@ineedthisunicorn The Unseen Color Alchemy in Borealis by Schwarzkopf. See my review and pics at ineedthisunicorn.com. This is not sponsored. I paid for this product myself #doyousee #theunseen #prismatic #haircolor #oilslick #iridescent #galaxyhair #beautyblogger #unicorn #ineedthisunicorn #hairtok #euphoria ♬ Forever – Labrinth
What is this Sorcery?
I saw this amazing iridescent oil slick galaxy ombre unicorn hair on the For You Page on TikTok! MaggieMH posted a video with iridescent looking hair and we viewers just had to have this product!
The Unseen Color Alchemy by Schwarzkopf Professional is heat activated prismatic responsive hair color that gives your hair an oil slick look. It is temporary and washes out. This is made for dark hair, each shade being for a certain level.
If you are going somewhere like a festival, the product will work great under sunny conditions, and you will stand out amongst the crowd. Or if you are like me and just like to look extra sitting around at home, to the grocery store… (I actually went to H-Mart like this.) I do not recommend swimming with this, you’re just going to get dye in the pool.
Shades
You can view the shades at the official website. There are currently 5 shades: Scarab, Peacock, Borealis, Andrite and Phoenix. Choosing the one color may be the hardest part of this process! They tell you which shade goes best with what base number. 1 being black, so Scarab would be best on the darkest hair. And 6 being dark blonde, so Phoenix would be best for that shade of hair. I will be showing you Borealis. I really don’t know what level my hair is, (maybe 3?) so I picked the purple one that would match my hair. It was in the middle so I thought I couldn’t go wrong! (And I didn’t!) Keep in mind that my hair is dyed teal to blue to purple and not just brown!
Borealis is described as “Iris Purple, Clover Green, Flame Orange and Imperial Violet.”
The Unseen
The Unseen has truly innovative products! They seem to play with light and temperature. I only see two products on their website, they are the Spectra eye colors, which look like tubes of paint. They are reflective in a bright light such as a camera’s flash. There are video and photo examples on their website and Instagram. This would be a product for editorial photography, at the club, or EDC. I would love to play with these! The great news is that regular customers can buy them directly. They ship to the USA, and of course the UK and EU.
How to Buy
If you have your cosmetology license, you can purchase this through Salonory. 1 bottle costs $55 for 50 grams. It’s a hefty price for such a tiny bottle, but you won’t find any other product like this! (For now at least!)
You need to be a licensed cosmetologist to purchase or ask a friend who is, to purchase it for you! I have to thank my esthetician friend, Jodie, for ordering this product for me! I recommend asking your hairdresser if you are comfortable enough with asking them!
How to Activate
This product is activated by heat, the sweet spot is between 82 -86 degrees. A blow dryer, sunlight, hot tools and the heat of your body will activate the iridescent sheen. When it cools, it reverts to the color it was initially in the bottle (at least mine did.) Check out this video by Aka Aislinn. She tests this product under various conditions and has a whole lot of helpful information!
The Technical Manual, from what I saw in Aislinn’s video and my personal experience… it is not recommended to use a hot iron directly on the dye. It gives an uncomfortable sizzle. Do what you can to avoid damaging your hair beyond repair!
Texture
It’s a gel that coats the outside of your hair, not a dye that penetrates your hair. It feels like you put in a strong hold gel in your hair and feels crispity crunchity! Maybe on very short hair it would be fine, but mine is so long and it’s fine, so it separates and makes my hair look clumpy and oily. I do not know how the stylists managed to make the hair look so sleek in the promotional photos, it’s got to be more expertise than Photoshop. (But maybe *some* Photoshop.) I would invite them to show me how to use it correctly! I think I need to slick my hair back like Maggie did here, or even a braid. It seems to be best applied to hair that is secured and not moving.
