I know it's pretty basic info, but when all the dyes out there are sold in different volumes I figured it might be useful to have it all written down, especially for people new to hair dyeing that might find it confusing. I see quite a lot of queries on here about the 'cheapest' dyes and, seeing as I'm bored on my day off and enjoy doing really lame things like this, I made/calculated a price comparison list of the main brands:
Special Effects costs around £9.40 for 118ml £7.97 per 100ml
Manic Panic costs around £7.20 for 114ml £6.32 per 100ml
Stargazer costs around £4.00 for 70ml £5.71 per 100ml
Directions costs around £4.00 – 88ml £4.55 per 100ml
Crazy Colour costs around £3.60 – 100ml £3.60 per 100ml
(all prices from Beeunique)
Value for Money
The following are generalisations, and not everyone will find they ring true for them as everyone is different and hair types vary massively! But they are based on what the majority of people seem to find:
- While SFX is the most expensive, many people find that the dye itself lasts longer (you need less dye to coat the hair) and stays brighter than a lot of the other brands. This depends, of course, on the colour you use - for example, in my experience, Napalm Orange washed out to a pastel colour quite quickly (maybe 2 washes) whereas Pimpin' Purple lasts around 5 washes before starting to fade.
- Directions dyes are quite similar to SFX in how they last and stay bright, and once again depend on the colour - for me, Violet washed out very quickly whereas Turquoise sticks forever!
- Stargazer dyes tend to fade quicker than others, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing as many people want faded pastel colours and Stargazer dyes are ideal for this!
Posted : June 9, 2011 4:52 pm
No, this is not lame at all - actually I like that idea.
I wondered already if it's possible to calculate the price in a 'holistic' way, where the 'staying power' of those colours is considered, too. While Stargazer and Crazy Colour are said to fade rather fast (so you have to top them up rather often) some SFX shades are impossible to get rid of. So maybe the 'expensive' SFX is a total bargain because you only need a third of the product to stay shiny for many weeks, while you have to top other brands up every second wash?
Furthermore, every shade has different properties - quick fading blues, long lasting reds, etc...
However, I'm not really sure whether it is possible to 'study' this in a satisfying way, as every head is different - so it's probably not the best approach to compare different dyes on different heads. Guess one would have to use a wig or extension wefts for a 'standardised' base. And looots of time. And even more money... 😉
Posted : June 9, 2011 6:06 pm
We could sticky this and link it when people ask 🙂 good idea thanks livv!
ETA; in some places Directions is called Punky Colours but is the same dye, I don't know why it has a name change though.
Posted : June 9, 2011 6:49 pm
I'm glad you guys like it! I find stuff like this so satisfying, heh. I could always add in a summary of the trends that the *majority* of people find with certain dyes, like hamsta said. And I can edit the post as people come in with their experiences 🙂
*edit*
I've edited the first post to put in a few things. I've only ever used SFX, Directions and Stargazer so if anyone has anything to add on any of the other brands (or of course, anything else/examples for SFX etc) then I'll add it all in!
Posted : June 9, 2011 7:15 pm
Fantastic idea Livvv that's really helpful! I always thought Stargazer was really cheap but it's actually middle range.. hmmmm that's food for thought. Nickki doesn't like too many stickies on the forum so I won't sticky this info but I will talk to her about it and see if we can display this information somewhere more prominent.
Posted : June 11, 2011 8:33 am
Nothing worse than a forum with a whole page of stickies you have to scroll past to get to the actual posts - I try to keep 2-3 max to a section to keep the forum tidy and easy to navigate 😀
I have created a new sticky for the top of each hair dye section which has useful information and it contains a link to this post as it's very helpful info, thanks Livvv!
Posted : June 11, 2011 12:46 pm
Ah I'm glad I've been useful! 😀 It's nice to contribute to such a friendly and helpful forum <3
Posted : June 11, 2011 7:15 pm
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