Lie Locks

I have been using Manic Panic for a few years. I used to go to the salon every six weeks or so when I had I natural hair color (almost black) which worked just fine. However, once I decided to go to a bright, vibrant color, I quickly knew that I would need to go more often and price wise, it just want sustainable. Shortly after going to red, my hair began to break off. I'll admit, I had no idea what to expect or how quickly to lighten, but figured my hair stylist did. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but within a few months my hair started to break off. Too much bleach. I went from waist length black hair to a bob that was just above my shoulders within a year. I was devastated. Since then, I vowed that if ANYONE was going to mess up my hair it would be me. I still have to bleach my hair since my natural color is just a bit above black, but I only do it every two or three months, and only hit the roots rather than my whole head. Then for the hair dye. I was worried about dying my hair as often as I would need to keep the vibrant color up, especially since I've got naturally oily hair and can really only afford to go two days without shampooing -even with dry shampoo. I didn't want to continue to damage my already fried locks, but I also didn't really want to give up my red hair. After some research, I found Manic Panic and have been in love ever since. YES, the color fades fast, but it is really up to you. If you wash daily or if you don't use a color safe shampoo, it will fade super fast. The thing that I LOVE about Manic Panic is that it doesn't seem to do any damage to my hair. Even with dying every few weeks, my hair is healthy and actually growing again. It's now down to the middle of my back again and is just as soft and beautiful as before I ever started dying it. I do have a few tips for anyone planning on using this product. 1. You need to lighten your hair to use it. It will work on dark hair, but you're not going to get the vibrant color you want. P A C E yourself with the lightening. It takes time and it will be worth it. Some colors also require lighter hair. Once again, pace yourself. You'll get there. I usually choose a darker color of what I want (vampire red vs wildfire) and go with that a few times. Once my hair is light enough and retains the red base color then I'll start going for my lighter shades. 2. Invest in a good shampoo and conditioner. This is imperative. Get something for color treated hair. Preferably without parabens, sulfates, etc. I use "Not Your Mother's". It's inexpensive and gives me the best results. 3. Train your hair. Learn to wash less often. We're on quarantine so now is your chance to train your hair. 4. Dry shampoo! I can't stress this enough. Not Your Mother's makes a really good spray powder dry shampoo. I've tried a few others and some leave my hair feeling sticky while others make my hair look dull and powdery. "Plump for Joy" is my go to. 5. The longer you have the color, the longer it seems to last. For example, I had red for over a year and decided to transition to turquoise. After dying a few times my hair held the color much better. 6. If you need to use heat on your hair use a heat shield. It's best if you can avoid heat as much as possible.

(See updates below) I have always heard great things about Manic Panic so decided to switch after years of using henna. I figured I would use a paintbrush and dye my grey roots, while leaving the length orange and brown. The bottle came well sealed but the label was covering the instructions. I used a brand new paintbrush and just dipped it in, applying liberally. No stranger to messy dye, I used gloves and kept my work area tidy. Even so, when I rinsed the paintbrushes off, any tiny bit of contact with the countertop resulted in permanent stains, even when I tried to wipe it away immediately. Tried borax and super washing soda combined with lemon juice. No luck. Tried scrubbing bubbles. Nada. Tried hydrogen peroxide. Also no. Manufacturer's web site has some recommendations such as Magic Eraser and/or acetone but we have neither of those. Before you start, test your workspace in a non-visible area and make sure you have a good cleaning solution for it before you start. Even so, I was very tidy. I even managed to keep the dye off of my scalp in most spots, except towards my temples where the hair is very fine. I have very thick hair and figured I'd test a top layer before bothering with lower layers. But I also did apply it fairly thickly on top. It looked great during application. I let it sit for four hours (after running strand tests and finding the white hair to be fairly stubborn if less than 4 hours). When I rinsed the initial dye out, this is what it looked like right away, while still wet. Basically, pink scalp with still white strands. To be fair, I didn't bleach it. I have knee-length hair and am not about to risk that kind of damage. Henna is far more effective and doesn't need to be bleached. You can see some orange henna strands toward the back from months ago. I usually use a tiny amount of acid with henna, such as vinegar or lemon juice, to help the dye absorb. I may try a mix of that on a strand test to see if there's a ratio that wouldn't cause harm. I don't want to give up on Manic Panic but it's ineffective so far and damaging to bathroom surfaces. That said, it smells neutral, which is a lot better than henna. It's also nice that it's premixed and not as much of a royal mess, though at least henna doesn't permanently stain countertops/tubs. I had been hoping to go for buying purple, red, and blue to give a subtle flame-like hue on my grey roots, over the course of a couple of years. But this just isn't really working out so far. I'll probably keep trying and will update the review if I have any success. Update (about a week later): I did another round and am going to increase the star rating. This time, the dye absorbed really well! I did two things differently: I shampooed my roots a day ahead of time and I used about twice as much dye. I also used petroleum jelly on my scalp line, as others recommended. That helped for not having a pink face but I found it didn't really work on the top of my head, as it just meant that the roots became immune to dye, lol. Basically, for my hair, if it's too conditioned/coated, the dye won't absorb. If it's dry, it bonds better. I have almost ankle-length hair, so I usually keep my hair pretty oiled and conditioned to avoid snarls. I do not bleach, ever, as that runs too much risk of breakage/harm. I do love how conditioned my hair feels after using this dye. I've upgraded from 2 stars to 5 stars. I'd probably knock it a half star for the way it dyes the countertop and tub, if I could take away half a star. I'm not sure how well it will hold up with time and may update the review later. I will note that the dye didn't stain the tub if it was diluted, such as during showering, but I also only used this on my roots (I use henna on the length) so volume may be part of why it went okay. My fingernails got badly stained - even though I used gloves, this stuff is strangely itchy for me so scratching it the first day led to messy pink fingernails. Not a big deal though. I ended up buying another color too, as the second round went so much better than the first round.

