Special Effects ~ Semi-Permanent Hair Dye ~ Pimpin Purple

I used Special Effects Electric Blue SFX Hair Color to do a full color. Before coloring with Electric Blue I had my mouse-brown hair color lifted at the salon with "20 Volume" peroxide developer. I absolutely love the dark solid blue color from this Electric Blue If you're looking for the blue Katy Perry has had, this is it.However, it does fade quickly. Two days after coloring I had patches of purple and gray in my blue, and had to recolor. It does not ever completely set, every shampoo sends more blue down the drain. The first few washings also dye my hands a fingernails blue. Any spec that flicks off my hair and onto the cabinet or counter top leaves a blue dot. I end up scrubbing the bathroom with bleach and scouring powder while half of my hair is covered in color. To keep my color (solid dark blue, without patches or roots) the way I like it I have to touch my hair up after every other wash, and try to wash my hair every 2nd or 3rd day. I was caught out in a rainstorm after the second re-coloring and the dye left big blue splotches on the back of my coat. They did wash out, but I'm glad I was only shopping and not with a client.On the (very) bright side, I've colored and colored and colored my hair with this dye and it is still silky and healthy. Not even enough damage to add much-needed body. It doesn't even smell bad.It is absolutely worth it to buy a package of inexpensive latex medical-type gloves and use them while coloring and in the shower while shampooing after this dye is used. I also spread a thick layer of hair-conditioner around my hairline and inside the rims of my ears to reduce the amount of dye I have to scrub off my skin. I know other people use petroleum jelly, but I want people to notice my hair and not the amazing array of zits circling my face.

Do you have long hair? My daughters is down to the middle of her back. We used three kits of  Manic Panic Flash Lightning Hair Bleach Kit 40 Volume . Three bottles of JEROME RUSSELL Punky Colour Hair Color Crème Platinum Blonde Toner 3.5 oz  --smells like Laffy Taffy and works great! Finally, we used three bottles of  Special Effects SFX Hair Color Hair Dye Cherry Bomb  and bought a fourth for touch ups. My daughter is 24 and has a shirt that says 99% Mermaid. "Advance Prep"Spend at least a month nourishing your hair. Avoid shampooing as often as possible. Try Dry shampoo so your hair develops with natural oils to help protect it from burning on bleach day. Don't brush wet hair. Comb and brush gently and do your best to heal all split ends."Assemble"Order or gather all the tools and products needed for the dye job. We bought a packet that included a nicely sized dye bowl, several dye brushes and hair clips with a handy plastic zip bag for storage. Great product. We also purchased a simple chemical/shampoo cape for my daughter and a vinyl apron for me.Package of 30 ct disposable glovesRoll of paper towelsStack of towels, washclothes and fabric that can be ruinedBlanket that can be ruined50 SPF Children's SunscreenPouf ScrubbyQ-TipsComb with a pointy endAforementioned bleach, toner and dye.Quality shampoo and conditioner--sulfate freePainting Clothes--that can be ruined with dye for Dyee and Dyer"Cut Away"Cut your hair as desired. We cut 4 inches off of my daughter's hair. BLEACH DAY"Set Up"Lay down the blanket, place the chair in the center, cover the chair with towels. Have a table area handy for the person doing the dying and something for the dyee to use too. Lay out ALL your equipment so anything needed will be within reach.Unpack the dye kits but don't open the chemicals until needed."Miss Dye Prevention"Take your time to heavily moisturize the Dyee's Face, neck and chest. And then put on sunscreen too! Use Q-tips to coat the ears careful not to get lotion on hair. Lotion on hands too! Get dressed in disposable clothing and something that buttons up. Dyee puts on gloves and cape. They need gloves too! Really, they can't help it, they will touch the dyed or bleached hair...Dyer must coat their hands and arms in lotion and sunscreen---trust me that dye gets adventurous and tries to get away any where it can. Glove up and put on apron."Lose the natural color"It's Bleach Day after all! FOLLOW WARNINGS ON THE BLEACH KIT.Bleaching. I found it best to bleach the scalp area hair first. Go from side to side until you get the hair next to the scalp all covered. Bouncing from side to side during application helps the bleach work evenly on both sides. Once you think you have all the hair covered next to the scalp--don't try to bleach all the hair at once if it is long or thick--cover in a plastic cap. Almost any hair/head would do better to have the bleach done in at least two stages. The cap helps keep the product moist and it also retains the heat produced by the chemical reaction, possibly improving the bleaching effect."Get Naked!"Once the hair bleached is light colored, straw colored at least, strip! Ask for help. Also, get a new set of gloves for the shower and ask the Dyer to help with the rinse to ensure all the bleach is gone. Dry the hair when done--either overnight or with dryer if you must but I advise a combination of both."Rinse Repeat" Be sure to reapply lotion.Bleach the remaining hair. Rinse and Dry. The second bleach is really good for catching any areas that were missed the first time but do the darkest hair first."De-bronzify"Getting rid of that awful orange. It's really a color trick. By applying a lavender dye you counter the orange. It helps the Cherry Bomb color come out true. Treat the purple like dye. Use lotions, gloves and all other equipment. You can do the whole head in one shot this time."Time to Dye"Really Really careful layout. Make sure you cover everything within range. I cannot stress enough how much this dye escapes and gets around the room and if you get it on the sink handles etc....half a second and it's there forever.Open at least two bottles for long hair, put one at a time into the bowl. Add 1/4cup of water to the dye. It spreads easier and works perfectly at that ratio.Take your time. Really can't take too long unless you leave it on overnight or something. Coat all the hair and use the pick and comb to pick up hair by the scalp to ensure you get every single strand. Get the neck hairs too! Use a damp paper town to wipe off any sloppiness on the Dyee,Hope you did a good job with the sunscreen!! Rinse and scrub away any dye. Rinse and Rinse. Water won't run clear but it gets light pink.Use old towels and towel dry as much as possible. REAPPLY LOTION ASAP. THE DYE WILL STILL LEAVE THE HAIR FOR DAYS ON YOUR NECK, FACE AND EVERYWHERE YOUR HAIR TOUCHES---HANDS WHEN BRAIDING....Use some kind of climate protection and sunscreen to preserve it and you'll be Mermaid red for weeks!I'll publish photos. Her hair looks perfectly red.Take your time, prepare and buy enough product and you'll love the fun results you get from Special Effects Dye!

