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).
Then, we got together the materials: conditioner, vinegar, gloves. And lots of Kool-Aid powder packets.
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.
Unfortunately she didn't read the directions, and so didn't add sugar, and used a pint of water rather than a half gallon.
It tasted like crap!
Then we all got down to business. I read everyone detailed instructions.
Then everyone's foreheads got nice and vaseline-y to prevent skin staining. Behold Merlin's glistening dome:
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).
For the actual application of the dye, everyone was encouraged to go outside.
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.
The Kool-Aid was quite vibrant when applied. Here's Iz's grape-flavored 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!
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 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.
