Manic Panic Classic Hair Creme

Manic Panic in my opinion, is not just the leader in its field but also the brand every other alternative hair care brand strives to live up to. Sitting on its Rock n Roll throne, donning Dr Martens and vibrant locks. 

I have to admit, I tried their products out of sheer desperation. After a year of fading hair, purple color coming out turquoise and a lot of money spent I bit the bullet. I have not looked back for one second. 

My original choice was a mix of Shocking Blue and After Midnight. The cream was vibrant and conditioning. Before application my hair was dry and damaged. Lets face it, to get it from dark brown to a light enough shade to get color on I really had to mangle it. Thanks to my previous negative experiences I was quite nervous about trying something new. 

 

Much to my relief the end result was exquisite. My hair was soft and conditioned. In the best state it has been in for years. The color! Oh my gosh, the color! It stopped traffic, (I'm not joking!) it leads to strangers staring in awe. To geeks choking (Okay so he was staring at my boobs at that moment...but I am pretty sure my hair outshone my cleavage.) There is no way to describe the color, other than phenomenal. If you want to feel like a Goddess, use Manic Panic Classic Hair Creme! 

I do have some advice though. Don't expect the color on the bottle to be the exact shade that your hair will turn out. So many things play a role in defining the end result. I have seen other individuals rocking the same Hair Creme shade as myself, only to have it look very different. 

Don't listen to the instructions on the container. Or your hairdresser. Or your bossy friend. I know it says leave on for an hour, but trust me, leave it on for at least 2 hours. My best results are from leaving the creme on for between 3 to 5 hours. The longer you leave the creme in, the longer the color will last. It isn't traditional hair color. It won't damage or burn your hair. Don't wash your hair with hot water (This is pretty entertaining in winter...) and don't use traditional shampoos. 

If you don't like bright hands, use gloves. Even though the container leaves enough space to get the creme out of every corner, its super messy. Ask my poor hairdresser. We have had moments where we had to scrub blue hair creme off his floor and walls. If you drip it on your bath or sink by accident, wipe it up! Don't leave it for later, your bath will end up looking like a piece by Jackson Pollock. 

If you need to stretch your hair creme, you can mix in some conditioner. I have done this many times while I was broke and in desperate need of a root touch up. It won't last exactly as long as the concentrated hair creme, but it will get the job done. 

Love your bedding, linen, curtains...erm...cat? Cover them up. The first couple of times you use the hair creme it is very likely to run. For the first year of using Classic Hair Creme I would wake up to blue and purple walls, blue pillows. Don't like your towels? Sleep with your wet hair wrapped in it. Don't worry, most of the time it washes out. 

If you want to touch up your roots, leave the color in for longer. On some occasions my roots were still a bit lighter than the rest of my hair. Don't be dissuaded if it doesn't come out perfect the first time. Its an adventure. 

If you want a temporary funky look, please don't use the Hair Creme. Yes, as with all semi permanent hair cremes it fades after a couple of washes. However, this stuff has some serious lasting power. For example. Two years ago I decided to go back to black hair for a bit. After 6 months I decided to switch back to blue. Thus I needed to strip my hair of color. All the black came out...but the ends of my hair were light pink. Six months ago I wanted to change my color again. My hair is now an ombre of blue and pink...because the color in the ends would not budge! 

Manic Panic Classic Hair Creme is the stuff adventures are made of! At R209.00 for a 118ml tub it is a bit on the pricey side, but that won't change my opinion on it. If you can afford it and want to change to bright hair, this is the product for you.

In South Africa, you can buy it directly from AnonaMiss Beauty Emporium, or from selected stockists. 

http://www.anonamiss.co.za/

For a reliable hairdresser with experience in using Manic Panic Classic Hair Creme, use the directory on their website. If you need an amazing hairdresser in Pretoria, I can recommend Colbyn Hair Salon. 

https://www.facebook.com/colbynhairstyling

Fudge Paintbox

This product was my first experience with alternative hair color. Since I was still very inexperienced on the subject I left the type of product in my hairdressers hands. 

As with the majority of these hair colors the Paintbox range is a conditioning, cruelty free product.

The range contains approximately 9 semi permanent colors. As they are continuously changing  colors, they never seem to have all the shades listed on their website. (They have approximately 14 colors listed.)

The hair color comes in a fun little tube. I find this form of packaging the most practical by far when it comes to hair color products. You can easily squeeze the last bit out of the container without much of a hassle. 

The down side of the tube? Its only 75ml. Thus it took about 6 tubes to cover all my hair. For short hair this is very affordable. For long, thick hair, not so much. 

As with all these colors the best is to strip your hair of color. I prefer using bleach since my hair is tough as nails and very stubborn. If you apply the darker shades over dark hair you will end up with  hair with a slight ever so unconventional shine. The best for this option would be the reds, blues and purples. Don't expect to put something like Pink Moon or Blue Hawaii over your dark locks. It will not take. No, you won't miraculously end up with pastel or light, bright hair. Even when using the light colors on light hair you have to be very meticulous as they take far longer to set. 

I used Electric Blue and Blue Velvet. My hair dresser left it in my hair for approximately 2 hours. The result was vibrant blue hair. With my after care I would re-color and leave it in for 3 hours minimum. 

As vibrant as this brand is, and as much as I loved it, the Paintbox colors have one thing against them. They really are semi-permanent. After my first dreaded wash my bleached roots already showed. By my second wash my hair started to fade drastically. By my third wash I had to re-color my hair. It didn't fade to the underlying tones, it just washed out to reveal the bleached white hair underneath. 

Thus, if you want a fun splash of color over the holiday, with the added bonus that it will wash out fast, Paintbox is your best bet. Unless you have the budget to re-color your hair every 3 weeks, I would not recommend this product for use over long periods of time. 

At R105.00 a tube from selected stockists, Paintbox is definitely one of the more affordable options. However, it is incredibly difficult to find a supplier. Mix in the limited amount of colors, this is definitely not my preferred product. 

https://www.fudgehair.co.uk/paintbox/fudge-paintbox-extreme-colours 
http://www.shopbot.co.za/fudge-hair-products/price/south-africa/327222