Does Manic Panic Work On Black Hair?
The brand Manic Panic has been an innovator of unique and creative hair colors for the last several decades.
The colours range from soft and pastel to bold and vibrant, each depending on your mood and taste.
The hair colours are eye-catching and on-trend, especially as hair colour has become another form of expressing our own unique identity.
The colours available within Manic Panic’s product line are vast and out-of-the-box, and seemingly bold enough to work on any hair colour.
However, it is essential to note that these imaginative shades may require some additional work to get them to show up as vibrantly on the hair as they do in the bottle.
The biggest question that comes with looking at the bold shades of Manic Panic is if they work on dark, black hair, and, if they do, will they appear the same as they do on light, blonde locks.
So, does Manic Panic hair colour work on dark, black hair?
Ultimately, Manic Panic is going to work the best on lighter hair colours, but darker hair colours, like black, will not show any change or colour. If you have a darker hair colour, you can lighten your natural shade to a lighter tone and then apply the Manic Panic colours to have a subtle payoff.
Below, we are going to discuss what makes Manic Panic hair colour special, what hair colours it works best for, and what shades you should look into if you have dark, black hair.
What Is Manic Panic?
Manic Panic is a popular cosmetic hair care brand that specialises in creative hair colours.
It is a brand that offers a wide variety of vibrant and eye-catching shades and is both vegan and cruelty-free.
Manic Panic’s range of hair colours is semi-permanent, with the vibrant colours lasting for up to six weeks.
Along with being a semi-permanent hair colour, their products are also formulated with moisturising, conditioning products to keep hair feeling healthy and looking shiny.
The nourishing formulas help to strengthen hair, primarily as the product works best on hair that has been pre-lightened with bleach.
Why Use Manic Panic?
Manic Panic has been a leader in the cosmetic, semi-permanent, creative hair colour industry for several decades.
It constantly evolves its range of products to suit any hair trend and style, offering unique colours and shades.
They offer an array of innovative shades that range from pastel to neon to UV colour that glows under a black light.
It is not formulated with any harsh ammonias or chemicals that permanent dye consists of, but instead contains conditioning agents that soften and hydrate the hair.
Even though there is a wide range of colours offered within each of the Manic Panic lines, the colours can also be mixed and matched to create your own unique, customised hair colour.
Depending on your natural hair colour and the level of pre-lightening process achieved on your hair.
The semi-permanent colour can last anywhere between four and six weeks, gradually fading over time.
Here’s an excellent tutorial for using Manic Panic if you’ve never tried it before, from the creators of the brand themselves!
Does Manic Panic Work on Black Hair?
Overall, no, Manic Panic hair colours will not work on black hair without the hair being lightened with bleach first.
Being the darkest hair colour, black absorbs colour, so the vibrant tones will be lost and will not show up effectively.
Along with absorbing the colour, the dye is a semi-permanent product, which means it will only coat the outer layers of the hair.
Rather than penetrating deeper to adjust the colour of your hair from the inside out.
Some shades will show up without having to pre-lighten the hair, but it will be a more subtle tint than full-on colour.
For the colours to provide a tint to darker hair without pre-lightening, it is best if the natural hair starts as a dark/medium brown, which is generally a level 3 in hair colour terms.
Any natural hair colour darker than a level 3 will not show the colour of the Manic Panic dye.
Bleaching the hair is a process on its own that can be unpredictable, so it is important not to push the hair too far with the lightening process to avoid the hair being overprocessed.
Although Manic Panic’s colours are semi-permanent and do not have the same chemicals as permanent hair dyes, the bleaching process can still cause potential damage to the hair.
If the hair is overprocessed with bleach, it can turn brittle and break off due to the severe lack of moisture.
It is best to do a strand test to gauge the level of processing your hair can withstand from the bleach, as well as to see what level the hair will lighten to.
Once you can see where the colour level will fall after being bleached, you can determine which types of shades you want to colour your hair with.
You can also start to see how subtle or vibrant the chosen colour will be.
What Colours Are Best To Use On Black Hair?
If you have dark black hair, but still want to capture some of the imaginative shades that Manic Panic has to offer.
It is best to start by lightening or lifting your hair with bleach to a lighter shade first.
Depending on your hair type, lifting the black to a light brown or medium blonde shade will help in getting the vibrant shades to show up the best.
However, if you do not want to lighten your hair to that extreme, lightening it instead to a medium brown shade can achieve a subtle tint of colour.
Any time the hair is bleached, it can cause damage and strain to the hair strands.
Although Manic Panic’s dyes have conditioning properties, making sure to follow up with hydrating products to nourish the hair is essential to maintaining the hair’s health.
Once the hair has been lightened to the best level it can be, the best shades to use are some of the richer, deeper tones.
They will still maintain their vibrancy, but colours like purples, dark pinks, reds, and blues will give a lovely hue to your lightened black strands.
Although the strands have been lifted, some of the lighter, pastel shades may still have trouble showing up.
How Vibrant Will Manic Panic Colours Be on Black Hair?
Colours that are applied to darker hair colours, without any lightening, will be very subtle.
They will not show up on black hair, but on dark brown hair; the tint of the shade can be apparent, especially when in direct sunlight.
Overall, the effect of the colour will be very subtle and minimal, the darker the hair is.
Also, because the hair has not been lifted, the semi-permanent colour will not be as deeply absorbed as it could be.
Although it only coats the outer layers of the hair, on natural hair that has not been lifted, the hair is less porous and holds on to the colour.
It can result in the hair colours lasting between two and three weeks before fading out of the hair completely.
Other Hair Colours With Manic Panic?
Throughout their brand, Manic Panic has a variety of colour lines available that can suit any individual’s style or mood.
Being able to mix and match the shades to customise the colour, as well as staying on top of trends, fits in with the semi-permanent colour lasting for about six weeks.
The lighter the hair is, the more vibrant and true-to-colour the shades will appear.
As has been stated, the most crucial step to start with is the pre-lightening process.
When the hair is lifted with bleach, it becomes more porous, meaning it can absorb and hold the colour for a more extended period of time.
If you are applying the colour onto hair that has not been lifted, there is the potential for the colour to fade out quicker than it would in pre-lightened hair — even if you have lighter hair to start with.
Doing a patch test on your hair is crucial to ensuring the product will work for your hair type and that you will not have any allergic reaction.
From there, you can choose from their range of pastel, neon, or UV shades to last at least six weeks.
With lighter, platinum blonde hair, some colours can even last up to 8 weeks.
Conclusion
Although Manic Panic offers an extensive range of colour selections, in general, applying the product straight onto black hair will have little to no colour payoff.
The vibrant colours will be easily absorbed in the black strands of your hair, and you will not be able to see any of the desired effect.
The only way to ensure the vibrant colours can show up on dark, black hair is to first lift the natural colour with bleach to lighten the strands.
Although you do not want to push the hair to be lightened more than it can stand.
Depending on the level it gets to, you can have a beautiful, subtle tint of colour, or a bold, vibrant shade.
