How to Dye Hair With Kool-Aid for a Short Term

You can tint your hair bright colors with Kool-Aid.

Dying your hair bubblegum pink or fishbowl blue can be fun for a weekend, but you might not want to keep that look for months. Temporary dyes are a better solution for trying creative hair colors without making a commitment. Beauty supply shops sell temporary dye in many different colors, but they contain chemicals and are often quite expensive. Kool-Aid is inexpensive and can effectively dye or tint your hair in a rainbow of bright colors.

Things You'll Need

• Kool-Aid packets
• Bowl
• Tablespoon
• Rubber gloves
• Conditioner
• Petroleum jelly
• Toothpaste
• Plastic wrap
• Swim cap

Instructions

1. Pour the contents of three Kool-Aid packets into a bowl. Use the unsweetened plain drink mix powder. Add one tablespoon of water and mix the contents of the bowl into a thick paste. Make sure to mix completely, so there are no lumps.

2. Add one tablespoon of hair conditioner and mix in with the Kool-Aid paste. The conditioner will help the dye to penetrate your hair shafts.

3. Apply petroleum jelly to your face, neck and ears in a liberal layer. This will help to prevent the dye from staining your skin.

4. Put on rubber gloves and apply the paste to your hair wherever you want the color to appear. You can create streaks and stripes or color your entire head of hair. Rub the paste into your hair shafts to achieve the best color.

5. Wrap your head in plastic wrap to keep moisture in your hair and to prevent the dye mixture from transferring to furniture and clothes. Put a swim cap on your head over the plastic wrap to keep everything in place. Keep everything on your head for an hour to overnight. The longer that you leave the mixture on your hair, the darker the final color will be.

6. Remove the swim cap and plastic wrap. Rinse your hair will cool water until the water runs clear. Use a blow dryer to style your hair. Do not shampoo for the first 24 hours.

7. Rub toothpaste into your hands or on your face to remove any stray Kool-Aid dye that may have tinted your skin.

Tips & Warnings

• This hair dye works best on bleached or very light blond hair. On darker hair it will appear more as a tint than as a dye.

References

• Rachel Overhold, Kool-Aid dye user, Edgewater, Florida
• Worsley School: Dyeing Your Hair with Kool-Aid