Purple Shampoo That You Can Feel Good About
After many customer requests, we set out to create a purple shampoo that you can feel good about using knowing that we didn’t compromise on a single ingredient.
Back in 2019 when we sent out a survey to our Flourish customers, the number one product request was purple shampoo. Now, 2 years later we are thrilled to be able to say our customer’s wishes are our command! Next week, May 4th, 2021 we will be launching our brand new line of purple shampoo and conditioner.
Why Purple?
Ironically, as a blonde myself, I had never used purple shampoo, but shortly after the survey, I had a long time customer tell me about how her naturally blonde hair turns brassy in the summer ruining her cool blonde highlights. She told me how she uses regular purple shampoo which solves her brassiness, but her hair gets dried out and unmanageable.
After getting the same feedback from other people who would stop into our shop in White River Junction, I decided I was up for the challenge.
Prior to making our new purple line, I spent time researching purple shampoos—including reading Lisa Fennessey’s experience with going gray and purple shampoos on her blog This Organic Girl. She is the queen of transitioning to gray and has incredible advice. She’s spent years researching and testing natural purple shampoos. After doing some reading, I decided that I would be okay with adding a chemically enhanced color like ultramarine violet to our formulas because bright color was the entire point of purple shampoo.
Chemically Enhanced vs. Purple from Plants
So I gave it a try. I purchased ultramarine violet powder from a soap making company and dissolved it in Ecocert propanediol. I purchased the powder because in my research, I found that 99% of the time when a shampoo company uses a colorant it is dissolved in propylene glycol, diazolidinyl urea and methyl and propylparabens and hidden in the ingredient listing. While I was okay with chemically enhanced color, I was not okay with adding the very ingredients that I have worked so hard to avoid in the first place. After many batches, all of them smelling like rotten eggs, I turned to plants!
To get the lovely rich color, I used concentrated berries and fruits. But after a little while, they would fade and produce a gray undertone. Not exactly the bright violet I was hoping for.
After a relentless search I came upon a secret that changed everything. Blue spirulina. It gives the formula that blue cyan color that makes a vibrant violet when mixed with the berries.
The Results
As I was testing it on my own blonde hair, I began to notice that the ashy streak in the front of my hair became sparkling white and the silver strands in the dark blonde underneath were more noticeable. After hearing back from all of my product testers; blondes, going grays and steely gray with all different hair types, they all noticed improved hair texture and were pleased with the plant powered ingredients that they could feel great about using.
If you are interested in the technical details, how to use it, what causes brassiness in blondes or yellowing in gray or white hair and how to fix it, read our next blog post: Purple Shampoo, Is it for You?