Brown-haired and haven’t heard of using blue shampoo before? Listen up, as it could help you get the most out of your dyed or natural colour.
Most people associate brassiness or unwanted warm tones with bottle blondes. But the truth is that brunettes may experience some unwanted orange or reddish hues when a cool brown is preferable, regardless of whether they colour your hair.
Although it’s perhaps the lesser well-known of the two, blue shampoo is to brown hair what the best purple shampoo is to cool-girl blonde. Intrigued? Keep reading for everything you need to know and the blue shampoos to try now.
How does blue shampoo for brown hair work?
‘Although it appears not to be as widely known, brunettes also find that they are left with unwanted brassy tones coming through if they lighten their hair and/or have balayage,’ says legenedary hairdresser and colourist Josh Wood. ‘This can happen as a result of the sun, product they may use and pollution. ‘Meanwhile brunettes with virgin hair will often find that they have unwanted warmer tones too.’
The term blue shampoo is pretty self-explanatory – the shampoo formula is enriched with blue pigments that infuse in to the hair. Won’t that turn my hair blue, we hear you ask? Not quite, as the process is a little bit more scientific than that.
If you think about the colour wheel, blue is opposite orange and therefore has the ability to ‘cool down’ these tones in your hair ‘Blue shampoo is a neutralising shampoo that will reduce and neutralise orange and brassy tones in the hair,’ Josh explains. ‘Redken Brownlights Shampoo is a great way to tone your hair; the blue pigments work quickly and give incredible, cool results.’
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Leave your formula on the hair for a few minutes to really get the most out of those blue pigments, and most formulas advise using gloves so as not to stain your hands blue.
Ready to take away that brassiness from your brown hair? Shop some of the hero blue shampoo formulas on the market right now in our round-up below.
Redken Color Extend Brownlights Shampoo,
They wowed us with the results of their Blondage range, now they're doing the same for brunettes. Brownlights ultra blue shampoo really gets to work on those yellow or orange hues to revitalise your colour. For best results, use gloves when applying and leave on your hair for 3-5 minutes.
Fudge Professional Cool Brunette Blue Toning Shampoo,
One of the more affordable options on our list, Fudge's shampoo promises to colour correct those orange and red hues along with their repairing 'opti-plex' technolgoy to support your hair's health.
Aveda Blue Malva Colour Enhancing Shampoo, £46.50, Fabled
This is suitable for any hair colour that's prone to a little brassiness, be it blonde or brunette, so it's a good all-rounder. As the name suggests, it's blended with sustainably-gathered blue malva, which helps to balance your hair and scalp. Bonus: It'll also add a silvery brightness to grey hair, too.
Joico Colour Balance Blue Shampoo, £16.30, Lookfantastic
As well as colour-correcting and fighting fade, Joico's blue shampoo contains a bio-advanced peptide complex to repair strands from root to tip. Alternate with your regular shampoo to keep your colour fresh.
