MANIC PANIC Classic Cotton Candy Pink Semi Permanent Hair Color - Bright Pink Hair Dye for Women & Men That Lasts 4-6 Weeks - Vegan, Ammonia & Cruelty-Free - Create & Mix Custom Shades (4oz)

First: UPDATED REVIEW YAAY!I love this color. It's VERY pink.Second: Forgive me for my CAPS, I just want to make sure I share everything I learn with people who were beginners/wanting to try like me, but not professional hair stylists.My natural hair color is a medium-to-light brown. In order for this color to even remotely show up in your hair without bleaching it--you're going to HAVE to have naturally very, very light blond hair. Think platinum blond. Super light-ash blond.Things to note before even buying this hair color:--EVERYONE has different hair types. Everyone. Some people have hair that just soak up color fantastically and suffer little damage for it. Some people have really hard to dye hair. Some people have a mix of both. Some people's hair is so delicate you can't look at it sideways without it breaking. BEFORE you travel into the world of crazy hair colors: KNOW WHAT TYPE OF HAIR YOU HAVE. *ESPECIALLY* if you are not a hair professional/self coloring.--If you just want a fun tint to your hair, skip the next note I'm making...--If you want this to be OMG PINK!!11! and you have hair that is not naturally white/plat blond/very light ash blond, you're going to have to bleach. Either your whole head or the ends for dip dying or strips or whatever you want.--Bleaching on sensitive/fussy hair types can be EXTREMELY DAMAGING. Be careful when self bleaching if you are not a professional/experienced.--To get the best results that last longest YOU MUST LEAVE THIS IN FOR MORE THAN 4 HOURS. OVERNIGHT AND LONGER IS BEST AND REMEMBER:IT IS A VEGETABLE DYE. IT WILL NOT DAMAGE YOUR HAIR LIKE CONVENTION DYES/BLEACH.USE HEAT TO HELP SET COLORUSE A BRUSH TO APPLY. START AT TIPS OF HAIR AND COAT TIPS THICKER THAN YOU WOULD ROOTS. WHY? YOUR SCALP IS HOT, BABY. HEAT HELPS SET THE COLOR. IF YOU HAVE A REALLY HAWT SCALP, THE COLOR AT YOUR ROOTS WILL BE BRIGHTER THAN AT THE ENDS.DO NOT RUSH. DO NOT SKIP SECTIONING HAIR AND APPLYING IT BIT BY BIT. DO NOT BE IN A HURRY IF YOU WANT GOOD COLOR.WASH YOUR HAIR IN THE COLDEST WATER YOU CAN STANDDO NOT USE SHAMPOOS WITH SULFATES AS IT WILL STRIP THE COLOR FASTERWASH SPARINGLY, INVEST IN A DRY SHAMPOO. THE LESS YOU WASH, THE LONGER IT WILL LASTSAVE A TINY PALM FULL SIZE OF THE COLOR AND ADD IT TO YOUR CONDITIONER. CONDITION HAIR NORMALLY BUT LET CONDITIONER SIT IN LONGER THAN USUAL. WILL HELP THE LONGEVITY OF YOUR DYE.Sorry for all the caps! I just want to make sure I can catch some of the beginners who were like me, before, and didn't know these things before starting working on their hair!And now!The Positives:Beautiful color. It will be very bright the a) longer you leave it in and b) the lighter your hair is and c) the more absorbent/reactive your hair is to dye.It's easy to pastel-ize this without expensive add ins. You can make it a very light, light rose by only letting this sit 1-4 hours (again, depends on your hair. But if you leave it in shorter = lighter hair color. Use a small quarter size touch of conditioner and mix it in with the color to help make it much lighter.I left this in for 10+ hours after bleaching my hair. It did not harm my hair at all.Cons:As a medium/light brown haired girl, I HAD to bleach my hair for this to work. I used their 40 bleach kit in hopes of getting super light hair. I DID get super blond hair!....At my roots. My ends were brassy/yellow and I did not use a toner and thus, it was my OWN fault that the ends of my hair were barely pink while my roots where OMFGPINK!! When I re-bleach and re-dye my hair, I will apply this new lesson-learned by focusing the bleach (and eventually after bleach the dye), more thickly on my ends and thinner/less on roots.It gets everywhere. Eeeeeeeeeeverywhere. Put newspaper down on the floor, cover your bath tub/sinks/surfaces, wear clothes you don't care about.If you are impatient, in a rush, sloppy with applying it, do not section your hair and apply it correctly: you're gonna have a bad time. It's a very particular kind of dye that works best with people who either know what they are doing or are willing to put the time and effort to apply it correctly. (Or, if you are a professional.)If you use shampoos with sulfates, warm water, shampoo daily/every two days/three days etc, the dye and the color will fade super, super quick. Invest in a good dry shampoo and gird your loins for cold-as-you-can-stand shampooing to keep it looking fresh.TL:DR: Buy IT yes! Good color, yes! However, vegetable dyes/crazy color dyes take a LOT of work to dye properly and maintain. If you want to just slop it on and expect to have nice, brilliant hair for months without being careful about this: don't believe anyone who tells you having bright pink/green/red/yellow/purple/what-have-you unnatural hair color is EASY to maintain. It's not. <3

