So I may have mentioned that it is spring break at my house and my kid’s are going berserk. With two and a half weeks off, they are finding tons to do (visit from their BFFs, trip to the beach, farm days and a quick out of state jaunt just to name a few), but are still looking for some extra goodness to throw in in their downtime.
Enter Kool-Aid hair coloring. You guys, I was so nervous to give this a shot. Not so much on my oldest daughter’s hair for hers is a bit darker, but pretty terrified for the blonde “baby.” (Yes she is six, but she will forever be known as the baby in my house.) Here are the ins and outs of our Kool-Aid hair coloring experience:
Supplies:
2-4 packets of Kool-Aid
1-2 cups of water
heat resistant bowl
a dark towel (or one you don’t mind ruining)
optional: plastic gloves
First thing first, go into this knowing that there is an easy removal method (shown below) if you decide that you aren’t happy with the outcome. I searched all over Pinterest and Google before embarking on the process because I was a paranoid mess. Breathe a sigh of relief and let’s get to the fun stuff!
Set up by finding an easy to clean area in your home (read: linoleum flooring or cover it!) and setting your kiddo up with an old or dark colored towel to wrap around their shoulders as the color will stain whatever it touches at this point. If you are concerned with getting color on your hands, grab a pair of plastic gloves.
In a small saucepan, bring Kool-Aid and water to a roiling boil, stirring often. You can choose how much color you want your hair to have and adjust the water and Kool-Aid packets accordingly. For Grace (my oldest’s) hair, I used three packets of Kool-Aid with one cup of water. It is a very vibrant and intense color. If you are looking to be a bit more subtle, try two packets of Kool-Aid with two cups of water. It’s totally up to you!
Transfer the Kool-Aid water to a heat resistant bowl or container and immediately dip the hair in. Be careful with this as the water is super hot and lets off steam. For Grace’s hair, we put it into a ponytail and just dipped the ends. With the baby, Emmalynn, I wanted to color only an under layer, because as I mentioned, I was a bit nervous. We put the top portion of her hair into a pony and dunked the bottom layer in the mix.
You can let the hair sit in the mix for anywhere from 5-15 minutes, again totally your call as to how much color you want. Emmalynn chose to use purple coloring and we left her hair in for five minutes. Honestly, it was barely noticeable and she was a bit disappointed.
So we tried again with red for five minutes. Much better results.
Grace chose red and let the color sit for 15 minutes. Big change! We also used a “dingle hopper” (or fork for those of you non Little Mermaid fans) to move her hair around in the container and separate it a bit. If your kiddo has lots of hair, I recommend this!
Once colored, blot it and then let the hair dry completely and wash as normal. Make sure to get this first wash in on the same day because the color may still transfer at this point. Be sure to rinse down your shower afterwards so any stray color doesn’t stain it and again use an old or dark towel to blot the hair dry.
One thing that I will mention is that the color can seep into the hair and creep up a bit. Grace and I thought that we were just coloring the tips of her ponytail, but ended up unintentionally coloring pretty much the whole thing. When she wears her hair up right now it looks as though she has a red pony. She does have very curly hair though, which is more porous and therefore soaks up moisture more than other hair. Just something to note and be aware of.
Okay, final thoughts…so now that it is done it is super fun and the girls are happy. It was a great way to spend some girl bonding time together and I can rest assured knowing that I can remove the color when I choose and not the possible weeks to months that it can last on its own. I will absolutely let them experiment with this again and have fun with their appearance. It is an easy way to remind them that they are gorgeous no matter what color their hair is and for them to be open and accepting of everyone.
And for the removal? Although I haven’t yet tried it myself, it is widely mentioned all over the inter web that if you bring two cups of water to a boil and transfer to a heat resistant bowl or container, then add 2 tablespoons of baking soda and stir that the color will pretty much instantly start coming out as soon as it is dipped in. This process will dry the hair out so be sure to condition afterwards.
Have you ever used Kool-Aid to color your hair? Would your kids love to try this for spring or summer break?
beautiful daughter with beautiful hair!
Thanks so much, Gwendolyn!
How long did it last on the girl’s hair ? It was easy to remove?
Gabriela, I’ve gotta tell you…it lasted forever! Far longer than I would have thought (or hoped for really – still faint traces a year later). I did not try to remove it, so I don’t honestly know how easy it would be to do so.