Asian woman with purple hair.

Purple Hair Color Ideas for a Bold, New Look

Planning to dye your hair soon? Consider going purple! Choose from these must-try shades for a head-turning look.

Exploring hair colors is fun! Perhaps you’ve tried highlights or even dyed your hair entirely. Now, consider a bolder option: purple hair color. We know it as a color you form when you combine red and blue, but it’s more than that. Purple hair comes in various shades like ash violet, indigo, and lilac, to name a few. Check out these hair ideas to get inspiration for your next makeover.

20 Purple Hair Colors to Try Now

1. Medium Ash Purple Hair

Asian woman with short light violet curly hair with bangs
Ashy purple hair is a must-try color! Credit: Shutterstock

Ash hair colors continue to be on-trend, and there’s no reason why you can’t combine this with purple hair color. Ashy tones also make your purple hair less loud and more sophisticated so it’s more wearable.

TRESemmé Pro-Color Series Blonde Brilliance Shampoo

Editor’s tip: Keep your bleached hair from turning brassy over time by using TRESemmé Pro-Color Series Blonde Brilliance Shampoo. Its purple formula neutralizes brassy tones, so your hair color stays beautiful for longer. It also has jojoba oil to help keep your hair moisturized and shiny.

TRESemmé Pro-Color Series Blonde Brilliance Conditioner

Pair TRESemmé Pro-Color Series Blonde Brilliance Shampoo with TRESemmé Pro-Color Series Blonde Brilliance Conditioner for best results. 

2. Ash Purple Hair to Blue

Asian woman with ash purple and blue hair color in one
Let your ash purple hair smoothly transition to another color. Credit: Shutterstock

Rock ash purple hair with dusty blue locks to create an edgy, two-tone look. Opt for long hair to let both hues shine.

Tube of Dove Keratin Repair Conditioner

Editor’s tip: Coloring, bleaching, and frequent styling can take a toll on your hair and cause extreme damage. Switch to Dove Intense Repair 1 Minute Serum Conditioner, which has keratin-infused serum capsules that penetrate hair to repair it from within. It nourishes hair to make it beautiful and healthy. 

3. Violet Hair Color

Back shot of a woman with violet hair
You can go for purple tips to add depth to your violet hair. Credit: Shutterstock

Like purple, violet is a combination of blue and red, but it has more blue in it. If you want a bold color with a cool undertone, try violet.

4. Purple Balayage

Asian woman with violet balayage and dark roots
Make your balayage more fab by adding curls or waves to your hair. Credit: Yindee Phuttasirayakorn

With balayage, you’ll get a more natural look. The color is handpainted on your strands instead of using foil. Your stylist may also add highlights to some areas of your hair to get a beautiful blend of colors.

5. Indigo

Woman with indigo hair wearing a black top
Be a head-turner with this vibrant shade. Credit: Mikotoraw from Pexels

If blue and violet hair color had a baby, that would be indigo. This deep hue alone looks mystical and even ethereal⁠—imagine how it would make you look when you put it on your hair. Like eggplant, it blends well with dark hair and suits medium or morena skin tones, too. You just have to overcome any apprehensions you have, take the leap, and try this purple hair color.

Bottle of Dove Keratin Tri-Silk Serum Intense Repair Shampoo

Editor’s tip: Looking for a shampoo for damaged hair? Try Dove Intense Repair Keratin Tri-Silk Serum Shampoo. It has a combination of keratin, fiber actives, and serum ingredients that instantly repair damage, deeply nourish and protect, and leave your hair extra beautiful. It also has Keratin Repair Actives that repair and nourish damaged hair from the core to the surface. 

6. Lavender Hair Color

Woman with long, straight lilac hair
It’s time to say hello to this exciting hair color. Credit: Shutterstock

This light purple hair color is trendy and sweet. It adds a playful vibe to your look. Lavender hair color has a blue tint that gives it a cool undertone. Complement this hue with waves, curls, layers, and braids to keep your hair from looking flat and washed out.

