Manic Panic Dye on Natural Hair (Afro/Ethnic)

Hello Everyone!
Meaning to do this post almost 2 months ago but wanted to wait :-).

I know there are those Naturals out there who do want to Experiment with color but do not want the Possibility of Breakage or you lightened your hair already with a Developer/Bleach and would like to add some Color without adding more harsh chemicals. Here comes in Manic Panic Semi-Permanent Hair Dye.

If you don't have any lightening in your hair don't fret. You can get color using this product but you will need to let it sit longer.

NOTE: IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR POROSITY IN YOUR HAIR IS, IF IT IS LOW AND YOU HAD A HARD TIME GETTING MANIC PANIC TO STAY THEN I SUGGEST YOU DO IT ON CLEAN DRY HAIR AND ALSO USE A HEAT CAP TO OPEN UP THE HAIR CUTICLE. IF YOU NEED TO SLEEP WITH IT OVERNIGHT THEN DO SO! If you're afraid of damage don't be.

Now I'm not big on Semi-Dyes because they Bleed. As in the color rinses out/comes out as you wash your hair. Depending on the Brand and color (as well as what you put in your hair) will depend on how long it lasts in your hair before completely fading to a off-lighter color further from the original. But I got bored with my Blonde. I had been growing my roots out as I tried to make up my mind on what I wanted to do with my hair. Finally I decided I wanted a Red color but nothing permanent until I made up my mind completely.

Manic Panic is NOT Harsh on your hair. It is Vegan Friendly. It's kind of like a Conditioner with Color Dye in it.
You can freely play with the colors and not feel the brittle/dry/fragile results that can come with Chemical dyes right after rinsing out.
You CAN mix the colors to get the Preferred color of your choice and with that Said I HIGHLY suggest doing so since they actually only come in very Vibrant/Bold colors. If you want a Rich Brown, Burgundy, you will need to mix Colors.

With that said, I wanted a Burgundy so I bought Vampire Red which is one of the Darkest Reds they have. It is a very Crimson/Bloody Red color on it's own. Purple Haze is their Standard/Dark Purple.

Materials Needed:
Dye(s) of your Choice
Gloves
Bowl to Mix if you are using more than 1 color and need to Blend it.
Color Brush (it does help) if you don't want to just use your hands.
Styling Cape or Your Least Favorite Shirt.

I used a Styling Cape. As well as I had Hair Wrap papers I never used so they came in handy for me to tie around my neck.

Side Note: I would not Wash this out in your Tub or you will need to get a good cleaning agent to help get the staining out. If you have a Stainless Steel Sink or a Basement with a Sink you use for Washing clothes, etc I would rinse/wash your head in there. At least for the first 1-2 times you need to wash your head.

I wasn't sure how much of what color I would need so I slowly mixed each color together until I got the Ideal color I liked:

I actually did end up using a 1:1 Ratio with both Colors. I thought it would be a 1:2 with Purple being 1 and Red being 2 for the color I wanted, I actually purchased 2 Vampire Reds because my hair is thick, I wasn't sure how it would be.

Now since I did use BOTH Colors, that was 2 Containers used. I have 4B/4C Hair and it is thick. So don't let my Shrinkage fool you on my Length! If you have Short/Fine hair then 1 is Plenty. If it is thick, get 2 Containers if you are not Mixing.

Applying:

For best Results I would apply this to clean dry hair. There are no harsh chemicals. You don't have that chemical smell with this product so you don't need a product barrier on your strands. Again this is like a Conditioner with Dye. The Cleaner the hair, the better the results and deeper the color is saturated on your strands.

I don't do Strand Tests. I am a big risk taker, why yes I am, lol. This is the color compared to the blonde of my hair and my Towel which is a Black/Purple-Burgundy color.

My whole head now with the color and I let this marinate on my head for about 2-3 Hours. The longer you let it set under a Cap the better the color will stay.

For Washing, all the Color will not wash out. You to Rinse your hair with a Cool/Warm water. I did use a Shampoo to get some of the color out but that is not Recommended. You keep rinsing your hair until the Water is mostly clear.

