Sunday, May 6, 2012

Kool-Aid Hair Dye


How to dye your hair with Kool-aid? Yeah that’s right. The best thing about it is that it’s not permanent! Lasts for about two weeks.  All you need is two or more packets of your color choice, a small bowl or two (depending on how many colors you're planning on doing), water, and some of your everyday conditioner! This is super simple. BUT let me just say that this works very well with blondes. Sort of hard to do on dark hair. Try bleaching it if you have dark hair (I know bleaching isn't quite non-permanent, I'm sorry all you dark brunettes :(....)

What you'll need:
  •  good-sized paint brush (for streaks of color)
  •  2 or more packets of unsweetened Kool-Aid (more if you're doing many streaks or your whole hair)
  •  small bowls for each color
  •  conditioner
  •  plastic wrap and/or tin foil (plastic wrap is more comfy to sleep on. I know from experience...)
  •  disposable plastic gloves



Warnings:

  •  This stains pretty much everything from clothing to skin to white counter tops. put down some newspaper!
  •  The dryer and more brittle hair will keep in the color the longest
  • Sometimes, the red Kool-Aid can be permanent (from what I’ve heard online)
  • Can last longer than two weeks (as did mine)




 THE STEPS:

(Update: If you have blonde hair, add some orange streaks to the second layer of hair. I've done it and it looks really pretty and cool!)



STEP ONE: (If you are dying your whole head, I suggest about five packets, although you might need more or less considering whether or not you have long or short hair. For a streak, I’d say two or three packets would be just perfect!) Put the powder into a smallish bowl.


STEP TWO: Put a few drops of water in - NOT TOO MUCH. I can't stress this enough. You don't want your dye to be watery! Just make it a bit pasty.



 STEP THREE: Add about a palm size amount of conditioner or more if you feel the need. (if you’re doing your whole head, you should do more.) Mix everything with a paint brush.



STEP FOUR: If you're doing a streak, take a piece of hair, paint your Kool-Aid paste onto the strand. Be VERY careful not to get it on any other hair that you don't want colored (if this happens, wash your hair immediately). To dye your whole head, massage the color into your hair (be careful of getting it on your skin because this STAINS)


STEP FIVE: Wrap the wet, Kool-Aided strand of hair in plastic wrap or tin foil. If you're doing all of your hair, wrap your whole head/hair tightly in plastic wrap, making sure nothing is leaking. Sleep on it! If I were you, sleep on an old pillow with an old pillow case on, just in case some of the dye seeps out.



 WAKE UP: Take the tinfoil and plastic wrap out of your head and take a shower. For the first wash, don't shampoo or condition.





Enjoy your newly Kool-aid dyed hair :) Tell me how it works out! Here's a color chart for Kool-Aid:



Kool-Aid Color Chart

117 comments:

  1. How long did urs last? what is the longest you think it would last?

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    1. Hey guys! I also have dirty blonde/light brown hair... I put red and the lower half of my hair about two months ago NOT using the boiling method... there is still just a little tint left, but it is barely even noticeable. BUT red is more permanent than most colors.... for example I put one orange streak and within two weeks, it was gone. If you do the boiling method, the colors should be more permanent than the overnight method shown here in my blog!

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  2. I did a few red streaks using the boiling method http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R3imS2OZbc and it's still in my hair, only faded a little. I did it back the weekend of may 8th, so it's lasted a month and a half. I have dirty blonde/light brown hair.

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    1. I have course, curly, medium brown hair. I gave myself red streaks using the boiling/soaking method, and they're still pretty vibrant. Oh yeah, that was SIX MONTHS AGO! Lol....Don't get me wrong, I love it, but I want to switch colors, and I'm not sure how to go about doing it!

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    2. Just a thought... Maybe die that hair back to your natural hair wait awhile then die it te right color??

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    3. Hey. To remove the color just wash your hair with baking soda in addition to your regular shampoo for about 2 weeks and it should be gone.

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  3. This is INCREDIBLE~! Can't wait to try. I've been dyyyying to add light blue to my (currently) black hair.. but with dying black, then bleaching sections, THEN dying blue, I felt pretty nervous/guilty for being so mean to my hair. This is the answer.

