Red and purple hair is a stunning combination that lets you get really creative. Since purple is made with red, the two shades share undertones that blend beautifully without turning into a muddy mess. Whether you want a subtle peekaboo style or a bold split dye, we have put together 20 unique red and purple hair color ideas to inspire your next look. Once you figure out the right shade for your skin tone and hair type, you can rock a look that stays vibrant for weeks.
20 Stunning Red and Purple Hair Color Ideas
1. Half Purple Half Red Split Dye
Best for: Any length | Time: 2-3 hours | Maintenance: Medium
Ready to commit to the ultimate contrast? The split dye is a bold and popular way to wear both colors at once. The look is all about dyeing one half of your hair red and the other half purple. For the cleanest look, part your hair straight down the middle. This style works beautifully on hair of any length, from a blunt bob to long layers.
To do this at home and prevent the red and purple from bleeding into each other, follow these steps:
- Separate your hair down the middle and clip one side out of the way.
- Apply the red dye to the loose side, keeping it strictly on your side of the part.
- Cover the red hair with aluminum foil to protect it.
- Mix and apply the purple dye to the other side.
Pro Tip: If your hair is highly porous, it absorbs color faster. Check the strands 10 minutes early to prevent the colors from expanding and meeting at the back of your neck.
2. Red to Purple Ombre Hair
Best for: Medium to long hair | Time: 3 hours | Maintenance: Medium
If you want a gradient effect, a red base with purple tips is a striking choice. It gives you a gorgeous gradient where your warm roots seamlessly fade into cool, dark ends. This look requires medium to long hair to show off the transition. Keep in mind that red fades to a pink or orange tone, while purple often fades to a muddy blue.
To get this look, dye your entire head red first. Once rinsed and dried, apply the purple dye to the bottom two or three inches of your hair. Use a comb to blend the purple upward into the red for a seamless ombré.
3. Purple to Red Ombre Hair
Best for: Warm skin tones | Time: 3 hours | Maintenance: Medium
Want a fiery look? Flipping the gradient gives you a completely different vibe. A purple base with red tips makes your hair look like glowing fire. The dark purple at the roots keeps the look grounded and flattering near your face. This is an excellent choice for warm skin tones because the bright red tips bring out the golden or olive undertones in your complexion. Be prepared for the red tips to fade to a soft pink or copper after a few washes. Use a tint brush to feather the red dye upward into the purple for a natural transition.
4. Red Hair with Purple Highlights
Best for: Dark hair (requires lightening) | Time: 3-4 hours | Maintenance: Low
Not ready to go all out? For a more wearable, everyday look, try an all over red base with purple highlights. This adds incredible dimension and texture to your hair without requiring constant root maintenance.
If you want those purple pieces to really pop, your stylist will need to lighten those sections to a light blonde first. If you have naturally dark hair, they will bleach the highlight sections before adding the purple. Concentrating the purple highlights around your face and underneath the back sections of your hair creates a beautiful peekaboo effect. If you love how bright pieces frame the face, check out these face-framing highlight ideas for even more inspiration.
5. Purple Hair with Red Highlights
Best for: Cool/neutral skin tones | Time: 3 hours | Maintenance: Low
Prefer a darker, cooler vibe? An all over purple base with red highlights is gorgeous. The red pieces catch the light and add warmth to the style. Thin, ribbon like red highlights woven through a deep violet base look incredibly rich.
This combination is perfect for people with cool or neutral undertones in their skin, as the deep purple base prevents the hair from clashing with your complexion. This style is also highly forgiving when it grows out, meaning you can go longer between salon visits.
6. Red Hair with Purple and Violet Highlights
Best for: Thick, long hair | Time: 4 hours | Maintenance: Medium
Want serious dimension? Interwoven highlights weave thin streaks of red and purple throughout your whole head of hair. It gives your hair tons of texture and dimension, so it never looks flat. It is an excellent option for thick, long hair because it prevents the color from looking blocky.
If you have a short pixie cut, you might want to skip this look because there is not enough length to separate the colors, which can result in a muddy blend. The contrast between the ruby and amethyst streaks gives your hair incredible movement and shine.
7. Bright Red and Purple Hair Color
Best for: Light blonde hair | Time: 6+ hours | Maintenance: High
For a look that turns heads, go for bright, highly saturated colors. Think neon red mixed with electric violet. To achieve this level of vibrancy, your hair must be bleached to a very light blonde first. If you have black or dark brown hair, achieving this look requires multiple bleaching sessions.
Expect a salon appointment to take up to six hours, and know that it may take a few visits to get your hair light enough without causing severe damage. Bright colors use semi permanent dyes that stain the hair cuticle, so you will need a color safe purple shampoo to maintain the neon tones.
