Experts reveal what the viral #PurpleShampooChallenge can really do to your hair

If you’ve got naturally blonde or grey hair, chances are you’ve already tried a purple shampoo.

As purple sits on the opposite side of the colour wheel to yellow, a purple shampoo will neutralise all those unwanted brassy tones, leaving your colour cooler and fresher in-between salon visits.

But now, instead of just reaping the shampoo’s colour-correcting benefits, users of social media and video sharing platform TikTok have been taking part in the #PurpleShampooChallenge – with over 70 million people having viewed the hashtag so far.

So what exactly is the #PurpleShampooChallenge? Instead of just using a small amount of purple shampoo for a quick lather and rinse, TikTok users are slathering handfuls of it onto dry hair and leaving it on for as long as 24 hours, in a bid to turn their hair deep purple.

As you can imagine, the results vary wildly, as the purple pigment will only show up on very light hair – not to mention the potential to stain your hands, bathroom and clothing.

So what do the experts think about this new craze?

“Those with blonde hair will benefit from using violet toning hair products such as Fudge Professional Clean Blonde Damage Rewind Violet Toning Shampoo, £14.95, as it also features the innovative Opti-PLEX technology that penetrates deep into the hairs core and reconstructs the hair bonds after a chemical colour,” explains Tracy Hayes, Head of Professional Colour at Fudge Professional.

“However, it’s important not to overuse these products as people can get end up with icy or violet hair. Unless this is the look you want to achieve, I would usually recommend using a toning shampoo every two weeks or so to keep the blonde fabulous and clean. Remember this #PurpleShampooChallenge will only work on blonde hair and if you’re going to do it, definitely wear gloves!”