Hair colour help!

[byonic_girl]

hey all, i'm looking for a good brand of hair colour that will LAST!  I'm planning on getting the under layer of my hair bleached, then dying it fushia or purple then streaking my hair with the same colour.  I'm getting this professionally done (mainly because i'm terrified of messing up my hair!), so are there any good brands you can recommend?  This is the first real "crazy" colour i've done.  Thanks in advance!

P.S.  I work at Toys R Us, and I already cleared it with my manager.  I told her i'd keep it up in a ponytail while at work so people don't freak.  Have to keep up a relatively "professional" image.

[recondite]

crazy colors like that dont stay and i hate to say it but any and all color fades.  ask your stylist to do it for you.  redken and pravanna (used by professionals ONLY) make really good crazy colors (they stay alot longer than manic panic becuase they have to be mixed with peroxide).

Also, your shampoo and conditioner depend on the fading of your color.  if you are using anything from the grocery store, STOP USING IT!!!  those products are not acidic enough for your hair (your shampoo/conditioner should be the pH of your skin which is 4.5 to 5.5 and thats acidic.  store shampoos are usually around a pH of 11.)  store shampoos lift the cuticle on the hair and makes the color fade faster.

try looking for pureology, aquage (sea extend)<-----you can only get these from exclusive salons---->, kenra (platinum) or Logics DNA (but i think you can get pureology from ulta or beauty brands).  all of these are sulfate free products which will REALLY help the life of your color.  and they are all between 30$-60$ for both.  but its so worth it!! and a little bit goes a really long way with all of these.

hope that was a little help for you!!

[stripey_cat]

Reds and pinks are notoriously difficult to make fast as dyes (on cloth as well as hair).  There is a good reason for this, but it's been a while since I did chemistry so I'll leave it to someone else to explain.

K.

[recondite]

because the dye molecule of red (which is also in pink) is larger then any other.  in essence, it escapes through the cuticle of the hair shaft faster becase the dye molecule is so much larger (and less able to penetrate the hair) then any other primary color (i.e.-blue or yellow).  just the chemistry of any and all red

[cheera]

crazy colors like that dont stay and i hate to say it but any and all color fades.  ask your stylist to do it for you.  redken and pravanna (used by professionals ONLY) make really good crazy colors (they stay alot longer than manic panic becuase they have to be mixed with peroxide).

Gotta disagree. Colors like Special Effects last longer because they stain the hair. An oxidizing color will open the cuticle and therefor invite fading. Manic Panic is crap. I only use Special Effects on my clients -- Goldwell (the color line my salon uses usually) makes nice color, but when it comes to pinks/redred/blue/purple, I go with what will stain the hair and stay vibrant longest because I want my clients to look hot!!

[thescientist]

i've heard amazing things about special effects..it's the next one i'm trying

just finished up a container of manic panic and it's awful. i swear it fades by itself without me even having to wash it (especially seems so as it was much redder in a part of my frienge that was sitting under the rest of my hair). manic panic also stains EVERYTHING.

my hairdressers use affinage in raunchy red on me which is better than manic panic as it stays in much better, doesn't fade unless you wash it and washes out of towels/pillows/clothes really easily which is great.

basically my one tip for getting it to stay in longer is wash your hair less often by using a spray on dry shampoo like klorane oat shampoo which stops the greasiness.

i've had bright red hair for more than 3 years now and it's worth all the effort (especially if you can make friends with hairdressers and have them use you as a hair model for apprentices to practice on and for hair shows so you get it for free or much cheaper..i know thats what i do)