Kool-Aid Hair, Don’t Care

When I was a child, (the references should give you some inclination of time) I saw a teenage couple at the mall with brightly colored hair. The boy had a blue spiked mohawk and the girl had long bright red hair pulled into a ponytail. Those teenagers were attracting a lot of negative attention. Adults were staring, shaking their heads. Other teenagers were pointing and laughing.

A group of teenagers walked by and one of them yelled, “Rainbow Brite!”

Another called out, “Hey look! It’s a Smurf dating a Fraggle!”

I remember feeling nervous and scared. My mom took me by the hand and led me into a store. I don’t remember exactly what she said, but the message was clear: Those kids wanted that attention, otherwise they wouldn’t have colored their hair like that.

When my girls asked if they could color the tips of their hair, I hesitated, remembering those teenagers at the mall so many years ago. Granted, times have changed, but that fear of judgment is still very much there. I’ve always been way too concerned about what other people might think and this was out of my comfort zone.

Then, a friend of mine let her pre-teen daughter get ‘rainbow hair.’

I believe my reaction was, “Wow! You let her do that?”

She said, “Yeah. You can’t always do it when you’re older and have to have a job. So, why not?”

“Why not?” That question resounded with me. “Why not?”

So over spring break, we looked up “How to color your hair with Kool-Aid” and found that it’s pretty easy.

Here’s what you need:

3 packets of Kool-Aid (per color, per person),
2 cups of water
mason jars (We used half-pint jars)
hair ties
older towels

Directions: Divide hair into pony tails. Boil the water and add the Kool-Aid, stir until completely dissolved. Pour hot water into mason jars (one for each pony tail). Put pony-tailed hair into the mason jars and let it sit for 15 minutes. Wrap shoulders with a towel and let hair air dry. Shampoo the next day.

The color should last anywhere between 1-3 months.