    Thanks for sharing!

    http://iridemybikeinheels.blogspot.com/

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    1. Please tell me how it works with black hair! I have dirty blonde hair so it has worked every time for me... but no one I know who has dark hair has tried it yet. Please let me know when you try it out :) I would appreciate it a lot

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  4. do you have to keep it in the foil over night? or could i just do a couple of hours?

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    1. Either way! You'll get a less permanent/ vibrant color if you only do it for a few hours. I would say three or four at least. :)

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    2. i ended up doing it over night last night, and it didnt work very well. the color was very light and hard to see, but that is most likely because of my brown hair and trying to do pink. so i am just re-dying it in the same spot right now :) I will tell you how its goes!

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    3. Re-dying it is a good idea! Pink is such a light colored dye, that it hardly shows up, even on very light colored hair! Did you re-dye it yet? How did it turn out? Oh, and by the way thanks for all of the feedback because it helps make this tutorial even better for others.

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  5. I dye my brown hair a copper red, and I had blonde highlights in the front that I covered in the new peach mango Kool-Aid. It is a vibrant yellow orange. It looks awesome!!! Wish it were permanent. Thanks for the tip!

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  6. I dyed a strip of my hair with the red look aid and used the boiling method a year ago. It has stayed on and i had medium brown hair when I did it. I have dyed my hair plenty of times since and it stayed. I recently bleached the whole underneath and my red strip is still in. So if you don't want anything longer than a couple of weeks I would recommend not using the tropical punch packet.

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    1. Yes. You did the red dye (which can potentially be permanent) AND the boiling method. I've heard that heat makes the dye more permanent, so be careful! :)

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    2. They must of changed the kool-aid! I did the boiling method all the time when I was younger with Red kool-aid, and I was lucky if it stayed in for a week- or I was doing it wrong.

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    3. They have might have changed the dye. That's the best guess I can make! They probably add MORE dye now, to make the drink more colorful. Red is especially permanent... it fades, but the color does tend to stay longer than most!

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  7. i have very dark hair, i got blond-ish highlights a year ago.since parts of my hair were already bleached from the highlights i decied to dye my whole head red. i followed the steps and my hair looks amazing ! the color only picked up on my old highlight, so my whole head wasn't red. love these idea !

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  8. I can't read what the colors are on the chart.

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    1. I will try to find a way to make the colors clearer. For some reason, The format changed a little and i can't zoom in on it anymore. I will look for a solution! :)

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  9. I know this may be off your grid, but has anyone tried using cool-aid for dying fabric? And does it work and if so is it permanent or would putting it in the dryer make it permanent? Lots of questions, I know!

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    1. No problem :) I am all up for answering as many questions as I can! I have heard that you can dye yarn, play-silks, and white fabrics (like cotton would probably work great!). BUT if I were you, try searching up on youtube video tutorials on how to dye fabric using Kool-aid. I have seen many videos out there! If you have any other questions let me know

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  10. Replies
    1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6ZES2alo3I
      I found this video on YouTube! I think that this is a very good example of the boiling method. I have never personally attempted the method, because i do not want my streak to be more permanent.

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  11. Dawn dish soap takes tgs color out of your hair.

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  12. How do you get the kool aid off of your hand?

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    1. It will eventually fade... But there are a few tips out there on the internet on how to remove it from your skin! Just search up on Google, and you should find something! :)

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    2. Wash your hands with dish soap or paint thinner it usuly helps. Especially with spray paint!

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  13. I am so going to try this for spirit week! Hard to read what the colores are but ill work it out. Is there a way to make a darker yellow? My sports teams are. Black and gold while my school colors are green and white. I have natruly blonde hair. If you have any oher crazy ideas I oppen for some.

