Blue Hair Dye at Home For 20¢ (Koolaid)

I dip-dyed my hair blue at home and it turned out great. I have photos of before and after, but first I'll explain how I did it.

I used one packet of Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade koolaid to dye my hair blue. I got a dark plastic cup and filled it with warm water, then I poured the koolaid into the cup, then I dipped my hair in and left it dipped for 30 minutes. Afterwards, I rinsed with water. Don't wash your hair, just rinse it very well. Then I dried it. The results look great just in time for the July 4th holiday. Here are the photos followed by some tips for those who may want to try this.

Before:

After:

I love blue hair dye. This photo is after my hair was rinsed and completely dried.

So here are some tips for anyone who wants to do this at home:

The color of your hair does matter when it comes to how this will turn out. My hair is light strawberry blonde so I got an aqua marine sort of look. Those with very blonde hair or bleach hair will get a more true blue color. Those who have darker hair will get a blue tint and some people who have very dark hair may not notice a difference. You never know until you try. If you have really yellow hair, it may be more green than blue.

The time it takes for this color to fade out of your hair will be different for everyone. It may not go away with 1 wash. I've never had koolaid come out of my hair with 1 wash. It usually takes 10 days for me. I've heard of it taking months for some people. If the uncertainty is a problem for you, you may want to think about it. There are ways to get koolaid out of your hair a little faster than normal and I have a post about that. Your hair color also matters when it comes to this. Those who have darker hair and only get a blue tint will likely see the color fade more quickly than someone with blonde hair.

If you want to do a dip dye, but you have short hair, you can always hold the cup up to your hair. It's hard to keep it up for 30 minutes, but if you think you can do it, go ahead. There is also another method which uses foil and conditioner. This takes a whole lot longer though. I have a post about how to do that also.

I had someone ask me if they can boil the koolaid. You can. In fact, it will make the color last longer.

If you have a concern like for instance your mom may be mad at you or you may get fired from your job or you may get suspended from school, make sure everything is fine before you attempt this. Kids, ask your mom.

Be very careful when handling koolaid. If you spill it, it will likely stain. Keep this in mind. Any other questions, feel free to leave a comment below.

Yellow Koolaid Hair Dye

Yellow (Lemonade) Koolaid hair dye Before and After photos.

I've been wondering what yellow koolaid would do to my hair (strawberry blonde). I wasn't sure if it would make it look like a yellow highlighter, add a subtle yellow/blonde color, or not show up at all. All the mystery is gone now, because I just dip dyed my hair with yellow koolaid.

I used the same method as I did in my purple koolaid dip dye. I also left it dipped for the same amount of time. Refer to that post if you want to learn how to do this. Now for the pictures.

Before:

After:

You can see that it made my hair yellow on the ends. I did about the last 4-5 inches. It even seemed to lighten my hair color some, but it's just a stain. It's not highlighter color, but it is yellowish blonde. I think the difference is obvious.

I don't know what it will look like in your hair. As always, use your own discretion if you are thinking about doing this. I'm only reporting my results. As soon as it fades, I will use another color on my hair. What color should I do next?

*Update: The yellow koolaid faded from my hair after about 2 or 3 washes. It was the shortest-lived koolaid dye I've done so far. You guys voted and next I'm doing Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade!

Black Cherry Hair Color

I just dyed my hair with black cherry koolaid. Here's how I did it, plus before and after photos.

Before:

 My hair is actually not this blonde. I still can't figure out why it looks more blonde in some photos and more red in others. Anyway, I used the foil/conditioner method this time. Just as a disclaimer, some people find that koolaid takes months to fade out of hair. I have never had this problem, but I guess some other people do.

Step 1

Get your things that you'll need. One packet of black cherry koolaid (more if you have thick hair), conditioner (I like to use plain white conditioner), a trash bag, a dark plastic cup, and some foil.

Step 2

Line your bathroom sink with a small trash bag. I do this just as a precaution. Koolaid stains terribly. Now pour the koolaid into the cup and mix in some conditioner. I eye ball it. Even if you put too much, the dye should still workout. Put in a little at a time though just so you don't overdo it. Mix it up with a spoon.

Step 3

Now part your hair in the middle, lean over the trash bag and place some of the mixture on the tips of your hair. Rinse off your hands (into the trash bag) and put foil on the hair. Wrap it up by folding neatly. Please don't crumble it. I've seen people do this. If you crumble the foil it will hurt when you try to take it off. Repeat these steps for the other side of the hair.

Step 4

Now the tips of your hair should be in neat little rectangles of foil on each side of your face. It's time to clean up.

Step 5

Throw out the trash bag and rinse out the cup. Be very careful not to splash koolaid on anything. If you get koolaid anywhere that it shouldn't be, clean it up fast before it can stain.

Step 6

Wait for some time. I waited for an hour. You can wait longer if you want after seeing my results.

Step 7

Rinse the hair until the water runs clean. Dry the hair off and look at your results.

Results:

This first photo is a zoomed up results photo.

Here is more like what the real color looks like.

Okay, so it didn't turn out as dark as I expected. Probably because I only left it in for 1 hour. You can see the bottom 3-4 inches of my hair is a cherry red color. I expected a much more dramatic outcome. Instead I got a very subtle color change. I guess next time I should leave it in for longer. Learn from my mistake and leave yours in for 4 hours minimum.

I recently re-did this, except I dip dyed it and it turned out much better. You can click here to see the photos of my black cherry dip dye.

Pink Kool Aid Hair Dye: The Tips

I dyed my hair with Strawberry (Pink) kool aid. Here is how I did it, including before and after photos.