Results:

My Hair after 6 weeks:

The Color is holding up pretty well. I Shampoo every 2 weeks. Co-Wash Mid-Week/Once a week.

And here's my hair from the Weekend:

Webcam Picture but it actually does show the Fading well. The color is still there but it is faded. I will probably do a Touch-Up Next Weekend.
Hope this is Helpful :-).

Product Review: As I Am - Coconut Cowash

Hello!

I haven't forgotten about this place or my visitors. Please trust that. I've actually been busy with trying to Aim at more Hair Related Topics and I can't really review Hair Products if my own hair is not in Tip-Top shape. Especially if I am reviewing for my fellow Curly/Coily haired Beauties!

A month ago or so I actually Dyed my hair Burgundy.

As you see only my hair that had the Blonde in it is where you can really see it. And sorry for the crazy hair, this was a 4 day Two-Strand twist that was flat (kept hair tied up) that I Untwisted. This is from yesterday, so the Color has washed some, but it's still very Vibrant. I'm debating if I want to keep it. It's a Temporary Dye, I used Manic Panic which is a GREAT SEMI-PERMANENT DYE if you are a Natural and you want to play with color but afraid of Damage. It's like conditioner with color in it. It will not Damage your hair. I mixed Purple Haze with Vampire Red to achieve my Burgundy.

Enough of that. Onto my Review!

I purchased this Cowash Conditioner actually some months ago, I had reviewed AS I AM Twisting Defining Cream before so I'm not new to the Line. I actually got the Defining Cream when it came out and if you read my Review, I was upset that it caused major Flakes in my hair.
Since I had that negative experience with this Brand after first time use I was a bit Hesitant on this one but I figured a Conditioner couldn't hurt that much, right?

It's noted as a Cleansing Conditioner with Tangerine and Saw Palmetto in it. That's really what got me, the Tangerine and Saw Palmetto.

I was surprised to see that this Item didn't mention "For better results use with This product and This product." It was nice to see that the product alone is suppose to give the cleansing feeling.

How does it look and feel?

I actually added Jamaican Black Castor Oil to it, along with Peppermint & Tea Tree Oil for my Scalp/Dermatitis.
It has an Off White/Pink color and it feels like a Cream Conditioner in your hands (before I added what I did) but not a Cream Oily feeling.

But as far as how it feels on your head...

I have 4B/4C Hair. It said you could Detangle with this on but would I? No.

I did not have a Smooth/Cream/Silky feeling on my hair as I put this on. I even put a Shower Cap on for a few minutes and it wasn't any better. It felt actually like I had kind of a Protein Treatment in my conditioner. I washed it out and tried it again to see if it was just the First Try and the Second Washing was the same feeling.

Does it Cleanse as Advertise?

Yes, actually. I scrubbed my scalp after applying it on my head and what Dirt was on it did get lifted. If you have Dermatitis as I do, it will lift the Flakes as well so if you had a bad area be ready to be Combing/Brushing your hair to get it out, lol. Which is a good thing! And my hair had moisture in it after washing and it felt nice.

I blow dried my hair after the Cowash and my Hair didn't feel dry as it usually tends to do. Even with heat protection.

As for a Rating I give this Product a 3.5 out of 5. It was a nice Product to try and it did give my hair a nice clean feeling for a CoWash but was it anything Spectacular? No. For me, it was one of those "I'm Glad to try it but I won't be buying it again" once it's gone.

Nothing more special than a Bottle of Suave Professional with added Essential Oils I feel for far much Less in Price.

Did it affect my Curl?

Yes. At first I didn't notice it when I initially towel dried my hair. Then after I detangled with my Leave-In I noticed how my hair didn't have any strand curl definition. I put my hair in Two Strand twists and none of my ends would curl up. A Day or so later I put my hair in a Bantu Knot for 2 days and took it down and again my curls were not there. It was just a bushy mess. Even though I enjoy crazy messy hair, there were no true curls so I wasn't feeling that.

I tried again with the CoWash and same thing with twisting hair for Bantu Knot and no curling at the ends. Hair doesn't hold curl.

Disappointing. I will use up what else I have. Try to make it work and then move onto the next one.