Temporary hair dye

[Romantic Raven]

I believe some of you have tried temporary hair dyes (like the ones that only last until the first wash) and I hope you could give me some advice. Does the hair look natural (well, except for the colour, of course), doesn't this type of dye stiffen it?

And what about the semi-permanent dyes, the ones which last a few weeks? Do they produce any damage to the hair? Does the natural colour really come back after a while?

I'm asking this because I like my natural colour and the texture of my hair, and I wouldn't want it damaged in any way. On the other hand, I'd like to have purple hair... just for a while.

[Zakyath]

Well, the natural hair colour might be hard, but the purple will only stick for a few weeks, that's for sure...

[Underwater Ophelia]

Hair dye that washes out after one shampooing is usually like paint almost, so it looks really fake and it does stiffen your hair. It doesn't look natural at all.

As for dying your hair without any damage, you can mostly kiss that idea goodbye. Manic Panic won't hurt your hair, because it's vegetable based and not so harsh, but it might not show up well.

[Valrys]

I used black semi-permanent dye on ginger hair, and it started to fade back after a week of washing it once every day.
And I can't say whether it did any damage, I dyed it permanently soon afterwards, but as the dye fades out it does look pretty awful unless its close to your original colour.