Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Update: I've come to realize this stuff is basically permanent. Over six weeks later, the color turned into a still bright but slightly muted version of the same bright purple. Perfectly within my range of acceptable. By this time it was time to bleach and re-dye it because my dark roots were showing. Seriously, this stuff is great. SHORT VERSION: Three days has been enough to convince me that this is the best stuff out there. I have had purple hair for a very long time, and I am a very active person, and yet even when it's fresh, this stuff does not run under extreme conditions, whereas every other dye brand I have tried does - even this unsealed vs. other brands sealed. Based on this early experience I expect it to last for a very longtime in comparison to others. If you want a vivid, unnatural hair color, long-term, don't play around with the consumer brands. This is what professionals use, and for very good reason. It stays in hair, yet comes out of most everything else (I would avoid getting it on fabric though!) fairly easily. However, seeing how well it's sticking to my hair, I doubt I could recommend it for short term use. The directions say it can be bleached out and dyed over to a medium to dark color, but I don't intend to try. I like my purple. LONG VERSION: So, I've had purple hair for a very long time (I even sometimes jokingly claim that it's natural). I've used very nearly every brand I've been able to find. I am also a very active person, and usually have a problem with dye bleeding when I sweat, so I figured trying out a professional brand might be wise - if it holds up to rock stars, it might work for me, right? So I bought it, it arrived in a timely fashion, and this has been my experience: Day 1: Applied the dye. The first thing I noticed about it is that it's a nice royal purple, not reddish like other dyes I've tried - a good thing in my book; this is exactly the color I'm always aiming for. It's applied with a bowl and brush, which I usually use anyway as it's much neater than most applicator bottles. It went on easy, and gets good coverage; my hair is short and about 1/3 of the tube was enough for my whole head. I probably even used more than I needed just out of habit, actually. The instructions say to leave it in for no more than 20 minutes or it may actually make it fade faster. I was skeptical of this, but followed the instructions to the best of my ability anyway (it took several minutes to "paint" all my hair so I couldn't be very precise); I will let you know just how well it works. After the 20 minutes were up, I stepped in the shower to rinse it off, and that's where this gets exciting. There is a reason this stuff says it's for professional use only, and it's not that it can be dangerous if used improperly - it's for the mess it can make without professional equipment to contain it! The first thing I noticed was that the water was much brighter than I expected for the amount of dye I used (which led to my suspicion that I may have used more than I really needed). The second thing I noticed was that the water dyed my skin. The third thing I noticed was that after about 0.5 seconds of contact with the dye-water, my entire shower was covered in purple streaks. Everything was purple. Everything. My entire body, my shower, everything that came into contact with the diluted form of this dye for just a matter of seconds. Though it came off easily enough with about half an hour of washing and scrubbing (incidentally, my bathroom looks cleaner now than it has in years, not sure if it's just from the intensity of the scrubbing or if I left some dye behind and the blue tone is canceling out the yellow stains that have set in over the years), the next time I use this I fully intend to rinse my hair out in the sink...and line it with plastic first. I strongly recommend having plenty of soap, toothpaste, bleach, and Mr. Clean Magic Erasers or knockoffs thereof on hand. Still, if this is what happened after half a second of contact with the diluted dye, I have high hopes for how well it will stay in my hair after 20 minutes of contact with the concentrated stuff! Now rinsed and dry, after having been applied to my hair , which was pink due to residual dye from the last time I colored it, it's still a fantastic royal purple, exactly my favorite shade. So far, everything's looking good! Day 2: Washed hair at night; water was clear, though a good amount of pigment came out with shampoo. Made no apparent difference in hair's overall color, though noticing a fantastic iridescence on just-conditioned hair that hasn't appeared with other dye brands. Tomorrow is my first day of training since dyeing my hair; this is the real test... Day 3: It is perhaps time to explain the kind of training I do on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I take a body conditioning class through my college, which is taught by a remarkable woman who coaches professional athletes as well as amateurs. My heart rate usually reaches 95% of my maximum safe heart rate, and I leave sweating so much that I look more like I've been swimming than running and lifting weights. The dye did not run. Every other brand of dye I have every used runs after this kind of training, at the very least for the first week. This stuff? Stayed in place; the closest it came to running was a small amount rubbing off on my forehead from my fringe (easily cleaned up with soap and water) - and I didn't even get a chance to seal it like I have with other brands! I believe this is enough evidence for me to deliver my semi-final verdict. I am fully convinced that this stuff is the best out there.