The formula has gone to trash. Cotton Candy pink has always been a neon pink and the new formula barely tints my level 10 hair pastel. Hot hot pink is just as bad. I’ve used MP since the 90s, it’s kind of sad to have to stop. Hopefully they fix the pigmentation.

I ordered Cotton Candy Pink a while back from Amazon, however I normally use Passion Red, Hot Hot Pink, or After Midnight Blue (once). I dye my naturally brown hair with Manic Panic dyes only because they are semi-permanent.In order to get the color, I wash my hair using a harsh dish washing soap like Ajax or regular soap like a Dial bar twice to strip it. No conditioner. I then dry my hair on high and straighten it on high without heat protector. Why? To get it as DRY as possible without straight up burning it. Any products will block the dye. Don't worry, Manic Panic dyes will rehydrate your hair. I then take my dye of choice (Passion Red is my favorite, it fades nice!) and cover my hair fully with dye, applying it thickly so it has a lot to soak up. 9+ inch thick/12+ inch thin hair may need more than one jar for the right affect. (I have very thick hair and when I started dying it reached my lower back! Two jars!)Leave the dye in at least 9 hours, preferably 12 depending on color. More than 12 may be the best thing to do, but the dye is harder to was out after 12 hours. These dyes are free of harsh chemicals so they are safe for you to leave in. I usually do this at like 7 PM, then cover my hair with a shower cap to sleep.Another tip I read from the Manic Panic website is using the hair drying for 5 minutes every hour or so (before I go to bed.) The heat is supposed to help.When you wash your hair for the first time, try to use cool water. Don't use shampoo the first wash. You can use conditioner after you have washed your roots good! I find that leaving it in so long means I spend a while getting the excess out.Remember, an unnatural color on natural hair is not going to last as long as it would on bleached hair. After the second wash it begins to fade. The longer you left the dye in, the less it will fade between washes. I try to go 2-3 days without washing it the first two weeks to keep it longer.Tips for not dying your face, bedding, etc.:* I purchased a cream from Sally's that claimed to protect your skin from dyes. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't(?), but it was cheap ($2) so not a complete waste if your forehead may not be pink for 2 days.* In case it leaks from the cap while sleeping, place a dark towel on your pillow or buy a dark case.* When you wash your hair there may be some residue left after the first wash and when you towel dry it you find your nice white towels are now pink! If bleach within an hour it should save the towel, but after that it's ruined.My Individual Color Experiences:* Cotton Candy Pink did not turn out well. It is a light color and will best be achieved in bleach hair, I think. I left it in 12 hours. Don't follow my instructions and use this color if you're a brunette, it's tacky. :\ And it faded fast!* Passion Red has had the best results for getting the right color and lasting. I left it in 12 hours. It also fades to a natural looking red color on brunettes before finally returning me to my roots! Last day of red was about 3 weeks later.* Hot Hot Pink did not get completely the right shade, as should be expected with a pink in brown hair. I left it in only 9-10 hours though. It was a pretty pink and lasted as long as Passion Red.* After Midnight Blue was gorgeous! Lasted weeks! And your brown hair is permanently green afterwords. Lol. I'm so glad I only streaked it in two places. I think I only left the dye in for 5 hours? But it's been a while back. A year later and a new hair cut, I no longer am asked randomly when standing in the sun, "Hey, Wait... did you dye your hair green?"Hope this helps!