Yes. Its that bad.
As stylists we've heard every story of people trying to remove Splat. They will usually contact the company and get nothing to go on. Then they'll resort to using some vitamin C and clarifying shampoo concoction, which will maybe knock a shade off. After this consumers typically try washing with Dawn dish soap ('if it takes oil off of sea animals why wont it strip this color??'). And then come the late night kitchen bleach kits from Sally's... Which we hate to tell you only make that Splat more permanent by driving it further into your hair shaft.
Truth be told, even black box color from the dollar store (the store where everything is a dollar) is easier for a professional to remove than Splat brand. Why is this? It seems pretty obvious that Splat themselves have no real solution. Splat has (finally) released their own color remover, but it obviously leaves consumers with much more to be desired. Here are some reviews:
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| Splat Color Remover |
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| Splat Color Remover review from ShelbiDrizzy |
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| Splat Color Remover review from Lala |
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| Splat Color Remover review from Pam |
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| Splat Color Remover review from sullenxriot182
Among all of the reviews there appeared to be only one written by someone who was pleased. They claimed that the color remover took their hair from a 'dark blue' to a 'lighter green':
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| Splat Color Remover photo review from Sparkyasaurus |
Of course, I'm sure there will be a ton of people out there backing Splat in all its glory. This is fine- we don't all have to agree on every single thing. But as someone who has messed with this brand first hand, I can tell you I don't enjoy it. If you want me to drop the professional act and tell you how I really feel... Splat is honestly the main bane of my stylist existence.
I have three main experiences with Splat off the top of my head, and that's because one experience was my first, and the last two had sort of happy endings. After all of these years of having my hands in Splat hair- yes- I have had only TWO positive outcomes. Let that sink in (along with that vitamin C cap) as I take you on this journey.
My first contact came within a year of graduating cosmetology school. I worked in a little salon and was just growing my real-world stylist legs (I also hadn't yet discovered the glory of before and after photos). One evening a girl came in wanting a pretty blue. Her hair was a little past her shoulders and a mahogany brown. She let me know she had used box color on her hair to achieve the brown, and this was fine. I used a professional color remover, it all seemed to lift to blonde, and I was excited for the next step in our process. Sad to say, but that next step never came- when I dried her hair she had a HUGE bright red halo all around her head. I remember just standing there staring at it for quite a time before asking what she thought this could be? She said "Well, I had Splat red in my hair before but it was way over a year ago." This was the first time I'd ever heard of Splat, and I remember wondering who would want to use a product called that in their hair? I tried everything in my power to remove the red from her hair, but to no avail. Can anyone guess what color her hair was when she left? Yep. Red. We did red.
The second big experience came a little over a year ago when I received an urgent message from a girl I had went to high school with. She said she helped her friend color her hair and that it didn't work. When I asked for photos the hair was wet and looked like a strange, unflattering green. She told me they'd used Splat. I knew then that this would be basically impossible, but I told them I would try the best I could. I didn't want her to walk around with her hair in that shape. Plus, the only thing she could do a home would be another box color. I wanted to get my hands on it first.
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| Splat color correction: before photos |
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| Splat color correction: before photos |
Her hair didn't look much better in person. I obviously had to ask what their desired result was supposed to be, because this was not it. They had been to the store and purchased a blue/ purple Splat ombre kit.
Apparently Splat instructions say to apply their lightener and let it process on the hair for 45 minutes. If this doesn't work it directs you to DO IT AGAIN.
Yes, because having lightener on your hair for nearly two hours is a GREAT IDEA.
I.was.shook.
We were also both confused as to how they had applied the purple but it was actually brown. There was no purple in her hair that either of us could see.
The only saving grace was that this client hadn't shampooed her hair after coloring. She had been running late for work so she had only rinsed the color out with water and then ran out the door. Since she didn't shampoo her hair the cuticle wasn't lifted (See: What is Hair Made of) and the pigment wasn't pushed into her strands. For my part I used a professional color remover on her hair, lightened, and applied professional brand fashion colors. I almost cried during the final drying because she looked in the mirror and screamed "I love it!!" as loud as she could. She is now a return client who has sworn off Splat.
My third memorable Splat client wanted pinks, blues, and purples. Her hair was a box brown. I knew she'd had a bright blonde before, but not much outside of that. When she came into the salon I discovered she actually had a box color black over Splat. At this point I let her know that I would try my best but that I definitely couldn't promise a single thing. I used a permanent color remover, toner, another color remover and another toner and, somehow, she was BLONDE!!! This was something I never dreamt could have happened. Her box color must have oxidized the hair, then my two removers and toners finally made it budge. This was an all day process, so we had to reschedule the colors she really wanted. She came back a week later, we toned again, and we finally made her dream colors come true.
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| Box Black and Splat removal |
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| Desired colors a week later
When I look back on these photos I feel like nothing short of a miracle worker. Then, before my head swells and my ego spikes, I recall every other time I've tried to remove Splat and failed. Which is a lot. Unless my client agrees on the color they can have- which is usually a purple- then I have to turn them down. And as someone who is passionate about hair, I hate having to turn it away. I want to help you guys achieve your hair goals. I want to boost your self esteem. I want you to love what you see every time you look into the mirror- if your hair can make that happen, I want to be the one that gets you there. I can't do that if you use Splat at home. It literally prohibits me, other stylists, and you in the long run. Please do us and yourself a favor and stay away from this product. The two good outcomes I've had were nothing short of miracles.
Something else that should be obvious is that these processes aren't cheap. When you go into a salon you pay not only for the product but for the stylists time. Using a $10 box of Splat at home could cost $200+ to correct in a salon, depending on your location. Where people tend to mix it up with stylists is they think we charge this because we want to rip them off- I promise we don't. We would much rather you come to us before using a box. Not only does it save you a crap ton of money in the long run, but it also saves us time, lets us be more exact, gets you to your goal color more accurately, and allows us to squeeze in a lunch break at some point! And- if you want more honesty- we make more money the more clients we have. We could have up to six color clients in the time it takes for us to do one Splat color correction. This boils down to- yep, you guessed it- we ALL lose money over Splat. It does no one any favors.
Well, except maybe the company themselves. Let that sink in too.
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