Festival ready

The world’s leading brand within the creative colour industry, Manic Panic, show us how to create a vibrant festival look.

Coachella kicked off this year’s festival hair trends with the likes of pastel tones and creative colour highlights still being a favourite amongst many of the famous faces at this year’s event.

Manic Panic UK have been working with Creative Colour Specialist, Poppy Lockett @popsofcolour_hair for this rainbow style.

Follow the steps below to create the ultimate 2023 Coachella-inspired hair guide to ensure your clients are killing the festival game.

Manic Panic products used:

- Velvet Violet

- Sea Nymph

- Blue Angel

- Electric Amethyst

- Sunshine

- Cotton Candy Pink

To create this look, Poppy used the Manic Panic UK Creamtones collection, a quartet of highly conditioning and cream-consistent pastel formulas alongside some of their other vibrant tones.

For this vibrant look, you will need to ensure that you begin with a clean white-blonde base. Pastel colours require an extremely light blonde base colour for them to provide visible and effective results. www.manic-panic.co.uk

Step one

With your clean, blonde base split the hair into four pieces. Once your quadrants are even, section out your money piece and secure it.

Take a halo section from the crown and clip it out of the way. This section will be staying blonde so ensure it’s secure.

Step two (back section)

Starting from the nape of the neck, take horizontal slices and split them in half to allow some of the blonde tone to run through the colour. Once you are happy with the ratio, apply a foil sheet underneath and paint on the first colour from the following pattern:

Cotton Candy Pink, Velvet Violet, Sunshine, Sea Nymph, Velvet Violet, Blue Angel, Cotton Candy Pink

Continue this method of taking horizontal splices, splitting them in half and applying a foil sheet beneath before applying your next colour from the first colour pattern.

Once you have reached halfway, continue the same method, choosing thicker sections; these larger slices will allow the colours to pop even more through the blonde. Opt for the second colour pattern for thicker sections:

Cotton Candy Pink mixed with Hot Hot Pink, Velvet Violet mixed with Electric Amethyst, Velvet Violet mixed with Electric Amethyst blending down into Blue Angel

Repeat the first colour pattern up the head until you reach the crown.

Step three (side sections)

Starting around the face, follow the same method but create diagonal sections. Split these sections in half and apply your foil beneath the hair before applying your first Manic Panic dye, following the first colour pattern. Continue this process until you reach the halo section. Repeat this method on the other side.

Step four (money pieces)

To create your vibrant money pieces, take horizontal sections and split these in half. Apply the foil beneath your sectioned hair and your first colour from the following colour pattern:

Cotton Candy Pink, Velvet Violet, Blue Angel, Sea Nymph

Continue this method until you reach the halo section and repeat on the other side.

Step five

Leave the colour for 30 minutes before rinsing well with cool water. Apply a colour-safe conditioner to the hair to help lock the pigment in. Complete the festival look with a classic yet effective bubble braid. Using your preferred heat styling tool, create loose, beachy waves for a festival vibe. Take a diamond section from the top of the head, leaving the newly coloured money pieces at the front, and tie this into a ponytail. Create a gap in the elasticated hair just above the tie and flip your ponytail and pull it through to create a twist.

Step six

Now begin to create your bubble braid. Tie and secure another elastic a few inches down the ponytail from the first hair tie. Repeat this process with equal sections down to the end of the ponytail. Tease and pull at each section of the pony between the ties to create a ‘bubble’ effect. Finish with a hair spray and embellish with accessories and glitter spray for a fun festival vibe.