13 Best Blue Shampoos for Brunette Hair and WTF They Do
Get rid of those brassy tones stat.
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Okay, so it’s safe to assume we all have the same existential questions, yes? What is the meaning of life, why does cheese taste so good, and what is the best blue shampoo? Cool, right, great. While the jury is still out on the first two, I do have an answer for that last one—namely, what blue shampoo does, how to use it, and, yes, which blue shampoo is best for your hair type.
Blue shampoo is kind of like color-correcting makeup for brunette hair. Each time you lather up, your blue shampoo will deposit blue pigments that help neutralize brassy orange tones in your brown hair, leaving it brighter, cooler, and fresher-looking. And because I am a brunette with highlights, I am a blue shampoo stan and, well, a self-proclaimed expert on the product. So to get you started on your brass-canceling journey, I handpicked the 13 best blue shampoos for brown hair with the help of a few pros, OFC, below.
But if you're too eager and don't wanna read through all of the wonderful ~knowledge~ surrounding blue shampoos, here's a sneak peek of what's to come:
Our top picks for the best blue shampoo for brunettes in 2022:
Best Blue Shampoo for Natural and Highlighted Brunettes
Redken Color Extend Brownlights Blue Toning Shampoo
Read more
Best Shine-Boosting Blue Shampoo
Not Your Mother's Triple Threat Brunette Blue Treatment Shampoo
Read more
Now, keep reading for the entire list, and everything you need to know about blue shampoos for brunette hair, below.
Redken Color Extend Brownlights Blue Toning Shampoo
Pros
- Sulfate-free
Cons
- May dye hands
Whether you're a natural, dyed, or highlighted brunette, this blue shampoo from Redken will keep your color from turning reddish or orange-y. The sulfate-free (read: non-drying) formula fights brassiness with dark blue pigments to keep your color looking nice and fresh after each wash.
THE REVIEW: "I got my hair balayaged a month ago and needless to say it was time for a toner. I did a quick wash with my regular shampoo, then went in with this while still in the shower...Let me tell you—I feel like I just left the salon!! "
Not Your Mother's Triple Threat Brunette Blue Treatment Shampoo
Pros
- Great price
Cons
- May need to leave it on longer to take effect
A combo of gentle cleansers, color-correcting blue pigments, nutrient-rich blue tansy oil, and hydrating glycerin make this the perfect blue shampoo for brunettes with dull, flat hair. After the first rinse, your color will look cooler and richer, and your hair waaaay shinier too.
THE REVIEW: "I love Not Your Mother's Triple Threat Brunette Blue Treatment Shampoo and how well it works with my hair. Finally, we have a product that not only helps with brass reduction but also helps strengthen our hair. "
Moroccanoil Blonde Perfecting Purple Shampoo
Pros
- Highly moisturizing
Cons
- May dye hands
So I know this is technically a purple shampoo made for blondes, but it works really well on brown hair, too (trust me, I use it all the time, and I'm a brunette). It's loaded with super-dark violet pigments to neutralize brassiness, plus argan oil to smooth flyaways and seal split ends.
THE REVIEW: "This is literally my holy grail. If you’re looking for a purple shampoo that will make your hair look like you just left the salon, look no further. I got a caramel balayage done six months ago (SIX!!) and my hair still looks like I’ve just left the salon."
DevaCurl No-Poo Blue Anti-Brass Zero Lather Toning
Pros
- Great for curls
Cons
- May need to use a lot of product each time
If you have curls or super-dry hair, this zero-lather blue shampoo from DevaCurl is for you. The sulfate-free formula won't get sudsy and strip your strands but instead gently cleanses and conditions while neutralizing brassiness with blue pigments. The result? Curls and coils that are happy and healthy, and color that's vibrant.
THE REVIEW: "This product made my curly hair feel and look great, and helped reduce the brassiness of my newly highlighted hair. For all my curly-haired girls with color-treated hair, I would definitely recommend."
L'ange Brunette Boost Shampoo
Pros
- Great for maintaining highlights
Cons
- Can be drying if used every day
This blue shampoo can be used to refresh and tone any and every shade of brown hair—bronde, chestnut, chocolate, you name it. The formula uses a variety of blue pigments to counteract warm, orange tones no matter your shade of brunette.
