Re-Touching My Turquoise

So I posted a picture of my newly dyed turquoise hair the other day (Last Thursday I think) and I decided to re-dye it using the product straight from the tub rather than mixing with conditioner. I did this yesterday afternoon (in a mad rush before having to go somewhere) and it's looking a million times better now.

It's definitely much darker but for me it's more green than blue which I was hoping for. I am only keeping this colour through-out summer though, as I am hopefully going a reddish brown for autumn time. 

I would also like to apologise over the lack of posts yesterday and today. I was out last night so I had a very busy day yesterday and today I'm recovering...slowly. I will also be rather busy tomorrow but I shall try and get some reviews posted tomorrow afternoon before I have to go out.

Directions Turquoise and Directions Spring Green

I know I have said this before but this dye is amazing!!!

Price : £3.75 (I bought mine 3 for £10 from a shop in my town centre)

What I did: Prior to dying my hair, I spent a few weeks trying to lighten it as much as possible. Not only by using a bleach bath on my hair but also using an anti-dandruff shampoo to remove as much as the colour from the previous dying of red. I had lightened it to a pale orange but it would not lighten any more without just completely bleaching my entire hair and this was not something I wanted nor needed to do - even though they do recommend this. I knew how pigmented the green was going to be, same with the blue (though I had not used these colours on my hair before, I know sort of the pigment of these kinds of colours as I have used several of their blues in the past as well as the apple green). 

I diluted the turquoise to lighten it as I thought it may come out too dark with the ratio 1:1 (one part of the dye to one part conditioner). I had also lightened the green. I did a little strand test with the green on the end of my hair whilst I was waiting for my roots to lighten but I think it was diluted far too much as it just washed out completely, so I used the product straight from the tub instead. I separated my hair into two plaits as I was going to ombre it - turquoise being on top and the ends of my hair in the green. 

I applied the spring green to my ends first, undid the plaits then covered the rest of my hair in the diluted turquoise mixture. I left this on for around 20 mins. I did apply this to damp hair (which is okay to do so, though the dye works better on completely dry hair). When I rinsed it out, I noticed the green was very bright and the turquoise wasn't as bright as i though it was going to be so I shall be re dying my hair with the turquoise un-diluted next time. The final result looks like this: 

As you can see, the green is very much more prominent but the turquoise not so much so I will be re dying it very soon. I do love how the green came out though, very pigmented and very bright indeed. 

Pro's

• Good coverage
• Good price
• Very pigmented
• Leaves hair feeling soft

Con's

• WILL STAIN EVERYTHING POSSIBLE

WARNING: Make sure you wear gloves with these colours as they will stain your hands and skin. I am currently sporting blue finger nails as it had stained them because I didn't wear my gloves half way though because they had split. The dyes also stained my hands but after a lot of scrubbing, that disappeared. Expect to see a nail varnish review soon because I need to cover up my stained nails.

Would I recommend: Yes. Yet again, good solid product. I think this product is more likely to stain clothes, floors, surfaces and body parts if you don't take care much more than other colours I have tested. It is very pigmented and if you are looking to go bright green or turquoise then these are definitely the colours for you! I am rating this a 4.5/5 because of my blue fingers though as it will stain everything!

Bleach Bath! Jerome Russell

I will be dying my hair very soon with directions turquoise and spring green, but at the moment, my hair is a very orangey/pink due to the poppy red which I dyed my hair with a few months ago. I decided to do a bleach wash or bleach bath on my hair because it's less damaging than just putting bleach straight on to your hair (though all bleach on the hair IS damaging and should be done with extreme caution). I used the Jerome Russell peroxide in the 30vol and the bleach powder was also from this brand.

I mixed a little amount of both the peroxide and bleach powder together before adding shampoo. I add shampoo to the mix. I usually stick to a 2:1 ratio - half bleach to the amount of shampoo used. I then also added a little amount of my Aussie conditioner to add a little moisture to my hair and also to add a little protection to my hair. 

I left the product on for around 7 minutes as i only had enough bleach left to do the top of my hair (made a little mistake there as I didn't realise I hardly had any peroxide left). Usually, I would do my entire hair but I digress.

This is my hair before the bleach bath.

And after.

It has lightened it on top, but not as light as I will need it to be. On the ends it is still rather dark too so I will be doing another bleach bath soon to try and remove the rest of the colour from my hair in preparation to dying it. I really love the Jerome Russell peroxide and powder as it is relatively cheap as well as it's great for removing colour. (I will be doing a review on this product shortly)

Items bought today!

These are two items I will be trying out very soon. Both were picked up for £1 and I have never tried them before. I hope they are hidden gems and great products. Here's to hoping!

The first is Mellor and Russell's simply bright hair colour in electric blue. This product claims to be a permanent dye. Now, after dying my hair for several years now in various bright colours (I've basically gone through the rainbow and back), I've noticed bright colours don't really tend to be permanent, they have always been semi permanent. I have tried a bright permanent colour before which was a live XXL colour, in a very vibrant red...which came out orange and pale. Not pleasant at all. I've also had friends use products like these and they have come out very very dark and not what was shown on the packet.

