Going RAW: A Non-Scathing Review of Hot Topic's RAW Hair Dye

I Bought This

I really wanted pink hair when I was about 14-15, about the time I started bleaching my hair myself.

I knew Manic Panic was severely hit-or-miss (usually miss) and expensive so I decided to try RAW... It didn't work first go-round. Nope. Second time, I mixed it in with some red and pink in an attempt to refresh my red hair before picture day. I'm not too sure it had any affect. Now today...

The color I grabbed was Candy Pink. It looked like sickening Barbie pink goo. Perfect. I was still a brand-noob when it came to really bright, "functional" product at the time--I wasn't sure what to look for whatsoever! I did know of Special Effects but I was very stubborn in things being easily accessible. (I still have yet to order any of my dye online!! There's a local shop that sells SE and Crazy Colors, so I don't see myself ordering SE online. Other brands, like Stargazer--I'm drooling over UV Green--I'll definitely have to get online.)

Please excuse the little glue booger next to the bottle.

RAW comes in a regular 4 oz. squeeze bottle, like my beloved Special Effects. I like squeeze bottles; they aren't as hard to grip as jars (like the chubby jars for PUNKY COLOURS). The draw back of these is that product gets stuck around the neck/shoulders of the bottle. You can cut it open though! Or use one of those beauty spatula things, if it fits. The label is a plain sticky label with the general information (how long it lasts, how to use it, company things).

I like these paste formulas.

This is another paste formula, like Special Effects. It clings to the hair, spreads pretty nicely, and has a noticeable scent. It smells like nasty artificial candy. Yum... I don't care for scents with my dye honestly, so long as it's not something nauseating. This can quite easily cause headaches! It gave me one while I was applying it, ugh.

My hair vs. the online swatch.

I spent time doing different pieces of my hair and washed my hair at the sink for fear of (A) staining my blonde and (B) the colors mixing together into something weird. I know of two specific areas I applied RAW Candy Pink while the rest was PUNKY COLOURS Flamingo Pink and Special Effects Nuclear Red. They were specifically side burn and hairline on the right side of my face (because it obviously can't be on the left ~ ) and a streak that's part of the section that hangs over my undercut. While it's shown to be a cutesy, almost cotton candy color on HT's website, it came out a lighter Barbie pink shade in the streak. The area at my hairline and sideburn, however, is sort of pastel/faded (and patchy because I was literally just screwing around). The fading may have been due to over-shampooing, because this was a difficult area to wash out for me. Oh well!

I'm relatively pleased with what I have here... It's not the best dye I've used but it isn't horrible. I have yet to try out the other shades and not sure if I will. These 4 oz. bottles go for $12.99 with 8 shades to choose from (red, greens/blues, and two pinks). I can only recommend trying out Candy Pink if you want a lighter pink but not pastel pink. If you want something lighter than Special Effects Atomic Pink but don't want the pastel pink of Cupcake Pink, then this is something you might want to give a whirl. And if you aren't happy with the pink you get from Candy Pink, then you can use shampoo to lighten up the color. Possibly wash it completely away... Anyway ~ You can grab RAW Candy Pink right here. Currently, at the time this is being posted, Hot Topic is offering 20% off everything.

I'll update on how the Candy Pink looks when I next wash my hair. The label says it only lasts about 16 to 40 washes but I have porous hair and some shades wash out quickly despite this. It happens to the best of them!

UPDATE  APRIL 25th (approximately a week since Candy Pink was applied): This is the first time I've washed my hair since applying the dye. It faded pretty badly in my opinion! Here's a photo I posted to my personal Facebook before I washed my hair. This is what it looks like now. Obviously lighter than it was before. I find it's lighter in real life and I tried to photograph that. Now I didn't do anything special or different to my hair when I washed it, just used my regular shampoo. This dye doesn't seem to have a long life ahead!

SPOOKEHDOOM