How to Use Purple for Brown Hair
We get it — you want vivid hair color but you don’t want to reach for the bleach to get there. That’s why we’ve created yet another color conditioner specifically formulated to be effective on brown hair! Introducing Purple for Brown Hair, our newest family of intensely pigmented conditioners. And just like all oVertone products, it’s hair-healthy, cruelty-free and beyond easy to use.
Go Purple Without Bleach
Start by applying the Purple for Brown Hair Deep Treatment to your light-dark brown hair. To avoid temporary staining, wear gloves — this formula contains double the amount of warm pigment than our Extreme Purple to help it really pop on dark base shades. Make sure to saturate evenly and completely anywhere you want color to show up. Next, wait for 10-15 minutes while the nourishing formula does its work. Read a book, scroll through Instagram or just chill, whatever you normally do to pass the time! Finally, rinse thoroughly with warm or hot water and style as usual. That’s it!
Depending on your starting hue, results will vary in intensity from a subtle high-shine tint on darker browns to a deep ultraviolet on light-medium brown hair.
Purple for Brown Hair is in high-demand! Before it dropped, we watched the waitlist for the new hue climb to over 15,000 people! Get your hands on it while it’s still in stock.
Filed Under: how to use oVertone
41 comments on “How to Use Purple for Brown Hair”
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Will there be testers available for this color?
Yep! Stay tuned for their release!
This will be my first time using Overtone. I am so excited, is it best to work with clean hair or dirty hair like traditional hair dye?
Hi Andrea! The best thing to do is to apply your oVertone Color Conditioner on clean and dry hair. Sometimes, wet hair doesn’t soak up pigment as well as dry hair and your hair being dirty might block some of the pigment from being absorbed!
Forgive me if this is a dumb question – I’ve never used color conditioners like this, but am interested in giving it a go!
I have light brown hair. When the color fades, will your hair color just go back to it’s normal shade or close to it? Or will your hair look as it does when color fades after a typical salon treatment (as in, kind of a gross faded brown-purple in this case)?
Just wondering in case I don’t feel like up-keeping the purple year-round and want to return to my natural hair color.
Thanks!!
Very interested in doing this to my hair but I’m curious what kind of shampoo I should use. Should it be for color protected hair or any shampoo works fine?
Hi Amy! oVertone’s Deep Treatments will add color to your hair on your first application, but we didn’t design it just to be a one-time hair color treatment – as soon as you stop using our conditioners, your hair will start to fade. How fast it fades will depend on many factors, like the health and natural texture of your hair, how often you wash it, how much time you spend outside, etc. but most clients find that a single use lasts about as long as a semi permanent color would.
Hi Ariana! We always recommend that you use a sulfate-free shampoo. Brand isn’t as important as making sure it’s completely sulfate free!
Do you use shampoo when rinsing out after the first deep treatment? Or is it best to just use the deep treatment alone during rinse?
Would applying heat (covering the hair and using a hair dryer) help the hair absorb the color
Hey Lauren! We don’t recommend shampooing right after you apply your Deep Treatment, as that might just take your color right back out! It’s best to rinse out your oVertone with warm to hot water until the water runs almost clear!
For more in depth info and advice, get with our Color Consultants at hi@overtone.co!
Hi Tee! Yep! Check out this blog post for more info: https://blog.overtone.co/heat-and-overtone/
My color-treated hair (medium/dark brown) is in pretty good shape. I just bought the Deep Purple to see what might happen. If I just did a few swaths as a test, might that be indicative of what all-over would look?
Hi Mia! Yep! In fact we ALWAYS recommend doing a strand test or two before applying all over for exactly that reason! For more info and the best advice get with our Color Consultants at hi@overtone.co!
I’m totally interested in trying this! I’ve never used a product like this but it seems what I’m looking for. But I have a question, even though my hair is brown am I going to get a silver color?? I don’t want to damage my hair or buy the product and not getting the result. Thanks!
Hey Sara! Purple for Brown Hair definitely won’t turn brown hair silver! If you’re looking at our Silvers, oVertone Color Conditioners act like a semi-permanent deposit only color. They don’t bleach or lift, just enhance and re-invigorate. This means we can’t get you any color lighter than your current shade with oVertone alone.
For a true Silver, folks with darker than a neutral platinum will most likely want to get with their stylist to lighten before applying.
For the best advice, send an email with a picture of your current hair with lots of natural light and no filters along with an inspo pic over to our Color Consultants at hi@overtone.co and they will totally help you out!
How much of the daily conditioner should be used per shower?
Hi Lauren! The amount you’ll need varies from client to client, but most clients find that they need about 4-6 tablespoons for an average, shoulder length head of hair.
No matter how much product you end up using, the most important thing is to saturate your strands with conditioner – this will help you achieve an even deposit of bold color! Check out this blog post for a little more info: http://blog.overtone.co/how-to-saturate-your-hair-with-overtone
You can also get with our Color Consultants at hi@overtone.co for personalized advice!
I have black dyed hair. And i wanna try the vibrant blue.. will actually work?
Hi Stefanie! Most likely not. Clients with black or very dark brown hair may only show a very subtle tint from even our Extreme Color Conditioners and in some cases might not have visible results, so if you have dark hair, we definitely recommend trying an Extreme Blue Deep Treatment sample size (grab one here: https://overtone.co/collections/samples/) and strand testing your hair to see how the color will work for you.
hi! i am a natural redhead(looks kinda dark blonde at my roots) and i want to use the extreme blue. 85% of my hair is already bleached with remnants of a different blue dye and i have about an inch of roots growth. can i expect the extreme blue to color my roots blue or will it just do nothing to my hair since the unbleached part is natural?
