Knitted Cape ~ Health in Style

Alright, so here is my hair dye post. I plan on doing a follow up in about a month.

Like I said, I used Manic Panic Infra Red. I wanted something bold, semi permanent ,vegan and not harmful to my hair so this fit the bill perfectly! It was $8.99 using my Sally Beauty card. I also bought a brush for application, gloves and hair caps. Here you can see what all I used. I spooned the dye into the bowl for easier access. With Manic Panic, you use a comb to even distribute it in your hair.

I did a rather big patch test first and was amazed how red it came out! It is recommended that you bleach your hair prior to using Manic Panic but I didn't want to do that so I wasn't sure just how red my hair would actually turn. I was not disappointed! Definitely got the bold red I wanted after leaving it on for just 30min, no heat application.

First time through I did miss a few patches, mostly around my ears so the next day I went back and touched those up. I divided my hair into sections. I do still have areas that are not as saturated with the red, although it's subtle enough that I'm not fixing it until the next time I dye it all. So that's why it is already red in the picture below. I only used just over half of the Manic Panic container but I think using the entire thing would have ensured a completely even application/result so now I know!

Voila! I chose Infra Red because I read that it has an orange base, not pink and I prefer orange toned reds. Plus I've heard the pink based ones fade to a hot pink shade. I do think my hair looks a bit pink in the sun though haha Without sun, it is a much deeper red. I really am happy with the shade! Part of me is tempted to mix in Wildfox, an orange Manic Panic dye, to see how that looks or Vampire Red which is a darker red but we'll see! Vampire Red has a pink base so I don't know how well it would mix with Infra Red.

I knelt in my bathtub to rinse it all out. Oh and I had washed/done a face mask the day before I dyed my hair. It took a while to rinse out most of the red but I haven't had any issues with it staining pillows or anything. The towel I used is now my dye towel. I think I'll be okay just using dark brown towels after I wash my hair normally though. It's Tuesday and I haven't technically washed my hair since Wednesday! I used some dry shampoo on Sunday but that's it. It was still so clean! I even applied some product in it after washing it. It needs to be washed today though so I will use my red shampoo/conditioner and do that. The less you wash your hair, the slower the colour will fade so if I can do it only once a week and use dry shampoo in between that would be great!

I had more pictures from day one but I accidentally deleted them and can't seem to find a free memory card recovery program. Oh well. You will see plenty coming up; I've been taking a lot of outfit pictures lately.

This knitted cape is the most comfortable thing ever. I've never owned a cape jacket/sweater before. I always feared it would look too shapeless but I actually really love it. I tried to show it a few different ways below (but lost a bunch of the pictures). You can button the collar all the way up, unbutton the "sleeves" (so then it's like a blanket!) etc. Now I kind of want an actual cape jacket! Only downside to the sweater is you can't wear it under a jacket, not that that's an issue here but in colder climates I guess it could be.