Customer Reviews

Special Effects SFX Hair Color Hair Dye Atomic Pink

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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. I may post a picture later of my results and correct my grammar and spelling!

UPDATE: It took about 3-4 washings before I could stop worrying about runs onto my collar. It took about 6-7 washings before I could safely wash my hair in my shower. The color still ran but it was weak enough not to stain the shower. You will know when you can switch just be looking at the water when you wash your hair in the sink.

To tone down and maintain my color I added Neffretti Brown by Manic Panic to my conditioner with a little SFX Blood Red the brown is a discontinued color and hard to find. You might try Ebay. My color has lasted a long time it's mid June 2010 and I am now ready to redye but with some Neffretti Brown added this time. I also have some green Manic panic I bought that I'd like to try add a few drops of because it's the opposite end of the color wheel and supposed to tone down reds. So far I am chicken to do it because I am worried of getting an odd color. Maybe on a long vacation. If you're young and have no worries about work you might try it.

I dyed my hair with the nuclear red and it turned out great. I bleached a few streaks to really make the color pop. I describe the color on the bleached parts as a neon red. As it washes out over time, it fades to a neon orange and then to a peach-ish color, both very aesthetically pleasing to me and I actually let it go through the color change before re-dying it.
And yes, the color (nuclear red at least) DOES glow under blacklight.

I love this stuff! I use cupcake pink with a few drops of atomic pink added to it. It lasts and lasts. I take it to my hairdresser and she lightens the sections, dries the hair, applies the dye and sits me under the dryer for 20 minutes. It's beautiful and I get compliments all the time, it hardly fades at all and never transfers onto my pillow cases or towels (but I do use a color therapy shampoo/conditioner.) I can't see how anyone wouldn't like this product, it is so much better than any of the other professional pinks being offered right now.

I used blue mayhem, and it was great for the first few days. I had a lovely shade of blue that really popped, but within 2 weeks of washing my hair about every other day (using my regular shampoo, which is not specifically for color treated hair) it was almost completely gone and what was left just appeared a dirty gray color that was completely unattractive. The product states that it lasts 3 to 6 weeks and if all the dye works as the blue mayhem did for me then the only way I could have gotten close to 6 weeks would be to wash my hair once and week. I was somewhat disappointed, but I was only looking for temporary color. If you're looking for dye that you can you can use for a party or special occasion type event that will wash out fairly soon I would recommend this product, but not if you want it to last the fully 3-6 weeks without reapplying.

I did a lot of research before buying this product. I wanted a nice deep purple color that would last. I ended up deciding to buy this product in "deep purple." I'm glad I did. The purple color is perfect. After I first dyed it, it was almost black and a nice dark purple in the light. It slowly faded to a more "purple" color. At first I was a little worried when it started to fade, because I thought it would continue to fade, but it stopped fading after a couple days and left me with a really nice, but not too dark, purple color. It's been a couple weeks and the purple is still vibrant. The purple does bleed a lot, and if you put stuff in your hair too early, it will make the color fade. I did a natural deep conditioning to my hair two days after I dyed it, and it faded a little, but my hair seemed very happy. I did bleach my (pure black) hair before dying (Manic panic flash-lightening with a 40 developer). Some of my hair was orange-ish, some was still a light brown, and some was bright yellow-blonde (This was my first time dying my hair so it was put on pretty unevenly). The color still came out vibrant on all of my hair. I'm happy with the outcome of this product. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants a nice purple color.

I ordered the atomic pink for my daughter who has very, very light blonde hair. We'd gotten temporary pink color at the salon previously, which only lasted about 2-3 weeks with 4-5 times a week washing. I thought I'd save some money and try it at home. The special effects was easy to use and the color was amazing. It stayed dark and vibrant for a good 2 months. It has now been almost 5 months and she still has some very faded pink streaks in her hair. It hasn't been a big deal for us, but if you're going to be in a wedding or something in the not so distant future, you may want to reconsider. Bottom line, if you don't mind commiting to the color for a good while, it is an excellent product.

Napalm Orange turned out to be very nice overall RONALD MCDONALD RED color. Upset and disappointed - I was expecting the actual carrot orange hue the way it's shown in the picture. Will not buy again.

I purchased this hair dye in Blood Red. My hair had already been pre-bleached and colored a bright red (my natural hair is black), so I was afraid that it wouldn't come out the nice burgundy red like pictured. I had a good friend apply the color in for me (he has his license in cosmetology and specials in hair color, so I knew I was in good hands!). I have A LOT of hair. It goes down to my upper bra-line, and has natural volume. So, in short: "thick" and long! We nearly used the whole bottle. I have about 1/4 of the bottle left. We let the dye sit for 20-25 minutes, rinse out (with NO shampoo), blow-dried, and VOILE! My hair came out a GORGEOUS burgundy red. It has a subtle undertone of my previous red, but I think it looks wonderful that way. It gives my hair a feeling of depth and looks like it has more volume than ever! (as if I needed any more volume...)

My only problem with this dye is that is stains pretty badly. Worse than any other dye I've ever used. So, be prepared to do some mega scrubbing if you get any on your counters/hands/floors/etc. Also, when you finish dyeing your hair, and if color continues to rub off on your clothes (especially on the first day), it'll be alright. My friend says that the color will do that for until you wash it a couple of times. And when you wash, the water will still run red (or whatever other color you buy), but the actual color itself will not wash out of your hair. Another tip from my friend! Use sulfate-free shampoo when washing with color. He says any brand in particular is fine; whatever you're most comfortable with. But make sure it's sulphate-free, or else it WILL strip the color out of your hair. And to always wash your hair with cold/cool water. It sucks, but hot water will wash out the color faster. So, just wash your hair out with water as cold as you can take it. My advice would be to shower normally, but use a shower cap so your hair won't get wet. Then get back in the tub after the shower (preferably in a bathing suit) and just run your head under the faucet with the cold water. Just so you won't have to take a cold shower!

If you have brittle hair, this hair dye will be your best choice. However, take vitamins for a week or so before dyeing. Vitamins help you have stronger hair! My mother is Native American, so my hair is very long and silky. However, my father is black, so my hair also has a lot of volume, but can also be very brittle and dry. Taking vitamins is essential if you worry about your hair breaking. And try to get a deep conditioner treatment a week before dyeing. That way you know that your hair will be at it's strongest before coloring your hair. ESPECIALLY if you're going to bleach it as well.

All-in-all, I'm in love with SFX Blood Red. Even if I change my hair color from red, I will NEVER go back to using any other brand. I can't wait until my Easter break is over to go back to college and show my friends my new color. :)

P.S. I will try to add in pictures by Sunday when I go back to my dorm (left my camera back at college). I will make sure to take some in-doors and outside so you guys can see what the color looks like in various lighting~!

I've always been a fan of the Special Effects brand hair dye and Fishbowl certainly did not disappoint. It has been a gorgeous teal/aqua color and I've been quite pleased with the results. It faded a little faster than I expected, but it simply because a lighter shade of teal without the nasty faded look. Using a nice color safe conditioner slows down the time it takes to fade. I will definitely buy this color again in the future and recommend it for anyone who wants a beautiful teal/aqua hair color.

Color looked great for the first couple days but faded much too quickly. I've always used Manic Panic and was expecting similar results and was disappointed, the color was absolutely beautiful while it lasted.