Finally, a live video tutorial on my most asked question.
How do I dye my hair?
I tried to speed up the video as much as I could because I, personally, tend to get bored watching them myself and like to get the generalized idea. Either way, your end result color will be because of the products used rather than watching me lather on the dye to my hair in NO organized type of way. (I really have no patience when dyeing my hair)
Some tips when using the Manic Panic:
WEAR GLOVES! Your hands will stain blood red!
Use petroleum jelly around your hair line so you don’t stain your forehead area
When washing your hair, wash away from your face
Seriously use a T-shirt you don’t care about
Use a shower cap in case your hair falls from your hair tie
Sleep on a towel for a while. It’s normal for your hair dye to still run after a few showers
Say goodbye to white clothing! (sort of). Sweating or anything MAY risk your clothes staining
Use comet to clean your tub if needed
Try rubbing alcohol to get the dye off any body parts
Avoid washing your hair too often and in hot water, try to cut down on hot tools, and even the sun can have an impact on your hair. For more hair color maintaining tips, here is my blog post:
http://www.saraashouri.net/2011/07/11/all-about-red-hair-semi-permanent-dyes-maintaining-your-red-hair-color-and-dosdonts/
oh and another frequently asked question: Do I have to bleach my hair to get that vibrant red?
Yes if you have naturally dark hair. You can get away with it with light blonde natural hair, other than that, using Manic Panic alone without bleach will only TINT your color. However, it is still really nice. That is how I first started using the product on my natural hair. In the sunlight, it is very intense, but indoors it isn’t as noticeable. But if you want bright red hair, yes. You have to lighten your hair. That is why I use the Loreal HiColor to lift my roots. And yes, my hair is all lightened using the Loreal product.
I had blonde highlights before and previously got my hair done red at the salon – they bleached some sections and filled in roots. my ends are completely blonde from before & dyed over. that being said, can i use manic panic to go over the faded hughlights again? or even my entire head (will it tint the black?)? is manic panic better or do you suggest i use red hair dye? i recently found a garnier one on sale for $7 and the box says its made for black/dark hair, but i just want to go over the highlights and maybe tint the black, im afraid using either will turn my entire head bright red? sorry for all the questions, its my first time with all this keep up!
Is your hair a dyed black? If so, it will probably only tint it…if that. When I had black in my hair, nothing but bleach would even change the color one bit. If it’s a natural black it’ll probably make it into a dark brown/red color…but I’m not 100% on that.
Just want to remind you, I am not a cosmetologist and any advice I give is purely from my experience and basic knowledge, but manic panic in my opinion is the best thing to go over faded color because #1) its VIBRANT and #2) it will not harm your hair because there is no chemicals (like the garnier one you are talking about). I would not suggest box dye, garnier is just going to fade and damage your hair fast anyway. If you WANT to use chemical based dye, I suggest going to sallys and buying dye from there. Stay away from box dye. I learned my lesson the hard way! My color definitely never did and does not come from box dye. You want a vibrant color? Then I suggest the Manic Panic
it will be vibrant indoors and out on whatever blonde is in your hair. Any dark color, such as a brown or black will be tinted and show up vibrant in sunlight but remain subtle indoors.
Hope that helped a bit!
thats okay. thanks! i really appreciate the advice! ive never used box dye thats why i was searching around haha. i will try the manic panic though. what about the other one for dark hair you recommended in the video?
The dark hair one is a lifter, intended for hi-lights, (Loreal Hi-color) but i use it to lift my roots. If you’re considering using it all over your hair, depending on how strong your hair is, you may damage it so I might look into asking someone who is trained in that area for further advice if you’re concerned with that. My hair is pretty strong and lifts super easy so I have no problem personally putting it over my entire hair ONLY when I had my hair darker! I don’t use it all over anymore, only to touch up roots. You will have to use a developer for it depending on your color of hair and such, but the girls who work at the shop should be able to help you
I used the hicolor with 40 volume developer and then a few weeks later used a l’oreal box dye from CVS…the box dye killed my hair worse than the hicolor with 40 volume! If she’s just going to be depositing the hicolor onto the highlights I’m sure using a 10 volume with it would work perfectly.
Hi Sara !
I recently started dyeing my hair red and i have been using the HiColor in Copper Red. However, the color tends to fade away after about 2 1/2 weeks so i used Ardell Lights & Brights in Really Red. I see you are a Sally Beauty Supply shopper (lol , so am i!) and i was wondering if you recommend that or Manic Panic. I want it to be red but not that bright red.
Also my other question is, how often do you color your roots? Mine start showing pretty quick but im afraid that im going to damage hair if i do it every 2 or 3 weeks. Any advice would be helpful ! TIA !!
