Special Effects ~ Semi-Permanent Hair Dye ~ Blood Red Review

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(More customer reviews)I used Blood Red on chin length hair shorter in back and barely used a 1/4 bottle. I took all precautions and suggestion on various websites if you google beeunique you can find UK website that has all kinds of tips.
Preparation:
Always do a strand test! Less surprises and you can adjust the color if you don't like it. I did mine 3 days before so I could see how washing effected it. They suggest snipping a strand I chose a small portion of the underside of my hair.
It looked good but in the end it was still a little much after I did my whole head.
My hair was a mix of natural light brown regrowth and strawberry blond from previous permanent hair dye.
Prepare the Blood(y) Red scene!
It was amusing my soon to be partner in crime came home to find the whole bathroom covered in plastic made a few jokes referrencing a few horror movies...
I covered my floor and and vanity with cheap dollar store shower curtains. I also used a few dry cleaning bags and painters tape to cover the walls near the sink. Mind you even with regular hair dye I always manage to spatter something. This dye is even harder to get off stuff. Prior to covering the sink I smeared a light layer of petroleum jelly on the porcelain as I'd read stories of people scrubbing thier sinks and vanities for 3 months and still having stains. For the sink I snipped a small hole for the spigot and a tiny hole for the water to drain directly to the drain. I left the sink handles covered to avoid possibly have to wipe them if I turned on the water.
Prepare to Dye!
I made sure I had a rat tail style comb for parting and a wider tooth comb for distributing the dye and backup combs. I had a dye applicator brush purchased from Sallys,I used a disposable plastic bowl for my dye. I picked out old clothes that I didn't care if they were stained by the dye. Tip: Have long sleeves to avoid potential dye splotches on the arms.
I bought those thick dishwashing style gloves to avoid getting on my hands. I had my shower cap ready also bought at the dollar store (Deals)in a pack of 8. I also had a hairdryer nearby. I used a jar of Palmers (thick) cocoa butter to apply around my skin to prevent the dye from getting on my face, ears and neck which is more skin friendly than vaseline especially if you are prone to acne. I found that Soft Soap Aloe did a fine job of washing the dye off if I washed immediately. Tip: Try exfoliating if you get it on you and trouble getting it off your face or hands. Wash off with Soft Soap Aloe.
All item were lined up on the counter and ready to go. Other items I'd suggest or you really need: are distilled water for hair prep and white vinegar 1/2 cup and 1 Quart REGULAR water(not the distilled they are chemical different) for your rinse, some sort pitcher to mix your vinager rinse in so you can dump it on your head. Paper towels, old towel, Hair dryer Hand mirror. You might want to Vaseline or find some way to protect your glasses if you wear them. I found plastic wrap as suggested a pain. Glove fingers are another suggestion but I suspect they will be a pain too.
I washed my hair with a volumizing shampoo which I read raises the hair follices which is ideal since you want this dye to get in it if possible. I washed twice to remove build up of hair products. You should at least use a shampoo that doesn't promise to condition your hair. Avoid conditioner it seals your hair which is not good for this application! I rinsed with regular water to get shampoo out and I did my final rinse with DISTILLED water I've read online it swells up the hair follices 20 time to their normal size. This is ideal for this type of dye if your hair cuticles are open they will absorb more dye. You may notice your hair is a little tangly. This because the cuticle are not laying flat so they may catch a bit. It will go fine when you put in the dye the comb ran through easily. If you have already have naturally very porous hair(born with it) you may want to skip the distilled water. I used half gallon to rinsed my hair use however much you want.I blow dried my hair
Tip: Make sure you let the bathroom cool down after blow drying washed hair I was pretty darn hot and I had to keep going.
I brushed on the dye onthe front myself trying to miss my scalp the best I could. I was successful around the front and on the top part around my ears it was harder I didn't want red ears.
May Sure Someone's Got Your Back!
For the back I got help and I would not suggest going the back alone it's too easy to get dye on your scalp and miss spots if you have short hair in back like me. You could find people will be lookng at bright red scalp for days if you get it all over. My helper also checked my whole head and still found places I had missed. Mostly near my ears.
Timing
