the first of probably many sister hair dates
Yesterday I wrote on Instagram, “Since I often have to say “no” for their own protection, I try looking for lots of daily opportunities to say “yes” to my kids. I’m pretty sure when she asked, she thought the answer would be “no.” The smile that follows a surprise “yes” is my favorite. Who could you surprise with a “yes” today? Seeing the smile that follows might just make your day.”
My eldest daughter asked if she could color part of her hair blue. I had a bad experience in college with red hair dye that resulted in a terrible shade of purple in my very short hair. It was not a good look! I figure nothing could be worse than that hair fiasco.
I’ve seen Koolaid hair dye posts floating around the internet for a while and figured, “why not?!”
I did my research online first and this is what my conclusions were:
- Mix Koolaid with about 1 cup of boiling water (lots of different opinions on this)
- Soak hair for 6-20 minutes (lots of different opinions out there on this too)
- It works differently on everyone. Some people it lasts for days. Others for months. Some it is bright. Some it doesn’t show up.
- It is not a fail safe plan, you just gotta go for it and not expect perfect results or results like someone else had.
- Light hair shows the color the best and it typically lasts longer in light hair…at least that is what I concluded based on all the opinions I read.
With all that non-perfection in mind, I told the girls I had no idea how it would come out or how long it would last. I did tell my younger daughter that it probably would not be very bright in her hair, while it would show up more in her big sister’s hair. The girls knew it may or may not work. It may or may not last. In the end it is just hair and you can always cut it!
I ended up boiling about 2 cups of water. I added 2 packs of blue Koolaid to one cup. I added 1 pack purple (but it looked red) and 1 pack blue to the other cup. I pulled the girls’ hair back in ponytails and let it soak for about 10 minutes. For both girls I dipped a good amount of their ponytail in the color at first and then they sat up straighter and not all the hair was soaking. After a few minutes, I had them sit up a little higher and then a little higher once more. I was hoping the gradual progression would give it more of an ombre look than a straight line of color.
I have no idea how long the color will last and according to what I read online neither does anyone else! The girls are thrilled with the color, which is the whole point anyway. I was pretty happy with how it came out, other than they look like teenagers from the back.
This girl just keeps giggling every time she looks in a mirror. It is the best sound filling our house right now. The smile that comes after a surprise “yes”….I need lots more of these my house and life.
Update 11.16: the color never completely washed out. It faded tremendously, but even my daughter’s black hair if the sun hits it just right you can still see a red tint.
