What Do I Dye My Hair With? Crazy Color Vermillion Red!

This question is asked numerous times a day across various platforms (mostly on my Instagram), and it’s not time to put it all down in a blog post. What do I dye my hair with? Well for the last couple years and after trying most of the reds on the market, I have settled and adore Crazy Color Vermillion Red. It’s simply the best, but it is only a semi-permanent. I stick with this one, despite it washing out faster than a permanent because it’s the perfect shade between too bright and too dark. We’ve all seen the disaster that is overly bleached hair with a fiery and over the top red and to be honest, it makes me cringe. Which is why it’s taken me so long to find a bright, vibrant colour that’s also dark and not too in your face.

Crazy Color Vermillion Red is a quite dark vermillion hair colour, it’s always red on the scale and depending on what colour you put it on top of, it will come out a deeper red. I usually do bleach my darkish brown hair to dark ginger before initially using Crazy Colors. Before 2017 I’d just stick it on top of seriously grown out roots, that ended up at the bottom of my hair! The darker colour you see below is the build-up of probably over 30 bottles. It was an incredibly rich colour. Instead of saying how I apparently incorrectly use this dye, I’m quickly going to walk you through the advised way. Firstly, always do a strand test. These come in bottles and don’t need to be developed, so it’s a lot easier to strand test compared to a packet dye.

Crazy Color Vermillion Red, georgina grogan, red hair

The above are all styled with ghd V Gold Classic Styler, click the link to see the full review.

When it comes to using Crazy Color Vermillion Red you must wear gloves, these are seriously pigmented and they will stain any of your skin that you touch with them. The proper way to use this dye is to shampoo and condition your hair and then towel dry. Whilst the hair is still wet, evenly coat every strand of hair and leave to soak for 15 minutes, or 30 minutes if you have thick hair. Then you simply wash off and you have amazing new hair!

Personally, I find that putting any product on top of water doesn’t work as well as the waterworks as a barrier and would liquify my dye and make it run more. Or not stain as much. Instead, I apply it to clean, dry hair and leave it for anything up to 12 hours. With Crazy Color Vermillion Red being semi-permanent it means they’re a lot kinder to the hair, and I’ve even been told before that they’re like a conditioning treatment, so the longer you leave it, the softer your hair is. I haven’t officially been told this though, just from hairdressing friends. People think I am over the top for this, but all I can say is, look at my hair. It’s an amazing colour, in quite a good condition and it only ‘leaks’ on the first day or two, and only when I get hot and sweaty. Leaking is basically where you sweat under your fringe and get a bright red forehead, it’s not fun. Beauty is pain.

In 2017 I went to have my hair completely bleached at Regis (the before and after is amazing!) and take away all my dark roots under my red. This has meant that my hair has been a lot brighter since bordering on the ‘too bright’ red. However, to combat this I simply just add another layer of dye and I head back into the deep, rich territory that I love. I do have to have my roots bleached every 4-6 weeks now, whereas I didn’t do them often before. Here are some recent photos of my hair.

crazy colour vermillion red georgina grogan

The above photos are styled with my new favourite, Cloud Nine Straighteners, click to see the full review.

Shampoos for Red Hair

Semi-permanents like Crazy Color Vermillion Red don’t last as many washes as regular permanent dyes, so you do have to be careful of what you wash it with. My all-time favourite is Colorwow, it’s the absolute best for keeping my colour as perfect as possible for longer. I have tonnes of posts on Colorwow as I truly adore the brand so much. I found them through being sent products to review, and since I’ve bought the shampoo so many times. I don’t love the conditioner as much though, but if you are going to try them it’s worth getting it. Just so you can get the full effect. I’m currently using their Dream Coat to keep my hair looking shinier and healthier than ever, and it truly is, a dream!

I’m so beyond impressed with it and I’m already looking at QVC for Supersize versions of it. Dream Coat works by using a heat-activated polymer to seal your hair. Not only does it protect against humidity, but it also lasts for a couple of washes too. You do have to make sure your entire hair is covered, but there’s no risk of over spraying here as it doesn’t feel like you’ve got anything on your hair. I find that this makes my colour look even better. I’m now a huge fan! They have a full range of products that are all great on red hair and just help to make your locks look even better. I adore the Speed Dry! With my chronic pain, it cuts drying time in half and my back really appreciates it.