Dye dye, my darling. Semi-permanent color brands I've used- Ranked

We find our heroine taking a big first step to help a heavy, almost unshakable addiction. She stands in front of an ancient door covered in peeling paint and worn away carvings at the end of a lonely community college hallway. The sign in the filthy window says "Hair Colorists Anonymous" through a layer of grime. She's in the right place. Turning the grungy knob with a tissue instead of a bare hand, the door flings wide open as a brunette with cats eye glasses and a wrinkled gray suit welcomes her from the other side. It's noted she's the ONLY brunette in the room. In fact, in the 16 sea of blues, greens, purples, reds, and pinks, she's the only person with a natural hair color. The bespectacled woman motions CJ towards the last open seat. Just for her.

Brunette begins, "Alright everyone, we have a new person joining our recovery program for "dye hard" hair coloring. Let's all welcome CJ."

"Hiiiiiiiiiii CJ" the group says in zombified unison.


I swear, if there were a real colorists anonymous, I'd probably join because I've got it bad. I've colored my hair every color of the rainbow and every color that exists in hair naturally.

The bad thing is that I almost can't help myself and my poor wallet takes more damage than my hair.

The good thing is that I've had the opportunity to try A LOT of different dye brands and I've decided to rank them here. The List goes from Worst to Best.


THE WORST!!!!!

Ion Color Brilliance Brights- Sold at Sally's Beauty Supply, This stuff is just terrible. I got Aqua and Purple.

• It goes in your hair like mud- semipermanent color usually doesn't need developer because the color is ready to go straight out the container. Same goes for this brand but it is so incredibly thick. Like, it wouldn't go onto the brush, thick. Like, it hurt to spread this stuff through my hair with a comb, thick. I ripped a few hairs out.
• It smells soapy- Think of an old lady's soap (perhaps your grandma). That's what this smells like. I couldn't stand it and was nauseated for over 24 hours after application.
• Even Coverage? What's that?- Because of the thickness, it does NOT spread through hair evenly. I had to use the entire tube of aqua on only half of my head and STILL had a little patchiness after at least 10 minutes of combing.

Splat- With its wide availability and all in one kit, this makes a solid choice for beginners. But once you find better stuff, Splat is really a forgettable brand.

• Bleach to developer proportions- I stopped using the bleach and developer that came in the kit like it's recommended a long time ago and bought extra hair lighteners. What splat provides isn't really enough for a whole head unless your hair is fairly short and thin. Mixing according to splat directions leaves you with very runny bleach and that could be dangerous. I'm talking skin burns and eye damage. Don't even get me started on them calling the developer "splat-oxide".
• Color could be better- I hate the way most of the colors fade. Blue Envy is my favorite out of all the colors because it starts out beautiful and I kinda dig the gray hair look when it fades. The Lavender hardly showed up even when my hair was at its blondest and man, oh man, do I hate Luscious Raspberries when it fades. None of it lasts very long, except the pink. The pink sticks around so long that its welcome gets worn out and you have to use an ash tone to get rid of it.

N' Rage and Raw Color- They look similar, have similar names for the individual colors and I think they may be made by the same company (but I'm not sure). N' Rage is sold at Sally's and Raw is sold at Hot Topic. I consider them twins.

• Everything about this brand is okay- That's it. It smells okay. It looks okay. It lasts okay (around what it says on the bottle). There's nothing really remarkable about my experience with these.

Manic Panic Vegan- I la-la-la LOVE Tish and Snooky and I love that their vegan Manic Panic is one of the very first of its kind. But I can't say I'm a huge fan. Sold at Hot Topic, Sally's and manicpanic.com  I really like the smell, the colors, the application and everything else about the line except one major thing:

• Colors I love with a staying power of potato chips at a football game- In other words, it doesn't last long. The vegetable oil base just doesn't stick to my hair.

Beyond The Zone- This is what I graduated to after my brief infatuation with Splat. Sold at Sally's Beauty supply. I used this brand in my middle school and early high school years.

• Colors can be hit and miss-  I colored my hair with Raspberry Kamikaze (a lovely red-violet) for 8th grade promotion. Many colors are fantastic, aaaaaaaand some are awful. One orange color I can only describe as "Crayola Mac 'n' Cheese" and it stains horrifically. It comes in an opaque orange bottle. 

Manic Panic Original/ Amplified- I could never run out of praise for Manic Panic. It's been the old stand-by if I wanted great lasting power in wonderful colors with several applications..... all at a great price (sparkling wink). It's been a dream of mine to own a salon and use MP hair and cosmetic lines for YEARS. Find it at Hot Topic, manicpanic.com, Sally's and even in some local alternative lifestyle and fashion stores.

• It's an all around good product- Smells nice, lasts a good while, lots of variety, fairly priced. It applies to hair perfectly. Above the middle of the road, it's a fantastic choice. I haven't had much difference in performance between the amplified and original though.

Punky Color- Honestly, Jerome Russell is a brand that is infamous with my friends for their wash out hair color that makes your hair feel like straw but Punky Color is the best brand I've tried so far. I discovered it at a local head shop that has gone out of business but I JUST found out I can buy it at Ulta! Other places include jeromerussell.com and Amazon.

• Lasts the longest- Out of all the brands I've tried, Punky Color had the best staying power. The pink, however, is just like splat and will wear out its welcome. Again, use an ash tone to remove pink and red/ gold tones that stains.

• Smells the best- It smells fruity! Similar to grape candy or something like that. I can't quite put a name on the scent.

• Vivid color- These colors rock. I've never been disappointed by them. My favorite is Plum. I dyed my hair Plum with cheetah print for my high school graduation.

THE BEST!!!!


Brands I'm dying to try: Special Effects, Provana by Redken, and Fudge Paint Box.

Do you have any experience with the brands I haven't used? Got any recommendations for brands I didn't list? What about your experience with what I posted? Let me know in the comments!