6.12.2009

Double Daring Kool-Aid Hair Dyeing Party

So, yeah, we love The Double Daring Book for Girls here at Casa Rosenberg. What better way to demonstrate that adoration than with a party centered around one of the book's activities, for instance How to Dye Your Hair With Kool-Aid (p. 48)?

First, we got together our participants slash victims: Merlin, Iz, Sophie, SuperGirl, Danielle, Elise, and Mali (who did not get her hair dyed, standing in for Willow, who did).

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Then, we got together the materials: conditioner, vinegar, gloves. And lots of Kool-Aid powder packets.

Materials: Kool Aid, Gloves, Vinegar, Conditioner

After a few beats we adults realized that none of these kids had encountered Kool-Aid powder before. We indulged in some mild passive cruelty by watching Danielle mix Kool-Aid powder with water.

Kool Aid Newbie Doesn't Add Sugar

Unfortunately she didn't read the directions, and so didn't add sugar, and used a pint of water rather than a half gallon.

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It tasted like crap!

Then we all got down to business. I read everyone detailed instructions.

Reading the Kool Aid Hair Dyeing Instructions

Then everyone's foreheads got nice and vaseline-y to prevent skin staining. Behold Merlin's glistening dome:

Vaseline Forehead

Next the kids all put on gloves and started mixing up their colors/flavors (ingredients: a few packets of Kool-Aid powder, some conditioner, and some vinegar).

Mixing Up Various Kool Aid/Hair Dye Colors/Flavors

For the actual application of the dye, everyone was encouraged to go outside.

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We wanted the kids to dye each other's hair, but the process was more challenging than we'd anticipated (none of them had dyed hair before). Once we assured them that their honor would remain intact, every child called for parental assistance.

Sophie Getting Her Locks Dyed Grape Father/Son Hair Dyeing

The Kool-Aid was quite vibrant when applied. Here's Iz's grape-flavored head:

Zelly's Grape Head

One small hiccup: the instructions say to keep the Kool-Aid mixture on your hair and off your scalp, which is common sense if not totally realistic for kids this age. What the instructions didn't say is that you should keep the mixture off your scalp because it really stings and itches! The big girls were able to tough it out, the younger girls tried to be strong but were not pleased and after about twenty minutes asked to have the mixture washed out, NOW!

THIS REALLY STINGS! Saran'd, Turbaned, But Not Pleased -- It Stings! Ow Ow Ow Ow Ow Ow

Even so, our group endeavor was a big success, especially for raging towheads like Merlin. He ended up looking like his head was on fire, which he loved. Supergirl's pink-tinged tresses looked elegant indeed, and while Iz thought her hair would be purple rather than blue colored grape Kool-Aid powder + natural blonde highlights = green locks, she's still happy happy.

Kool Aid Hair Dyeing Success! Pink Highlights Zelly's Result: Slightly Green?

Kool-Aid hair dyeing is but one of the incredibly fabulous activities in The Double Daring Book for Girls, which itself is part of Andi Buchanan's and Miriam Peskowitz's Daring Book for Girls series. These books really are the ultimate rainy (or sunny) day inspiration guide for kids, as well as for the parents who love them and would rather see them involved in activites other than watching TV, playing video games, or reading books of questionable merit.

10 comments:

  1. Awesome! How long does it last, do you know?

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  2. That was SO much fun. I just hope that you aren't going to have to redo all your walls and floors to get the stains off!

    :P

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  3. My friends and I used to dye our hair with kool-aid back in high school occasionally, although I don't think we mixed it with vinegar and conditioner, just small amounts of water. Lots of fun, loved the coloring, but it certainly made a mess.

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  4. Anonymous11:13 AM

    looks like so much fun!!

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  5. Okay, this makes me even more nervous about the chemicals in the Kool-Aid I gulped down oh, twenty times a day when I was a kid. I love your post. (Kristen Spina passed the link on to me.)

    Kate

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  6. @leightongirl It depends on how long it's left on. SuperGirl washed it out immediately and only got a tint. Iz washed it out a few hours later; she got a more intense tint. I just saw Danielle, who I believe is the only one who toughed it out overnight, and five days later her head is still a totally different color.

    @jenijen it is all pretty much cleaned up/rinsed away. No worries!

    @kate perhaps you've successfully innoculated yourself against Kool-Aid?

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  7. I thought Kool-Aid tastes like, well, nothing good no matter how you mix it!

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  8. Anonymous10:43 PM

    What type of vinegar did you use.?

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  9. This looks so cool. Especially now that it's summer and the kids don't have to worry about being in trouble at school for having koolaid hair.

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Respectful disagreement encouraged.