Has anyone tested this color on henna treated brown hair?
Hey Melissa,
oVertone Color Conditioners definitely work over henna. Check out this blog post on henna and oVertone: https://overtone.co/blogs/blog/18906823-henna-and-overtone
Hi Lena,
Results on roots can be tough to predict since the strand structure of those new hair follicles can vary a lot! To get the best color advice, definitely email our Color Consultants at hi@overtone.co with a photo of your current hair in natural light!
I was really excited for this as an option because I have dark hair. Well first time out of the gate and I was hopeful but my scalp is bright purple while the rest of my hair looks untouched. Ik the color is in there because every time I touch my hair my hands turn purple. I will say my hair is luxuriously soft. But help! What did I do wrong?
Thanks! I guess I was curious about this color (purple for brown hair) specifically since henna can sometimes tip over to an orangey red instead of a garnet red hue, so I was curious to see results for purple on henna’d hair! Looks like I might have to see about getting a sample to try. 😊
Hey Becca! The best solution our clients have found to minimize any scalp staining is to section your hair before applying your oVertone. You can section out your hair into 4-6 parts and carefully apply the conditioner to each strand, which helps eliminate the need to rub the product in to get it down to the roots. For more tips & tricks on application, be sure to give our Color Consultants a shout at hi@overtone.co – they’ll be happy to help you out!
Is purple the only color that will work on dark hair?
My mom has natural copper red hair, she want to try the purple overtone. Has anyone tried the purple on copper red and which shade purple would you recommend ?
I really want to try this deep treatment for brown hair, but while my hair is brown it’s so thick that it looks practically black. This is a really dumb question, but I was wondering if you can mix the regular Purple Deep Treatment with this Purple Deep Treatment for Brown Hair so that it will show up more on my hair. I’m pretty sure that isn’t gonna work and it could damage my hair, but I was just wondering.
Hey Jasmine! oVertone Color Conditioners work on all kinds of hair, but because they don’t lift or lighten at all, the darker your starting shade, the less visible color you’re likely to see. Cooler toned shades like Green, Teal, or Blue can have a harder time showing up on darker hair, and it’s unlikely that our Pastel shades will show up if your hair is anything darker than platinum blonde.
Along with our Purple for Brown Hair, our Rose Gold for Brown Hair and our Extreme Deep Treatments in warm shades such as Pink, Red, or Orange are the best choices to add an awesome hint of color to darker hair without bleaching! Check out this video on how oVertone Color Conditioners interact with different hair colors: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV6xJj9MZPY
Hey Crystal! Lots of our red headed clients use our Purple formula! You can find our natural red hair swatches on our site under each product to give you a better idea of what you can expect on her hair! That being said, our Color Consultants can get you more personalized advice! Just send an email with a picture of her current hair with lots of natural light and no filters along with an inspo pic to hi@overtone.co and they will totally help you guys out!
Hey Rocky! Since our Purple for Brown Hair formula is more warm toned while our Extreme Purple is cool toned, by mixing them together you’ll most likely end up with a more neutral purple but it shouldn’t add more pigment to the mix. oVertone Color Conditioners work on all kinds of hair, but because they don’t lift or lighten at all, the darker your starting shade, the less visible color you’re likely to see.
Check out this video on how oVertone Color Conditioners interact with different hair colors: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV6xJj9MZPY Also, since our conditioners don’t contain any harmful ingredients, there’s nothing in our ingredients that would damage your strands!
I have brown hair that is going gray. I get it dyed at the salon with a red/brown combination. Which purple product would be best for my reddish-brown hair? And how will it effect my gray roots?
How will the grow out area at the roots look if gray is the natural color, but the ends are dyed brown? I assume the roots will continue to get brighter with each use?
Hey Kay! Definitely get with our Color Consultants at hi@overtone.co with a pic of your current hair with no filters along with a pic of what you’re looking to get and they’ll let you know which formula should work best on your strands!
Also, results on gray and white hair can vary from person to person since the strand structure of those hair types can vary a lot. While some of our clients have hair that takes color really well, others find their grays can be somewhat resistant to absorbing pigment from – it’s just a matter of your hair’s texture! Check out this blog post on how gray hair and oVertone Color Conditioners interact: https://blog.overtone.co/overtone-on-gray-hair/
Will it fade to pink or will it just fade out to brown?
Hey Rena! In general, the lighter your starting base, the brighter your results! Results on gray and white hair can vary a lot from person to person since the strand structure of those hair types can vary a lot and while some clients have hair that takes color really well, others find their grays can be somewhat resistant to absorbing pigment from – it’s just a matter of your hair’s texture. Check out this blog post on how gray hair and oVertone Color Conditioners interact: https://blog.overtone.co/overtone-on-gray-hair/
For the best advice getting to the rosy locks of your dreams, send a pic of your current hair color and some inspo pics to our Color Consultants at hi@overtone.co!
Hey Alex! Our conditioners fade true to their shade, so you should just see a lighter version of the color while it fades. Check out this blog post for some more info: https://blog.overtone.co/long-overtone-last/
I see a lot of people mix the red and purple combos for ruby or merlot shades. But how does a red (either vibrant or extreme) look with the new Purple for Brown Hair? Do we have any swatches of that?
Hey Irene! Thank you for your patience. While we don’t currently have any combo swatches of those formulas, we do know they play just as nicely together! Since our Purple for Brown Hair formula has 2x the amount of warm tones in it compared to our Extreme Purple, you can expect an even warmer burgundy shade to our Merlot or Ruby Kits!