Today, I am sharing one of my very favourite products ever: the Milkshake Silver Shampoo. I have used this product for years and it just has to be said: (in my opinion) this is the BEST Purple Shampoo for Brassy Blonde Hair
Let’s Talk About the BEST Purple Shampoo for Brassy Blonde Hair
If you’re a blonde, chances are you’ve experienced having brassy hair once, twice, or weekly.
I for one, battle brassy hair constantly. One of my biggest struggles with my blonde hair was keeping the brass at bay.
People kept telling me to invest in purple shampoo, and even when I did, I found they didn’t work. I would sit there for 5-10 minutes, excited to see my new brass-free locks, only to wash out the recommended purple shampoo and find my hair still was super brassy.
The reason my hair is so brass-prone (as told to me by my hair stylist) is that my hair has a tendency to pull red tones, probably from having dark hair before and natural red tones in my hair.
And the Best Purple Shampoo goes to…
It wasn’t until I found a stylist who really looked at my hair and told me how I could achieve an ashier hair tone. She said many purple shampoos are light purple and only mildly change the colour of your hair. If you have a blonde that stubbornly holds onto gold tones then you’re going to need a richer dark purple shampoo. That was the day I found – and that’s the day I stopped having to deal with brassy hair.
MilkShake’s Silver Shampoo Review
The Colour:
Unlike many other purple shampoos I’ve tried, is a true dark purple when squeezed out of its bottle. In fact, it is so dark that it can even slightly stain your hands if you don’t wash it off immediately after applying the shampoo to your hair.
How Long Should I Leave the Milkshake Silver Shampoo on?
I use this shampoo once weekly and leave it on for 5-10 minutes depending on how brassy my hair is. If you’re nervous to leave it in for this long, then just leave it for a couple of minutes and see how your hair looks.
I’ve found that when I am away travelling and the water is harder / or different than my hair requires it to sit a bit longer. When I am at home though, I typically just apply for 5 minutes to achieve a softer brass-free blonde.
Also, since my hair is a darker blonde colour, it sometimes requires a longer amount of time to really get rid of the brassy tones.
Lighter blondes may find that they only need to have this sit for a few short minutes for it to work on their hair. Or, better yet, invest in the light version so that the purple shampoo doesn’t stain your hair purple or grey.
One thing to know about this purple shampoo is that it can truly turn your hair purple or grey if you leave it on for a long time. This will fade and your normal colour will return after a few days and washes.
Since the purple/grey hair look has become popular, many people are using to take their hair from blonde to silvery grey. Typically to achieve this silvery look you need to keep the purple shampoo on for 12 minutes.
Uh oh – The Milkshake Shampoo Turned my Hair Purple!
This can happen for two reasons – 1. you left it on too long, or 2. you’re using the wrong Milkshake Shampoo.
There are two Milkshake Silver Shampoo options – the regular, or the light. When my hair is a deeper blonde, I use the regular Milkshake Silver Shampoo. But when my hair is very light (like it was when we went to Greece recently), I then switch to the light version.
I have found that when my hair is a lighter white-blonde the regular Milkshake Silver Shampoo can stain my hair purple, especially if I leave it on as long as recommended.
Milkshake Silver Shampoo Active Ingredients:
Strawberry extract, raspberry extract, milk proteins, blueberry extract, blackberry extract, violet pigment.
How Much Does it Cost?
This purple shampoo costs $18.95. **The cost will vary in different countries.
I don’t feel this is a bad price at all. Since you only need to use once weekly, you really won’t go through this shampoo fast at all. I usually have a whole bottle for around 3 months.
The End Result?
The result is instantly brass-free hair.
It is quite drying. If your hair is damaged you’re going to want to follow up with a deep conditioning treatment. If you are looking for a great new conditioner then be sure to check out my guide on 7 Hair Masks for Dry Hair.
All in all, though, this Silver Shampoo is a must-try if you’re losing the battle of brass! This shampoo is so effective on its own that you don’t really need the conditioner.
Where can we buy this in Vancouver (not online), Bree? I use a huge range of purple shampoos and am always testing different brands.
xo, alison*elle
Yes, I purchased mine locally. It typically can be found at hair salons that have a large product area. I purchased mine at MegaHair Salon, and I believe it's also available at Chatters locations!
Thanks for this. I got rid of the brassiness of my hair by colored ng it blue and let it fade. I now have a gray hair.
Great post! I’m planning on going blonder in the summer and may need to buy a purple shampoo. My hair tends to pull red tones too, so thanks for sharing!!
This is definitely a great purple shampoo, I swear by it! My hair has a tendency to pull a lot of red / orange (it used to always shock my hairdresser haha!) but after using this purple shampoo I’ve had zero issue with brassiness!
Could you post an ingredient list?
Every time I wash my hair with it, everyone asks me if I just had my hair done again! I will only use milkshake! It is amazing! It will leave an almost lavendar tone with bleach blonde if left on too long, but it still looks awesome! I get many compliments using this product!
Does it work to lighten natural blonde hair that has never been dyed before?
Hi Nicole! No, it doesn’t lighten your hair. It just takes the red tones out of it so that it looks more ash-toned!
I have light red (coloured hair) will this work to take out the red and eventually make it grey? I have grey hair naturally and want it back to that without bleaching.
That’s a really good question, but honestly, I’m not sure! I would say your best bet would be to go to a hair stylist and ask about toning, and then invest in a purple shampoo. I did that when I had red hair and it did eventually turn into a more brown tone.
Hi. I used the purple shampoo. I left it in for about 6 minutes maybe… and now my white blonde is a white grey. Not a look I want.. what do I do to get this to not be green 🙁
Only 6 minutes? Wow! Was your hair quite ashy to begin with? The easiest way to get purple shampoo out of your hair fast is by using a clarifying shampoo. I had my hair toned before my wedding and the hairdresser literally turned my hair purple! I used my clarifying shampoo every day before my wedding and in 6 days it was normal again. Your hair shouldn’t turn green from a purple shampoo or clarifying shampoo.
does this turn your hair an ashy silver color? or will it just be blonde?
It kind of depends on what your hair is like now. My hair for example, is a darker/medium blonde and has a lot of red tones to it. So when I use it, typically it’ll just make my hair more ashy blonde. If you have an ashy tone to begin with than it may make it more purple/silver.
Should I buy purple shampoo to make my own? I was doing a bit of research and I saw this guide on how to make my own. So I am curiouse on what to do
https://www.mapleholistics.com/blog/diy-purple-shampoo-guide-blonde-homemade-toner/
It’s really up to you! I’ve never made my own, I always buy this purple shampoo but if you feel confident making your own then why not 🙂
Where can I buy this in Toronto (or locally online )
Thanks for sharing this helpful information. Keep Writing
If your hair is on the yellowish, orange end of the spectrum, purple shampoo will fix it. … This duo uses purple pigments to neutralize undesirable yellow and orange tones.
Using purple shampoo is a key step in helping dyed blonde hair look vibrant and fresh.
Thanks for sharing us your knowledge about hair care.
Brassy hair is caused by an overabundance of warm pigments in your hair.
Will this shampoo remove brassy orange and dark red tones in brown hair too?
Possibly, but I believe you’ll actually need a blue shampoo to remove brass tones from brown hair. This article lists a few blue shampoos for brown hair: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/beauty/hair/g35785754/best-blue-shampoo/ I hope that helps!
Your article is very helpful for me. Thanks for sharing this beautiful post.