Can You Use Purple Shampoo On Green Hair? (+ What To Use Instead)
Green hair colour is unique in hair care because it can be achieved intentionally or unintentionally.
Green, as a fashion colour, is growing in popularity, and you can wear any shade of green, from lime to mint, forest green, or true green.
Additionally, green strands can appear within blonde or bleached blonde hair, especially after swimming in chlorinated water.
It can be tough to maintain blonde hair, so many hair stylists recommend using a purple shampoo to cancel out brassy or yellow tones.
Chlorine and other harsh metals can turn blonde hair green right before your eyes.
Additionally, green can be one of the more challenging colours to keep up with or remove.
So, reaching for a purple shampoo to fix your hair may feel like common sense.
So, can you use purple shampoo on green hair? Unfortunately, purple shampoo cannot cancel out any green tones in your hair. Purple shampoos are designed to neutralise yellow tones and won’t provide the same effect for green hair.
So, can you use purple shampoo on green hair?
Unfortunately, purple shampoo cannot cancel out any green tones in your hair. Purple shampoos are designed to neutralise yellow tones and won’t provide the same effect for green hair.
However, you can neutralise green hair in multiple ways, such as using another colour-depositing and toning shampoo or applying a hair dye over the green strands.
So, how can you neutralise or fix green hair? Read on for more!
Will Purple Shampoo Fix Green Hair?
It may seem like a no-brainer to reach for purple shampoo to fix green hair, especially if you’re a blonde who obtained green hair from the pool.
However, it’s even challenging to eliminate dyed green hair because purple can’t stop or neutralise green tones.
Purple is the complementary colour to yellow on the colour wheel, so it’s designed to eliminate yellow and warm tones, particularly for blonde or light-coloured hair.
What Colour Neutralises Green Hair?
So, what colour will neutralise green if you can’t use purple shampoo?
If you look at the colour wheel, you’ll notice that green and red are opposite, just like purple and yellow.
So, red will quickly eliminate and neutralise green tones from the hair.
Instead of purple shampoo, try reaching for a product with red pigments.
How Can You Fix Green Hair?
What products can you use to fix green hair after it turns green?
Thankfully, there are multiple ways to remove green strands, but not all of them are safe to perform alone at home.
Some techniques are better under the supervision of a hairstylist.
Standard solutions to fix green hair include using a red shampoo, applying colour over the green, using a colour remover, or attempting to bleach out the green.
Red Shampoo
A red shampoo is a safe and effective option to use at home to eliminate green hair.
A red shampoo will dispense red pigments into the hair, allowing it to neutralise green.
It’s an easy-to-use product that won’t be as damaging as colour or bleach.
However, red shampoo may not show instant results, and it can take a few washes to eliminate most of your green hair.
Color
Another option is to colour over your green hair.
For example, you can apply a red dye over green hair to cancel out any cool tones.
However, you will achieve a darker or brown base shade, so this method may not be beneficial for maintaining blonde strands.
You may be tempted to conceal green with other colours, such as blue or purple, which can work temporarily.
But it can still cause an issue down the road when you want to eliminate these colours too.
Color Remover
Colour removers are a standard product to reach for when you want to eliminate challenging hair colours.
This can include shades like black (especially black box dye), red, green, or even blue. However, colour removers can be overly harsh on the hair.
Bleach
Finally, you can try using bleach to achieve a light base shade if you want to eliminate green tones in your hair.
This can be extremely risky to do at home, especially without understanding the potential risks associated with improper bleach application.
Bleach can severely damage the hair, especially if it’s already colour-treated or chemically processed.
Therefore, this option is best executed with the assistance of a professional hairdresser.
How Effective Is Red Shampoo For Green Hair?
How well does red shampoo work on green hair?
A red shampoo will be more efficient than a purple shampoo because red and green can neutralise each other.
How well the red works can depend on the condition of your hair.
