Directions Semi Permanent Hair Color

Now first off, I feel the need to say thank you to smudgenskunk, as they inspired me to do this review. It's not exactly the 'everchanging colours of peace1989' but until i get there, this will have to do. So, now i've given smudgenskunk some free advertising, on with the review!

I've dyed my hair quite a few colours and have therefore tried quite a few brands-concerning unnatural colours, and i've found this to be the best by far.

So, there I was, in blue banana, giggling at the sex toys and marvelling at the weird and wonderful clothes (which i plain just can't afford) when i come across this little pot with a white lid. 'What are Blue Banana doing selling poster paint?' I ask myself...'It has to be something else...' So, on closer inspection i find that it is, in fact, hair dye (you all saw that coming, I know).
Now, i generally tend not to plan these things, and, being bored of my current hair colour i figure what they hey...it's only semi-permanent.

According to the pot's instructions you're supposed to wash your hair with a PH balanced shampoo. Then, apply this to towel dried hair for 25 minutes(ish) wearing gloves using a tint brush. Then it's the usual protocol of washing your hair till the water runs clear.
Well, that's what the pot tells you to do, here's what i actually did:
I used the ph balanced shampoo (dove) so i was off to a good start. I didn't really towel dry my hair, as it's quite long and thick...and i'm just plain lazy. As i don't have a tint brush i thought i'd be creative and use a toothbrush, however, this took far too long so in the end i just plonked it on my head and hoped for the best. i then left it on for about 45 minutes and I also forgot to use gloves....big mistake. After doing all this, i conditioned my hair, though i don't think you'd have to, as the actual dye itself contains conditioner.

So, the result. I really loved it, I chose poppy red, and have also used pillar box red and it actually came out the right colour and not a weird off-colour gingery shade. I found that other brands such as loreal, clairol and nutrisse didn't actually come out the same shade as advertised. You also have the hassel of having to prepare the hair dye-and let's face it, they stink. It's like being in a chemical factory. Directions however, kind of reminded me of nursery. Apart from the fact that it really resembled poster paint it also smelt kind of plasticy.
The colour was also really vibrant and shiny, and didn't seem to damage my hair in the slightest.

The colour lasted about 1 month before it started to fade, and this is quite good considering it's only semi-permanent. It also beats every other permanent brand i've tried. It was however, really difficult to dye over when i fancied another change...and it all went horribly wrong at this point. The moral of this story being if you decide to have bright red hair, stay that way or prepare to suffer a little!

As i've said, i got my hair dye from blue banana and it cost £4.50. You can also get it fron here: http://www.directions-retail.co.uk/_page​s/shop.htm for £3.75 plus p&p

It comes in an 88ml litre tub which is resealable-and i did use some at a later date and it was fine. This covers pretty long hair...a few inches below sholder length, depending on the thickness.

The big flaw with this product however, is that for a few days you will be walking round with your neck and possibly ears the same shade as your skin. My friend used this product to dye her hair neon blue and also ended up staining her shower and her head phones...so yeah...take precautions...;o)

According to La Riche, the company which produce this hair dye, "Directions allows you to create their own limitless shades and designs to suit their own individual desires." With 33 shades i think this is probably true. Pretty much all of the shades are unnatural.
Their products are not tested on animals so yay for ethical stuff!

So, now i'll stop going on and sum the whole thing up for you. Yes i would recommend this product, but be prepared to have odd coloured skin for a few days (though i personally found this a rather entertaining experience all in all).