Why heat-reactive hair dye is a major big deal

Is your hair color getting a bit, well, boring, as in “same-old, same-old”? The hair care company Pravana has created something awesome and truly unique to solve that exact problem: VIVIDS Mood Color, a temporary hair dye that can change color instantly!

Now, while Pravana is the first company to debut this type of product—and it’s available at limited pro-only shops—we wanted to give you the heads up on it now. That’s because it’s proving to be so popular that we can only imagine there’ll be lots of companies jumping in on this genius idea soon enough.

Even though “mood” is in the name, you should know the dye isn’t really reacting to your mood; what it does is change color in a seriously radical way when it encounters cold or heat. In fact, Pravana’s temporary heat-reactive hair dye is so reactive that the smallest temperature change—your breath, the sun, a hot iron or cold can of soda— can actually activate the reaction.  Basically, it’s created by mixing a colored powder into a solvent base that gets applied to the hair. You allow it to dry and then the magic is ready to start! As you run heat over it, it changes to the alternative color; as you cool it down, it switches back to the original dye color. Since it’s a temporary hair dye, it’s also easily washed out, which makes it perfect for those of you who don’t want to commit to a more permanent switch up.

As of now, the VIVIDS Mood Color kit comes in four different color combinations:

Lime Green to Sunny Yellow

Cool Violet to Warm Pink

Smokey Grey to Invisible

Tropical Peach to Invisible

Currently, the dye shows the color change most visibly and dramatically on lighter hair like blonde or light brown. But if you have dark hair, you’re still good: The dye has been tested on darker hair shades and it still shows results, particularly with the Lime Green to Sunny Yellow option or Cool Violet to Warm Pink. The other two shades, Smokey Grey and Tropical Peach, both of which change to “invisible,” go back to your regular hair color so the change is hard to distinguish.

If you want to try to have your local salon purchase VIVIDS so you can have it applied by your stylist, the limited pro-only salons where it’s available are Four Star Beauty, State RDA Pro Mart, East Coast Salon Services and Salon Centric.

But let’s hope that as this trend gets hotter, Pravana and other companies will work on more pigmented dyes that will work better on darker hair, and on a DIY version that will allow anyone who wants to get moody to do it!

Check out the magic for yourself here and here !