Hello Carmen!
Im going to answer your first question about fading with a question (haha)…. do you properly wash your hair in ways to maintain your color? For instance, are you washing it in luke-warm/cold water and using a color protecting shampoo, also known as sulfate free? If not, I would really look into that.
Since you mentioned in your second question that you’re afraid of damaging your hair, I don’t know if you’re familiar with the brand Shimmer lights, but it basically gives a kick to your color. You can do this on your own by basically taking your Manic Panic dye and distributing some product into your conditioner. When you feel like you need a kick of color, use it in the shower. It may help you last longer without dyeing your hair.
Anyway, I usually do my roots about every month, depending when I get around to it. My hair growth is really fast so that’s the only downside, my roots, other than that my color on the rest of my hair stays very vibrant for longer than a month. It’s only my roots that cause me to have to dye my hair so often.
Hope that helps!
Thanks for your advice! I am using a sulfate free shampoo at the moment and im trying to deep condition my hair. I read your other entry about how you arent supposed to be using the regulary hair dye and unfortunately i did that about three times in the last two months! I wish I could have come across your blog earlier
Did you end up cutting your hair as a result or did you just deep condition? Im tempted to cut a bunch of hair but I dont want to as my hair is almost to my waist and its kinda dry now that i did that mistake.
I did not cut my hair, I deep conditioned, but I also did the same of using it all over my hair (wish I’d known earlier) until my close friend who is a cosmetologist told me to stop doing that. My hair is currently dry I guess as of now, but I did not deep condition as much as I should have. I’m actually really bad at taking care of my hair haha. But you should be fine doing that, that is what she recommended I do.
Thanks for the tips!
But what developer would you recommend?
Depends on your hair color. Considering I am not a cosmetologist, it would be best to consult with someone who can actually give you professional advice. Other than that, I would say generally a 20 vol. developer, maybe a 30 if you want it a bit brighter, but nothing over that.
Hey Sara! I’m currently on a mission to redo my hair. I have been using pravana vivids for the last year, i’ve used red, blue, purple, yellow and orange. My entire head was just recently orange (just as bright as miss hayley williams), and i’ve bleeched it fully twice in the last 6 months, in doing so, i cut off 7 inches of hair :’( but found i love a shorter hair style on me
anywho, i’m debating on going back to bright red or not. i’m looking to find a better job, and having 7/8 inch holes in my ears, both sides of my nose pierced and vibrant hair colors, i’ve only found a job working retail at Spencer Gifts at my local mall -_____-. figure im only 18 and a full time student, but i need some advice haha. What would you do if you were in my position? Go back to a normal brownish color, or say screw it and dye your hair bright red again?
one more thing, the red Hicolor you used….did you use it all over your head? and i know youre not a professional, but whats your opinion on using it on blonde/orangish yellow hair? im not worried about damage lol, i just wanna know if it will be bright or not
Yes, I used it all over my hair about twice before I got yelled at by my stylist. Haha! It actually really damaged my hair, I wouldn’t go back to doing it more than once ever again because it is meant to lift dark hair only. That means, if your hair is bleached out now, do not use it. It is only meant for dark hair, for example my natural dark brown roots that grow in are the only areas I use the product. I’m not sure if it will give you a bright result, all I know is that, you should care about the damage! Because semi-healthy smooth bright red hair is way better than fried and dried red hair! I am sure there is a way to do it, I would probably look into professional advice, or maybe re-bleach IF YOUR HAIR CAN HANDLE IT, and deep condition the hell out of your hair.
Oh boy! I was always stunned by that sort of stuff and was always shocked when I would hear/see girls change their color for a job that wants a “normal” appearance. Luckily, in the industry I am in, self-expression is encouraged and actually is a big part of working at certain makeup counters, such as MAC. Seeing as though I am not in your position and have strived to make sure I chose a career that gives me the ability to do whatever I want with my appearance (since it is my personal way of expressing myself), I can’t say I would want to. However, a job is much more meaningful and useful than a hair color, I would just focus on your clothing style rather than your features. You can still make it work! Especially if you ever get into a career you love that really focuses on a professional image, you would without a doubt change for it
(in a good way!). I know how it is on that end. As an esthetician student, I have to give up my long brightly colored nails, minimal neutral makeup, hair always up… it’s tough, but it is worth it!
