And, yes - awapuhi smells amazing. So clean - and it always left my hair super soft.

Geez...maybe in my current color-stressed state, I should try that again.

Oh! And I used to use the awapuhi conditioner to shave my legs. It was GREAT for that.

CherryMoon57 said:

TrivialPursuit said:

JUST A NOTE ABOUT MY ABOVE POST: Watch what base color of toner you get. If you have very light hair (ie: hair with little natural pigment left in it), whatever the base color of the toner (or regular color) is, the hair will grab that color.

Example: You bleach your hair to the lighest you can make it. then you tone it with a blue or violet base toner, it's likely you'll have a shade of purple in your hair (not like Hot Topic purple, and less than old lady purple). If you were to use something with a red or orange base, that hair would be FIRE after, because it would grab that red or orange base in the coloring or toner.

The same principle applies to gray hair (which isn't gray, it's actually hair with no pigment whatsoever, aka white). If you color gray, always use a neutral base, no matter the shade you're going for. If not, those gray hairs will grab the blue, violet, red, orange, or whatever base and you'll have some odd looking streaks in your hair that ain't pretty. So go for a neutral base.

If you're knocking out some natural brassy coloring that is really harsh and Big Bird-ish, you can use that blue or violet and be fine. So if you see color, use a color base. If the hair leans more neutral (even if it's white or near white), use a neutral base. You can mix toners, too. Have a little brassy, but not a lot? Use 1oz of a neutral toner, and 1oz of a blue base, with 2oz 20 or 30 volume developer (read: peroxide). It's always equal parts coloring (even if you mix) to developer/peroxide, unless it otherwise states. Clairol is equal 1:1 ratio.

You could just find your color level (example, level 7) and apply that level of toner in a neutral base or maybe one that's neutral-blue if you can find it. Mix a neutral & blue base. Remember, a bottle of color is 2 oz, so you'll use half of each, plus 2oz of developer. Keep everything tightly sealed after and you can use it later. Never leave your developer open for any longer than you're pouring it. It's peroxide, and will oxidize and lose its power very quickly when air hits it.

This is very useful info TrivialPursuit, thank you so much! (I wish I had read all this before I went for the forementioned 7.3 )

[Edited 7/2/19 14:41pm]

All of this information is very useful to those of us going gray; so far I haven't had to dye my hair...but the day is coming!

CherryMoon57 said:

One last question: how long should I wait until I dye or bleach? (My hair is still very healthy and shiny at the moment).

Well, I don't know when you lightened your hair, but you could do the toner at any point. I would actually recommend using a regular color with just 20 volume developer. You just want to deposit color, not lift the color anymore, or even deepen it. If your hair is an 8, buy a bottle of level 8 neutral color and a level 8 violet base. Mix 1oz of each with 2oz developer, and apply for a good 30 minutes. Rinse with cooler water, don't shampoo it for a couple of days (but you can add a leave-in after you rinse the color out), and use that PM shampoo once you do eventually shampoo it. If you use a shitty shampoo, you can lose upwards of 30-33% of your hair color the first time you shampoo.

Remember, don't shampoo your hair the day of the color. Just apply to dry hair. The peroxide will eat thru any product you have in it.

Hair is like a rose. When a rose is opened up, it's easy to get dried out. When a rose is closed, it's smoother and moister inside. The cuticle on a hairshaft is exaclty the same as rose petals. the cuticle opens up with chemical processes, which lets it dry out, and stops it from being shiny It's very alkaline at that point. Shiny hair is a strand with a closed cuticle, creating a smooth surface; it's in an acidic or neutral state when it's shiny. A good conditioner that drops the pH level will help close the cuticle and create a naturally shiny head of hair.

TrivialPursuit said:

CherryMoon57 said:

One last question: how long should I wait until I dye or bleach? (My hair is still very healthy and shiny at the moment).

Well, I don't know when you lightened your hair, but you could do the toner at any point. I would actually recommend using a regular color with just 20 volume developer. You just want to deposit color, not lift the color anymore, or even deepen it. If your hair is an 8, buy a bottle of level 8 neutral color and a level 8 violet base. Mix 1oz of each with 2oz developer, and apply for a good 30 minutes. Rinse with cooler water, don't shampoo it for a couple of days (but you can add a leave-in after you rinse the color out), and use that PM shampoo once you do eventually shampoo it. If you use a shitty shampoo, you can lose upwards of 30-33% of your hair color the first time you shampoo.

Remember, don't shampoo your hair the day of the color. Just apply to dry hair. The peroxide will eat thru any product you have in it.

Hair is like a rose. When a rose is opened up, it's easy to get dried out. When a rose is closed, it's smoother and moister inside. The cuticle on a hairshaft is exaclty the same as rose petals. the cuticle opens up with chemical processes, which lets it dry out, and stops it from being shiny It's very alkaline at that point. Shiny hair is a strand with a closed cuticle, creating a smooth surface; it's in an acidic or neutral state when it's shiny. A good conditioner that drops the pH level will help close the cuticle and create a naturally shiny head of hair.

You have no idea how much this has helped me. I also love the comparison you drew between hair and a rose, you explain this so well. Thanks a million!

CherryMoon57 said:

You have no idea how much this has helped me. I also love the comparison you drew between hair and a rose, you explain this so well. Thanks a million!

It's how we learned in school. The cuticle on a hairshaft is similar, in idea, to that of a rose. It was a great comparison by my teacher.