Sapphire Blue Hair & Alternatives to Manic Panic

Hello beautiful people! Today I’m sharing my sapphire blue hair with you. I had neon pink and black for several years. In December 2025, I went to blue and purple and gave Attitude Hair Dye in Brave a try. And now I’m shades of blue and black. I saw the amazing Kayla at the Color Keizersgracht in Amsterdam for my color update. She also gave me a trim and took a few inches of length off my very long hair, but don’t worry. It’s still past my hip bones in length.

Sapphire Blue Hair Products Used

While we used Manic Panic Atomic Turquoise and After Midnight Blue, after Manic Panic’s recent foray into AI, abandoning their punk roots, Manic Panic has lost me as a customer of 30 years. Manic Panic claimed that they were forced to use AI because it’s built into tools (spoiler alert: it may be built in but you still have to CHOOSE to use them), rather than pay an artist to be extra creative for their space themed release.

My Thoughts on AI

AI should not be used to steal work from creatives; rather it should be used to cure cancer and eradicate diseases, as well as fix climate change. AI is a tool that can be used to speed up creatives and programmers that you hire, but not replace them completely. And it’s disgusting to me that billionaires (who should not exist in the first place and only do because they’re stealing from everyone else) want to kill off a significant portion of the population of people, all because they don’t want to pay fair, living wages to employees.

Manic Panic’s Response to Me

I reached out to Manic Panic to express my displeasure at their use of AI. “I’ve been using your products for 3 decades. If you’re going to continue to use AI, I’ll have to stop being a fan.” Their response, “Totally fair.” They didn’t explicitly state they would stop using it in their reply to me. They’ve faced a lot of backlash over using AI to promote their new line, and they were extremely rude to customers who pointed out how using AI is not cruelty free and is, in fact, hurting the environment. When they did finally release an apology, it felt hollow, and more along the lines of ‘we’re sorry you caught us and are mad’ more than ‘we’re sorry and will never do this again.’

Who do you recommend instead of Manic Panic?

I recommend Attitude Hair Dye if you’re in Europe, instead of Manic Panic, because they don’t use AI. I have several bottles of Manic Panic left that I’ll be using up, but once that’s gone, it’s Attitude Hair Dye for me.

What are the best alternatives to Manic Panic?

Below is a full list of brands that I can recommend as alternatives to Manic Panic:

• Attitude Hair Dye (EU: Dutch)
• Joico (EU / UK)
• Stargazer (EU / UK)
• Crazy Color (UK)
• Directions (UK)
• Punky Color (USA)
• Lunar Tides (USA)
• Pulp Riot (USA)
• Good Dye Young (USA)

So if you’ve been a Manic Panic dye hard fan for years, as I have, don’t be afraid to try a new brand. You might love them even more!

What are the color equivalents of the shades you used?

The Manic Panic Atomic Turquoise equivalent in Attitude Hair Dye is Brave, while the MP equivalent to After Midnight in Attitude is Moody. And who knows, I might decide to throw some green or teal into my hair in the future. If I do that, I’ll use Attitude Hair Dye Toxic Neon UV (neon green) or Free UV (spring green).

About Attitude Hair Dyes

Attitude Hair Dye, located in Amsterdam, currently offers 28 different hair dye shades.

UV Colors

Attitude has 5 UV colors, which means they glow under blacklight.

• Free UV – spring green
• Toxic Neon UV – neon green
• Proud UV – bright pink
• Rebel UV – blood orange
• Happy Neon UV – neon yellow

Pastel Colors

There are 5 pastel shades by Attitude Hair Dye.

• Minted – spearmint pastel green
• Angelic – pastel blue
• Dreamy – pastel purple
• Cute – pastel pink
• Precious – pastel peach

The rest of Attitude Hair Dye’s rainbow of colors:

• Jealous – deep, cool toned forest green
• Loved – dark berry pink
• Vampy – rich red
• Dramatic – deep warm toned purple
• Brave – bright ocean blue
• Moody – dark velvety blue
• Rage – dark red with pink undertones
• Playful – purple with strong blue undertones
• Mellow – rich honey yellow
• Ecstatic – bright orange
• Daring – green-toned black
• Strange – grey with blue undertones
• Mystic – turquoise green teal
• Wicked – deep purple
• Fancy – natural ginger copper
• Freaky – olive green
• Sensitive – a mixing tone for creating the pastels of your dreams, not a white dye
• Pure – pure white toner

See my first time using Attitude Hair Dye in Brave. See my previous neon pink and black hair.