The second is derma V10 rescue oil. This is a oil which I think may be similar to the bio oil which is for stretch marks and any damaged skin. I myself have damaged skin on my legs which is very dry due to heat damage. I have no idea f this product will have any effect on it 

I bought both of these products to day and I will be looking forward to trying them in the next week and letting everyone know my thoughts on both of them.

Directions Tangerine

What is this product: Directions hair dye is a semi permanent dye. It is used for achieving non-natural, bright alternative colours.

Price: £3.75
Size: 88ml

My experience : I used this colour on top of my hair which has recently been dyed with the mandarin (around 2 weeks prior). I used it on dry hair and left it on for around half an hour. I used this product to try and achieve a bright orange hair colour, which the mandarin had failed to supply. 

Pro's

• Easy to use
• Good coverage
• Pot shaped so it's easy to get all the product
• Conditioning on the hair
• Bright colour
• Did not fade fast

Cons's

• Can stain surfaces

Would I recommend: I would definitely recommend this product. The colour came out really bright and vibrant, and lasted for just over a 6 weeks before needing to be touched up. With any directions dye, it can stain surfaces so laying down towels which you are not to fused about getting dye on is a must (unless you would like to have a multi-coloured bathroom). It left my hair feeling really soft as well. It's a must have colour if you are planning on dying your hair orange!

Directions Mandarin

What is this product: Directions hairdye is a semi perminant dye. It is used for achieving non-natural, bright alternative colours.

Price: £3.75
Size: 88ml

My experience : I used this product on bleached, dry hair. I completely saturated my hair with this colour and left on for around half an hour. When I washed it out, I was not too pleased with the colour as it wasn't as orangey as I had hoped, it was more dark/gold yellow than bright orange.

Pro's

• Easy to use
• Good coverage
• Pot shaped so it's easy to get all the product
• Conditioning on the hair

Cons's

• Not the colour I was expecting
• Faded really fast
• Not really as bright as previous colours I had used

Would I recommend: I would recommend this because yet again, its really conditioning on the hair and is really easy to use. I used one pot to cover half of my hair so it's definitely cost effective. I would not recommend this colour if you are wanting to go for a bright orange, but if you are wanting a more subtle, gold colour, then this is the one for you.

La Riche Directions Hair Dye Poppy Red

Price: £3.75 each
Size: 88ml

My experience: I used this on my hair whilst it was dry. My hair was not platinum blonde like they recommend but was still rather blonde. I found it very easy to use and to get from out of the tub with both my fingers as well as my tinting brush. The coverage was fantastic. I have long hair and just 1 1/2 tubs of this was definitely enough to cover and saturate my entire head. I left it on for around 20 minutes and rinsed it out. It took a while to rinse out but that was because I had completely saturated my hair with the product. Once it was washed out, I finished washing my hair with a little conditioner and then proceeded to dry it. I was very VERY happy with how the colour came out.


Thoughts:

• Easy to use
• Good coverage
• Didn't smell of anything
• Not tested on animals
• Left hair feeling soft
• Did not dry out my hair
• Can easily stain surfaces and clothes
• Easy to remove off skin

Would I recommend? 4.5/5 Yes! Yes! YES! I love this product so much. It's really conditioning on my hair, the coverage is fantastic and there is not really any smell to it. The pot is shaped so it is very easy to get every last drop out and they are very easy to clean and use again. The colour works fantastic on my hair and stays for a long time. It's easy to remove off my body if I forget to put petroleum jelly around my hair line and neck. The only downside is if it happens to fall onto any surface, it will stain that surface and is near impossible to remove so it's always best to put down a few towels you are not too fused about being ruined and wearing old clothes. 

Manic Panic Virgin Snow White Toner

What it claims: 

• Colors that Rock!® Guilt-Free Glamour™
• Cruelty-free cosmetics. Tested on celebrities not animals™
• Manic Panic® Hair Color is made from vegan ingredients and has the added benefit of conditioning the hair. 
• Manic Panic® Hair Color is PPD free! Ammonia-free and Peroxide-free!

Price : £9.99
Size : 4oz

My experience: I tried this product on bleached hair which had a lot of yellow tones in. I applied it onto dry hair and followed the instructions to the letter. It began to irritate my scalp a little and when it was washed out, it had left my hair feeling very dry and not pleasant at all.

Thoughts:

• Smell's a little like bleach so not very pleasant
• Nice consistency
• Good coverage
• Vegan
• Not tested on animals
• Reusable pot
• Did not work with my hair
• Shape of the pot

Would I recommend: 3/5 Yes and no. I think the price is too much for this product and other toners on the market are much cheaper and have worked better for me in the past than this one has. The smell for me is rather off putting as well. I would maybe recommend this product based on the fact it does have a good consistency and nice coverage, as well as the fact that it is not tested on animals and the pot it comes in can easily be rinsed out and reused. The shape of the pot too means you can get every last drop out.