THE REVIEW: "Brunette shampoo is exactly what I needed to refresh my color. After a few weeks of my hair color fading on top, when I use this incredible shampoo, it slowly darkens the hair to make it look natural and feel soft. Would highly recommend this product."
DpHue Cool Brunette Shampoo
Pros
- Great for cool tones
Cons
- May need to leave on longer for desired results
Not only is this blue shampoo free of sulfates (a big no-no for both color-treated and curly hair), but it’s also free of parabens, silicones, and phthalates, a gentle nod to the clean-and-green life. So what is in this shampoo? Blue pigments to neutralize brassy tones on brunette hair, silk amino acids, and hydrolyzed silk protein to strengthen and smooth damaged hair.
THE REVIEW: "I am amazed at how good this shampoo is! It helps tone all the brassiness from my hair way down, making it look more natural."
Matrix Total Results Brass Off Shampoo
Pros
- Sulfate-free
Cons
- Can be drying if used too often
This blue shampoo has gotten A LOT of love on Amazon, and my easily influenced heart is all about those good reviews. One thing to note about this brass-minimizing shampoo: It’s formulated with sulfates, which can strip color and moisture from your hair with time. So limit your use to once a week (or more, if you’re really trying to fade your brunette dye job) and always follow up with a good deep conditioner.
THE REVIEW: "This shampoo has saved my hair! I had my hair bleached and it turned orange within a week...I have used it every day for the past week and the results have amazed me."
Joico Color Balance Blue Shampoo
Pros
- Long-lasting results
Cons
- Not great for oily hair
Here’s a fast fact for you: Color-treated hair is damaged hair. That means whatever product you slather on your dye job should be moisturizing, yes, but also strengthening—and this blue shampoo from Joico is both. Formulated with two different types of damage-repairing keratin proteins and moisture-retaining glycerin, this blue shampoo will not only make your brunette hair look brighter and cooler but also feel smoother and softer with each wash.
THE REVIEW: "I got this product about four weeks ago and I honestly see the difference. I got a balayage done six months ago, and because of COVID, I wasn't able to get back to the salon. My hair began to turn reddish/brassy. I started this shampoo about a month ago, and my hair is now a nice, dark honey blonde color, and [this shampoo] is undoing months of fading!!!"
Igk Mixed Feelings Leave-In Brunette Toning Drops
Pros
- Very customizable
Cons
- More for maintenance, less for correction
Okay, okay, so technically, this isn’t a shampoo at all—it’s a liquid blue toner that turns any shampoo or conditioner into a brass-neutralizing, brunette-hair machine. So if you’re looking through all these products while tearfully clutching your beloved non-blue shampoo, you’ll be happy to know that these drops are an easy compromise. Just mix 6 to 16 blue drops (there’s a shade guide, so you won’t have to guess how many) in with a palmful of your normal shampoo, let it sit for a few minutes, and rinse as usual.
THE REVIEW: "An amazing product for brunettes who get their hair routinely lightened by a professional. My stylist has complimented how well my blonde has been maintained, and this is the product I use!!"
Fanola No Orange Shampoo
Pros
- Very pigmented
Cons
- Can tint hair blue if overused
The good thing about this blue shampoo: It’s great for both brunette hair and blonde hair because it works to neutralize orange and red tones. So if your caramel and golden highlights are lookin’ a little too brassy, try washing with this color-correcting shampoo to take down the warmth and cool the colors out a bit. It can be a little harsh, though, so use it only when the brass starts creeping back in.
THE REVIEW: "I have been using it for a few weeks—every three days—and my hair looks great. It has helped with the brass but hasn’t turned my hair blue. I love it!"
Aveda Blue Malva Color Shampoo
Pros
- Great for silver and white hair too
Cons
- Pricey
Yes, yes, I know—this blue shampoo seems expensive. But it’s also ginormous (legit three times larger than your normal shampoo), which explains the cost. Still, its bulk size and price are totally worth the splurge: It’s gentle and hydrating but also filled with natural, plant-based ingredients like aloe juice and soybean oil to moisturize and color-correcting pigments to minimize brassy tones on your brunette hair.
THE REVIEW: "This product is most excellent and like other Aveda products it’s top-notch quality. Even though the shampoo is [blue], it lathers white, so your hands [will] be stain-free."