So I was really wanting lavender hair for a few years now, so I finally decided to do it. I bleached my (previously dyed) red hair twice, in attempt to get it as light as possible for the dye, especially sense I was looking for a pastel color. My hair lifted really well, and surprisingly didn't get that much damage (I think this is because my hair was really healthy previously). I would really recommend going to a salon to have all your hair bleached by someone with experience with it, and knows what they're working with for your hair type and color. Also, another thing to keep in mind is yeah I got lucky when I bleached my hair and didn't get too much damage, but you need to be prepared for your hair to be pretty damaged when you bleach it, and you'll have to cut off some length due to the damage (I cut off roughly three inches). NOW with all that said, my hair was a bit brassy on the bottom but I couldn't afford the damage of bleaching it again. So when I put the (Ultra Violet) dye on it, it just kinda toned the bottom so it was more of a grey hue, but I don't think I mind much. Tip: When you're looking to get a pastel color and you're mixing vegetable based dyes with conditioner, I recommend making the mix significantly brighter then you're wanting it because the first time I tried dying it, it didn't put any color in it at all, just toned it. You can normally afford to experiment with semi-permanent dyes because, well, they're semi-permanent. The dye will slide out a little with every wash and get lighter. If you wanted this process to go faster, you can just use a "clarifying" shampoo, like Head and Shoulders, it goes into the hair shaft to clean it and as a result it pulls color out. About this product: I really like Ultra Violet for a bright pastel purple that is blue toned (none of that magenta-ish hue). It lasts well, and sense Special Effects' Wildflower (and basically all it's other purples) are on back order EVERYWHERE, I would say this is a good second to that.

I bought Ultra Violet after deciding I needed a color change (originally, I was RAW Bright Betty Red). I bleached the crap out of my hair until it was a sunset ombre sort of fade - yellow on top, neon pink toward the ends. I left Ultra Violet on for about an hour and a half before rinsing. I wish I would have left it a bit longer. While the color is fabulous and beautiful, I'm currently a week (and only one shampoo) out from dying and my color has begun to wash out considerably up on top. It's not BAD looking, it's just not as purple as it was, and you can see peeks of bleached hair poking out from under the color. I'm going to touch-up just for good measure. I'm not sure why it didn't take as well on the top of my head but it's likely my fault. :) Also, since I didn't evenly bleach my hair, it's purple up on top and plum-ish down toward the bottom - do NOT expect this color to work like permanent dyes and remove your current color/deposit new color - that's not how these work! They coat the surface of your hair and layer over the color you have. There are sections where I didn't quite get the color on there as well as i should have, and I have an interesting pink-purple blend. It's pretty, I like it, but next time I'll use two jars instead of just one, just for coverage's sake. I'm buying more to touch-up the top of my head with this weekend. It does stain clothing (which, sorry, you're pretty much screwed there) and will stain bathtubs/sinks/skin, but I have tips: #1, use gloves (duh) #2, lay down newspaper or old towels on your work surface, so when you set your jar down or lean against your counter, you don't spread the stain everywhere #3, When rinsing, lean over as close to the drain as possible and rinse the majority of the color out there before getting in the shower to rinse the rest of it. #4, Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, use the eraser to scrub all surfaces the dye touched. Rinse the sponge well. It even works on your skin, just don't scrub too hard because it'll take off the top layer of skin if you do. Seriously, though, guys. It works. #5, Orange/Oxy cleanser - spray it on, let it sit, Magic Eraser over the top of it, rinse. Do this with every shampooing, and you'll have a white tub that stays white, I promise you. #6, when you're letting your color sit, wrap a plastic grocery bag around your head and pin it in place... just to avoid accidentally touching something with your gooey head. I have vaulted ceiling. My purple head came in contact with my white ceiling. Panic and chaos ensued. #7, use a color safe, sulfate/surfactant/salt-free shampoo & conditioner. ONLY shampoo when totally necessary, I recommend dry shampoo as much as possible. And if you don't want to buy a dry shampoo, look up how to make your own, or dust your hands with baby power and ruffle your hair with that. Makes your color last tremendously longer!