Haha, well unfortunatley i did not see this until i bought the hicolor magenta. I tested it out on my extensions and it turned HOT PINK, i was so happy i didn’t do it on my head haha. so i returned the 2nd box i bought and got a different red and hopefully this will actually turn RED. I’ll find you on facebook aft er i finish it and you can look at the final results haha. & I wish i could wear make up but my skins not great and im afraid to make it worse with make up. i wear like eye make up but the stuff i have is so shitty its not even worth it.
i used one of your pictures as an example of what color i was gonna try to get haha, so dont be like creeped out when you see your face on my page haha heres my facebook name if you wanna look me up ‘Ashli-Nicole Levesque’ coventry ct
Wait, so you are dyeing your hair from blonde? (your facebook is private so I can’t go through your photos). You shouldn’t be using L’oreal Hicolor if you have blonde hair, it is meant for “Dark Hair Only” and yes Magenta has that “hot pink” kind of color, I would suggest using Manic Panic if your hair is already light!
oh its private? hmm. i didn’t know it was. but uhm, yeah i realised that after i bought it that it was for dark hair lol. stupid on my part. but i bought something else and it worked pretty well. i dont like manic panic personally. it always fades from my hair, thats why i use pravana when i color my entire head haha.
A lot of people don’t like Manic Panic and prefer to use the brand Special Effects, but when I tried to switch off from it, I didn’t get anywhere near the results I wanted, so it worked for me! It fades from your hair because it is a semi-permanent dye and is meant specifically to wash out from 4-8 washes
but yes, pravana is amazing!
Hey
so i really want to dye my hair red like yours & my hair is kind of a darkish brown so i have to bleach it first then use the manic panic? im a bit confused.sorry but i would appreciate it if you could help me out 
Yes, in order to get a bright vibrant red you must pre-lighten then use manic panic
Your hair is to die for! I’ve been dying my hair with L’oreal HiColor HiLift in Magenta for the last 3 months and my roots always come out WAY too bright compared to the rest of my hair. Do you have this problem too? Any tips?
Yes, usually, but not as often as I used to. I always put manic panic or pravana over it afterward and that seems to help me!
Hi sara,
I love your hair color. I recently dyed my hair reddish. They first did like some bleach highlights (because I dyed my hair black before that) and then apply the color to my hair (cherry red); they said it is call a camouflage. I liked it but I want a brighter one. Anyways, do you think that if I apply the manic panic it will come out even? since my hair is not fully bleach. Or do you think the pravana is better?
Thank you
Hello! Since you dyed your hair black, it is a process for them to get you to the final result that you want. Trust your stylist if you want your hair to be in great condition in the end. Your hair won’t be even because some parts are lighter than the rest, even if you put Manic Panic. Just be patient with your stylist until eventually your hair is all one even color!
hey! ive dyed my hair from a dark blonde to red with garnier, but I want a more brighter red cause its quite dark, If I put it all over my hair would that take it more brighter?
no, you have to lighten your hair if you want a brighter red
Hi! I know this post is a bit old but I hope you don’t mind answering my question
I’ve recently embarked on my red hair adventure and your posts about your hair have actually helped a lot! I dyed my hair with the hi-color in intense red with 30 vol developer, and followed it up with a 2 hour application of Manic Panic vampire red. I like the color that it came out, however my roots came out really bright and the rest of my hair is still pretty dark, with a nice tint that shows up well in bright light (I have naturally really dark brown hair, almost black). But I still want my hair to be *obviously* red, not just in light. I have afro-textured hair, so my roots barely even show anyway unless I have my hair parted! I’m wondering, since my hair doesn’t really feel too damaged from this first application, would it be safe to go over the length of my hair again in a few days with the hicolor?
Hello, first off I’m not a cosmotologist. This is my opinion and experience. To help your roots even out, start with your ends first then work your way up (your roots process quicker due to body heat from your scalp). The decision is yours and you know your hair best, if you feel your hair can handle going through it again then just be sure to apply hair masks to keep your hair feeling good
I see your comments about deep conditioning and just wondered what your favorite deep conditioning is? And also, what would be your recommended deep conditioning without spending a fortune?!
Hello Morgan!
As for my favorite deep conditioner, I love the Macadamia brand mask. It does wonders for my hair! However, it can be a little pricey. For something more reasonable, I like the Neutrogena triple moisture mask!
Thanks for your input on the previous comments
OK then i wrote a description earlier………..but ok
I have to ask a question. First im loving the red hair. Let me tell you everything before I get to my question.
I had ombre hair in the summer that I did by myself. It came out pretty good but I decided in september for my birthday to go to the salon to dye it red. She mixed two red colors and used a 20 developer because I told her I wanted red but not super bright. And it was noticeable in the sun but it still looked brownish kind of burgundy. I went back in october for a touch up so I told her I wanted it a little more noticeable because since my hair is so long and expensive to get done I figured I wanted it to show more red. So she mixed the two reds again but this time with a 30 developer. It was a little better but it still looked a little brown. So the 3rd time around I decided to do it myself. I went to sallys and got a 30 developer and lorealhicolor in red hot. It looked more red. I dont want a bright bright red. So I went and bought a 40 developer and im going to dye it again with the hicolor red hot.
