ionFlamingo Semi Permanent Hair Color Flamingo

This has been my signature color going on roughly 8 years! I’ve tried several of Ion Brights’ other colors & have loved them! The Aqua is by far my favorite tho & I’ve become know for my love of this color! It lasts quite a while, fades beautifully, & is easy to apply! I truthfully love the way it fades! It allows me to continue look great even well after it’s started losing it’s vibrant color! I highly recommend this brand to anyone looking to dye their hair unnatural colors!

I've been experimenting with bright colors for a while now, doing greens and teals in Special Effects and Splash brands. All of these washed almost completely out in under two weeks, even using recommended care instructions. I decided to try one more time using Ion and I'm blown away! The color is absolutely gorgeous, and while it's only been two weeks, it hasn't faded at all! I will update again later to report how long it lasts. Note that I was doing greens before, and this time I did blue - blues and darker colors in general last longer than greens and lighter colors, so keep that in mind if you're trying other colors. I haven't tried the green in this brand, though.This is the process I followed to do the initial dye job:1. I bleached my hair nearly white, although there was a section around the middle that didn't bleach as white.2. I shampooed (but NOT conditioned) my hair before dying.3. I used a combination of Sky Blue & Sapphire colors and applied it to damp hair. We started with a base of sky blue, then did sapphire on the ends and randomly throughout the rest to give the color more depth. Since my hair wasn't bleached as much in the middle, and my hair bleaches into yellow-tones, that blended with the blue to create a greenish blue to create a beautiful effect (see the picture!)4. I covered my head with a plastic bag and a shower cap, covered my pillow in an old towel, and left the dye in my hair OVERNIGHT.5. I washed the dye out in the morning with COLD water. If you're like me and you can't handle cold showers, try rinsing out over the sink instead of in the shower. It's much easier to handle when you don't have freezing water running down your back. The initial rinse is the most important to do in cold water - I go back to hot showers after that.6. I immediately treated the hair with Ion Color Defense After-Color Sealer, left it in for several minutes, then rinsed again in cold water.This is how I maintain the color:1. I still shower in hot water every day, however I only shampoo twice a week (I do Wednesdays and Sundays to keep track). I can't stand having oily hair, which is why I still shower every day - the water by itself strips out quite a bit of the oil.2. I use L'Oreal EverPure Sulfate-Free Color Care System Smooth Shampoo, but you can use whatever brand you want as long as it's sulfate-free3. I use the Ion Color Defense again in place of conditioner, being sure to leave it in for a couple of minutes before rinsing.4. Afterward, whether or not I shampooed, I use Ion Color Defense Leave-in Protector on towel-dried hair5. After blow drying, if I didn't shampoo in the shower, I use dry shampoo to help keep the oiliness under controlUPDATE:This color never seems to fade! I died it in July, and it stayed just as bright and vibrant until October, at which point I decided to switch to a different color. I only touched up the color once in 4 months! It's amazing that it never faded at all!

I used the Rose colored dye and pretty happy with the results.Pros:Easy applicationDoesn't have a strong smellVery pretty color (doesn't really look like the sample swatch but it comes out as a really pretty pastel pink without looking neon, which I really liked)Cons:Not enough dye in the tube (this won't apply to everyone but I personally used the dye all over my head but only on my roots plus maybe another two inches and it was barely enough. If you have long hair I would definitely recommend getting more than one tube)Needs to be put on very thickly (part of the reason I had to use a whole tube on such a small amount of hair was because you really have to put a lot on in order for it to take. My hair was bleached to a platinum blonde and the color still didn't take in some areas. Luckily I had just enough dye leftover to go over the areas one last time.)Hair needs to be very, very light to work. (You HAVE to bleach your hair before you use this dye unless you were lucky enough to be blessed with platinum blonde hair. For other colors such as the darker purples and blues it's not as necessary, but since the Rose dye is very light as pastel-ly your hair needs to be as light as possible before you use this. I already had my hair bleached so I didn't have to worry about it, but for those of you with medium blonde hair or anything darker, I would definitely recommend bleaching it lighter.

I can't get over how accurate the swatch/pictures were for my chosen color! (Radiant Orchid) I used Neutral Protein Filler as a post-bleaching, pre-color treatment per a recommendation I found researching my color choices. I will never color without it again! I left it in for 20-25 minutes by itself before applying the Ion Color Brights as opposed to mixing it with my color, as a few reviewers suggested. I didn't find the cream to be too thick to use, as some others have complained, so decided to just do it as a pre-treatment. I applied Radiant Orchird immediately thereafter, without rinsing. I squeezed 25 gm (about half a tube. Bonus: 2 applications for my short hair!) in a tint bowl and swirled it around a bit with my tint brush and found it perfectly manageable and easy to apply without adding anything. I was surprised at how rich and pigmented it was and how far a small amount on my brush went. With further research, I found that like some other contemporary dyes, this can be left in much longer than the recommended 20-40 minutes. I opted not to leave overnight, but just over an hour. I am thrilled with my color result! This is the best result I've ever had from a contemporary color of any brand, and I've tried many, and I can't get over how similar to the swatch/product pictures it came out. In addition, not sure if it was the protein filler or the dye itself, but when I rinsed it, my hair felt uncannily slick, soft, and smooth, not at all fried as I was expecting from my multiple corrective bleach processes. I did follow with Ion Color Brilliance After Color Treatment 3ozIon After Color treatment. For reference, before applying Radiant Orchid, the top of my hair was pre-lightened to a 9-10, virgin growth on sides and back to an 8-ish. It's only the first day, so I can't speak yet on color retention, but I am SO pleased with my result and looking forward to trying more colors!