Farewell to brassy blonde: Purple Toned Shampoos

WELL, I've been on a flipping mission the past month or so. I have been desperately searching for a purple toned shampoo that will get rid of those pesky yellow, brassy tones that tend to creep into my hair a month or so after i have dyed it. If you are blonde, and you tend to have natural warm tones to your hair (like me) you will know how difficult it is to keep that 'salon fresh' look. So, i took a trip to Boots before work one morning, and as i was a little bit early, i took it as my chance to search the shelves for that magical product which would solve the brassy problemo. And i came across these two lovely looking purple bottles..

So, me being the indecisive person i am, after a number of minutes debating which one to toss into my basket, i just threw them both in :) And i have to say ive been incredibly impressed by both of these little brassy blonde fighers.

Lee Stafford "Bleach Blondes" Shampoo

I have to admit, out of the two, i think this one is my favourite, purely because i think it made more of a difference from the first time i used it. If i ever have a "brassy blonde emergency" again, i reckon this will be the one i will reach for. It does have that typical "Lee Stafford-y" smell to it, which i personally like, but i know it's not to everyones tastes. Smell aside, this product knocked every single reddy tone out of my hair from the moment i began blow-drying it. RESULT :D I could tell even when my hair was still wet that it had taken on an overall more ashy tone.  Hooray :)


The instructions on the back of the bottle suggest using this a couple of times a week, to avoid any purple mishaps :) (and i didnt want any form of purple mishap, thankyou very much!) but i must have used this almost 4 times in the week and never noticed any purple tones in my hair. I wouldnt suggest you go overboard with this one though, as it is quite strong in colour. I used it religously for a week to get rid of all of the yellow/reddy tones, and now just use it maybe once a week to keep it at bay.


 It didnt dry my hair out, and left my colour looking fresh and i achieved that 'icy' tone of blonde that i was after for so long :) If youre looking for a 'quick fix' then id highly suggest giving this a go.


I also believe Lee Stafford does a smaller version of this in his "shots" range. Ive not spotted it yet, but if youre a bit unsure about the price of this one, then maybe give the mini version a go first just to trail it (if youre lucky enough to find it).

John Frieda "Colour Renew - Tone Correcting" shampoo

NOW then, this lovely little bottle of purple-y blue-ness...

I really like this shampoo and a little tends to go quite a long way. The consistency is quite thick but once its on your hair it lathers up really nicely.This has more of a blue tone to it compared with the slightly scary, deep purple colour of the Lee Stafford which i think is why the effects of this shampoo were more subtle. I still noticed a difference on the first use, but had to use it a few more times to get to the tone i wanted in my hair. Having said that, if you are a little bit afraid of getting that violet tinge to your hair, this may be the safer option. 


John Frieda often do little offers on their products, which makes me an extremely happy girl :) So, if they ever have an offer on i suggest putting this in your basket!

...I then noticed this little gem out of the corner of my eye, and whilst they had the offer on i thought, err..why not?! Ive been experimenting with mousse just recently, and whilst i usually go for ANYTHING that says the word "VOLUME" on it (if you know me at all, you will know i like my hair as big as me), i was intrigued by this one; as ive been afraid that using too much product in my hair has been counter-acting the good work that the shampoos have been doing! So i thought this might be the solution.

John Frieda "Sheer Blonde - Boost Mousse"

 As you can see, i have used this a few times and although the purple-ness of this product does seem a little scary, its not at all. The mousse only has a slight tinge of violet to it. Ive noticed the only downside to this is that if you do use a little bit too much, it very quickly gets quite sticky, so id say start off with a small amount if you want to avoid straw hair :) eek. 

I love love LOVEE a bit of volume at the roots, so i pop this in, chuck my hair upside-down and blast with the diffuser for some much needed lift, whilst not having to worry about brassiness caused by hair product! Its not as volumising as other products i have used, however if like me, your hair colour needs a little love and attention, swapping your usual mousse for this blonde loving one a few times a week may just do it some good!