Help Me Look More Like Ronald McDonald!

February 15, 2008 11:59 AM

My theoretically bright red hair dye has turned my hair the color of Barbie's dream pony. Looking for help to get the color I actually wanted and stop looking like I stole Britney's favorite wig.

I just dyed my naturally medium brown hair Manic Panic Pillarbox Red after bleaching with Manic Panic Flash Lightning. Prior to this, my hair was "virgin". Followed the instructions, left it on long enough, etc.

It is not red, but screamingly pink, like this. I hate anything pink, so this perturbs.

What I would like is a deep, true red. I want firetrucks and stop signs and tomatoes.

I was wondering if anyone had experience in what color/product I should use over the pink to get there. An orange, maybe? "Pillarbox Red" seems to be the least pink red that Manic Panic offers, so just using some more of it doesn't seem like it would help.

Since that is the least-pink red they offer, would I maybe be better off going for the most fire-enginey of the "natural" red colors that are available in store brands?

Thanks for any help you can offer...

posted by Gianna to clothing, beauty, & fashion (20 comments total)

Assuming that the bleach did get your hair fully light:

Did you use shampoo or conditioner after the bleach? The bleaching not only lightens the hair, but also roughens it and opens up the cuticle. This is necessary for the dye to better penetrate the hair. If you conditioned your hair (or used a shampoo with hair-strengthening whatzits), you effectively closed it off to the dye.

Leave in the dye longer next time. Manic Panic is like a super conditioner. There is absolutely no harm in leaving it in as long as you like. Some folks even wrap their head and keep it overnight. That's a bit too long for my tastes or convenience, but an hour plus is best. Wrap your hair in some plastic wrap, and do some household chores or whatever.

Wash out the dye with the coldest water you can stand. The warmer the water, the more dye will rinse out. Don't shampoo.
posted by explosion at 12:09 PM on February 15

Oops, hit submit too soon.

For now, in your case, if you simply didn't wait long enough, put some more dye onto the hair and let it sit for another hour or longer.

If you conditioned after the bleach, use the most drying shampoo possible, the kind that strips your hair of oils, and then dye again, for over an hour.

If your hair is very coarse and strong, you can try bleaching again, but for a shorter time, as you're only looking to open the cuticle, not remove anymore color. If you have thinner hair, you might end up weakening it too much. In all cases, avoid your roots as much as possible. Damaging the hair doesn't matter too much, it grows back; damaging the follicles is a bad thing. Then, of course, dye again.

Personal experience: I have dark, coarse, near-black straight hair, and I've bleached it (longer than recommended because otherwise I get orange, not bleach-blond) and then used Pillarbox Red to a very red look. Be prepared to re-dye relatively often, I found that blues lasted longer than reds.
posted by explosion at 12:16 PM on February 15

The only time I've seen a really reddy-red color like a stop sign is with that comb in temporary coloring, not with a hair dye. Most hair dyes seem to be orange brown red, not red-red. If you have bleached your hair and colored it, you might want to go to a salon at this point for a consultation. If you over process your hair it's going to get brittle and turn into straw (been there, done that). Have a professional suggest some things and see if they think that shade you want is even possible in a permanent dye.
posted by 45moore45 at 12:31 PM on February 15

Try Special Effects "Candy Apple Red", or the red that's one shade brighter: it's a deeper color, a very rich red, and should be able to cover the pink. (I use it myself, although over non-bleached hair, where it looks deeper yet.) I would not bleach a second time - that'd be very hard on your hair. I'd also be wary of "normal" hair dyes. Many of them come with bleach, and none of them will give you the bright red you want. They're designed for a comparatively natural look. They're also apt to interact unpredictably with semi-permanent dyes like Manic Panic/Special Effects.

However, general suggestions:
- Use Special Effects, not Manic Panic. It lasts longer. (Relevant experience: 6 years of non-stop hairdying.)
- The previous suggestions regarding shampoo are right. Don't use conditioner in the shower before you dye, and don't use shampoo at all while rinsing it out. (I only shampoo every other shower or so, in order to prolong the life of the dye.)
- Leave the dye in forever, since unlike the bleach, it doesn't hurt your hair. I tend to dye hair right before I go to bed, and wash it out in the morning, when possible.
- Keep the dye damp-ish while it's on your head. Use a shower cap or plastic bag or tin foil, if you want.
posted by ubersturm at 12:49 PM on February 15

Yeah, leave it in longer. Like two hours or more. And it's going to fade -- I have to re-do my blue streaks every couple of weeks, I'm finding, and I'd guess that red fades much quicker. Oh, and I use the curly girl method on my hair and don't use shampoo AT ALL, which probably helps keep it going.

I would use the same color, if that's the one you want. The red is that color pink underneath, if that makes sense. It's going to fade down to that color with age.

You might poke around this livejournal community too.
posted by sugarfish at 12:51 PM on February 15

Use Special Effects, not Manic Panic.