Sapphire Blue Hair in Motion

In my post on IG, you can swipe to see the length of my hair and the hair in motion. It’s absolutely stunning!

Shades of Blue and Black Hair

I am so in love with my blue and black hair. The roots are the brightest and lightest, while the formerly pink and later purple sections are a dark indigo blue. And there’s a blue-toned black used throughout. To me this color story is very cohesive.

My go-to lipstick with this hair color is Black Moon Cosmetics Sorrow Liquid Lipstick. It matches beautifully! Sorrow, a blackened blue, makes my teeth appear whiter than using a traditional black lipstick. I find it much more flattering on my very fair neutral cool skin tone.

Why does blue make your teeth appear whiter?

Blue makes your teeth appear whiter because teeth have yellow undertones naturally. Blue and Yellow are both primary colors and they are opposite each other on the color wheel, so they cancel each other out. This makes your teeth appear whiter.

What Hair Products Do You Use?

Here are all the hair products I currently use to keep my color vivid and my hair healthy. I rely heavily on Joico to keep my hair soft as silk. Everything was purchased by me and all opinions are my own.

Joico InnerJoi Hydrate Shampoo for Dry Hair and Scalp

Joico InnerJoi Hydrate Shampoo for Dry Hair and Scalp – This is my favorite shampoo. It’s sulfate free, paraben free, vegan, and very hydrating. Treat rainbow as as fragile platinum blonde hair and you will do well. I wash my hair every 5 to 7 days.

Joico K-PAK Color Therapy Luster Lock Instant Shine & Repair Treatment

Joico K-PAK Color Therapy Luster Lock Instant Shine & Repair Treatment – I love this hair mask! It has keratin and argan oil in it. I use it every single time I wash my hair to hydrate it. I’ve been using it for well over 6 years at this point because it is part of what helped my hair be strong and healthy so that I could grow it longer than my shoulder blades.

Joico Weekend Hair Dry Shampoo

Joico Weekend Hair Dry Shampoo – I use this in between washes when my hair needs a pick me up.

Kenra Platinum Blow-Dry Spray

Kenra Platinum Blow-Dry Spray – This is what I’m currently using for heat protectant. It smells wonderful.

Ouai Wave Spray

Ouai Wave Spray – With coconut oil and rice protein, I’ve been using this spray to add texture, volume and shine to my hair.

Cocoa Pink Ends With Argan Benefits

Cocoa Pink Ends With Argan Benefits – I love this lightweight detangling leave-in conditioner spray that smells like my favorite perfumes. I don’t know what I’m going to do when it runs out because I don’t think Cocoa Pink ships to the Netherlands. I’ve been using it for years and it’s fantastic, especially for the ends of my hair.

Olaplex No. 4C Bond Maintenance Clarifying Shampoo

Olaplex No. 4C Bond Maintenance Clarifying Shampoo – I use this maybe once a month. I prefer to use it prior to getting my hair dyed and any time that I feel like there is buildup on my hair from the hard water here in Europe.

Olaplex Nº. 6 Bond Smoother: Leave-In Styling Treatment

Olaplex Nº. 6 Bond Smoother: Leave-In Styling Treatment – I like to use this smoothing, frizz control treatment directly after I get out of the shower to help minimize frizz. I use it every time I wash my hair.

Final Thoughts

I’m glad I decided to make a change from pink and black to blue and black. While both hair colors are cool toned, I can’t help but feel like the blue is more flattering overall.

I’m so disappointed in Manic Panic, but I’m grateful that other good indie alternative hair dye brands exist, such as Attitude Hair Dye.

What hair dye brands have you tried? Which will you try next?

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