7. Lilac

Asian woman with short lilac hair
This light, purplish-pink color gives your hair personality. Credit: Shutterstock

Like lavender, lilac is also a pale purple color. However, lilac has a pink tint, just like its namesake flower. It’s a great color choice if you want a bit of pink in your hair without going rosy all the way.

8. Light Lilac

Woman with light lavender hair wearing sunglasses
If you’re looking for a hair color that suits fair skin, try light lilac. Credit: Shutterstock

Lilac is already a light shade of purple, but you can go lighter to tone down the sweetness. Add bangs so your hair won’t look flat with this light color.

9. Dusty Purple

Purple hair idea: Woman with straight, dusty purple hair
If you want purple hair but don’t want the color screaming on your head, go for this subdued option. Credit: Shutterstock

Think of this violet hair color as ash purple but with more grays. Dusty purple is chic and edgy, and you can even wear it as part of different hair coloring techniques like ombre or balayage.

10. Dark Purple Hair Highlights

Back shot of an Asian with dark violet highlights
These barely-there purple highlights add oomph to naturally dark hair. Credit: Shutterstock

If you want a more subtle way of wearing purple, get them as highlights. Dark purple shades like plum and eggplant add a bit of depth to jet black hair. These highlights on dark hair also help define layers.

11. Violet Hair Color With Clips

Woman with violet hair wearing white hair clips
Wear white clips on dark purple hair to create a gorgeous contrast. Credit: All Things Hair

White pearl clips jazz up your purple hair without stealing the limelight or making your look over-the-top.

12. Purple Side Bangs

Asian woman with purple and pink hair wearing a jacket
We’re loving this purple-and-pink combo. Credit: Migs Reyes from Pexels

Get face-framing purple hair along with pink locks and bring out your artsy side. To style your hair, just scrunch it to add texture for that chic and casual vibe.

13. Grape Violet Hair Color

Woman with short grape hair color wearing a white shirt
Want a rich purple hue? Try grape hair color. Credit: Shutterstock

This shade resembles wine. If you have naturally dark hair and you don’t want a drastic change, try grape color.

14. Short Purple Hair With Full Bangs

Girl with glasses sporting short purple hair with bangs
This hairstyle just screams too cool for school. Credit: Xframe.io

If your school or workplace does not have rules for hair color, feel free to pull off this preppy ‘do. Pair it with rimmed glasses to make lasting first impressions.

15. Split Hair Dye

Back view of violet and bright pink split dye
This bold hair statement is making rounds on social media. Credit: Melike Benli from Pexels

The split hair dye or half-and-half hair color is made for those who are adventurous enough to try different hair trends. Doing it is as simple as it looks. Simply part your hair down the middle and dye each side a different color.

16. Deep Violet Hair Color With Half Updo

girl in violet half updo
Be music festival ready with this shade of violet. Credit: Pexels

Choose a dark shade of purple hair if you want to cop the punk rock style. Tie your hair in a half updo to look effortlessly cool.

17. Mauve

Asian woman with long mauve hair
Complement your mauve hair with a bold lippie. Credit: Natasha Estelle

It’s a mix of purple and pink, but it’s not as pale as lilac. This light to medium purple hair color flatters any skin tone. You can also wear it with dark roots to give your look some depth.

18. Mauve Ombre Hair

Asian woman with mauve ombre hair
Leave your hair down to showcase your mauve ombre look. Credit: Shutterstock

Let mauve transition to light pink and blonde hues to create a cute ombre look. It’s a way to jazz up medium-length and long hair.

19. Purple Undercolor

Asian woman with a purple hair color
Make your friends do a double-take when you walk in with your purple undercolor. Credit: Meng Media from Pexels

Dye the surface of your hair a muted, unassuming color like ash. Then, surprise everyone with a vibrant purple hue hidden underneath. By keeping an undercolor, you can easily tweak your look to suit your mood.

20. Light Purple Ash

Asian woman with light purple ash hair color
Stand out with light purple ash hair. Credit: Meng Media from Pexels

Light ash gray dominates this hair color, with tinges of purple thrown in. It’s one of the hair colors you can try to nail an edgy, grunge-like hair aesthetic.

Now is the time to wear the color of royalty. Try purple hair and let your new look amaze you.