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    1. Hopefully this isn't too late of a response! But I just want to warm you that it might last longer than a week. And honestly, there isn't a way to make it a darker yellow. I would just use two or three packs of it. The more dye, usually the better!! :)

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  14. Me and my younger sister tried this last night and i have super curly medium brown hair and she is a dirty blond. I used cherry mixed with strawberry kiwi and tropical punch and it stands out quite a bit. I also tried dark blue by mixing mixed berry and purple together and showed up better in my hair then hers. Thnx! I'm very happy with my results.

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    1. Thanks for sharing your results!! Glad it work for you :)

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  15. So do you still sleep with it over night, if you sit under the dryer until its dry ?

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    1. I would sleep with it over night. if you blow dry it, or add any heat... the chances are it will be more permanent.

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  16. I did this years ago. I used one packet and boiling water. Put it in a plastic cup and dipped my hair in it for about a half hour. Its permanent.

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    1. Yes the boiling method is permanent! This method typically last for two-ish weeks.

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  17. I had done a pink streak in my bangs, and after a week I mixed up some baking soda and water to make a paste and worked it into my hair.. (I was using it to clean scalp cleanse.. and it just happened to take out ALL the pink.. so i will have to re-do. I had used 1/2 pack pink lemonaid and 1/2 pack fruit punch. It was a nice pink color. I mixed it with condition and put on the area I wanted the streak, covered it with tin foil for 2 hours.. then rinsed it out.

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  18. I had done a pink streak in my bangs, and after a week I mixed up some baking soda and water to make a paste and worked it into my hair.. (I was using it to clean scalp cleanse.. and it just happened to take out ALL the pink.. so i will have to re-do. I had used 1/2 pack pink lemonaid and 1/2 pack fruit punch. It was a nice pink color. I mixed it with condition and put on the area I wanted the streak, covered it with tin foil for 2 hours.. then rinsed it out.

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  19. My mom is telling not to do cuz ants will eat my hair can anyone who has done it support my comment by saying it doesnt attract ants

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    1. ants wont eat ur hair dont worry

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    2. Anisa your mom is just trying to feed you a line because she doesn't obviously want you dying your hair with color. It absolutely does NOT attract ants, during or after. Ants are often attracted to sugar and there is no sugar in unsweetened Kool-aid. Try tasting some. It's bitter and nasty. Also after you wash it out, there is nothing but the colorant left behind. LOL But that is the funniest thing I've heard in awhile...

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  20. Volumizing shampoos or thickening shampoos build up fine hair temporarily.
    catalase xp

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  21. If I were do to this in the morning how long should I keep the dye in my hair for???

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    1. Well what color is your hair? And what dye are you using? If you are medium to blonde, id say four-five hours. If you have darker hair, go for as long as you can! That's why nighttime is the best! It gives it time for the dye to seep in :)

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  22. what kind of kool aid do you need for the darker green one?????????

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  23. Have you found a way to make the picture any bigger? I'd really love to try these, but I can't make out the packets :(

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  24. Love the color chart! I just wanted to leave a tip that TOOTHPASTE will get the colors off your hands & face. I put orange in my girls hair for spirit day and it came right off our skin.

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    1. ps. Straight out the tube, just a dab. Rub it on and rinse it off.

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    2. Thank you so much for the tip!! :)

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  25. Thanks for sharing. . .I tried this on my daughter for her halloween costume. We did orange. Withing 1 minute of it being on her head, she was complaining of it burning (so much, it was bringing tears to her eyes). She washed it out quickly and we went with the orange spray. Maybe next time, we will try just streaks.

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    1. Did you use the artificially sweetened kind? I heard the chemicals can irritate your eyes.

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  26. Is it the maroon considered red because i want to do the maroon but i dont want a chance of it being permanent

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    1. Well, a lot of the darker dyes are permanent, because there has to be more dye to make it darker. So there might be a slight risk of it lasting more than a few weeks.

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  27. Koolaid hair color is not permanent! You can get it out very easily. I just dyed my hair with red and purple and got it out same day. The post is on my blog of how to do it.

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  28. I have dirty blonde hair and its darker underneath then on top.I already know the red works but I want a different color.what colors would work and be really vibrant and noticeable??????please help!!!!

