Does Splat fall flat?

November 10, 2010 7:03 AM

Does anyone have experience with "Splat" hair dye? Specifically "Lusty Lavender". How does it compare to Manic Panic?

Long, long ago, when I was an awesome punk, I ran the gamut of hair colours with Manic Panic. I love Manic Panic and it loves me, my hair was never dry or coarse and I had a schedule for washing that ensured lasting colour. Trouble is, I can't find it any more. So I bought a colour kit from Splat. It includes a bleach and colour (purple, my favourite).
Can I expect similar results with this kit? Should I have bought a separate bleach? I used to use Blondissima extra potency bleach (my hair is fine, dark brown, but not currently holding any dyes so I can't imagine even a weak bleach wouldn't wipe out enough colour to get a nice shade.) My plan is a couple wide streaks (foiled) hidden in the layers.
The other option is a separate bleach and Jerome Russell Punky hair colour (which I also have no experience with). Would that be better?

posted by Carlotta Bananas to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (11 answers total)

Ha, I just bought one of these from the drug store like two days ago, and was combing the internet for reviews. You can find them all over youtube (apparently, the company was sponsoring a contest, so I'd take the videos with a small grain of salt, but it gives you a definite idea of their range of results). My impression is that the bleach works somewhat differently than most (the developer is a very low potency), and that the dye itself is very messy--which is why I ended up not using it right now, as I'm in a rented apartment--but incredibly long-lasting. It is, apparently, nearly impossible to get out. The purple that comes in the kit sounds more like a pale lavender color than any sort of blazing purple, but the pictures I've seen online make it look quite pretty.

Some other hair dye thoughts: I actually started out using Punky colours in high school, and liked it quite a bit more than Manic Panic. It smells nice, lasts about as long, and I never encountered a color that didn't work (unlike Manic Panic--damn you, cotton candy pink and the fact that you do nothing to my hair). I'm also a big fan of adore brand hairdye, which you can find at most Asian beauty supply stores for about two bucks. If you can't find Manic Panic, try Sally's Beauty Supply. You can also try Hot Topic for brands like Special Effects.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 7:16 AM on November 10, 2010

A friend of mine used Splat for quite awhile - she said it IS significantly messier than Manic Panic, but the color does turn out admirably super-intense. Also, she highly recommended treating your hair with some translucent "glossing" stuff (basically, pigment-free hair dye) AFTER finishing up with the bright color. She said it kind of sealed in the color, made it last longer and prevented it from getting neon dribbles all over her clothes if she went walking in the rain immediately post-dye.
posted by julthumbscrew at 7:23 AM on November 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

I have used Manic Panic, Splat, Punky Colour and the Hot Topic brand in various shades of purple and blue. Out of those, I like Punky Colour the best.

When I used the Splat - I didn't use the bleach that came in the box since I had my own, so I am not sure how well that works. I think the color was Lusty Lavender. It was a really pretty lightish purple at first, but it faded to pink in a few weeks - which was not what I wanted. I did not leave it on for that long though, so it may have had an effect on fading.

The Hot Topic brand was pretty, but my hair bled dye after every washing for at least a month and the colors didn't look as nice when they faded.

I recently switched to Punky Colours from Manic Panic and I love it. The colours are much more vibrant and last so much longer. It is a bit messier and harder to rinse than Manic Panic, but I find it is worth it. It does bleed dye after showering for at least a week though. I may have to look into that glossing stuff julthumbscrew's friend uses.
posted by Lapin at 7:37 AM on November 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

I haven't tried Splat, but now I want to! I mainly use Special Effects and really like it, find it lasts a long time and they have lots of great colors.

I get bleaching materials from beauty supply shops where I can buy the supplies in bulk and don't really have a brand I particularly like or dislike.
posted by rosa at 7:45 AM on November 10, 2010

Response by poster: Thanks for the tips so far, keep 'em coming! I like the idea of gloss, I'll have to try it.

I guess I should specify that the reason I can't find Manic Panic is because I'm in a tiny town with only two drug stores and no visible punks. I'm two hours away from the nearest big city where I might find other brands, so for now, Splat and Jerome Russell are literally the only options and I'm looking for a comparison of the two (and Manic Panic since it's my.. reference.. That's not the word I'm looking for, but you know what I'm talking about.)
posted by Carlotta Bananas at 7:54 AM on November 10, 2010

I've used all of those brands and Special Effects was by far the best. I wanted to go "nuclear red" and I have hair that is almost black. I used a bleach kit from Hot Topic called "white out" and was able to get great results.
What power is your bleach kit? With dark hair it seems you get the best result with Vol 40's. That's what I've used. I've heard the Vol 30's can result in yellowish-orangey hair.

Here is a before, bleached, Raw Fire Red, Special Effect Nuclear Red.
I don't have a pic of the Splat. But it didn't come out looking like the color and it washed out extremely quick.
Raw lasted a few weeks but started looking pinkish. Special Effects lasted for at least a month.

I say order Special Effects off of amazon or something. It's worth waiting and going out of what your town has to offer.
posted by zephyr_words at 8:35 AM on November 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

Crap sorry, Raw Fire Red.
posted by zephyr_words at 8:37 AM on November 10, 2010

I actually dyed a couple of streaks into my hair for Halloween using the Lusty Lavender by Splat. I didn't use the bleach at all, so I can't tell you how that works, but I put the purple over my brown and white mixture hair and left it on for an hour. The hair that started out brown is almost back to normal, but the white hair is still pretty intensely purple (not light lavender at all).
posted by kbuxton at 10:24 AM on November 10, 2010

I've used Splat in red and generally had a good experience with it, but Special Effects is my favorite.
posted by NoraReed at 12:08 PM on November 10, 2010

I love punky colour! I've been dying my hair for years with it - I particularly like that it smells like grape candy, so it isn't nasty to leave in a long time. The longer you leave it in, the better/longer lasting the colour is. When I tried to do that with manic panic, the chemical smell made me queasy, and the colour was lame. I haven't tried splat, but a friend of mine loves special effects, and her hair is pretty spiffy, so it must work well.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 8:28 PM on November 10, 2010

Response by poster: Follow-up: I foiled streaks in, the bleach was as good as any bleach I've used, little to no orangey hue from natural, undyed hair. The purple was a little weird. It was certainly vibrant, the colour held well and when it did start fading a bit almost three weeks after, it turned a nice pinky fuschia instead of washed out purpley-orange (as has happened with previous purples) The thing that was odd was although the application of the purple took no more than 10 minutes and I left it on for almost an hour, some of the streaks didn't hold the colour as well. They all looked equally bright and concentrated at first, but one side of my head started fading before the rest and the one streak in particular looked a month later as though it hadn't faded at all. I don't think the problem was lack of product. I have thin hair and doing only streaks I loaded it up.
I'm back to brown now, I could've done touch ups, there's plenty left in the bottle, but too many people were mistaking me for a teenager. Turns out Lusty Lavender isn't a particularly mature look.

I give it a solid 7/10.
posted by Carlotta Bananas at 3:44 AM on January 3, 2011 [1 favorite]