I allowed it to process for 45 minutes I checked my head at that time rinse a little out of the front (you can reapply) and I could see it was really BRIGHT! My goal was NOT for the punky red hair most of you reading this will be aiming for. I'm older and work in a office I wanted vegetable dye that is not tested on animals this fit the bill. It's Vegan for anyone that cares. If you want really bright red it's perfectly ok to leave it in for hours even overnight and it will last longer. It won't harm your hair like permanentdyes. I wanted a subtle burgandy and after asking around based on my current tone of hair this was suggested.
Washing the Bloody Stuff Out!
Keep your gloves on! Bring an old towel and a hand mirror with you. You may want to rubber band the ends of the gloves and strip off your shirt. I highly advise washing your hair in a stationary tub if you have one. Use it every time you wash it hereafter. If it's a sink you care about coat it thinly with petroluem jelly and get help with washing the dye out to avoid splatters. DO NOT wash in the shower unless you like a blood red shower that you will be scrubbing for ages. I've read many reviews and stories stating this can happen.
Vinegar Rinse
So I went and quickly made my pitcher of 1/2 cup vinagar and 1 cup water for my rinse. That is the prescribed amount I decided to go with quart of water to have more rinse water. It worked. My hair had a odd smell similar to that of photo fixer like in photography darkroom after I put in the vinager rinse. So that it would fix the color in my hair made a little sense (they say it raises the PH which is supposed to be good with semi-perm dyes) but it did make me pause as to wonder what have they put in this dye? (supposed to be natural) I left the rinse in for 5 minutes and then rinsed and rinsed my hair until the water was fairly clear. I used very cool water which is supposed to help preserve the color. I used a sprayer hose nozzle which was great for helped to remove dye from my scalp. Pay lots of attention to rinsing and washing your scalp,neck and ears so you don't have any runs. I've seen people with brightly dyed ears,necks and forheads not cool! If you don't have help use your mirror to help you find any dye spots on your scalp neck or ears. I washed my hair with a color preserving shampoo. I got the water to run fairly clear even with shampooing rinsing with cool water.
My results:
It's pretty color the light brown parts of my hair which are underneath didn't take the dye well at all but they blend in since the ends are lightened. In case you think you will do better if your natural color is a shade brown by leaving it in overnight. I did my strand test overnight and I didn't get much better results.
My hair is a bright red especially when the light hits it indoors and out
I like the color except when the light reflects off off it in which case you REALLY see red. I think most of you who want that effect will be very satisfied. If I didn't work in an office I wouldn't care. Outside my office people say they like it and while some people can't wear colors like this I can pull it off. So if want something that looks a little unnaturally red and cool (bearing in mind not all people want excessively red hair) this is a good color without have to bleach your hair excessively if you have a fading red permanent hair color it will take and not look bad. For me I am in the process of finding out what other base color I have to mix with this to get the more burgandy tone I was seeking so I can be more office freindly. If you know post your comments.
For Follow up care:
If you like your color they suggest washing your hair less often to prevent fading maybe rinsing instead. The suggest adding a small amount of color to your conditioner and leave in for 10 minutes to help preserve it. Using color preserving shampoo. I am going to wash as normal which is every 2-3 days. I tried using a brown based conditioner to help tone down my hair to no avail.
One Last Warning:
The color did run even though I was very thorough in rinsing and washing my hair. I know I spent a minimum of 20 minutes doing this. I found pinkish-red on my forhead and edge of my face and obviously it was on my neck because it turned the collar of a jacket I wore a reddish color. I hope I can get it out the jacket was recently purchased. So stick with dark colored tops the first few days after dyeing. I didn't have much trouble removing the dye runs with some lotion and soft soap. I just washed my hair I used a couple of styling products that I think will help seal my hair. I will update to let you know if it runs still.

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1. Shampoo Hair without conditioning, then dry hair thoroughly. 2. Apply petroleum jelly around hairline and on ears. 3. Wear plastic gloves to avoid staining hands. 4. Empty desired amount into plastic bowl. (Approximately 1/2 bottle for short hair, 3/4 bottle for longer hair.) 5. Apply evenly with tint brush, just enough to saturate hair. Do not apply to scalp. 6. Comb through hair thoroughly and leave in hair for approximately 15-30 minutes. 7. Rinse dye away from face then shampoo as normal. - Colors will be more intense and last longer on bleached hair. (May last 8 weeks or longer on bleached hair.) - Colors will give a highlight effect to dark hair. - Color fades gradually with each shampoo. - Generally lasts 3 to 6 weeks depending on hair type

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