Best hair colour brand for longevity/value

Beeunique.co.uk is a source for special effects 🙂 no punky colours, but directions is similar.

You might also need to take on board some tips for longevity. There's a thread in the tutorials section on how to stop colour from fading fast, so have a read through that.

I like special effects a lot, as well as directions. But it can very much depend on your hair how long something will last. Some people say certain manic panic colours last well, but I have trouble making any of them last! Sadly, it's trial and error mostly 🙂 there are some however that will stain very badly (or well, depending weigher you want to remove it or not!)

Special effects -
Atomic pink
Virgin pink

Directions -
Turquoise
Plum (purple fades fast to a royal blue and then appears to stick fast!)

There's others, but I'm tired and can't think if them right now!

I have never had much success with Lagoon blue either, it always comes out patchy and fades quickly, i prefer to dilute a more heavily pigmented dye. You can create a very similar colour using Atlantic blue diluted with white conditioner and a splash of Neon blue (or some pink or purple if you have it in)
I think Special Effects is the best for longevity with most of their colours. Deep Purple and Blue Velvet are especially good, as are many of their reds.
Adore is another brand to consider, they are right behind SFX in the longevity department, and are much cheaper. Again it really depends on which shade.
Directions have some excellent colours too, but some such as their pastels, reds and lagoon blue don't last particularly well.
Manic panic, Stargazer and Crazy colour are generally more popular with people who like to change their colour frequently as they are easier to remove, but even within those brands are certain shades that really last. MP Vampire Red for example, Stargazer Magenta, and several of Crazy Colours blues.

Oh, I found the new formula of manic panic atomic turquoise now lasts a lot longer. Whatever the EU change has been, has meant all these turquoise shades are getting sticky!

Hi, thanks for the replies.

Have anyone heard of Arctic Fox? One of the youtuber I follow used this dye and recommend it for its longevity.

I dye over unprocessed white hair so stickyness is my holy grail ... so far my experience has been that "professional" brands have more staying power than your regular, easily available brands. Although nowadays even the "professional use only" brands can be bought online by anyone (pravana - didn't try this one though, joico k-pak, elumen ... elumen being more of a permanent colour, but their bright shades aren't great in green and blue).

I dye over unprocessed white hair so stickyness is my holy grail ... so far my experience has been that "professional" brands have more staying power than your regular, easily available brands. Although nowadays even the "professional use only" brands can be bought online by anyone (pravana - didn't try this one though, joico k-pak, elumen ... elumen being more of a permanent colour, but their bright shades aren't great in green and blue).

Hi, what do you mean exactly when you said elumen is more of a permanent colour? Is it actually permanent or is it just well stick for a good long while. Thanks

It is marketed as permanent, however I'm not sure it is as much as the "real" permanent ones ( = the damaging ones with ammonia or such. It's marketed as permanent, damage-free.
But yes, I found it permanent enough that doing root touch-ups would make some build up on the overlapping parts and make the overall colour too dark progressively.

I went on their website yesterday looking for a description. It does fade but doesn't come off entirely I assume? That's what it looks like on the website. With your experience using this, how much does it fades? Almost completely off or just lighten like a pastel colour and stop fading? I am really interested in this line of colour and really want to give it a try. Where do you get them from?

Elumen is different from direct dyes, it is very acidic, which is how it penetrates the hair, but it also means it isn't as safe to use as conventional direct dyes. You don't want to get it on your skin at all, it can burn and stain, it also can melt regular acrylic tint brushes. It is a salon product, not designed to be used at home. It is also really expensive.

I see, I was interested cause it sounds like the technology to reduce and minimise damaged but I guess acidic isn't what I am looking for. How about demi-permanent dyes. I heard it lasted a good while longer but I haven't find a demi brands with un-natural colours.

If you want a really long lasting colour you can get that with the right direct dye. If you want a permanent blue, Ions sky blue is the best bet. permanent pink, SFX Atomic Pink. Most dyes will last better than directions Lagoon blue. Many direct dyes will last much longer than demi or permanent dyes, and of course you don't get the damage that oxidative dyes cause.

Thanks.

Which brand should I go for purple and silver/gray?

Special effects, Adore or Pravana, all have great purples. i have yet to find a long lasting silver, as it is such a pastel colour it tends to wash out quite quickly. Diluted Adore Blue Black mixed with SFX Deep Purple is probably the best value silver I have made.

Thanks, that's perfect  *1*