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Has anyone tried manic panic?

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I'd like to dye my hair with it (not all, just a lil bit) but first I'd like to know how many washes before it fades away? And is it possible to make a certain color lighter? Really like the pink flamingo color hue, but I'd prefer a pastel tone for it.
 
Hello! I've used manic panic before. I wouldn't recommend it if you're not going to bleach your hair. It's definitely good for your hair, but the color was basically gone after one wash for me. If you want pastel I would recommend ion hair dye. I know they have some pastel or lighter colors, and my friend uses them to have pastel pink hair, and it stays for a good while.
 
Hello! I've used manic panic before. I wouldn't recommend it if you're not going to bleach your hair. It's definitely good for your hair, but the color was basically gone after one wash for me. If you want pastel I would recommend ion hair dye. I know they have some pastel or lighter colors, and my friend uses them to have pastel pink hair, and it stays for a good while.
Is bleaching really necessary? It damages the hair a lot. And my hair is dark blonde, it absorbs dye pretty well.
 
Is bleaching really necessary? It damages the hair a lot. And my hair is dark blonde, it absorbs dye pretty well.

Your hair will probably be fine, but the pink may be a bit darker than you want. I've tried the pink and purple manic panic on my brown hair and it did absolutely nothing. Blue made it black. Red worked really well on my hair though and I can tell you that the color comes out in the shower and gets on your towels and pillows if your hair is wet after pretty much every wash. I had to re-apply the color every 1-2 weeks, but I did that for years... It didn't damage my hair at all. I started using boxed dye after that and my hair was naturally an orange color for years because of the damage.
 
I've never used it but I've helped my friend apply it. It lasts a really long time for her because she rarely washes her hair with shampoo, if anything she uses dry shampoo or baking soda to maintain it. Btw it's not as gross as it sounds. Once your hair gets used to not being washed with shampoo it will go to a natural oil state so it's not that bad. She also mixes some of the purple toner color into her shampoo when she does use it to maintain it. I don't know how dark blond your hair is, but bleaching was definitely necessary for my friend because she has black hair and if it's not bleached the nice pinky color turns orange very quickly. I wish I had more personal experiences to share but this is just from what my friend has told me :p
 
If you want a pastel tone though, you'd probably have to bleach it.

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I've never used it but I've helped my friend apply it. It lasts a really long time for her because she rarely washes her hair with shampoo, if anything she uses dry shampoo or baking soda to maintain it. Btw it's not as gross as it sounds. Once your hair gets used to not being washed with shampoo it will go to a natural oil state so it's not that bad. She also mixes some of the purple toner color into her shampoo when she does use it to maintain it. I don't know how dark blond your hair is, but bleaching was definitely necessary for my friend because she has black hair and if it's not bleached the nice pinky color turns orange very quickly. I wish I had more personal experiences to share but this is just from what my friend has told me :p

I'm so jealous of people who don't have to wash their hair. I tried washing my hair 1-2 times a week for an entire year and it was just gross the entire time, it never got better... I really wanted it to work and I was so dedicated to it. I have REALLY thick hair though.
 
Ty everyone for your input, I'll have to think this over a lot, lol... I might need to bleach anyway eventually because I have to dye my hair and it doesn't look good when dyed normally... I get a copper hue I hate every time I do.
 
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If you want a pastel tone though, you'd probably have to bleach it.

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I'm so jealous of people who don't have to wash their hair. I tried washing my hair 1-2 times a week for an entire year and it was just gross the entire time, it never got better... I really wanted it to work and I was so dedicated to it. I have REALLY thick hair though.

Try dealing with hair that not only gets greasy quickly but is also very thin. Seriously, I need to backcomb my hair just to get it to a normal volume as nothing else works for me.

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Ty everyone for your input, I'll have to think this over a lot, lol... I might need to bleach anyway eventually because I have to dye my hair and it doesn't look good when dyed normally... I get a copper hue I hate every time I do.

Have you tried silver shampoo? It's great for getting the copper colour out and can make it easier to get lighter/pastel colours.
 
Try dealing with hair that not only gets greasy quickly but is also very thin. Seriously, I need to backcomb my hair just to get it to a normal volume as nothing else works for me.

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Have you tried silver shampoo? It's great for getting the copper colour out and can make it easier to get lighter/pastel colours.
I didn't know that existed, I'll check if it's available in my country, ty.
 
if you really want a pure pastel, you will need to bleach it or at least just tone out all of the yellow/copper
i have tried red passion from manic panic and the initial color that showed up did not last more than 1-2 washes
 
It works nicely but does wash out pretty fast. For me it took just a few washes. But it can also change the color of your hair to an odd shade permanently... My sister did some fire truck red on the lower half of her hair for the half and half look when she puts up her hair, but it was the first and only time she dyed her hair and it left it a weird muted version of her natural color... like it grows out like that now. When I used some black to dye my tips when I was in school when it washed out it turned my natural hair color where it was applied into a pukey green brown color... thankfully after a cut it was gone but it really sucked. If you're looking for a more pastel color you can "thin" it with some white conditioner. But like others have said it's just going to pretty much be a "wash" over your hair and wont be truly pastel unless you bleach.
 
Brass=/=copper all the time. It sounds more like she needs to bleach her hair to a lighter color through the orange/copper phase. Also you have to use bleach with color because it opens up the shaft of the hair so that the dye can actually penetrate it and not just sit on the outside, which makes it get all over your pillows and towels.

