I'll Spend Hundreds to Preserve My Blonde Hair, But This $11 Mask Is Magic

Of course, I could make my life a heck of a lot easier by choosing to embrace my natural, ever-darkening hair color. (Think the most dishwater-y of dishwater blonde.) But since I've always been some iteration of light blonde and would probably have a full-blown identity crisis if I asked my amazing L.A.-based colorist, Cass Kaeding, to take me au naturel or anything else, I'm sticking to my high-maintenance roots. (Hey, if you like what you like, why change it?) 

Since I've insisted on being at least five to 10 shades lighter than what naturally wants to grow out of my head, purple-tinted products have been a nonnegotiable part of my haircare routine. But—prepare yourself—I actually don't love purple shampoos. In fact, there is only a handful I'll even touch. Purple conditioners and masks (especially purple hair masks), however, are where it's really at, folks.

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(Image credit: @erin_jahns)

Not only do purple-tinted masks sit on your strands longer than shampoo does (thus working their brass-neutralizing magic more effectively), but these types of nourishing formulas usually offer more benefits as a whole. In fact, all of my favorites—which we will get to in a second—yield tons of other hair perks like hydration, shine, improved scalp health, damage repair, and so much more.

All purple hair masks are unique and have their own set of instructions, but as long as you follow the specific product's protocol, I guarantee you'll be so much happier with the results from a purple mask than your go-to shampoo. Another fun fact? My absolute favorite purple hair mask is just $11 and can be found at pretty much any drugstore. Keep scrolling! The 13 best purple hair masks to kick unwanted yellow and orange tones to the curb are just below. Oh, and because I get asked about my haircare routine in its entirely quite frequently, I added that to the bottom of the article just for kicks.

The 13 best purple hair masks:

Shop the rest of my current haircare routine:

Silk pillowcase:

Bedtime scrunchies:

Shower filter:

Paddle brush:

Comb:

Pre-shampoo balm:

Scalp treatment:

Shampoo:

Conditioner:

Hair turban:

Hair oil:

Hair serum:

Color-safe texture spray:

Dry shampoo that smells like vacation:

Up next, What to Do Pre- and Post-Filler, According to an Injector and a Plastic Surgeon

Beauty Director

Erin has been writing a mix of beauty and wellness content for Who What Wear for over four years. Prior to that, she spent two and half years writing for Byrdie. She now calls Santa Monica home but grew up in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and studied writing, rhetoric, and communication at University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. She studied abroad in Galway, Ireland, and spent a summer in L.A. interning with the Byrdie and Who What Wear family. After graduating from UW, she spent one year in San Francisco, where she worked as a writer for Pottery Barn Kids and PBteen before moving down to L.A. to begin her career as a beauty editor. She considers her day-to-day beauty aesthetic very low-maintenance and relies on staples like clear brow serum (from Kimiko!), Lawless's Lip Plumping Mask in Cherry Vanilla, and an eyelash curler. For special occasions or days when she's taking more meetings or has an event, she'll wear anything and everything from Charlotte Tilbury (the foundations are game-changing), some shimmer on her lids (Stila and Róen do it best), and a few coats of the best mascara-type product on earth, Surratt's Noir Lash Tint.