Oligo Professionnel Blacklight Blue Shampoo
Pros
- Sulfate-free
Cons
- Subtle pigment
This gentle, vegan, sulfate-free blue shampoo (yup, it’s a mouthful) can technically be used on any shade of brown hair, but because the color-correcting pigments are kind of subtle, you’ll see the best brass-eliminating results with lighter shades of brunette. The formula is also spiked with a major dose of amino acids and argan oil, which helps moisturize brittle, frizzy hair strands without weighing them down.
THE REVIEW: "This stuff is awesome! My hairdresser even commented on how my hair didn’t fade to its usual brassy color in-between colorings/ gloss this time. I will definitely continue using this shampoo once a week."
Hask Chamomile & Argan Oil Blonde Care Shampoo
Pros
- Sulfate-free and great for curly hair
Cons
- Should follow up with a hydrating conditioner
Please ignore the “blonde” in the name of this blue shampoo—it’s perfectly fine to use on brunette hair, too, thanks to its pigments that are actually a mix of violet and deep blue. But other than its brass-neutralizing powers, the real draw of this blue shampoo is the fact that it’s totally safe for curly and coily hair (it’s even Curly Girl Method-approved!). With no sulfates, no silicones, and no alcohols, this gentle formula will moisturize without stripping your already dry hair.
THE REVIEW: "This product smells absolutely amazing! It is so moisturizing for my extremely dry hair...I am amazed at how it brightens up my natural undertones and brings out my natural highlights."
What does blue shampoo do for brunettes?
"Blue shampoo is a color depositing shampoo used to refresh hair color with blue pigment or rid hair of unwanted red and orange undertones," says Ro Morgan, a New York-based hairstylist. Although blue products are most effective on color-treated hair, you can play around with using blue shampoo on your naturally brown hair to subtly alter your shade. Basically, these shampoos are kind of goof-proof, especially since the effects are temporary.
How does blue shampoo work differently than purple?
Jeremy Tardo, a bi-coastal hair colorist, explains that blue shampoo works better for brunettes while purple shampoo is best for blondes. "Darker colors tend to show more red and orange undertones, which are counteracted by blue and green. If blue is used on blonde hair that looks yellow, it can make the blonde look too blue," he says, adding that in short, blue cancels orange, and purple cancels yellow.
How to find the best blue shampoo for brunettes:
First, make sure you’re applying the blue shampoo correctly
Both Tardo and Morgan recommend wearing gloves in situations where the shampoo is ultra-pigmented to avoid staining your hands. "Lather the product into damp hair just as you would normally shampoo your hair. Allow the color shampoo to sit in your hair for the time recommended by the manufacturer—typical timing is about five minutes, but leave the shampoo in for more or less time for a stronger or milder effect," says Tardo.
Tardo explains that blue shampoo can be used whenever your brunette hair looks orangey and you want to neutralize the tone, adding that the average use for maintenance of the neutral tone is once per week.
Consider your hair type
It's important to know that blue shampoo can work differently on all hair types. This is particularly the case if you have dry, bleached, or color-treated hair. Considering many people who use blue shampoo have chemically processed hair, it's important to know that you can actually overuse the shampoo, resulting in more of a blue tinting rather than a toning.
Because brown hair is obvi darker than blonde hair, it's less common for this situation to happen. (Think: purple shampoo creating a purple hue in blonde hair.) That being said, it's always a good idea to start slow and work up from there if you find your hair needs it.
If your hair is particularly dry from coloring, follow up with a great hydrating deep conditioner. Two of my favorites? Briogeo Curl Charisma Hydrating & Defining Hair Mask and Bread Beauty Hair Mask Creamy Deep Conditioner.
Meet the experts:
- Ro Morgan is a New York-based hairstylist. His specialties include natural hair, wigs, and hair extensions. Morgan works with celebrity clientele such as Naomi Campbell, LionBabe, Precious Lee, and more.
- Jeremy Tardo is a bi-coastal hair colorist and Color Department Head, Educational Director, and Salon Director of Benjamin Salon. He works with celebrity clientele including Miley Cyrus, Jared Leto, Miranda Kerr, and more.
Lauren Balsamo is the beauty director at Cosmopolitan where she writes, edits, and produces all types of beauty content—from product reviews to personal essays and trend reports. She has covered beauty for more than a decade at Cosmopolitan. Follow her on Instagram.
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