Bleaching your hair isn't that bad for it if you are just bleaching it to open up the hair, aka just a vol 10 developer, but if you want that copper out, you are going to have to bleach it with a stronger developer for a longer time, which will be more damage.
 
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I'm a licensed hair stylist, so I could't resist giving this science lesson >.> Prepare for a wall of text. That being said, here you go.

Manic Panic makes temporary dyes which are either semi-permanent (lasting 4 to 6 shampoos, potentially longer depending on the color you choose) or demi-permanent (lasting 4 to 6 weeks, again, maybe longer depending on the color).

Because semi and demi permanent dyes don't alter the natural pigment in your hair at all (rather, they sit on the outside of your hair, and are gradually washed away over time), you can't use them to make your hair any lighter; they can only darken your hair or add tone to your existing hair color. If you don't pre-lighten your hair before applying temporary dyes, the color won't be what is advertised on the bottle; it'll be that color mixed with your existing hair color, which will likely either muddy up the color, or prevent it from being visible at all if your hair is darker.

Keep in mind, however, that lightening your hair and applying high-pigment dyes like Manic Panic can cause the color you choose to hang around a lot longer, especially if you apply the dye immediately after lightening your hair. This is because lightener contains ammonia, which forces open the cuticle (the clear, scaly outermost protective layer of your hair that is responsible for your hair looking shiny) so that the peroxide in the developer can enter the cortex of the hair (where pigment is stored) and dissolve the natural or artificial pigment. Unless the pH of the hair is restored to normal, the cuticle of the hair can remain open for up to 3 days, so be sure to use a shampoo and conditioner meant for color treated hair. That will bring the pH of the hair back to normal, allow the cuticle to close and prevent the temporary dye from entering the cortex of your hair at all.

Also, if you choose to lighten your hair, keep in mind that different parts of your hair lighten at different rates. The roots of your hair lighten faster because the heat from your scalp accelerates the chemical reaction of the ammonia and peroxide. Because the ends of your hair are the oldest and typically most damaged part of your hair with the least in tact cuticle, they will also lighten faster. This means you'll want to start applying the lightener about half an inch to one inch away from your roots, and apply it down to the last inch to two inches of your ends. When you're almost to the degree of lightness you want, you can then apply the lightener to your roots and ends because by the time the midshaft is finished lightening, the roots and ends will have caught up and everything should be even.

Also, to create a pastel color out of a high pigment dye you really like, you can use a clear base to dilute it. The ratio of clear base to pigmented dye is up to you, but for really light colors, you'll only need a fraction of the amount of dye you'd usually use. I'd recommend doing a test strand first (take a small amount of hair, apply the dye, process for the recommended time, shampoo and observe, using a white towel as a background to make the color more visible), that way you can adjust the formula before applying it to a larger area.

I hope this helps if you're dead set on doing it yourself, though I ALWAYS recommend you let a professional do it because there are so many factors that can affect the way your hair color comes out in the end. And, if you're only dying a small area, you certainly won't be charged the same price as all over color. You can also bring in the dye you'd like to use, and have your stylist use it rather than whatever their salon carries.

I'd only recommend doing that for temporary dyes, however, as permanent dyes behave differently, and different brands of permanent dyes go by varying level systems and have different tonal characteristics (meaning that one brand's 6C/R (dark blond/ copper/ red) may look entirely different from another brand's 6C/R).
 
I wouldn't recommend manic panic at all. I've only used it once and my hair was white when I dyed it, and it washed out after a few showers. The best dye I've used is color ion brilliance, they sell it at Sallys and the color lasts a long time.
 
Used it ten years ago and honestly wouldn't recommend it. The colour becomes dull within a couple of washes and constant DIY dye jobs to maintain it can really mess up your hair.
 
Yes. I hate it. It's vegan so it doesn't bond well to the hair. It will fade fast, and it will stain your pillowcase.
 
lemme tell u manic panic is AMAZING if u want stained hair for the rest of ur life. i regularly bleach me hair (every summer) and i decided to go green using emerald forest. my hair was so damaged that it STAINED BLUE. i had to dye it dark brown over it and i still can't get it out. i dyed it in august last year.

if your hair's light enough, manic panic works pretty well without bleaching. you can achieve results if you have dark hair as well. but if you want a pastel shade, you will probably only be able to achieve this by bleaching. but of course it depends on how light/dark your hair is.

if you're looking for something that will wash out in a couple of washes, i wouldn't recommend manic panic. i have used it in the past and it is a good hair dye brand, but even when my hair wasn't deceased it took a good 6-8 weeks to fade to a somewhat decent colour.

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why did it wash out of eVERYBODY ELSE'S HAIR EXCEPT MINE??????????????

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every time i've used manic panic, it hasn't budged so i had to use more bleach
 
i HATE manic panic. i had it in for like a month before it started washing out and it left behind a disgusting green tone to my hair (i had blue dye, not sure how it became green? maybe because i had that weird brassy colour.) and i ended up bleaching the hell out of my hair just to get rid of it.
i used a more professional over it and there's no more green in my hair.
 
It depends on the color you want. I think pink would fade after a couple washes. 2 if you hair doesn't hold color well and maybe 5 if it does.
 
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