(Very) temporary hair color question

October 28, 2017 3:38 PM

For Halloween, I would like to color my 100% grey hair deep black (something with a faint deep green or dark red cast would also be OK). After Halloween, I'd like to be able to wash the color out fairly quickly--not necessarily overnight, but within a week or two. More specifications within.

I have a very short pixie cut (around 1.5 inches) so I'm willing to try out some riskier things, knowing it'll grow out and get cut off pretty fast. Don't want to go with a wig. Given the short time frame, I need something that can be readily found in retail establishments. Does Fanci-ful actually work in a situation like this? Does something like Clairol Natural Instincts actually cover 100% grey?

posted by Kat Allison to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (17 answers total)

I think this is a case for hair chalk. It comes in all colors and washes out easily. Or use the traditional shoe polish and wash out with Dawn.
posted by irisclara at 4:09 PM on October 28, 2017 [2 favorites]

Natural instincts is semi-permanent, do not use! And Fanci-ful will leave a cast of colour not actually a solid colour.

Your only real option is a spray on hair colour/chalk, but be aware it will likely stain your hair for a few days after, likely with a green cast.
posted by InkDrinker at 4:18 PM on October 28, 2017 [3 favorites]

I think Kryolan spray will do the job.
posted by tel3path at 4:22 PM on October 28, 2017

I spent all summer coloring my hair with Manic Panic. I haven't used black, but I've used other bright, saturated colors. Manic Panic is super gentle and will, eventually, wash out with zero damage. It'll wash even faster out of healthy, virgin hair. And faster still if you wash your hair with Dawn when you're ready for it to go away. Gray hair I think may be more porous, but it'll still fade fast and wash out.

People shit on Manic Panic all the time for having crap wear time, but for situations like this where you want easy, punchy, temporary on a scale of a couple weeks max color, it's perfect.
posted by phunniemee at 5:20 PM on October 28, 2017

I used Ben Nye liquid hair color to go grey for a costume, and I found that it worked pretty well, in terms of ease of application, effectiveness (it covered my red and blue hair remarkably well), and washing out (it was gone the next day). You might be able to find it in a physical store that has theatrical makeup, though not at a CVS or Walgreen's.
posted by ubersturm at 5:26 PM on October 28, 2017 [1 favorite]

Ion Color Brilliance washes out even more quickly than Manic Panic. However, expect some staining to linger.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 6:35 PM on October 28, 2017

I use L’Oréal Paris Magic Retouch (spray) to cover my greys between salon visits. It goes on easily and washes out immediately. The colour WILL rub off on your hands, though, which I imagine could be quite messy if you were to cover your entire head with it. I don't know if it's available in the US, but I'm sure there are similar root coverage sprays around.
posted by Defying Gravity at 8:06 PM on October 28, 2017

If you want the color to be completely gone in a couple of weeks, don't use Manic Panic. It washes out of some people's hair very quickly, which makes them think it will wash out of everyone's hair quickly... but it really depends on the hair. It fades quickly but it can leave a stain that lasts for a really long time.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 11:30 PM on October 28, 2017 [4 favorites]

Lime Crime Unicorn Hair!
posted by Marinara at 12:18 AM on October 29, 2017

Grey hair typically doesn't hold temporary dye at all, certainly not if you want a deep dark black. There is no way Manic Panic is going to work, in my opinion. Also, it absolutely can stain hair, so you might end up with some non-grey streaks that will hold the dye for weeks. I love Manic Panic, but I wouldn't use it for this purpose. I'd go with professional theater spray or similar: Kryolan or so. The Ben Nye seems messy, but also an option.
posted by thegreatfleecircus at 4:55 AM on October 29, 2017

Whatever you decide to use to colour, there is a product called Color Oops that works amazingly well. My daughter was midnight blue (semi-permanent) over her natural blonde for a few months, and the extra strength took it out in one wash. When her hair was short, bleached blonde and she did turquoise, it also came right out in a single wash as did violet. But the hot pinks and reds stayed a little longer in the lighter ends.

We use Punky Color usually. It is a nice thick cream that doesn't run, the colour is intense, it smells great, and doesn't bleed as much as some other colours.
posted by peagood at 6:56 AM on October 29, 2017

A costume/ Haloween store will have spray on hair color and it will wash out though black may stain for a short while. I'd use the black, and maybe green glitter or a bit of green highlighting.
posted by theora55 at 8:49 AM on October 29, 2017

Legit Ben Nye paint works very well and washes out pretty quick, but the knockoffs are total crap that make your hair stiff and unnatural and also flake a lot more. The other nice thing about it is that it dries super quick.

I painted my blond hair gray one Halloween some years back and it was completely gone within two washes. The first left a tiny silver cast to the hair, but washing it again a day later had it gone entirely. It probably would have all come out in the first go if I'd been more thorough.
posted by wierdo at 11:35 AM on October 29, 2017

I have to 2nd the spray in color if it's only for one night. Most drug stores, beauty supply stores or Walmart carry it. If you want to highlight it with green or red, spray with that color farther away and then lightly spray with the black again. It will be a little stiff since it's basically powder in a light hair spray but it's made specifically to wash out after one use.
posted by stray thoughts at 12:33 PM on October 29, 2017

Don't use Ion Color Brilliance. I will stick around for a month or more. Ion does make some truly temporary stuff, though. You might try going to Sally Beauty and asking the clerk for advice.
posted by irisclara at 1:01 PM on October 29, 2017 [1 favorite]

I recently used a couple different green Ion Brilliance colors and agree with irisclara that they're too long-lasting for what you want. They tend to last me about a month, washing about every two or three days.
posted by augustimagination at 2:13 PM on October 29, 2017

Response by poster: Thanks, everyone, for your good suggestions and recommendations! Follow-up: I stopped by the sketchy temporary Halloween store in the strip mall Monday evening after work to get cheap spray-on, but it was like the Visigoths sacking Rome in there, so instead I went to the grocery story next door and found they carried the L'Oreal Magic Root Cover-Up, which I purchased and applied. Results and conclusions:

--It does provide pretty good coverage;
--the black was more a steel/dusty charcoal/slate shade rather than a deep ebony, which was suboptimal but OK;
--using any kind of spray-on color to cover one's entire head is a project best left to someone more coordinated and with a much better bathroom mirror/lighting setup than I have;
--and, with all respect to Defying Gravity's differing experience, L'Oreal are lying liars who lie when they say it comes out in one shampooing. So far I have shampooed it three times, and washed it four times with dish soap (which did a good job of taking smears and sprayovers off skin), and all that's accomplished is to make it a little patchy-looking.
--(To be fair, I likely applied it more heavily than a typical user would.)

Thanks again! I'm already making plans for next Halloween that don't involve temporary hair color.
posted by Kat Allison at 7:16 AM on November 1, 2017