Do you think using the 4 developer will work to make it more noticeable? Like I said I dont want it bright I want it a deep red but noticeable
Hello Bianca,
I am not a cosmetologist, but from what you’ve told me so far, I can already tell you are doing way too much to your hair! A 40 volume is usually only recommended to go a platinum blonde. Other than that, it isn’t needed, nor recommended for the product. L’oreal Hicolor is meant to lift your color. Reapplying this over and over again on the same hair is going to truly damage your hair, especially using such high volumes of developer. Especially if you’re looking to have a deep red…you’re damaging for no reason. Look for a color to apply to your already dyed hair. If it is too deep for your liking still, try something like applying a super bright red, like Pillarbox red from Manic Panic, to get your color more vibrant. This is NOT going to dye your hair that true red color, it is only going to tint the color you have now to a more vibrant and noticeable color, especially in light. Semi-permanents are not mixed with developer so they do not have any lifting power (don’t assume it’ll turn it fire truck red!). Anyway, I strongly suggest you do not use a 40 volume and you let your hair rest.
hello Sarah first I’d like to start by saying thank you for responding back to my comment, I appreciate that a great deal. I don’t color my hair very often, when I went to the salon the lady told me that my hair is not damaged that its actually in very good condition. The only reason I thought to you the 40 developer was because the 30 developer was not lifting my hair as much and it didn’t make it look as red, more tinted. I absolutely love your hair color but I wanted to do something a bit darker just a little bit but where you could see it. I don’t think my skin tone would look great with such a bright bright bright red and I was also asking because I’m going to re touch my hair this weekend and I wanted to know what you think I should do? Should i use manic panics pillar box red I also looked at vampire red I think it’s called by manic panic. Thanks again
Hi! i wanted to know if you belach your hair to get a brigth red color with (PRAVANA)
should i sleep in it or how long should i have to wait ???????????????
I prelighten my hair, yes. You have to in order to get a bright color.
bleachhhhh***8
i have a question my hair is dyed pretty blonde but my roots are very dark brown and are kind of far out and the bottom of my hair is a light brown so if im trying to get the bright red color what do u suggest…
I suggest evening out your roots to your lighter brown hair to get an even vibrant color
I really want to do my hair this shade of red but for some reason I am not able to watch your video. It says the video is private? Ive read a few of your other posts and I really would like to watch the video!
Yes I’ve made it private now because I’m not a professional so I don’t want people assuming or thinking I am! The video is just a simple root touch up anyway, so it wouldn’t be much help if you’re looking to achieve the full color since I don’t explain anything I did for it in that sense. If you’d like, I can recommend good videos for that!
Let me begin by saying what I’m sure you hear all the time – I love your hair color! I’ve been trying to achieve a bright red color for almost a year now…but with minimal success. I hope you don’t mind, because this will be a long comment/question!
I’m biracial – French Canadian & African American so my hair is curly. My natural hair color is dark brown. With my original stylist I tried twice to get bright red (rihanna red) hair, which was never achieved. She never bleached or lightened my hair. Rather she applied the color straight to my hair. The resulting color was always more of a dark maroon shade. She kept saying that she wanted to ease me into the color because she was afraid I would be in shock at the brightness. Needless to say I didn’t return for a third color session. I just wasn’t getting what I wanted…what I paid for. Before going back to a salon I tried to dye my hair myself. After doing some research online in addition to watching many youtube tutorials, I learned that I could achieve the bright red hair I sought by using L’Oreal Excellence HiColor. I believe I used Red Hot. Even after that my hair was only a dark red. Admitting defeat, I decided to venture to another popular salon to see the head stylist who was highly recommended. I told her the same thing I told my previous stylist – I want bright red hair. I showed her photos too. She lightened my hair and it was a weird orangey yellow color, then applied the dye. It came out red! Although it wasn’t super bright like yours, it’s the closest I’ve come to achieving the color. That was Sept. 24th.
As I’m sure you know, red doesn’t last long. Since the color was fading and my roots were showing, I went back again to the head stylist at my new salon. It didn’t go as well as I had hoped… I started by asking her what I could use to keep the color vibrant in-between visiting her. She said there was nothing. She said to only come to her. I was like…okay… I’d like to think she was trying to keep me from damaging my hair, but I really think she just wanted my money.