I have dyed my hair many funky colors but always highlights or chunks never the whole thing. I have very very dark hair that people always ask me if I dye it black. I finally got the courage to just go for it and finally dye my whole head instead of just parts. I had wanted to do it for some time but was scared of the damage that bleaching would do to my hair, because since its so dark it would take a lot of processing.I bleached my hair to a brown,blond,orangey color which i figured would be light enough to catch the dye color. I wanted to go for a natural product for the color because I didn't want to add further chemicals on my hair after the bleaching and i had read that these natural dyes color and help condition the hair as well. After looking around and reading reviews it came down to this or manic panic. I went for the manic panic first but it was a complete failure to be written about in another review lol. I waited for the manic begin to wash out and then re-bleached and ordered this product.~ OK firt thing first this is WAY too pricey. I have long layered hair down to my waist so at $14.95 plus shipping (the price when i bought it) it was a very costly endeavor since it took 3 bottles of dye.~ I had read reviews that this stuff gets on EVERYTHING and they were 100% right. I dyed my hair in the yard to keep from staining anything in the house. The concrete which is painted dark green now has a big purple stain from were i rinsed my hair. I rinsed with the hose for about 20 min and the water was still coming out purple. Eventually i got tired and figured it would ok to go rinse in the shower since most of the color was gone. Well i was WRONG. My shower curtain is purple and there is a light lavender tint on on my tub that doesnt go away no matter how hard i scrub. In preventive measures i had covered my face with a lot petroleum jelly and that helped a lot because the rest of me looked like a big purple bruise. It went away after about two days which wasnt too bad. i just had to wear long sleeves and jeans and keep my hair down to cover ears and neck. I died my hair 3 weeks from writing this review and What really annoys me is that its still bleeding. My ears are always purple and so are my brushes and pillow cases. Even my hands turn purple when i handle my hair granted it washes off right away but its still very annoying. I cant wear any white clothes because even when dry hair still stains things.~ The color is nice a bright purple( a shade thats more on the red than on the blue spectrum, but definitely purple and pretty) on the parts of my hair that were bleached to an almost white. On the rest of my hair which had only been processed to that orangey brown blond it looks almost black. Its noticeable when I am outdoors in the sunlight and it looks lovely. I love the color, i just wish it were more noticeable indoors under more subdued lighting and that it showed up in pictures.~ What i really like about this product is that it did condition my hair. I have always taken good care of hair and try as much as possible to keep my dark locks as smooth silky and healthy as possible. After I bleached my hair it felt coarse and dry and brittle and i just hated it. After I applied this hair dye (which i left on my hair for about 3 hrs) my hair felt manageable and it has a nice luster to it which i wasnt expecting. It doesnt look dry and as coarse as some other dyes would leave it looking. Obviously after processing my hair will never be as healthy as it was but this did condition it nicely and left it with a bit of shine.This was my first time using this product and I am not sure if I will again. What really makes me think twice about purchasing this again is the bleeding. I have never used a product that bled for this long , and for that matter stained things even after its dry. These are my thoughts and my experience with special effects pimpin purple hair dye. Hope this helps :)

It wasn't what I expected or wanted.