Manic Panic Rockabilly Blue

Hello blagables.

So, for now, this post will not have pictures, as my computer still won't read my camera card. (And I forgot to take immediate pics of the color). For those of you who read the Manic Panic website, you know that it says Rockabilly Blue is their strongest blue yet. I agree. Especially when you get it in the bathtub, or the counter, or if one stand of dyed hair that hasn't been washed at least twice and is even slightly wet touches anything.

So a little statement, if you read this post, you know that it didn't work very well on my hair. By the end, my hair was pink and purple with maybe three stands of blue. Because I didn't wash it particularly often (about once a week, since my hair doesn't get very greasy, and it's long so it'll dry out if I wash it too much), the color was still in three months later. So I had to bleach it first. I just used some extra light ash blond dye on the roots. Instead of conditioning it afterwards, I mixed half the tube of conditioner the blond tube came with with about 1/4-1/3 the pot of Rockabilly Blue (it did say to use sparingly). I only bleached the roots to light yellow, as I wanted some green in my hair. It worked nicely.

As for the main section of my hair, it was blue. I'll give it that. I washed it out with shampoo, after the previous experience with Shocking Blue. After the second wash, my hair was blue and purple instead of pink and purple, which I consider a great improvement. I only kept it in for about an hour, though.

I mixed a small bit (a really small bit) of dye into my shampoos, which immediately turned almost black they were so blue, and I have been using that to maintain color. Because it's mixed with shampoo, it doesn't get dye everywhere like the straight dye does.

And drumroll please...
Messiness: 7/5 - yes, you read that correctly. I take back what I said about Shocking Blue being the messiest. This one totally wins.

Expected color: 3/5 - the ends are still purple, but the roots and head area of my hair look good.

Awesomeness of color: 4/5 - the green part has faded remarkably fast, though that may because of how much I had to scrub to get the dye off my scalp.

Would I recommend this to anyone? Yep, just remember to cut it with conditioner first. It really is strong.

Would I buy this product again? Well, I don't really need to for a while if I do- I still have quite a bit left, since I cut it with conditioner.

BONUS AWARD: Since the color is so strong, and pretty much needs to be cut (you can use super cheap conditioner), this gets the ♦GREAT VALUE AWARD♦. I used the non-amplified version, so it was maybe $10-12. I can dye my hair at least 2 more times with it, and color all my shampoos.

NEW AWARD FOR AWESOMENESS: When a tiny (really tiny) bit of this stuff is added to a cubic ton of cheap conditioner and left in for ten minutes, you get a baby-sky blue color. It's really nice.

UPDATE: This color apparently uses silicon to make the blue hold better... it also makes it last way longer than it should. If you are looking for some quick blue fun that will be out in a couple weeks, DO NOT USE THIS COLOR.

Manic Panic Shocking Blue

I will begin my review by saying that I had very high hopes for this product. The pictures I found online of people who had this color looked so wonderful! Now, the problem may be that I didn't bleach it well enough to begin with, while the top of my head was very light, the bottom was still a light blondish. That doesn't account for all of the problems, though.

I had waited about a week between bleaching and dyeing to give my hair a break. I used 1 pot of Shocking Blue- it took a while to work it all in, but I managed (there was only one pot left in the store I went to). I wrapped my head up in plastic wrap and a scarf, and let the dye soak in for about 14 hours.

Now, what you won't find online is how much of a fucking mess this shit makes. I had to bleach the counter top because I waited a full three seconds before I wiped it off. And then there was a giant smear dyed onto it. I'm just glad the counters were white so I could bleach them.

For the dye itself- don't get me wrong, I love the color, it's just not what I was led to believe. For example:

See the light purple in the front? Shocking? Yes. Blue? No.

The lighter spots near my scalp aren't actually light blue, they're more like turquoise. They look greenish.

This blue is pretty much what I thought I would be getting all-over.

But the ends are completely purple.

Don't get me wrong here, I like turquoise. I like purple. But I wanted blue.

SO
Messiness- 5/5, this is the single messiest hair color I have ever used. I waited a few days before I shampooed it, and I had to keep it in a scarf when I slept, because it got all over my pillows. And there is a giant ring in the shower from the dye that I still need to clean up.

Expected color- 2/5, which is, incidentally, the amount of my hair that came out the expected color.

Awesomeness of color- 5/5, not what I was expecting, but still freaking awesome.

Would I recommend this to anyone? Yes, if you don't mind the mess and the chance it'll be purple.

Would I by this again? I'm on the fence. I wasn't sure if one pot would be enough, so I got a pot of Rockabilly Blue also, and I will be using that when I need to redye.

UPDATE
Expected color- 1/5, after a second wash, almost my entire head is purple
Would I buy this again? No. I want blue, not purple.

UPDATE PART TWO
Now that I think about it, when you put eggs in blue dye too long, they turn pink as well. I now believe that I had the dye in too long, so bare that in mind when reading this review.