looking for advise on hair dye

[angrykittie25]

I recently dyed my hair pillar box red with manic panic. I bleached my hair before applying but for some reason my hair doesn't want to hold the color. I know this is temporary dye but it took only two days for the ends of my hair to turn orange and the rest of my hair is still red. Wondering if anyone knew of a permanent or semi-permanent hair color in that was a very bright punkish red, Fire engine red or something like that. I really don't want to have to dye my ends every two days. thanx

[juanicoheal]

I could tell ya, but then I'd have to kill ya.


- Actually, I could tell you where to find it, but you'd have to drive to Vancouver, BC to get it. So I hope somebody has something a little closer for ya..

Cheers,
JH

[III]

hair dyes, in order of effectivness (from worst to best)

manic panic - sucks infected donkey ass.
punky color - better color, still not much endurance
fudge - better colors, better endurance, though it'll still fade after a couple days in the desert
special effects - creme de la creme, it'll fade some but should still be recognizeable as a color by the end of the week out there.

there are a couple of hair coloring websites out there that will probably have some good advice for you as well, both as concerns getting the most out of the coloring process, and how to maintain it once you've done it.

[SilkenTofu]

Hey Angrykittie

did you bleach your hair and then dye it in the same day?? this might be some of the problem, III is right about the types of color, manic panic looks pretty but has now been replaced by better products. whenever you bleach your hair this makes it very porous and hard to retain color. it is nice if you let your hair rest for 2 days until you dye it up. Back in the day, we would let the dye live on our heads for a full day, I know manic panic is vegtable based and isn't damaging to your hair like bleach is. The after you rinse with cold water there is a product to seal the color in, don't know the name anymore.

Ah that I actually had the hair to dye anymore...sigh.

[headquarters]

i concur with the Special Effects. My girl friend uses that the atomic pink and the color stays solid for like 3 weeks. THen it's just a little less pink but with that color it should stay VERY bright for the week out there.

[angrykittie25]

I actually waited two weeks before I dyed it. I couldn't decide on the color. If any one knows of a permanent or semi-permanent hair dye is a punkish red let me know. I used one years ago and can't seem to find it now.

[angelface]

a third vote for special effects.. I used the blue, and it lasted all week on the playa. I think 2 weeks might be too long to wait after bleaching, a couple days seems best. Also, washing in cold water and avoiding shampoo for a couple days helps keep the color.

[III]

oh yeah - don't use conditioner between bleaching and dying, whether it's two minutes or two weeks.

[vulgaris]

Some dyes dont work on some hairs. Blue is not a fan of my hair type.

2.) Bleach your hair dry. Dye your hair damp but never wet.

3.) Use heat. Hot heat. Salon hot if possible. In fact, go to a salon if possible. They might even have a permanent colour hair dye. Sometimes you can even buy them from places like Sally's beauty supply.

4.) Leave in at least 40 minutes. Bleaching usually hurts really bad at first, but then it stops. At least for me. Maybe its my nerves DYING. I don't know. I just know my hair is red.

5.) Clorox clean-up.

[Badger]

Can't wait for BRR to weigh in on hair care tips.

[theCryptofishist]

Gee Badger, you had to make me roll on the floor of THE LIBRARY with laughter.

[theCryptofishist]

Always a contentious issue....

[bullD]

I was thinking about dyeing my body hair, every last curly see no sun bit of it,,, pink. Does anybody think I would win the fashion show???


eh hem...

[regynalonglank]

you would surely be a big hit with the Bureau of Erotic Discourse, that's our theme color! pink is also big with DOTA and OBOP this year...it's a good year for pink. i say yes, go for it. you'll be a winner all the way around, upstairs and downstairs :)

[Apollonaris Zeus]

I use manic panic and it stays about half a week without the heat treatment. If you use it make sure you use a ph balanced shampoo before and after. if you don't wash with one it will fade it faster.


AIIZ

[Guest]

Hey guys

[Rabbette]

Well Special Effects is definitely the way to go... Colors in the red family usually last the longest from the many years I have been coloring my hair.

Looks like Special Effects colors in the red family are Nuclear Red, Cherry Bomb, Hot Lava, Blood Red and Devilish. The Nuclear Red and Cherry Bomb are UV light reactive - so they will actually glow under a black light.

1st bleach your hair - if you have already done that then just re-color ur hair with the special effects (don't bleach it again, it will get to dry and start to break)

2nd when dying ur hair with the color. I like to have my hair damp - its much easier to comb through the color (in small sections) and you use less hair dye, which is good b/c its not cheap.

3rd you can leave the dye on all day - heck you can go to sleep with it in ur hair after it's dry (I put a towel down on my pillow if I do tho) you can heat set the color by on your hair using a blow dryer, but I've never found that it improves the special effects brand, they just have the best color and heat setting it does not appear to make it stay better or longer. Then rinse out... USE conditioner, but don't shampoo... This will keep ur color in even longer. I then go at least a week and a half without shampooing my hair, I just rinse it in the shower with clean water, so the color will stay super bright, although I don't really have an oily head so you may feel the need to wash ur hair sooner.

4th have an excellent time and know that all ur hard work will pay off!

[Rabbette]

Totally cracking up at myself for replying to such an old post - - - - see what happens when ur not paying attention and using the search function. Oh my - oh well if anyone needs good hair dying notes, they have been updated - ha ha.

