Monday 16 July 2012

Manic Panic's Vampire Red Review

Hey everyone, this is going to be a detailed review on Manic Panic's Vampire Red Semi-permanent hair dye. If you just want a quick review then scroll down to the Pros and Cons portion on this review.

About Manic Panic

Manic Panic's Vampire Red hair dye

This is just quick knowledge about what I've heard about Manic Panic.
Manic Panic does not test on animals; In fact their products are vegan! Manic Panic has a wide range of colours.


This is most of Manic Panic's regular hair colours. They also have them in amplified for a brighter colour.

Manic Panic sells a wide range of products. Manic Panic's list of products. Now for BRIGHT results, you will want to use the bleaching kit. Manic Panic normally recommends for you to bleach your hair before using their products. I didn't bleach my hair because I was at a light brown but if my hair was any darker I'd probably have to bleach it.

A lot of Manic Panic users say that you can leave in the hair dye overnight while you sleep since the hair dye is vegan and has no harsh chemicals. It also leaves the best results.

Manic Panic is a semi-permanent hair dye which means it lasts for 20-30 washes basically.

About Me

So, about a month ago I decided I wanted bright red hair. I didn't want to permanently dye my hair red, I wanted something that eventually washed out. That is when I got started on the idea of using Manic Panic. I saw a few Youtube videos on people using it and how it turned out and people with my colour hair at the time (light brown) got great results! I chose Vampire Red since (as you can see in the pictures above) that it looked darker then the rest of the red hair dyes. I was only looking for a semi-bright hair dye. Nothing too crazy. So my sister bought the dye. It cost $15 but my sister got 30% off of it. She purchased 2 bottles since I've always needed 2 boxes of a regular dye (I have very thick hair).

This is my light brown hair colour before dying my hair bright red.

Manic Panic Hair Dying Process

So at around 7:00am one Saturday morning I decided to go for it.
First I put on my hair dye shirt (old plaid button up shirt) I definitely recommend using a button up shirt because they are easy to take off since you don't have to pull it over your head.

Next I gathered everything I needed: Hair dye, bowl, brush, gloves, saran wrap, shower cap, and an old towel.

I applied the Manic Panic hair dye all over my head. Since everyone seemed to leave the hair dye on for a very long time. I decided to put on a shower cap and wrap my head with saran wrap just in case and go back to bed until 9:00am. I believe I ended up waking up after 9:00am.

I then went into the shower and washed my hair.
Now, normally when I wash out hair dye, I wait for the water to run clear before I get out of the shower. This was not happening. This stuff bleeds like no other. Now not only does it bleed but it stains! I spilled a tiny bit of it on my counter as I was dying my hair, I was quick to wipe it up and it still stained my counter pink (my mom is not happy with me). In the shower from washing my hair, the grout, and soap is stained pink. This does not make me very happy.

I got out of the shower and my hair was dripping pink water and stained my old towel. So I definitely couldn't lie down. After doing my hair and everything my hair was still very soft. A few parts were dried out but considering I left it on for a couple hours, it felt great.
Hair Colour Results

I wanted my hair to be a very dark subtle red. But it didn't turn out that way.

This is my hair the day I dyed it.

I now wash my hair every 2-3 days mostly. So take that into consideration when looking at photos of me in the next few weeks after.

This is my hair about a week after dying it.
This is my hair about a month after dying it (current colour)

So currently my ends and back of my hair are light brown and the rest is still a fairly bright red. I wanted this hair colour to completely fade out of my hair but it hasn't and I can tell that it won't.
I will be dying my hair today or tomorrow again and no I will NOT be using Manic Panic. Look below at Pro's and Con's to find out why.

Pro's
  • Colour came out vibrant
  • Only needed one tub for my hair
Con's
  • Bleeds a lot
  • Fades fairly quickly and in a weird way
  • Doesn't fade completely out of your hair
  • Expensive ($15 per jar)
  • Stained my shower and countertop and stains everything
Overall

I will not be purchasing this again, this product is too expensive considering to maintain the colour you will have to dye your hair every 2-3 weeks.

Okay, I lied. I will probably be using it again. Only because my sister bought me 2 tubs of hair dye and I can't return it. Otherwise I would not use it again.

Next I plan on Trying L'oreal Hicolor Hilights for dark hair only in Red

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