It may take a few washes to notice a difference in your green hair if it’s heavily dyed or pigmented.
Additionally, red and green can easily blend into a brown shade, so it’s essential to proceed with caution and perform a test strand.
Benefits Of Red Shampoo
Red shampoo can quickly neutralise green hair.
In addition, it can eliminate this colour more healthily compared to other options, such as colour or bleach.
It can also help achieve a natural colour, but maintaining blonde hair after using it may be challenging.
How Effective Is Colouring Over Green Hair?
Colouring over green hair may be an excellent option for a natural brown shade.
This may be a good option if you want to return to a natural colour with a medium to dark base. Red hair dye may quickly eliminate green strands.
However, if you’d like to maintain fashionable hair colours, you can opt for covering green with other cool-toned dyes, such as blue or purple.
Benefits Of Re-Colouring Green Hair
The benefits of recolouring hair are that you can potentially get rid of green altogether with just one colouring session, depending on the shade you choose.
Also, you can achieve a rich, vivid, and opaque hue by colouring over green hair.
However, it may not be beneficial to simply put a colour over green hair if you want a lighter base or to maintain blonde strands.
Risks Of Removing Green Dye At Home
Several factors should be considered before applying red shampoo or dye to your hair.
First, removing green from the strands at home can be extremely challenging, and it’s a technique that takes professional hairdressers years to master.
If you use incorrect techniques, you may experience brittle strands, breakage, or scalp irritation.
Breakage
Breakage can occur if your strands are already compromised or heavily coloured and chemically treated.
So, colouring or bleaching out green at home may pose a significant risk. It’s crucial to visit a stylist or conduct extensive research.
Also, an easy way to avoid breakage is to perform a test strand to see how your hair reacts to colour or bleach.
Brittle Strands
Another common side effect of doing your hair at home is brittle strands.
Additionally, your hair can often feel dry and straw-like if it has been over-processed.
This can also occur when using colour-treating shampoos that lack nourishing components.
Feeding your hair nourishment and hydration is essential, especially after using colour, bleach, or red/purple shampoos.
One easy way to do so is with a deep conditioning mask. (like this effective one from Moroccanoil).
Scalp Irritation
Finally, we have scalp irritation. Your hair will only be as healthy as your scalp.
So improper bleaching or colouring techniques can result in itchiness, flakes, or burns, especially on the scalp.
It may be wise to visit a colour specialist in this case.
Scalp irritation could affect your future hair growth or make it more challenging to eliminate green hair if the first colour service wasn’t successful.
Which Method Is Best For You?
So, how can you eliminate green hair without purple shampoo?
Some of the most effective ways are to use a red shampoo and gradually fade out the green or use hair colour to conceal the green.
Each method has pros and cons, and results can vary depending on the state of your hair.
You can also perform a test strand to see how well your hair reacts to a specific formula.
Color
Colouring your hair can be effective if you want a natural colour.
For example, a red dye can eliminate green, but it may result in a brown shade depending on the intensity and tone of your green strands.
You may also decide to colour it with another fashion colour.
Please consult a hairstylist if you wish to eliminate green tones from your hair and achieve a blonde appearance.
Red Shampoo
A more straightforward technique involves replacing your purple shampoo with red shampoo. Red will neutralise green quickly.
However, perform a test strand if you plan to use red shampoo on blonde hair to eliminate green from a pool or swimming.
It may also take a few washes to thoroughly eliminate any green from your hair.
Contact A Hairdresser
Colour corrections are among the most challenging salon services, requiring a colour specialist or years of experience.
Additionally, it may be challenging to remove green hair on your own, even with a red shampoo or dye.
Consult a hairdresser, especially if you plan to go light or want blonde hair.
This will ensure you keep the integrity of your hair without severely damaging it.
Also, you can rest assured knowing purple shampoo won’t help eliminate green tones.
Related Articles
What Will Happen If You Put Red Dye Over Green Hair?