[OregonRed]

Special Effects is good, Privana Vivid Tones is even better. It is a professional color (so you need someone with a license to purchase it for you), but it is the BEST unnatural hair color I've ever used. My hair was the color of my font last year all summer and the color was true for the entire time between coloring AND held up to the harsh conditions on the playa without any issues at all.

My $0.02.

[OregonRed]

Totally cracking up at myself for replying to such an old post - - - - see what happens when ur not paying attention and using the search function. Oh my - oh well if anyone needs good hair dying notes, they have been updated - ha ha.

LOL! I shoulda checked dates too...

[Skyote]

Adding another rec for Special Effects. The red and pink tones stick around for ages. I've had my hair atomic pink with purple accents for about 1 1/2 years and it fades beautifully -just gets slightly paler but more "neon". And it's safe to leave in your hair for hours, even overnight. You can put dye into your conditioner for touch-ups whenever you wash your hair, too. A couple tips to keep it bright are to not wash too often and to use cold water. You might find a UV protectant before you leave, I've never bothered but lots of sun exposure will bleach the color.

I do have some SE blue and teal mixed in at the moment, and it's not lasting like the pinks. My stylist said they changed their formula for the blues so you might investigate that if you're interested in blues or greens. Of course any SE color you apply right before you leave and wash once or at the most twice while you're there will look fantastic all week. Well, it will get dusty but what won't

Looked into Pravana recently and read that it is extremely permanent and very hard to remove (and in some cases, scissors are the only way). So I'd look into that yourself before trying it. While I love my color, I would never want to be locked into a choice like that! I've been really happy with Special Effects, and I know if I change my mind I can switch things up easily.

[Skyote]

Totally cracking up at myself for replying to such an old post - - - - see what happens when ur not paying attention and using the search function. Oh my - oh well if anyone needs good hair dying notes, they have been updated - ha ha.

Haha!! Add me to the list of those that didn't look at the date - or read the thread carefully enough!

[Jax Dee]

Cheap and easy and permanent: Garnier has a new line of just reds that turn out very vivid on bleached hair.

[Minxy]

I'm actually glad I caught this as I'm having a hair nightmare now!

I finally took the virgin plunge in my life to dye my hair a bright, dark purple as I've always wanted. This, of course, required me to get my hair dyed blonde first....YOW! That was a scary process as I have dark brown hair.

Anyway, within a few weeks my hair has faded back to a sickly, ugly blonde with a few weird dark purple/blue streaks in it. OUCH!

Man what a bummer. I'll try to get my hands on that Pravana color and try again.

[trilobyte]

While I started shaving my head before I started going to Burning Man... just say no to Manic Panic! Poor quality stuff, and in some cases can be pretty harsh/damaging to your hair. Several good recommendations in this thread, good luck getting the color you want looking the way you want

[trilobyte]

Sure, I've got the shaved-headed look now, but for nearly 20 years before that I colored my hair every 3-4 weeks. If you're unsure of yourself around hair dye, go see a colorist. Starting from dark hair, ideally you need to strip out all the color (not just go to blonde). That stuff can be harsh on your hair follicles (especially if done improperly). When your hair has been properly 'stripped' it'll be closer to white than it will to blonde, and then you can put in some other color and have a reasonably good chance of it looking like you wanted it to. After stripping/coloring, you may also want to pamper your hair for at least a few days by making sure to use conditioner when you wash.

[Minxy]

Thanks for the replies, Trilo!

That's exactly why I went to her, she's "good" and isn't top of the line expensive but still on the quite spendy side. My hair is definitely not white but a sickly yellow blonde from dark brown. BAH! Maybe she didn't bleach it enough? I'm a newb at this.

I'll be going back to PDX in a couple days so I'll definitely talk to her in person about it.

[Cheyenne]

I suggest Swarzkopf Live colours, they are permanent and do not damage bleached hair further - they also come with a great conditioner that smells lurvly.

They are very permanent and I used to wash my hair every day with this in and it didn't budge

[Rabbette]

Thanks for the replies, Trilo!

That's exactly why I went to her, she's "good" and isn't top of the line expensive but still on the quite spendy side. My hair is definitely not white but a sickly yellow blonde from dark brown. BAH! Maybe she didn't bleach it enough? I'm a newb at this.

I'll be going back to PDX in a couple days so I'll definitely talk to her in person about it.

When bleaching hair in general you won't really ever get to "white" unless you use a filler/toner of purple to counter balance the yellow tones left in the hair. The lightest your hair will lighten to is the inside of a banana peel yellow.

I have light brown hair and using 20 vol dev it takes a least 2 hours for my hair to lighten. For darker hair the volume developer should have a higher number like 30 or 40 and should take a little less time when the developer number is higher. (however do not put this next to your scalp at all!!!)

***now for the hard part, you hair has been lightened already I assume by the "sicly yellow blonde" color you describe. You can bleach this again and get it to banana peel yellow (which is good for vibrant colors), just be sure you OR whom ever you get to do your hair is checking it by wiping some of the hair bleach off and seeing what color it is - - - if it does not look light enough then put bleach back on the section you wiped clean and continue timing for another 5-10 minutes (depending on how fast the color is lifting from your hair) ***

[Minxy]

Thanks Rabbette! That's some of exactly what I needed to hear.

If it all doesn't go well I'll have weird patchwork hair on the playa. It will be weird and be fine and I won't care there.

Grumble...