7 Top Purple Hair Dyes for Dark Hair To Transform Your Look
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So you’re thinking of taking the plunge and dyeing your dark-colored locks purple? We know it can be a bit of a challenge to find the top purple hair dye for dark hair.
Luckily, we’ve got your back! In this guide, we’ll be sharing some of the top purple hair dyes designed to work their magic on black or dark brown tresses, creating a gorgeous purple color that’ll turn heads.
So read on to explore the most effective options to help you achieve your dream purple mane.
- Vibrant color payoff
- Vegan formula with no harsh chemicals
- Suitable for platinum blonde to light brown hair
- Intense, long-lasting color
- Non-drip formula
- Complete kit with hair color, a developer, a fruit oil ampoule, and an after-color mask
- Gorgeous electric purple color
- Moisturizing and nourishing ingredients
- Free of harsh chemicals
Table of Contents
7 Top Hair Dye Brands for Purple Hair
This vibrant color will give you luscious, beautifully purple locks for weeks!
Benefits: Doesn’t damage the hair; works on light to dark hair; mixes well with other hair colors for a custom color
Features:
- Gentle enough for frequent use
- No harsh chemicals
- Vegan ingredients
Like a magic potion for your hair, Arctic Fox's Purple AF not only gives you a fabulous, long-lasting purple hue but also leaves your hair feeling super healthy and hydrated!
Arctic Fox is all about keeping things natural, so you won’t find any drying alcohols, PPD, or harsh chemicals in their products. The color is crazy vibrant, and it’s designed to bleed less and not stain everything in sight.
To get that deep, long-lasting color, you’ll need to leave the dye in your hair for a good while. It’ll rinse out a bit each time you wash your hair, but don’t worry!
The first few showers might have purple water flowing from your hair like a purple waterfall, but the color won’t fade that much. Plus, it smells amazing!
Perfect for DIY enthusiasts, the Lime Crime Unicorn Hair is for those who want to rock vibrant colors right from the comfort of their home.
Benefits: Moisturizes hair and boosts shine; nourishes locks; strong and vibrant color payoff
Features:
- Free of harsh chemicals like PPD
- DIY-friendly
- Vegan and cruelty-free
If you're up for a hair adventure, Lime Crime Unicorn Hair might be just the ticket. Go for it and have a blast!
Pony, Lime Crime’s electric purple shade, is like a dream come true. It even has a citrus vanilla scent that makes the whole experience even sweeter.
Although it works best on pre-lightened platinum to medium blonde hair, it can add a subtle tint to light brown hair and dark brown hair.
The best part? This vegan hair dye is totally damage-free, and it’s packed with nourishing ingredients like fatty acids and vitamins, so your hair will feel moisturized and super shiny.
Plus, there’s no need to worry about any nasty chemicals like PPD, peroxide, or ammonia — Lime Crime’s formula is free of all that stuff!
Now there’s a tiny downside: this dye doesn’t come with all the tools you’ll need (like gloves, a coloring bowl, or an applicator brush). Still, it ensures easy application, smells amazing, and leaves your hair super soft.
A deep purple color with red undertones, the Manic Panic Plum Passion Purple Hair Dye will make you look effortlessly elegant.
Benefits: Works on all hair types and colors; conditions the hair; flatters different skin tones
Features:
- Ammonia-, paraben-, PPD-, and phthalate-free
- Vegan and cruelty-free
- Comes in a cute jar
Go for this dye if you want to have a sophisticated hair color!
This warm-toned purple hair dye gives your hair a lovely plum color. It works on all hair types and colors; in fact, many users say it shows up even on unbleached hair, providing surprisingly vibrant and noticeable results!
Just keep in mind that on unbleached hair, the color might not last as long. But hey, that’s the beauty of temporary hair color — you can switch it up as often as you want without any commitment!
Even better, it has a moisturizing formula that conditions your hair once applied.