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  31. i just dyed my hair this morning and washed it out with just water. its dried now but my hair is greasy from it being washed 3 days ago. when am i able to use shampoo and conditioner without getting a lot of color out?

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    1. It is only for the FIRST wash. The second time you wash your hair, it is fine if you use shampoo and conditioner. The first time you wash your hair after dying it, you don't want to scrub out all the dye. You can use shampoo and conditioner even that same day if you'd like. Just rinse out all the dye first.

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    2. will it take alot of the color out if you shower the same day or do u hav to wait till tomorrow?

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  32. For those that have trouble with zooming in the photo press
    Ctrl and + to zoom in,
    Ctrl and 0 to go back to normal size

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  33. i have a uniquly lightish red hair but still clearly red and natural blonde streaks, but i want to dye my whole head blonde and i dont want it as super ligh as the yellow it the chart up there but i dont want it as YELLOW as the dark yellow. any suggestions? i was just thinking about doing 2 orange and 2 yellow to see how that works but i am still not sure.....

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    1. So this is late, but you can't get your hair lighter with something like koolaid. this method is kind of like just coating the hair- lightening it to blonde would involve taking color out of the hair. that's basically how bleach works.

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  34. please hurry and give me advice i want to do this before i see someone special. i want this to be a suprise. they are coming this weekend. :) plz hurry?????

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  35. I really want to see the photos of the hair after u dye ur hair.

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  36. Yes a nice blue hair color is a rare thing, mostly because it is so damned hard to achieve and even harder to keep from fading into a weird blotchy emo green color. I am not a professional cosmetologist nor do I claim to be an expert on hair coloring. I am just a girl who wanted blue hair that would last, and was not willing to take no for an answer.



    Hair Dye for Black Hair

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  37. Hey,

    So I heard that ANY type of drink mix dyes hair. Today I bought a 10 packets box of Compliments' Raspberry Drink Mix. My hair is super dark brown with medium brown highlights naturally. I wanted to dye it with the reddish colour but I was wondering if it would show? I really really REALLY want it to show!!! Any help??? :') xx

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  38. Which colors do you mix to get the black or hot pink color? I need to know before the 26th of Jan. Im havin a hair coloring party. Any ideas?????!

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  39. my friend has really dark brown hair what colors will work or show up?

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  41. I followed those instructions exactly, and kept my hair wrapped up for over 12 hours. It All washed out when I rinsed it. What'd I do?

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  42. Would using Hawaii punch drink mix work just the same?

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  43. Anyone used this on gray hair? Does it dye easier?

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  44. I'm trying it tonight, can't wait to see how it comes out! Thanks for the help. I do have one question though. I've noticed that alot of commenters are saying that the red kool aid, mainly tropical punch, can stay in your hair anywhere from 2 weeks to 6 months to a year. As a brunette, my hair color is darker than a blonde's obviously, but I'm still unsure how long it will last. How long would you guess?

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  45. Replies
    1. No it would sting you eyes and make your hair sticky and greasy.

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  46. I died my hair using the boiling method over three months ago n I still have very noticble red in my hair

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  47. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  48. Just a question, I have golden blonde hair, so if I do a regular blue streak, how long will it stay in for?

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  49. What colors go best with dirty blonde hair?

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  50. Read 10 interesting things you probably don’t know about the hair http://www.the-healthiest.com/archives/442

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  51. I have box dyed red hair &want to try the purple using the boiling method, anyone try using the kool-aid over dyed hair?

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  52. Is the boiling method permenant for dark hair people

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  53. how long does this usually last??

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  54. This is so cool.. I never knew that kool aid can be used as hair dye. http://www.grayhairaway.tv/

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  55. I love this, I'm going to try to do it with my friend to touch up a red streak that I got about 4 weeks ago... it wasn't very permanent so I'm hoping that if this works in my hair then I don't have to pay a whole bunch of money for a dye that barely works in my hair thanks so much!

