How To Make Homemade Hair Dye Without Kool Aid

With many salons and spas temporarily closed, people accept had to resort to DIY beauty services. They've tried their hands at quarantine haircuts, DIY facials and at-home spa services, and even dabbled in a bit of DIY hair color.

In recent weeks, Kool-Aid hair color has emerged as one of quarantine's hottest trends, and the vibrant, summery colors this grocery store staple creates has helped boost the mood of hair lovers across the country.

Only how does the sugary powder really color your strands? And how do you get Kool-Aid out of your hair? TODAY Style got hair experts to interruption down everything you demand to know about this fun trend.

Does coloring your hair with Kool-Aid really piece of work?

Kool-Aid hair color has definitely exploded during quarantine, but it'southward not actually a new trend.

"People have been using Kool-Aid to color their hair since the '80s (possibly fifty-fifty earlier) and, yeah, it really works. I know from immediate feel, having been a teenager in the 1980s, that using Kool-Aid to color your hair can be a fun, cheap, super accessible way to become some fun colors in your hair," Deb Rosenberg, lead colorist and AVP of education at Colour&Co, told TODAY Style.

Depending on how long you leave the mixture in your pilus, Kool-Aid color can terminal anywhere from 2 to four weeks, so if you're looking for a longer-lasting color, you're better off leaving it in for near thirty minutes.

"Kool-Aid volition human activity like a stain on the hair fiber, and so longevity depends on lifestyle. If you shampoo every solar day, regularly use hot irons, swim in chlorinated or salt water or spend lots of fourth dimension in the dominicus, you tin can expect the color to fade faster than if you don't do these activities," Rosenberg said.

The duration of your Kool-Aid colour will also depend on how dark (aka saturated) the shade is. For example, dark purples generally last a little longer than pastel pinks.

Is Kool-Aid color safe for pilus?

The affordable grocery store staple can create fun, temporary color at home in a matter of minutes, but is Kool-Aid really safe for hair? Since it doesn't incorporate the harsh chemicals found in traditional dyes, Kool-Aid mostly doesn't damage the structure of hair, just it can create patchy results.

"The reason for that is that hair's porosity is different throughout the lengths, and Kool-Aid does non penetrate the cuticle for an even result. The food preservatives in Kool-Help can also dry your hair more than a demi- or semipermanent color would," said celebrity colorist and Redken brand ambassador Matt Rez, who more often than not advises against the DIY coloring method.

Dissimilar Kool-Aid flavors contain a range of food dyes, all which need to be approved for safety before use, according to cosmetic pharmacist Kelly Dobos.

"The colorants used in Kool-Aid (Blueish 1, Reddish 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6) are all approved for general use in cosmetics. This means the safety of use in both food and cosmetics has been substantiated and in that location's also a long history of use," she said. "You might end upward smelling like Sharkleberry Fin, but the take chances of irritation or skin reaction from using Kool-Help to add color to your pilus is quite low."

That means Kool-Aid more often than not won't damage the structure of hair. Only it tin exercise a number on your hands and apparel if y'all don't accept the proper precautions before using it as a hair dye.

"Bluish one, in particular, is known for its ability to stain the skin so it's a good idea to protect your hands, hair line and ears when using information technology to dye hair. It will eventually wash off and exfoliant scrubs tin can hasten the process if you do happen to get some on your skin," Dobos said.

How to color your hair with Kool-Help

Ready to attempt your hands at some DIY Kool-Aid hair color? Here are a few supplies y'all might want to have on paw:

Gloves, an old T-shirt and floor coverings
Your preferred Kool-Assistance color (the unsweetened options work best)
Warm water
A bowl
A hair dye castor

There are multiple ways to color your hair with Kool-Aid. Here are a few methods the pros recommend:

Mix the Kool-Aid with a foaming mousse

"The mouse texture allows you to easily see where you placed the product, making application simple," Kerry E. Yates, pilus color good and creator of Color Commonage, said.

Mix one flavour packet with a loving cup total of mousse.
Apply the mixture to dry out hair in the areas you wish to color.
After applying, use a hair dryer on low rut until hair is completely dry.
Helpful hint: Don't have mousse on paw? Water as well works in a pinch! "The mixture of water and Kool-Aid volition help open up pilus cuticles, depositing your color choice under your cuticle layers and giving you a more semipermanent result. Apply in the same fashion as the mousse mixture, but remember the mix will exist runny and so be sure to wear old clothes and apply over easy-to-clean surfaces," Yates said.

Dip dye your pilus

Brand the Kool-Aid mixture as yous typically would. Pro tip: "If yous desire to go for a more subtle wait, I propose too adding in some conditioner," celebrity hairstylist Emerge Hershberger said.
Adjacent, tie your pilus into a ponytail and dip the ends of your hair into the Kool-Assistance and let it sit for 15-xxx minutes.
Rinse hair with water (no shampoo) and follow up with a conditioner.

Pigment your pilus

For more than of a highlighted look, start past departing hair into iv sections.
Mix upwardly the Kool-Aid and use a hair dye brush to paint it on. Pro tip: "Avoid applying directly to the scalp or on the peel around the hairline (forehead, ears, cervix) to continue from staining," Rosenberg said.
Let it sit for 15-xxx minutes.
Rinse hair with water and follow with a conditioner.

How to get Kool-Assistance out of hair

If you've had your DIY fun and just want to get that Kool-Assist color out of your hair, at that place are a few ways to speed upwards the process. Generally, shampooing is the easiest method if you lot're not in a huge rush.

"Since information technology is already a very temporary color, shampooing should hands fade the dye each time you lot wash your hair. If you desire a quicker set, a clarifying shampoo tin can expedite the process," Hershberger said.

Hot oil treatments tin can assist remove temporary color over time, and you tin besides try using a traditional kitchen staple. "Dish lather like Dawn tin also piece of work in a compression. However, you pilus volition feel very dry subsequently, so exist sure to use a conditioning treatment mask and leave it on overnight to help recondition the hair," Yates said.

If you're eager to get rid of your Kool-Assistance colour, Dobos recommends applying a paste of shampoo and blistering soda. Just exist conscientious because the mixture tin exist drying and damaging to hair, and then it's important to follow up with a deep workout mask.

If all else fails, y'all tin always try an at-home bleaching kit to remove the color, but only if the pilus hasn't already been bleached. Otherwise, yous can set upwards an appointment with your stylist to practice damage control.

"Consider waiting to go dorsum to the salon when it'southward safety and have your colorist do an in-salon gloss service," Rez said.