I have been highlighting my hair for the past 12 years. I like the dimension that it adds to my hair and the volume it gives me.
It’s difficult to lighten red hair, as you’ll read in my blog post about bayalaging my hair, and even more difficult is keeping the color you’ve achieved due to all the things that want to brassy-up blonde color.
I picked up SignatureBlonde shampoo from my salon at the recommendation of my stylist. It was recommended for a few reasons: sulfate and salt free, which meant it would be gentle on my hair, ultra violet pigment to banish brassiness, and would be less likely to irritate my scalp which tends to freak out with shampoos or hair products full of things I can’t pronounce.
Here’s the benefits from the company website:
- Proprietary sulfate-free, salt-free blend of 11 surfactants provides extra gentle cleansing with 96% color retention*
- Pure violet pigment instantly neutralizes brassy and yellow tones
- Brightens, illuminates and adds luminous, glossy shine
- Dramatically increases tensile strength and elasticity while nourishing and smoothing
- Provides unsurpassed color and heat protection up to 450°
Application: was just like any other shampoo. If you’ve never used a violet shampoo before, this definitely will shock you as it’s a deep, dark pearly purple. It suds up fairly well and smells nice. I wouldn’t say it’s a shampoo I would choose based on the fragrance, but it definitely out performs my other harsher favorite, Clairol’s Shimmer Lights, that smells like old lady perfume.
Packaging: the shampoo comes in a nice purple stand-up plastic bottle, wider at the base and tapered the top with the opening being one of those pop tops. One gripe is that it’s actually somewhat hard to squeeze the bottle appropriately to get product out. I have a lot of hair, and the packaging isn’t flexible. It’s like an arm wrestle every time I use it which is highly annoying to me.
End Result: my hair felt clean, smelled nice, and best of all my scalp didn’t feel like it was being attacked a few hours later. I would say that my blonde pieces did look brighter. I’ve been told that violet shampoos can be used on your whole head and won’t effect darker color, but I don’t know that I buy that. Perhaps because I’m a redhead it doesn’t hold, but it seems to fade my darker color faster. At a price point around $40 for the standard bottle, it’s also pretty pricey. This is a good option if sulfate-free is what you’re looking for, but otherwise I think you can find products that work just as well for cheaper.
Overall Rating: 3/5
Packaging: 2/5
Price: $$$$$
Have a violet shampoo you love? Drop us a line in the comments.
ReadHead by Roux Atelier 