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  56. I am trying this with a friend tomorrow. I have very dark brown hair, close to black and I just want to make it a bit lighter. Do I just follow your color scheme? By the way thanks a lot, this was very helpful! x

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  57. I'm trying this tonight, can't wait to see how it comes out!!!!!11!!!!1

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  58. I have light brown hair and I dyed it with 8 packets cherry and 2 packets strawberry and it was VERY BRIGHT, I've washed it 3 times so far and it still has a really pretty redish brown auburn tint to it.

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  59. I want to dye my hair blue or purple but I can't have it for long and I have dark brown hair, would this work on me?

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  60. Is there any way to make the pink darker without adding red? I have never tried this before and my little sister wants me to dye her hair for her and she is only 8 so we do not want it to stay for very long by using any red.

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  61. So, I tried this and it really worked well! I have a pixie cut and I dyed all but my top layer teal--it took about 2-3 packets of the blue with half a packet of green for colouring. It's almost done fading, and I did it three weeks ago. In other words: really good tutorial, fades in a decent amount of time, and my hair smelled like blue raspberry for a week and a half. The colour was really vibrant, too! I have medium-blonde hair (think just a tiny bit darker than most blonde hair extensions) and my suitemates who helped me put in a LOT so that it wouldn't fade and I kept it in from about 10:00PM-6:00AM. (a picture of it is here.)
    Just a tip for other people, though: If it stains your skin (which it did for mine haha) you can remove it with either shaving cream or toothpaste. I'd recommend shaving cream, because toothpaste HURTS. Just put it over the stain, scrub with a washcloth for a minute or so, and then wash the area off with some water. Repeat if necessary.

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  62. what kool-aid packets do i use to dip dye it red ??

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    1. Any types of red i would guess. Tropical Punch, Cherry (Etc.) But i do warn you red CAN be permanent.

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  63. IT DOES NOT COME OUT! I am up to almost a year now with red kool aid dyed hair. I have tried vinegar, baking soda, a malibu treatment, and have also died it at a salon. My advise to people wanting to do it is: If you have HEALTHY hair, IT WILL NOT COME OUT! I have a friend who's hair is pretty dead because she dyes it frequently and hers came out in a week, but myself and another friend who doesn't dye her hair, have had it a WHOLE YEAR.

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  64. is there anyway to get a hot pink? like a mix between the red and the maroon?

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  65. Amazing information in this blog here that is truly glancing over the every aspects of topic. best vintage hairstyles

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  66. I have dark blond hair will it be permanent if i do it sky blue ?

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    Replies
    1. Probobly not the only color that I have found to be permanat was red

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  67. Amazing information in this blog here that is truly glancing over new songs

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  68. Well it is a very interesting idea and I am surprised to see how many options are there to dye hairs as you want like by Kool-Aid method.
    hair color ideas

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  69. would the light yellow turn dirty blonde hair lighter?

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  70. I am a dark blonde/ dirty blonde/ light brunette and for all you blonds and light browns I died my hair using red koolaid and I did it last April...so it has been 8 months. It is almost grown out and it is still in and very vibrant...red it PERNAMAT!!! LOL

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  71. can i wash my hair then dye it?

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  72. What colors work best on dark brown hair? I did it once with red and it worked well but I was thinking on doing 2 colors. Red and...

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  73. I have hair down past my butt and it's not thin but not thick either. I love vibrant red (not orange red or purple red or pink red, just red). I hope you know what I mean.

    I dyed my hair with natural henna last year but it's finally too faded and I have to look amazing this summer!

    I look like this now (taken Christmas, don't mind my goofiness lol): https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202728841001294&l=04309f1fce

    Ideally I want color like this: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2084370908017&l=85c78523af

    What kinds of koolaid should I use, and how many packets?

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  74. I would like to do this (ombre)https://www.pinterest.com/pin/487796203366369652/
    How would I wrap the tin foil?

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  75. I need to know if it is permanent I have dirty blond hair and I did the boil method and left it over night can you tell me

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  76. I love to dye my dark brown hair red but it dont last long an now i have premature grey hair...would using koolaid work on my grey

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  77. I tried it too. It was supposed to laste one week..... well my hair was red for two years
    Long Hairstyles

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  78. nice blog, thanks to Author
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