So a few weeks back my hair started looking like old dishwater, seriously. All yellow and sad. Saw some red bottles at the supermarket checkout called Jhirmack Silver Brightening Shampoo. “For white, silver, and gray hair”? Okay, fine. Figured, what’s the worst that could happen? I tossed one in my cart.
The Jhirmack First Try
Got home, jumped straight in the shower. Popped that bottle open – smelled kinda clean and sharp, like cleaning products, honestly. Squirted out a big glob onto my hand, kinda purplish-blue goop. Rubbed it all over my wet hair like the bottle said.
Left it sitting for a few minutes. Felt… sticky? Not exactly luxurious. Rinsed it out. Water was running this weird blue color, freaked me out for a second! Looked in the mirror after drying. Huh. Hair did look cooler, less brassy. Not suddenly platinum or anything, but calmer. Kinda neutral grayish instead of that nasty yellow. Okay, decent start.
Thinking Maybe Others Are Better
Felt a tiny thrill. Maybe I cracked the code? But wait, gotta be thorough. Went online, browsed shampoos folks recommend for gray hair. Found a few names constantly popping up:
- Fanola No Yellow Shampoo: Everyone raves. Supposed to be super strong purple.
- Clairol Shimmer Lights: Another old-timer in the purple shampoo game.
- John Frieda Clear Purify Silver Shampoo: Just saw it at the drugstore.
“Alright,” I thought, “Jhirmack seems okay, but maybe these big names are actually better.” Went on a little quest. Ordered Fanola online (waiting sucked). Grabbed the others at different stores.
Testing the Competition (It Got Messy)
Started a rotation. Used each one a couple times.
- Fanola: Dude, that purple dye is INSANE. Felt like I was handling radioactive goo. Super careful putting it on. Even so, after rinsing, my fingernails were purple and I SWEAR my scalp looked faintly lilac for a day. Hair was definitely cooler, maybe even cooler than Jhirmack, but damn, the mess! Felt like a science project gone wrong.
- Shimmer Lights: Didn’t smell bad, kinda floral? Worked okay at toning. No dye explosions. But honestly? Result was weaker than Jhirmack on my hair. Yellow started creeping back fast. Plus, the conditioner in the pack felt waxy. Felt like a step down.
- John Frieda: Clear bottle looks fancy. Used it. Meh. Seriously underwhelmed. Barely did anything for my brassiness. Felt like using regular shampoo. Waste of time and money. Just nope.
The Ugly Part They Don’t Tell You
Started noticing a problem with all these purple shampoos, even my buddy Jhirmack. My hair started feeling weirdly dry and kinda sticky? Especially at the roots. Almost like it had this… invisible film. Found myself needing conditioner like crazy, which I don’t usually. Did a “squeak test” – ran my fingers down wet hair after shampooing. SQUEAAAAK. That means buildup, apparently. Yuck.
Tried shampooing with regular old Head & Shoulders once, boom. That sticky dry feeling was gone! Hair felt clean again. So the purple stuff, Jhirmack included, definitely leave gunk behind after a while.
So What’s Better? My Verdict
Let’s be real:
- Fanola works HARD. Gets rid of yellow like a boss. But also might stain your tub and skin purple. High maintenance.
- Shimmer Lights was just okay, nothing special.
- John Frieda felt useless.
- Jhirmack? Honestly? It did the job nearly as well as Fanola without all the drama. Yeah, the smell is kinda industrial, and yeah, it leaves buildup eventually… but so do all of them!
Think Jhirmack is actually more gentle than Fanola too. Still needs clarifying shampoo breaks. Is it The Very Best? Dunno. But it works way better than the others for me right now. For the price? It’s a solid win. Just gotta remember the clarifying wash every couple weeks. Bottle’s almost empty. Guess I’m heading back to the checkout lane for another one of those purple goops.
