Manic Panic
 

I am going to dye my hair electric lizard. Now I know I need to bleach it first, which I am going to do.

Are there any other suggestions I should know about? Like how long will it last, and ways to keep the color the longest.

I am open to suggestions please.

Electric Lizard is the worst of the light green semi-permanents, even on the lightest bleached hair possible it fades ridiculously fast. Limelight by Special Effects is far superior, or if you're willing to go for a slightly different green Enchanted Forest by Manic Panic is the best green I've ever used.

If you already have the Electric Lizard, it doesn't matter too much, just take more care in keeping it from fading.

To keep the colour as long as possible just don't wash your hair too often. After bleaching this is a good idea anyway since shampoo is pretty harsh and can dry hair out even more. Also, when you wash your hair try to use cold water.

Also when you put the dye in ignore the instructions on the dye about only doing it half an inch away from your scalp, etc. Throw as much dye as you want on all parts of your hair, stained scalps be damned, and leave it in for an hour or more. Basically as long as you can be bothered to, some do it overnight.

Oh and you probably know this already, but beforehand it's good to put a layer of petroleum jelly on the areas you won't want stained, like your ears and hairline.

I think that covered it all, haha. Good luck with the new hair colour.

Green has been taken. Besides it's hardly goff enough.

Also, I'd be sure to shampoo out all the bleach, lightener, whatever. Don't just rinse it. It will screw up your hair if you don't.

I've never shampooed bleach out... I do condition and rinse bleached hair extremely thoroughly though. And my hair is healthy as fuck for something so heavily wrangled into submission (bleachings, dyeings, teasings, etc).

Yeah, by me like seven years ago.

OH!!

Thanks Cicero.

I used to use Manic Panic a lot. The best way to keep in a color is to leave it on for about 5 hours instead of 20 min. Also I've used various different colors and I remember I had always wanted to use Electric Lizard. I'm jealous. Hope it works out.

I never really liked manic panic that much. It just seemed to bleed out way to fast whenever I tried it. Then again, I just mostly dye my hair dark burgundies/reds and now black so no need for it since I can get my shade with a permenant.

I've actually had decent results with Manic Panic. Some swear by Punky Colors, others by Special Effects (as we've seen here). Goes to show one's hair can very different from that of others, even close relatives. (My sisters is curly naturally, kinky from all of her dying. Mine's straight as can be.)
I haven't tried that particular color, but most of what else in is in existence, so I really cannot comment on the shade.

Make sure not to condition between bleaching and dying. If you did, wash it really well; you want the hair to be porous and bleaching makes it so.

When you dye it ignore the instructions when it comes to how long to leave it in before rinsing. Leave it in as long as possible, days, weeks, as long as you can stand it! (You can sleep with a cap or bandanna to avoid staining your pillowcases.)
When you finally rinse it conditioning will be a benefit. (Be prepared for dye everywhere in the shower!) When you dry it you'll want to use a dark towel, or raggy one, as the dye might still be on the hair.
Try to wash it as little as you can stand, if you want it to maintain the color as long as possible. (They do make dry wash-type products that are supposed to freshen it; never tried those myself.)
When you see it fading you can always touch it up with the same (or different) dye.
As I said, I've never tried to color, but I'm imagining eventually you might wind up with that "swimmer's hair" look, if you know what I mean: pale greenish tinting the blond: time to dye it again! :) No, I have heard dish soap helps with that, if you choose not to by shampoo made for the purpose.
Hope this helps; I just noticed that this thread is somewhat old, so if you've already gone ahead with it I hope it helps someone interested in this subject. :)

Thanks for the advice, MissJane. I've been wanting to dye my hair with manic panic products for a while. Knowing me, though, I'll stay just as lazy as I've always been and stick with permanent box black. Hah.