Vegan and free of all harmful chemicals like PPD, you can confidently use it even if you have sensitive or highly reactive skin.
Long-lasting and highly pigmented, the Lunar Tides Semi-Permanent Hair Dye in Orchid Purple conditions as it colors.
Benefits: Gives your hair a long-lasting and vibrant color; leaves your locks super soft; shows up on dark hair
Features:
- Long-lasting semi-permanent dye
- Contains hair-rejuvenating ingredients
- Vegan and cruelty-free
A unique, vivid violet that is just stunning!
This Lunar Tides dye features vivid and intense pigments, so the color lasts and stays fresh for ages. It gives you that deep, dark, and luscious purple even if you haven’t pre-lightened your hair. Users have found that it creates a lovely purple tint on dark-colored locks.
Applying this dye is a breeze, and it leaves your hair feeling super soft and looking vibrant. There’s also a lot of product in the container, so you can use it for touch-ups later on.
Additionally, it won’t damage your hair. Its vegan formula even contains oat protein, which is super nourishing.
Here’s a premium hair dye that can give your hair a total purple makeover!
Benefits: Leaves the hair with a rich, deep, and beautiful color that lasts long; gives more shine to the hair; has a conditioning effect
Features:
- Special blend of natural oils for moisturization
- Designed with a fade-resistant formula
- Complete kit and materials for DIY hair dye
Rock a gorgeous purple-reddish hue that's super shiny that lasts for months!
The ION Intensive Shine Liqui-Creme Hair Color Kit in Plum is specially formulated to give you that maximum shine we all crave.
It’s got this special blend of Morocco argan oil, Tahitian tamanu oil, camellia oil, and coconut oil to take your hair from weak and dull to silky and shiny. Plus, the color stays vibrant even after washing!
The color looks like a glossy plum shade, and it lasts for months! This hair dye not only nourishes your hair with its natural oils, but it also comes with a kit for pro-level results right at home.
This dye can last anywhere from six to eight weeks, so you can enjoy your new hair longer.
A non-drip hair color formula that spreads easily. It comes with an after-color conditioner packed with fruit oils for nourished hair.
Benefits: Provides a bold purple color; lasts up to eight weeks; nourishes and conditions the hair
Features:
- Non-drip hair color formula
- Vegan and cruelty-free
- Complete kit with hair color, a developer, a fruit oil ampoule, and an after-color mask
The best purple hair dye that's permanent and ready for high-impact color in just one step!
This hair dye is a stunning dark purple shade with some seriously intense violet tones. It comes in two boxes, and it’s designed to adapt to all hair textures and provide long-lasting, bold color.
It features Color Boost technology that infuses intense dyes deep into your hair’s fibers. The brand claims it’s suitable for all hair colors, but it’s ideal for those with natural hair ranging from light brown to the darkest brown.
And don’t worry about your hair feeling dry. It comes with an after-color mask infused with triple oils to lock in moisture and color, leaving your hair protected against dryness.
It not only nourishes your hair; it also keeps the color vibrant for up to eight weeks, even on dark hair!
L'Oreal's Feria is a multidimensional permanent hair dye that gives you a gorgeous, shiny medium purple color.
Benefits: Provides intense color payoff; prevents the hair from looking flat or dull; makes application easy
Features:
- Highly concentrated for a boost in color
- Comes with a conditioner that strengthens the hair
- Complete DIY kit included
The best permanent purple hair color to make your hair pop and give it more dimension!
Feria is all about bold shades inspired by fashion and the latest trends, offering multitonal colors in bold shades. It features a nourishing formula that seals and smooths your hair, making sure it never looks dull or flat.
The kit comes with everything you need, including a shimmer serum that you mix in with the developer and color cream. This serum is also packed with sunflower seed oil and coconut oil, so you get maximum shine and stunning color.
With Feria, you’ll get a head-turning shade without even needing to make an appointment at the salon.