Nthing this. I used manic panic the first time I ever tried to dye my hair purple and ended up with white hair instead. Manic panic is weak sauce. Use special effects or punky color.

Basically everything that ubersturm said.
posted by ZeroDivides at 1:17 PM on February 15

Ah, good old Pillarbox Red. I used this on my hair for about six months of my life. Getting your hair to a true, deep red is doable but the upkeep is a pain!

Start by redying over dry hair and leave it on for a good hour. You might even try blowdrying the colour in. Rinse with cold water. To maintain that sexy red, go as long between shampoos as you can possibly stand. Unfortunately, fading to pink/peach is inevitable, but a new dye job once a month should keep your locks freshly crimson.
posted by exquisite_deluxe at 1:24 PM on February 15

Put a little vinegar in, and leave it in at least an hour, with plastic wrapped around your head to keep the heat in.

I usually buy a cheapish non-ammonia red hair dye at the drugstore, then add a bit of Manic Panic to that, to get great red color.
posted by herbaliser at 1:31 PM on February 15

Oh geez, reading the other comments, I finally identified that lingering suspicion that I couldn't finger when writing my earlier comments.

Use Punky Colour. Manic Panic is just not as good. My best dye jobs were definitely done with Punky Colour.
posted by explosion at 1:37 PM on February 15

Perhaps visit a professional colorist..i've found anything i've tried to do on my own in this arena ends up looking like Barbie's dream pony. It may be costly, but in the end the cost to me in terms of frustration and time is very much worth it.
posted by smart_ask at 1:49 PM on February 15

Nthing Special Effects. I used Blood Red last time I did mine. See some pics here (not of me). I had a shower cap I always used for this process, and would wear it for 1+ hours or until I couldn't stand it anymore. Plus I would use the blowdryer to heat my head up a few times.

I've heard, although not tried, that if you mix some of the leftover color into your hair conditioner, it will help keep the color from fading as quickly.
posted by cabingirl at 2:04 PM on February 15

This is what I learned when I worked at a hair salon.


First, I totally stand behind special effects. Leave it in for a bit then hit it with a HOT hairdryer for a minute or two. Follow with cool air from the hairdryer and let it sit for a bit longer.

The best thing you could also do is put a little bit of the color you use (like the special effects) into your shampoo. It's the same thing that color lasting shampoos like Bumble and Bumble do. Trust me, your color last A LOT longer. Mine lasted for months and months.
posted by Holy foxy moxie batman! at 2:05 PM on February 15

For what it's worth, Manic Panic never seemed to last as long for me as Special Effects. In general though, reds (even more natural reds) seem to have a shorter wash-out time for me.
posted by rinosaur at 2:15 PM on February 15

nthing special effects. my hair looked perfect up until i got a more reasonable color put in. also nthing their primary red, specifically. this is what it washes out to in about six weeks, which is not too awful. apologies for my frightwig, the last pic was taken immediately after a trip to the gym wearing a bandana.
posted by patricking at 3:30 PM on February 15

Start by redying over dry hair and leave it on for a good hour. You might even try blowdrying the colour in.

Yep- plastic wrap plus hot hairdryer. The heat helps to further open up the cuticle. Be sure to put a black pillowcase on your pillow, because it's going to turn pink otherwise. Amphigory's Special Effects swatches link to customer galleries, so you can get a pretty good idea of what you'll get.
posted by oneirodynia at 3:52 PM on February 15

Thirding the suggestion to leave the dye on longer (I used both manic panic and punky color back in the day) and then blow dry to set. I would wrap my hair, post dye application, in a plastic shower cap and let it set for 1 - 2 hours then use a super ancient old fashioned bonnet style hair dryer found at a thrift store to set the dye even more - I could get a good fire engine red that way although pink was a better color on me...
posted by rosebengal at 4:02 PM on February 15

There is not a combination of colors that mix to create a deep red, red is a primary, to deepen red add a very small amount of blue. what you need is a concentration of red pigments I recommend Elumen because it is so durable especially the red RR.
posted by hortense at 8:39 PM on February 15

Yet another vote for Special Effects. Blood Red has worked particularly well for me.
posted by streetdreams at 8:46 PM on February 15

Thank you guys very much for all the help! I left the dye on for hours and hours, so I'm suspecting that Explosion is correct about the shampoo I used to get the bleach out having Seekrit Conditioners in it.

I will definitely try "Special Effects" and a less ninja shampoo. Thanks!
posted by Gianna at 10:38 AM on February 16

OK, this advice is circa 1994, but can you find Punky Colours (John Frieda, I think)? Manic Panic was always S**t in my book. Punky Colors was the only brand that ever got my hair really, really red, blue, purple, or green. Manic Panic was shit back then, every time, even though the poseur punks liked to use it.

Damn. On preview others have recommended Punky Colours. But still, it was the best on my extremely bleached hair. No comparison to Punky Colours in longetivity or brightness on my hair, which is naturally black-brown, and which was, for several months, to my delight: Fire Engine Red.
posted by andeluria at 3:00 AM on February 17