Any who, back to the coloring. Firstly she only put color on my roots, then washed it. She then way like – all done! (Although it may sound naive, I truly thought she was doing that my roots first since it was virgin hair and then finishing the rest.) I told her that there apparently was some miscommunication because I wanted my hair colored again like before only brighter. After we got it cleared up, she proceeded to put the color all over my hair as well as my face, arms, and clothes. (Happy about that either.) There was no lightening process involved this time though. Just straight color. But I didn’t say anything because I figured I was in good hands. When her assistant washed it out, I knew it wasn’t what I wanted. It was darker than the first time she colored it!!! So after 4 hours I was able to leave defeated. I was out over $100 bucks and I had burgundy hair. Again. Being in the sunlight was the only way to see the “brightness.”
So I’m feeling stuck. Right now my hair is burgundy with about 1/2 of my roots showing. I’ve been doing research again in hopes to achieve the bright read hair color I’ve been wanting for the last year on my own. It’s been over a month since it was last colored at the salon. I went to Sally’s last night with the intention of purchasing bleach and Manic Panic. Yet when I questioned the worker she said I should be able to achieve the bright red color with only using Manic Panic since my natural color was already prelightened. She also said I should use Ardell Lights & Brights Really Red. Needless to say I’m confused as hell!
So I have 2 of the Manic Panic in Pillarbox Red and a package of the Ardell Really Red.
I didn’t end up getting the bleach. However, after sleeping on it I think I should. Do you have any suggestions? Any information would be so appreciated!!!
First off, thank you for coming to my blog! I will let you know, I am not a cosmetologist, but I know a lot through my stylist and being a red head for 7 years now. I believe the L’oreal Hicolor you used was the one in the black box -the one you DON’T want to use. You want to use the one in the orange/reddish box. When I personally tried the black box version that comes with those red enhancing drops, my roots lifted to some awful mauve color. That could have been the issue with that, trust me, hicolor works amazing! Secondly, definitely sounds like your stylist wants you to only come for refreshes with her. Here are tips for keeping your color:
You want to be VERY careful with over lightening your hair. If someone who has seen your color says you can achieve that vibrant color, let your color completely fade out. I personally would go with a super bright true red such as red passion to get a vibrant color. When you dye your hair, leave it in for a few hours (only with manic panic). If you achieve the color you want and are eventually satisfied, switch to using a dye such as Pravana Vivids so your upkeep and fading will be minimal, since manic panic washes out quickly. If you want to send me photos of your current color, do so!
I hope it works out for you!
Okay my question and hopefully you can help ha. So like everyone else I wanted that Rihanna red but as you advise repeatedly professional care is best. So I went to A/my hairstylist and told her make me red lol. It came out beautifully
. Nice bright red she did a full head of highlights and put a toner over my entire hair, I got it touched up twice then the 3rd time for Some reason she lost my color option and took an educated guess lol needless to say it was completely off and I’m not going back since she basically said oh well sorry come pay again… My question my roots are out and the rest of my hair Is red but it not bright more deep. I want that Rihanna red redder then my first. achieved result. Would it be wise to use a developer with the Hicolor mAgentA ? Since I do want it lighter Nd technically my whole head wasn’t bleached ? Then manic panic? Or would that cause to Much damage ? I’m only Asking because to try n fix my stylist mistake I did use manic panic and it did not satisfy with the bright red I wanted I used rock n roll red. If using the Hicolor is okay then what level developer should be used? So many questions I know but if u could assist my melow drama that would be Awesome
It’s hard to say because I am not a cosmetologist and I don’t want to give you the wrong advice in dyeing your hair. L’oreal hicolor can potentially damage your hair depending on what she used on you and so on. In my opinion, and not saying for you to do it but just what I think, if your entire hair wasn’t lightened and it was only hi lights that were bleached, I would only dye the parts of my hair that were not hi lighted since that hair is already lifted. L’oreal is recommended to be used with a 20 vol. Best wishes and try to maybe visit another professional to help!
The dye can hurt your hair, manic panic however, won’t. When I was trying to achieve my “Rihanna red” hair I was using the HiColor with a 40 volume developer…horrible for my hair, but after using extremely moisturizing conditioners it was back to normal after a week or so. I wouldn’t technically recommend doing what I did, or even using the HiColor, but I do know that it got me the result that I wanted. If you’re going to go ahead with using the HiColor you should probably also invest in a deep conditioning treatment or something along those lines to use a day or two after you dye your hair.
My hair is orginally blonde and one night I decided I wanted to dye it red so i went out and got box color. I have been dying my hair for awhile with box color in red but the color never seems to last. I was wondering what different dye I should get instead to make it last longer?
Pravana!!!! Vivids