What To Do Before Dyeing Your Hair Purple
Check the Condition of Your Hair
First things first, assess your hair’s health. Dyeing can stress out your locks, even if you don’t bleach or pre-lighten your hair.
If your hair is dry, damaged, or prone to breakage, it’s best to give it some TLC before diving into the purple pool. Hold off on dyeing until you see some improvements in your hair.
Quick Tip
To help moisturize your hair and repair damage before dyeing, try deep conditioning treatments!
Decide Whether To Bleach or Not
If you have dark hair, you’ll need to bleach your hair to achieve a strikingly vibrant purple color if that’s what you’re after.
Decide if you want to DIY or go to a salon to have it done by a professional. You might need several sessions to achieve the right bleach level to get the results you want.
Quick Tip
Wait at least a week between bleaching and dyeing your hair to minimize damage.
But if you’re after a deep purple hue or a subtle purple tint, you can leave your hair as it is, as long as you choose a dye that can penetrate dark hair.
Choose a Semi-Permanent or Permanent Hair Dye
Before getting your hair dye, it’s crucial to choose between semi-permanent and permanent hair dye.
If you want a long-lasting color, go for the latter, as it tends to last for six to eight weeks.
However, keep in mind that permanent hair dyes contain harsh ingredients like ammonia that can damage and thin the hair.
So if you have damaged hair, semi-permanent dyes are your top option since they provide vibrant results while avoiding ingredients that might wreak havoc on your tresses.
But just remember that their results may not last as long; semi-permanent hair dyes typically last only around six to eight washes.
Quick Tip
Washing your hair less often and avoiding sun exposure that can lighten your locks may help your semi-permanent dye last longer.
Choose the Right Shade
The top dye for purple hair should make you look and feel good. So you should pick out the right shade that complements your skin tone.
Go for pastel purple if you have fair skin with cool undertones. If you have olive skin, shades of plum purple are ideal. And if you have warm undertones, go for a purplish burgundy color.
Do a Patch Test
While you could be excited to get your new purple dye and slather it all over your head, make sure your skin won’t have a fit.
Some hair dyes contain ammonia, peroxide, and other harsh chemicals that can cause reactions. On the other hand, vegan and organic hair dye options may be less likely to cause allergic reactions because they don’t contain harsh chemicals.
But to be safe, it’s always best to perform a patch test before using any dye to avoid any unwanted reactions.
You can do this by applying a small amount of dye behind your ear or on the inside of your elbow.
Wait for 48 hours, and if you don’t experience any redness, itching, or other reactions, perform a strand test next.
Do a Strand Test
A strand test is when you test the hair color on a small section of your hair before you dye your whole hair. Why do this? This is so you’ll know if the color is right and if it suits your taste.
You don’t want to skip this test because dyeing your whole head of hair right away is too big of a risk to take!
What To Do After Dyeing Your Hair Purple: Aftercare and Maintenance
Purple hair also requires aftercare, and you’ll need to be prepared to do a few things to maintain its vibrance.
Here are some of the aftercare measures you’ll need to take:
- Use sulfate-free shampoos and conditioners. Hair products with sulfates are too harsh for colored hair; they may end up stripping off your hair dye and making it fade quickly.
- Condition your hair regularly to help your hair recover from the dyeing process.
- To keep your purple hair looking vibrant, minimize the use of heat-styling tools, which can cause color dullness. And when you do use heat, apply a heat protectant spray to reduce damage.
- Schedule regular touch-ups or invest in a color-depositing conditioner like the Keracolor Conditioner for an at-home refresh.
Unleash Your Inner Royal with the Top Purple Hair Dyes for Dark Hair
Dyeing your hair purple can be a fun and exciting way to switch up your look, but it’s important to choose the right products so you’ll be happy with the results.
You can’t go wrong with any of the options on our list of the most amazing purple hair dyes from the top brands listed above.
So go ahead and choose one that suits your needs!
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