Before Photo:

Step 1

Get all of the things together that you'll need. I used about 3 small trash bags, 1 packet of strawberry koolaid, a dark plastic cup, and some conditioner.

Here is the kool aid I used:

And here is the conditioner I used:

I used VO5 Tea Therapy (the white one) mainly because it's cheap and white. This conditioner doesn't have any added dyes that will interfere with the coloring. You may be able to use a colored conditioner, but I'm not sure how the results will be.

Step 2

You'll want to be careful during this whole process because kool aid dyes everything that it touches. You don't want to dye your sink or floor and make the people in your family mad. The first thing I did was line the sink with a small trash bag so that nothing would stain the bathroom sink. I also took my shirt off as an extra precaution. Put your hair in a pony tail so that it's easier to dye the ends.

Step 3

You will probably want to use a dark plastic cup because you don't want to ruin a good cup. Take the cup and put some conditioner in it. You don't want to use too much. I used about a tablespoon because I am dying only my ends. Then pour in the packet of strawberry kool aid.

Step 4

Mix the kool aid and conditioner. I used a spoon. Here is where I realized that I'm not getting a creamy texture. I actually got a weird, watery, grainy texture. The kool aid stayed that way no matter how much I mixed. It should still be okay.

Step 5

Lean over the trash bag, take some of the mixture onto a spoon, and begin putting it on the end of your pony tail. Go up as far as you want. I did about the last 4-5 inches of my hair. Squeeze it gently into the hair so that you get all of the strands.

Step 6

Once you have coated the ends your hair with the mixture to your liking, rinse your fingers off (still over the trash bag). Let the trash bag in the sink catch the water.

Step 7

Take another small trash bag and put the end of your pony tail in it. Make sure to get all of the hair that is colored. Tie it at the top. This wasn't tight enough for me, so I put a twist tie at the top and I used a hair clip to hold it in place. You don't want it to fall.

Step 8

Now it's time to clean up without staining anything. Take the third trash bag and place the sink trash bag into it. Make sure nothing drips out. You have to be really careful. Tie up the third trash bag and get it out of the house. Take it to a dumpster. Now take the cup (with the remaining mixture) and spoon to the kitchen. Make sure you don't drip anything on the floor during transport. Wash both of them out with soap and make sure not to splash the counter tops. I was able to do all of this without staining anything. If you come up with a more efficient way to do this without staining, use your own way.

Step 9

Wait 2 hours. The only real concern during this time is to just make sure the trash bag doesn't slide off and give yourself something to do while you wait. Note: 2 hours is not a rule. It's just how long I did it.

Step 10

Get an old cloth that's preferably a dark color or a red color and go to the sink. Rinse your hair with water thoroughly. Do not shampoo or conditioner. This will cause the color to fade. Just get all of the kool aid out with water. Now use the old cloth to wrap the end of your pony tail and dry it off. Try not to let it drip on anything. Once your hair is dry, you should be able to see your results.

My Results

After Photo:

Before and After Photo:

Your results may be different depending on your hair color. My hair color is strawberry blonde. It looks more blonde or more red depending on the lighting. The lighting was different so my hair looked more blonde in the before photo than in the after photo. It is the same head of hair even though it looks like it's not.

*Click to see how it faded.

So there you have the results. It turned out pretty strawberry. It's not bright pink or anything. It's more of a red strawberry. I also didn't coat all of my ends properly, so there are some pieces that aren't colored. The front isn't dyed, so I had to twist my hair around to show the part that got the most dye. All-in-all, it was successful. I will keep you updated on how the fading turns out.

Purple Koolaid Dip Dye

I just dip dyed my hair with purple koolaid. It's actually a lot more vibrant than what's shown above. I tried to get a good photo of the results. It's a purplish red color. Continue reading to find out how.

**Check out these other koolaid hair dyes I've done: Strawberry, Black Cherry

Step 1

You'll need to go to the store and pick up a package of purple koolaid. I think one packet is enough for most people's hair if you are only doing the tips.

However if you have thick hair, you may need to get two packets. Don't buy the sweetened packets unless you want sticky hair.

Step 2

You'll need to get a dark-colored plastic cup that nobody cares about. The reason is because you don't want to stain a perfectly good light-colored cup.

Step 3

Fill the cup with warm water. It needs to be warm so your hair will accept the dye more readily.

Step 4

Pour the whole grape koolaid packet into the cup of warm water and stir.

Step 5

Dip the ends of your hair into the cup. It's best if only people with long hair do this or you may strain your neck. You can always stack books on a table to elevate the cup more, but you'll need to be really careful. You don't want to spill this stuff because it stains everything.

Step 6

I left my hair dipped in the cup for 30 minutes. Judging on my results, you can leave it in for shorter or longer if you want.

Step 7

Take the cup with you to a sink (be careful to walk slowly and don't spill it). Now rinse your hair out with water. You don't need to shampoo or conditioner your hair. This will cause the color to fade. In fact, try not to wash your hair for the next 24 hours. Just rinse all of the koolaid out with water. Take a dark-colored cloth and dry your hair ends. Let your hair dry.

The results in my hair are as seen below. It looks reddish purple. Remember that purple and yellow make brown, so it's sort of an auburn/burgundy color. It looks good though. If you have bleached hair, yours will turn out more purple.

After 1 Wash:

As you can see, it definitely fades quite a bit after just one wash. Everyone's hair is different. Some people who have bleached their hair find it a little bit harder to get the color to fade (or so I've read). I can only speak for myself. The color will likely be gone in a few days.