Amazon Shoppers With Gray Hair Say My Favorite $23 Toning Shampoo Removes Brassiness and Dullness

If there were a world record for trying the most purple shampoos, I’d be in the Guiness Book right now. Two years ago, after bleaching and toning my brown hair to a silver-blonde, I quickly realized that yellowing and brassiness were battles I’d have to fight every few weeks if I wanted to maintain my ashy hue. Luckily, purple shampoo exists — and, by virtue of my job, I fortunately acquired virtually every brass-busting formula on the market. (At one point, I filled a moving-sized box with nothing but purple shampoo.) After many formulas fell flat from a toning standpoint, I turned to Amazon and purchased the Bold Uniq Purple Shampoo. With almost 37,000 five-star shopper reviews at Amazon and lofty color-correcting claims, it proved worthy of its hype, and is truly the most effective purple shampoo for gray and silver hair I’ve tried. Now’s the time to stock up: For a limited time, the shampoo is on sale at Amazon for 30 percent off. 

Shop now: $23 (Originally $33); amazon.com 

The Bold Uniq Purple Shampoo is an intensive tone-correcting treatment for unwanted brassiness and yellow tinges in blonde, gray, and silver hair. The formula’s violet hue keeps unwanted undertones at bay, and corrects existing brassiness — after a single shampoo session. 

Suitable for both naturally silver and gray hair, in addition to hair that’s been bleached and dyed, the formula is perfect for anyone who cares about a cool, icy color — and wants a quick tone-correcting fix on hand that’ll save time and money spent on incidental salon visits.

While silver and blonde-toning shampoos, aka purple shampoos, are hardly new, I assure you: This formula is distinctly different from any of the literal dozens I’ve tried. From a color-correction standpoint, It’s “stronger than traditional blonding shampoos,” per the brand. I thoroughly, wholeheartedly agree. The color-correcting power is so strong, in fact, that the violet pigments can overcorrect if you, like I once did, eschew the instructions and instead leave it on for almost an hour (my hair turned a light lavender, which, TBH, I quite liked. It’s an easily reversible mistake: simply follow with regular shampoo).

All of this to say: This stuff is strong. Strong enough to “extend time between expensive salon visits,” the brand notes, and, in my experience, strong enough to stand in for a toner when you realize you’ve run out halfway through your DIY dye-job.

The Bold Uniq Purple Shampoo also contains UV-protective ingredients, which work to thwart the color-fading, strand-sapping effects of the sun. Moreover, the formula is free from sulfates — lathering agents added to most shampoos — that, as dermatologist Dr. Hope Mitchell, MD, previously told InStyle, “strip the hair and scalp of their natural oils, moisturizers, and pigment.” Ergo, sulfates can prove particularly problematic for people with bleached hair, which is almost always thirsty, and naturally gray hair, which is typically more dry and coarse. Incidentally, this formula features B5 and jojoba oil, both of which can deter dryness.

Shoppers across a spectrum of ages and hair types swear by this shampoo. According to one reviewer, who has “chemically processed blonde hair that always turns a golden shade,” it delivers a preferable shade of cool blonde, and has “been great when [they] don’t have the time to get into [their] hairstylist.” Another person, who’s naturally gray, says the shampoo “took away dull[ness]” and transformed their strands into a shiny silver. Similarly, another shopper calls this product “perfect” for naturally gray hair, noting that it imparts a “beautiful ashy color” that garners compliments from people, many of whom assume the reviewer “spent a ton at the salon.”

For anyone with gray, silver, or icy blond hair: Shop the last purple shampoo you’ll ever need, Bold Uniq Purple Shampoo, while it’s on sale ahead of Amazon Prime Day 2023 — and stock up.