Purple toning shampoo made a resurgence into our lives via online videos showing hairdressers creatively squirting squiggly lines over untoned hair at the basin. We were mesmerised. Hairdressers chanted "It can't be true!" How could a shampoo do as good a job as a toner? The public was in awe and Instagram was full of videos and pics. Everyone wanted this miracle shampoo. The miracle that is the new age of purple toning shampoo looked revolutionary. This changed the game in toning shampoo. It turned warm hair white, cleaned up old blonde and toned better than most toners. It achieved the scientifically impossible for what a toning shampoo could previously do.

That is because some of these toning products contain other ingredients added into a standard shampoo. It looked liked a shampoo bottle, it has the word shampoo printed on that bottle and it is marketed as a shampoo. But as we know in the Hairdressing Industry, marketing can't be trusted.

Current Australian Standards state that all ingredients must be listed on cosmetic products and unless those chemicals are banned in Australia, it is up to consumer choice whether the purchase the product with those ingredients. A hair product can be classed as cosmetic if it is used on any external part of the body to change its odour, appearance, cleanse it, keep it in good condition, perfume or protect it. Shampoos, conditioners and styling lotions come under the same cosmetic category as hair dye and bleach. Along with skin whitening products. This is why these products are allowed to be sold on a supermarket shelf even if they do contain ammonia and hydrogen peroxide. This is how the producers of certain brands can market their product as simpler products. Similar to what the food industry does with processed ingredients.

I was told early on by one of my product company reps some of these shampoos and conditioners contain peroxide, therefore are capable of lightening the hair and affecting the colours that we perform on the clients. This comment led me to investigate further. I had a few clients who were using purple toning shampoo and had unexplained breakage. The only way any product could remove gold tones and lighten hair is if it contained products that acted as a bleaching agents.

Analysing all the ingredients, I came across one called Guar Gum. Guar Gum is added to shampoo and other beauty products to thicken the consistensy. It is also a derivative of ammonium. The other ingredient that I red flagged was Citric Acid, as in Lemon Juice. The stuff we put on our hair to lighten it in the sun.

So I then asked a Scientist client if a derivative of ammonium when mixed with citric acid could lighten hair. The answer was a strong YES!

Just like 'Sun In' contains Hydrogen Peroxide and Lemon Juice, this combo will lighten hair and then the strong purple tone will tone this lightened hair to clean, icy blonde.

Together, the ammonia and citric acid acts like a mild bleach, lightening the hair every time you wash it. So if your hair is already light blonde, this continual lightening will cause the hair to become dry and brittle and then break. It will also lighten any natural hair, causing it to turn orange or yellow and giving highlighted hair a solid look. Too much purple tone in these products can cause the hair to look dull and over toned. The more orange the hair throws off from the shampoo lightening the natural hair, the more the public use the toning shampoo to tone out the warmth, resulting in over toned, murky, green/khaki, dull looking blonde hair. So you either end up with breakage or a dull blonde or sometimes both. This then makes a more difficult process as Colourists to get the blonde you desire.

I have seen this myself online and in salon. Please see the pics below.

My client who used a purple toning shampoo twice a week for 6 weeks.

'Chewed' was the word she used to describe the condition of her hair. We had to cut a fair amount off to even up the length. 6 weeks later she discontinued the use of the culprit purple shampoo and has had no more breakage and the condition of her hair has improved dramatically.

Just to be clear, I am not against these products. There are some great brands out there doing amazing purple toning shampoos that don't harm the hair, but moderation and correct instruction from your Colourist is the key. I think any salon hair product has great results when used correctly. Once or twice a month as a toner is ample with a moisture treatment applied afterwards. What I do have an issue with is the marketing of some of these products as shampoo and conditioner with recommendation on the bottle to be used twice weekly in place of your regular shampoo. Some brands are sold online and marketed to the masses with no warning or correct instructions.

Currently there is very little regulation in Australia when it comes to hair and beauty products. As long as the ingredients are listed, it is up to the consumer to make their decision. When a product can cause a great amount of damage to the hair and chemically react with hair colour due to build up in the hair, then I believe there needs to be better regulations and more information available.

Until then, this article has hopefully given you the info you need to make your own informed decision about your future hair product purchases. If it seems miraculous then it may just be too good to be true. Always, always check out the ingredients on the back rather than trust the marketing on the front. Choose wisely!

The girls at Birdie recommend Purology Best Blondes Shampoo and Conditioner ($39.95) each or Redken Blondage Shampoo, Conditioner ($31.00) and Anti-Brass Mask ($43.00)