How I did it: Bought a thing of Manic Panic Vampire Red in the middle of October and spent a few hours with plastic wrap over a few sections of my hair to get the underlayer of my hair red.  I did not bleach it (my hair is a medium brown, not black but not anywhere near the blonde spectrum) and it still shows today.  However, since the dye was darker than my hair to begin with (even though it was semi-permanent), I don't expect it to fade any more than it has now.  When my hair is wet you can't tell the difference, but it dries a reddish-purple.  I'm glad I didn't do my whole head (I still want to someday) but it was an experience.  It probably won't go away completely until my hair gets long enough to cut it all out.

I would also contemplate the natural texture of your hair before you dye it.  I definitely did not intend to use bleach because my hair is dry already, and it would mess with the curl pattern of my hair.  My hair is very thick and about shoulder length, and it dries in large ringlets, not waves or pincurls.  I haven't ever seen another person with my kind of curl, honestly... but it does look a little weird because my hair has so many different layers, and the red layer is longer by about an inch (from a long-ago pixie cut) and peeks through.  However, the Manic Panic doesn't contain any ammonia or harsh chemicals (it's really the same as a conditioner) and nothing changed in the texture or curling, which was great.  I would definitely use their products again, and if you think that it won't show up over brown hair, it definitely will.

Jan 07, 2012, 09:52PM PST | 0 comments | 1 cheer