I would definitely not cover the entire length of long hair with the product. Your hair will look cool but become a stiff sheet of cronch! It’s effective with small sections, though I did show you a large panel several photos down. It just feels too stiff to use it on your whole head if you have long hair! The promo video shows it designed in a dot pattern, which seems like a smart way to get creative with this product! Unless you are doing an editorial look for photography, I would use it as an accent, or create cool patterns, over trying to cover 30 inches of hair.
When the viewers on TikTok had no idea what product this was, someone guessed Punky Color Mood Switch. So I bought it immediately on Amazon! It’s not! Not even close. But it’s a fun product if you have light hair and want to try it. I have swatched both of them for you below.
Both are a solid purple color. The Color Switch is thicker and more gel-like. The Color Alchemy is more liquid so be careful not to spill! It won’t stain, but you don’t want to waste a single drop at $55 a bottle! It was difficult even using my smallest hair dye application brush, I had to pour the product into the cap. Punky Color’s packaging is a lot more forgiving.
The Mood Switch may apply best to lighter colored hair. Right here, it is still wet and may be in transition from purple to blue. To the right, the oil slick effect is working. You can see it is still wet and still purple through the lengths.
I went for it right here and painted a larger section of Borealis so you can see what it looks like! I curled my hair twice if you can believe it! It weighed it down and re-straightened my hair. This happens with my lashes too! I’m not sure, but the Mood Switch may be showing up as blue here! (It could be my hair color too.)
When it cools, it looks purple, which may be hard to see on my freshly dyed teal strands. At the very top, you can still see the oil slick effect. It’s likely the heat from my head is keeping it that way.
This was taken two days before I re-dyed my hair. Perhaps it looks better when it’s faded because it’s not competing with the brilliance of the fresh color. Don’t worry, I am a daily washer, it will fade in a week, especially the unbleached sections!
I retouched my hair color specifically to take photos with this product to see what it looks like when my hair color is fresh. Which is why you are seeing two different hair colors and styles. Honestly, it stands out more on my faded hair and natural brown roots.
As for my galaxy hair, I had it professionally done but I also touch it up myself at home to save money. Both the Pros and I use Joico Color Intensity. The ones I have used here are (in the order of the ombre:)
Joico Color Intensity Sapphire (on my brown roots)
Joico Color Intensity Cobalt (on my brown roots)
Joico Color Intensity Mermaid Blue
Arctic Fox Poseidon
Lime Crime Unicorn Hair Mystic
Joico Color Intensity Light Purple
Lime Crime Unicorn Hair Pony
Joico Color Intensity Orchid (under layers)
Joico Color Intensity Amethyst (under layers)
I also like to use Indigo on my roots and Magenta on my ends, but I ran out of those colors. I get them from SleekShop.com
LimeCrime and Arctic Fox are more accessible from their own websites and Amazon! Lime Crime can also be purchased at Ulta and Arctic Fox at Sally Beauty Supply.
My professional hair stylist does a way better job and really blends in the colors. I must have my hair bleached before the color actually shows. It takes 4 sessions for mine to get light enough for the color to be bold. Your hair is probably different than mine, but always see a pro when bleaching your hair! The great thing about Colour Alchemy is that you do NOT need to bleach your hair as it is formulated to work over dark hair colors!
Was Colour Alchemy worth the $55? It’s a small amount of product for that amount of money, but I do not regret it! I mean… look at it! It’s really cool and will definitely catch some attention.
Wait… I hate attention… this is conflicting.
Love the prismatic galaxy look? Well, you’re in luck! I have opened up Pre-Orders for the tie-dyed Celestial Lips tees at my online store! It is now sunny outside and perfect for tie dying! Orders will close on June 20th and I will get to making them just for you! You can choose pink, blue, purple or silver holographic. And as long as the wholesaler has it in stock, I can get any size shirt for you!
Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored. I paid for all of these products myself. None of the links are affiliate links! The links are simply to help you find the correct products. I am not a professional hairdresser or cosmetologist, so any hair advice is not good coming from me! Look at my hair, do I look like I know what I’m doing? Always seek a professional!
I do have a link to my online shop. This blog is not monetized so I do have to make an income!