8. Deep Red and Purple Hair
Best for: Naturally brown hair | Time: 2 hours | Maintenance: Low
If you love a moody, elegant vibe, deep red and purple hair is the way to go. This combines shades like dark cherry cola and eggplant. This look is much lower maintenance because dark dyes last longer and do not require a perfectly light bleach base.
In fact, applying deep red and purple over naturally brown hair adds incredible shine and richness without causing excessive chemical damage. If you have fair skin, ask for slightly more red than purple to keep the color from washing you out.
9. Reddish Purple Hair Color
Best for: All skin tones | Time: 2 hours | Maintenance: Low
Can’t decide between the two? A reddish purple color is a single, unified tone that blends both shades perfectly. This is often called plum or dark magenta. It involves mixing a small amount of red dye into a larger amount of purple dye and applying it all over the head.
It works on almost every skin tone. The red brings out your natural warmth, while the purple balances it out. The best part about this shade is the way it shifts. Indoors, it looks like a rich, dark purple. But step outside into the sunlight, and those bright red undertones really shine through.
10. Burgundy and Purple Hair Color
Best for: Warm/olive skin tones | Time: 2 hours | Maintenance: Low
Burgundy is a rich, reddish brown that pairs flawlessly with purple. This combination creates a luxurious, wine inspired look. You can ask for burgundy roots that melt into purple ends, or you can mix burgundy and purple highlights together.
This is an ideal choice for people with warm or olive skin tones. Burgundy and purple can be applied directly over virgin dark brown hair without bleach, making it a cost effective and time saving salon appointment.
11. Reddish Purple Brown Hair Color
Best for: Corporate environments | Time: 2 hours | Maintenance: Low
If you need a style that is safe for a corporate office or professional environment, a reddish purple brown is perfect. We start with a natural brown base and add subtle whispers of red and purple. The brown keeps the color grounded and natural.
The hints of red and purple pick up the light, making your hair look incredibly healthy and glossy. The best part? It fades to a soft brownish red, so you will not get that harsh, obvious root line as your hair grows out.
12. Red and Violet Jewel Toned Hair
Best for: Deep skin tones | Time: 3-4 hours | Maintenance: Medium
Jewel tones are rich, deeply saturated colors that look amazing on deep skin tones. Ruby red and amethyst violet make an incredible pair for hair. Jewel toned hair looks best when it is incredibly shiny.
To maintain this look, use a clear gloss treatment once a month. A gloss will seal the cuticle, lock in the color, and give your hair the glass like shine required to pull off jewel tones. Plan for a three to four hour salon visit to get the red and violet perfectly balanced.
13. Black Red and Purple Hair
Best for: Short hair/pixies | Time: 2-3 hours | Maintenance: Low
If you love dark, moody aesthetics, adding black to the mix creates a stunning gothic look. You can also explore these bold black and red hair combinations if you want to lean fully into the dark side. A popular way to wear this is by keeping the roots natural black, dyeing the mid lengths a deep blood red, and finishing the tips with a dark purple. It gives your color serious depth, making it look multi-dimensional.
Because this look relies on dark shades, it works beautifully on very short hair and pixie cuts. The black roots provide a shadow effect, which makes the grow out phase much less noticeable and saves you money on touch ups.
14. Red Purple and Pink Hair
Best for: Light hair | Time: 4 hours | Maintenance: High
Want something playful? Adding pink to red and purple hair creates a warm, vibrant gradient. If you want to drop the red altogether and focus on the lighter shades, take a look at these pink and purple hair styles. Since pink is just a lighter cousin to red, it melts into the other colors without any harsh lines. A popular technique is to melt hot pink roots into bright red mid lengths, finishing with deep purple ends.
The pink and red will fade quickly, often washing out to a pastel cotton candy shade. To keep this look fresh, mix a small amount of pink semi permanent dye into your conditioner and use it as a color depositing mask once a week.
15. Purple Blue and Red Mermaid Hair
Best for: Long, thick hair | Time: 6-8 hours | Maintenance: High
Combining purple, blue, and red gives you a cool toned rainbow or mermaid effect. Blue and red sit on either side of purple on the color wheel, making this a harmonious triad. Just a fair warning: this look takes the longest to do in the salon and is usually the most expensive option on this list.
Plan for a six to eight hour salon visit. If you have dark hair, your stylist will likely need to bleach it in stages over a few weeks to get it light enough for the blue and red to pop without turning muddy. If things do go wrong, fixing a bad color job can be pricey, so it helps to understand hair color correction costs before you start.
💡 Pro Tip: Always do a strand test before applying blue and red next to each other. If your hair is highly porous, the colors can bleed together at the sink and create a muddy brown hue. Use foils during application to keep them separated.
