20 Best Semi Permanent Hair Dye (Jan 2023 Update)

I have long, fine, slightly wavy hair that takes to dye well. I normally use Wella Color Tango in 1NN (Black Licorice) along with a touch of Ion Color Brilliance 1NN (Intense Black, in liquid, just to thin out the mixture a tad) to color my greys, and it's amazing. The color is deep, shiny, and never brassy or drab. My natural color is black, and I'm about 75% grey now and the color never fades, ever-I only see new growth. Since I have such a large quantity of grey, and it's such a contrast to the black, I've been wanting to start blending in my greys so I could eventually go natural-I'm almost 51, so it's time to accept it. I started looking for a grey dye and I tried Ion Color Brilliance Creme in 6C-HM Light Charcoal, and added a bit more than usual of the liquid Ion Color Brilliance in 1NN. My bright silver greys turned an ugly drab brassy color that I've never experienced before. I'll be returning the rest of the Ion Light Charcoal tubes I bought, and I'm going to try the Dark Charcoal.

My hair was professionally highlighted twice when I decided to go back to my natural color. I wanted to match my grown out roots and cover the grey hair, too. Before applying the color, I used the ion pre-color treatment to prevent the previously bleached strands from soaking in too much pigment. I mixed the color & developer at a 1:2 ration and applied it only to the natural roots first. After 10 minutes, I applied the color to the rest of my hair leaving about an inch of the hair tips still dry. I let this sit for another 10 minutes. Finally, I added the color to the ends of my hair and left it for 10 minutes. In total, it took 30 minutes. The color came out absolutely perfect and completely even! I love how shiny, healthy, and soft my hair feels.

I recently received this complimentary VoxBox campaign for Clairol GlossUp Semi Permanent Instant Expressive haircolor in the mail from Influenster, in exchange for my honest review. I am rating this dye largely in terms of ingredients, which seem to be significantly less harmful on the overall health of my hair as compared with other standard permanent boxes dyes, and also even the bold color (dark purple and pink) semi permanent dyes I have used from other companies before; Artic Fox and Punky Color, respectively speaking. I appreciate that it does not have a high alcohol content, nor does it contain other ingredients which are often considered callout harmful ingredients in consumer products, such as parabens or sulfates, among others. I applied this semi permanent dye to my hair which is on the thinner side and prone to breakage/split ends with severe damage at times including up to four splits per hair end, genuinely. My scalp is generally on the average to oilier side depending on the day, my activities or time spent in humid weather, and such. While I did not find this dye particularly harmful to the health of my hair and even rather, had a slight initial conditioning effect, the lasting power of the color on my hair when using this product, I would consider subpar compared with semipermanent dyes and even color depositing shampoos I have used from other companies before. I found that this particular semi permanent dye lasted only about 3-4 days near regular color impact or original intensity before fading substantially and rapidly. I found this aspect of the product disappointing, personally. This was the most disappointing aspect of the product overall, probably. The application process for this dye was relatively simple from my experience with using it so far. As stated on the packaging, the dye should be evenly distributed throughout all areas of already clean and somewhat damp hair. As stated, it can be left on one's damp hair from 2 to 15 minutes depending on your current hair type and condition as well as the desired end results, including saturation and intensity. I left it in my hair for probably between 13 and 15 minutes each application; I have used the product a few times since receiving the campaign box in the mail not too long ago. I am disappointed with the price point relative to lasting power of the original color which as I mentioned, was not all that long on my hair in comparison with other semi permanent dyes I have used from different companies in the past. I like the general idea behind a semi permanent dye with less alcohol content and less of other potentially harmful ingredients. However given the fact that this dye was extremely temporary from my perspective even as semi permanent dyes go, 4 stars is the absolute most I would ever give this product; I would probably do 3.5 instead, were that an available reviewing option on this platform, which it isn't as of now. Given the poor lasting power I would be hesitant to recommend this specific shade of the product to others, however at the price point I see it being sold for online and based on reviews I have read of other shades and people with different hair types than myself on this platform so far, it may be something I would consider recommending to others, depending upon their hair type, conditions, color preferences, and overall end goals including saturation and longevity of the dye beyond a few days or so. It is an ok product but I feel the price point is honestly a bit too high as it stands. …Excuse the brief update: I had been under the impression there was not a high alcohol content in this product but I double checked and discovered that's actually inaccurate. There is cetearyl alcohol fairly high up on the ingredients list for this product at least as stated on the packaging (bottom square part), so if that is a concern to you for the overall health of your hair or any other reason(s) please be sure to keep that in mind when considering whether or not this may be a product you would like to consider giving a try. I did not see parabens listed however, as I had initially been thinking, so if that is something you consider an important thing to check on with your hair products, rest assured, they aren't in there at all.

This dye worked exceptionally well, but almost a bit too much! For this color at least I think I used a bit too much for my hair (a little under half of the container), as it took 4-5 washes for it to run clear. The dye as well wound up staining my fingernails and shower quite a bit, which took some substantial cleaning to make sure it didn't stain too much. I'm extremely happy with the final results of the color itself, and very glad there was no issues with odor or stinging like traditional dyes, so I'll likely be purchasing again. I'd just recommend using gloves for when washing, not just application, and potentially use less dye than you think you need at the start!

I have used Ions dyes many times, and they are consistent only in the fact that they never color properly. The rose pink lasted a single wash. The shamrock green left only the faintest green stain on my lightest hair. The sapphire blue left me with an even green. And now, after using a PERMANENT dye with DEVELOPER on my WHITE HAIR, I am left with no color at all and a lighter wallet. The result seems crazy due to how badly it burned while I let it sit under foil for 45 minutes. This is definitely my last straw with Ion products, and I can say with confidence that I will never bother trying with them again. They're a waste of time and money, ESPECIALLY this particular color. I will admit that the colors are all fairly cheap, so you do get what you pay for.