The way that the color is advertised in the photos is NOT the color that you'll get. I bought this wanting a bright crimson color and this color "Red Passion" seemed the closest to what I expected based on the description and photos. When I opened the jar, I noticed immediately that the color seemed de-saturated, like it had been mixed with conditioner, and that's exactly what the consistency was too. The pigment was barely there, and as right as I started applying it on my recently bleached blonde hair, I knew right away it would be a total disaster. I held on to hope and left it in for a little over an hour, and it seemed my hair absorbed all of the little amount of color present in the product, leaving an off-white conditioner substance in my hair. When I washed it out, there was no color left to stain my shower or hands, but that's about the only good thing about this hair "dye". The color I was left with was exactly what I expected once I saw the product in the jar, an uneven, patchy, washed-out looking orangeish peachy color. It looked exactly as if I had dyed it red two weeks ago and washed my hair many times, and it had almost completely faded out. After seeing how awful it looked, I immediately sprinted to Walmart and bought my usual Splat brand hair dye in "Crimson Obsession" and it turned out a million times better, and it was cheaper and came with bleach, too! This color is a complete waste of money. Just go buy Splat or anything else. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures because of how embarrassed and disappointed I was in the results. The other reviews speak for themselves. Pros: - Pigment absorbs into hair, leaving a mess-free rinse. Cons: - Not AT ALL the color advertised in the pictures. - Not long-lasting. - Not very much product. You'd probably need two whole jars or more if you wanted to dye your whole head once. - doesn't come with bleach, gloves, or an applicator brush, while other products do whilst also being less expensive. - Shouldn't even be classified as any sort of "Red." - Looks like it has faded right after you dye your hair with it.

I couldn't even get a picture of how great my hair looked when this color was first applied to freshly bleached hair! It's GORGEOUS, and the glitter mixed into the formula as well?! STUNNING! Such a BEAUTIFUL combination and the color left me breathless! However, I had a BUSY week and had no time for selfies! During this week, (as recommended, I don't wash often,) so I washed ONCE, (after application,) then waited til the end of the week on Sunday, for the second wash... That's when my heart broke... Yes, the pink stayed...a little.. but in most areas, it significantly faded, and those jaw dropping glitters?GIRL, BYEEEE! They were GONE! I want to hesitate giving this such a low star review, due to the BEAUTY that is within this product...but, the longevity of it, makes it sadly, not worth it...(UNLESS, you need a quick fix and just need it to look flawless for an event, or short short period of time over a week, ) and sadly, basically til your second wash... Ugh I was devastated, but it's not worth having to buy and reapply and spend all the money and effort into something that YOU KNOW is gonna wash out next time.. ugh.. if Manic fixed that issue, my review rating will be flying up to a 5, asap!

My hair needs a little break from lightening but usually colors do not take to my natural hair. which is a real pain to try to maintain. Tried this over 3my already lightened part with the roots growing out and I think it looks great. The hair that hadn't been lightened is a dull denim color, but I like it. I've done 2 clarifying washes and I'm stunned it didn't dull it out as much as expected. And where it had been lightened it is still blazing blue. As with all semi-dyes I know it wont last bright forever, but if you already know that's part of the cycle of hair this is one of the stand-outs for longevity.

I've been using this ManicPanic since since 2009 - fun, easy, & my hair loves it. I have dark brown - going grey -curly hair and I don't bleach/lift my natural colors for this direct dye product. My results show in the image: the grey picks up lots of color & the brown darkens a bit with a blue overtone. If you're looking for a more even and deeper saturation of color on dark hair you'll have to lift it, and Manic Panic has a product for that. Using the right hair coloring accessories is vitally important: disposable ear covers, disposable head cover, coloring brush, gloves (suggest double gloving), petroleum jelly for hairline, special product for removing dye from skin, a color safe surface (it will permanently stain a lot of surfaces, so protect your sink & countertop), a hair dye cape (I use a large black plastic bag with holes cut for arms & head - funky but great value), a heat cap (the collapsable kind the use a hair dryer works well - application of heat stops color from bleeding onto fabrics, etc, once dry so I consider this essential), and sulfate free shampoo & conditioner. Sally Beauty carries a line called "ion" specially formulated for colored hair & it's excellent. Limit shampooing for longer color; cultivate 3rd & 4th day hair & when washing/rinsing use only cool water. I have read that subsequent applications of heated styling tools will change the tone and shorten the life of the color; the tradeoff is worth it for me. I avoid the high cost of salon coloring, the range of toxic chemicals that are in most permanent colors (for my as well as the planet), and deliberately shift my blue tone among the range of blue that Manic Panic provides. The image is of Shocking Blue. IF YOU GET THIS ON FABRICS - CLOTHES, SHOWER CURTAIN, TOWEL, etc - IT WILL NOT COME OUT! I have a black bath towel as part of my dye tool kit. Do not hop into the shower for the rinse out or your body will be streaked with blue! A stainless steel sink is perfect; leaning into a fiberglass tub/shower to rinse will result in a lot of tub clean up & the color might not come off that surface at all. You should read all of the directions to determine the best place for you to use this product.