16. Peekaboo Red and Purple Underlights
Best for: Any length | Time: 2-3 hours | Maintenance: Low
Want to hide your colors for work or school? Try peekaboo underlights. This style focuses on dyeing the bottom layer of your hair right at the nape of your neck with red and purple. For even more hidden styles, browse through these underneath hair color ideas. The top layer of your hair remains your natural color or a standard base color.
When you wear your hair down, the colors are hidden. When you tie your hair up or curl it, the vibrant red and purple flashes are revealed. To keep the purple from fading to a grayish blue, wash your hair with a sulfate free purple shampoo.
17. Red and Purple Money Piece
Best for: Face framing | Time: 1-2 hours | Maintenance: Medium
Not ready to dye your whole head? The money piece trend is your best friend. The look is all about coloring just the front sections of hair that frame your face. We have a whole guide on money piece highlights if you want to see how this looks in other shades. You can dye one side red and the other side purple for a fun contrast. Alternatively, you can dye both front pieces a mixed reddish purple.
This look is fantastic because it brightens your complexion without committing to a full head of dye. To figure out which color should frame your face, look at your undertones. If you have golden or warm skin, red is your best friend. If you are more on the cool side, purple will make your complexion stand out.
18. Natural Red Hair With Purple Accents
Best for: Natural gingers | Time: 1-2 hours | Maintenance: Zero
If you were born with natural red hair, you have a head start. You can add purple dye directly to your strands without any bleach. Semi permanent purple dye will show up beautifully over natural ginger or strawberry blonde hair.
The result is a subtle, tinted purple highlight that glows brightly in the sun but looks natural indoors. This is a fantastic way to change your look without causing chemical damage to your natural hair. As the purple fades, it simply blends back into your natural red base, requiring zero maintenance.
19. Red and Purple Dip Dye
Best for: Collarbone length or longer | Time: 2-3 hours | Maintenance: Medium
Unlike an ombré that blends seamlessly, a dip dye gives you a stark, sharp line where the color changes. This look keeps your natural color or a bright red on top, with vivid purple applied cleanly to the bottom half. It creates a striking, graphic look that is highly popular in alternative fashion.
You need at least collarbone length hair to pull this off so the sharp color line is visible. To achieve the crisp line at home, follow these steps:
- Tie your hair in a low ponytail at the nape of your neck.
- Determine exactly where you want the color change to occur.
- Apply the purple dye precisely at that mark on the ponytail.
- Release the ponytail and check for any uneven spots before processing.
20. Red Roots Melting Into Purple Ends
Best for: Light hair | Time: 3 hours | Maintenance: Medium
A color melt is basically a softer, more diffused ombré. For this idea, the roots are dyed a deep, natural looking red, which slowly melts down into a vibrant purple toward the mid lengths and ends. The transition is so smooth that there is no distinct line where the red ends and the purple begins.
If your hair is naturally light, you can achieve this without bleach. If your hair is dark, your stylist will need to use a color remover on the ends before applying the purple. The darker red roots create a shadow effect, adding depth and making the bright purple ends pop dramatically. Expect this to take about three hours in a salon chair.
Frequently Asked Questions About Red and Purple Hair
How do you dye red hair purple?
If you already have red hair and want to transition to purple, the process requires patience. Because red is already a warm color, you do not always need to bleach your hair to apply purple. Much like learning how to dye red hair black without bleach, going darker is easier than going lighter. However, applying purple directly over red will result in a deep burgundy or plum color. If you want a bright, true purple, you must first use a color remover to strip the red dye, or lightly bleach the hair to a pale orange or blonde.
What color does red and purple make when mixed?
If you mix red and purple hair dye together, you will get a rich magenta or a deep plum. The exact shade depends on the ratio of your mix. Mixing equal parts of a medium red and a medium purple yields a vibrant magenta. If you use more purple than red, you will get a dark, warm violet. Mixing the dyes in a non-metal bowl before application ensures the color is even and consistent from root to tip.
How do you maintain red and purple hair?
To keep your red and purple hair looking fresh, you must wash it correctly. Always use cold water and a high quality sulfate free shampoo like Pureology Hydrate or a color protecting line from your salon. Hot water opens up your hair cuticle, which lets the red and purple dye rinse right down the drain. If you want to refresh your color at home, mix a small amount of red and purple semi permanent dye, like Manic Panic or Arctic Fox, into your regular conditioner and leave it on your hair for five minutes before rinsing.
Final Thoughts on Red and Purple Hair
Choosing the right red and purple hair color ideas comes down to understanding your skin tone, your natural hair base, and how much time you want to spend on maintenance. Whether you opt for a low maintenance reddish purple brown or a vibrant mermaid blend, the key to longevity is proper hair care. Always wash with cold water, invest in a high quality sulfate free shampoo, and use color depositing conditioners to keep your red and purple hues looking fresh and vibrant between salon visits.
