Manic Panic Vampire Red Question + Second Day Hair

[silverkitty15]

I've been trying for the last several months to get a really RED hair color and after trying three or four different permanent hair colors I decided to give Manic Panic Vampire Red a try. The other "permanent" colors I was using would give me a brilliant red for about a week before it started to fade, four to five weeks and it would turn into a very natural looking brownish red (like slightly orange red). I figured the manic panic would in the very least last a week and since it seems to be more pink based than red it would last maybe a little bit longer. I'm new to it though so I did have a few questions.

1. About how long does it last on unbleached hair? (I shampoo 1 - 2 times a week, natural color a light brown)

2. When if fades what color is it going to turn? I truly don't mind a burgundy but I'm a little worried about it becoming an extremely unpleasant pink.

3. I've been reading that leaving it in for several hours will make it last longer, but how will it affect the color? I don't mind if it just gets redder but since its pink based will it turn more pink than red if I leave it in for a really long time? Just wondering for next application.

4. What would be a good shampoo for it? I currently use John Frieda Radiant Red Shampoo and Conditioner, and Ulta Red Hair Glaze once a week. Would those products be ok for this or would they make it fade faster?

I was also just gonna ask if anyone had any good suggestions for 2nd day hair for curly hair? I have been needing to wet my hair every day to re-style it, but since this dye bleeds so much I'd like to avoid that as much as possible, however I've never managed to get my hair to be a decent curl, it just looks extremely tangled and super frizzy, the only way I can go two days + without wetting it is straightening it =/

Other than that any suggestions on how to make the Manic Panic last longer would be appreciated =) Thanks ahead of time and sorry for the wall of text!

Here is a craptastic picture from the day after using the Manic Panic, the color looks pretty dark here but it turns a really bright Rihanna red in the sun.

[luxepiggy]

CO washing will help the colour last longer, especially if you add a bit of the actual dye to your conditioner. It also helps to wash with tepid, rather than hot, water (^(oo)^)

[Auburn_locks]

I used to use the manic panic vampire red as well so I'll try to answer some of your questions!

1. It really didn't last very long for me. From application to completely faded would be maybe 3 weeks but the actual intense red maybe a little over a week. I found that colour shampoos helped a lot to make it stay.

2. It is definitely pink based as opposed to orange based but I didn't find the faded colour too unpleasant. It didn't really fade to PINK, just a more pinkish red colour. You could try mixing it with one of their other colours (orange, maybe) to reduce the pinkish tones but I never tried mixing them so I'm not sure if that would work!

3. I used to leave mine on for an hour or 2 but I know some people leave it on overnight. It's not damaging at all and I think it will intensify the red and make the colour stay longer (think: more time before it turns pink) It might make the colour slightly darker but also definitely redder.

4. I think using red shampoos is a good idea. I once used some natural shampoo that I bought from the body shop which was brilliant for my chemically coloured hair but stripped the manic panic out almost completely. Avoid clarifying shampoos and harsh shampoos like anti-dandruff ones. Try to wash as infrequently as possible (you're already doing this one quite well)

One more thing - be careful in the rain! I was at a theme park with DBF and it started raining but we ignored it as we were nearly at the front of the queue and after 5 mins I had pink running all down my face and onto my clothes. Not good!

Good luck with maintaining the colour, it looks really nice on you!

[boomtownrat]

I second luxepiggy's suggestion of CO washing. When I was still dyeing my hair red (note: I wasn't using Manic Panic, but have used Punky Colours in the past), CO washing helped the colour last much longer. CO, if I understand correctly, was primarily intended to be a curly-head method. It could also help enhance your curls even on the second day.

Leaving the Manic Panic in longer shouldn't do anything other than possibly deepen the colour and help it last longer. I knew somebody who would leave it in overnight and others who wrap their head in plastic wrap and a towel, so that body heat helps it "process" (I'm not sure if that's the right word in this situation, since it's a vegetable-based dye, but you know what I mean).

[silverkitty15]

Alright thank you guys, its good to know it won't fade too pink, as long as it doesn't turn into a faded hot pink of sorts I can deal with it! I'll give co-washing a try, from what I understand of it I'll have to cut back on hair products? I recently switched to a hair gel but it builds up a lot on my hair, so I guess I'll have to go back to hairspray to avoid it. I really appreciate it, I don't know anyone personally that uses Manic Panic and everything I've found online is for bleached hair rather than unbleached!

[Quezie]

I use henna, and then put a temporary dye (like manic panic) over top of the henna, so that as the temporary dye fades, my hair is still very red due to the henna.

It's a little bit more upkeep as you have to continue to henna your roots as they grow in and then reapplying the temporary dye as well, but it's well worth it for me.

[silverkitty15]

I thought about using Henna for a while, I really like the color it turns if you have been using it long enough but I think its a little too permanent for me. I want permanent, like several months permanent, but from what I heard henna really, really stays, and I wouldn't be able to dye hair later to something else if I did want to change later on down the line.

[ApatheticFairy]

Quezie, how do you get your color; what Henna do you use? That color is stunning.