So, to preface, I've been dying my hair for years without much issues. I generally stick to Punky Colors as it works very well with my hair unlike, say, Manic Panic which doesn't stick to my hair well for some reason.

Hair info:

• I have coarse/rough, naturally curly auburn hair (around a 3A or 3B on this chart)
• I use a keratin and protein cream on my hair once or twice a week to help tame my crazy hair.
• It was bleached only on top to about an 11 on this chart, leaning towards a 12.
• The style is a men's undercut with around 3 inches on top and 1/3" on the sides and back. I'm trying to color only the pomp/poof of my undercut.

Now, that said, I'd never used Directions brand dye before. I wanted to go a lighter/pastel lavender or as close as possible, so I went for Directions Lilac. I cut it about 60% dye to 40% conditioner and let it sit on my hair for around 3 hours. After a very thorough rinsing, I was left with a mess. My hair is only purple from the tips of the hair to about halfway up. The rest is a sickly grey, and there's even still some blond! It is... awful.

Does anyone who has rougher/textured hair use Directions? Did I just screw something up? Should I try and put on some Lilac neat without conditioner? Or, should I just go a slightly darker color in Punky (probably violet?) and try and fix it?

I am so disappointed. It worked so well on my strand test, and then just did not work with my hair at all. At least it made my hair really soft? :(