Short term red head

October 15, 2022 1:26 PM

I've got dark hair, and want to dye it some kind of red for Halloween. I don't want to bleach my hair if I can avoid it, and don't want the dye to last more than a few days (up to a couple of weeks is okay but really I'm just looking for a weekend, if I can). What are my options? What are some specific products I should check out?
posted by curious nu to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (15 answers total)

I feel like a wig is your best option here. There are dyes that only last a few washes, but you’re not going to get your hair any lighter than your current shade without bleach. There’s also spray on hair dyes, but they are kind of terrible and messy in my experience.
posted by vanitas at 1:37 PM on October 15, 2022 [26 favorites]

The best you will be able to do with your restrictions is dark hair that has a red sheen under bright light. To get a coating that's lighter then your natural hair, you'd have to use something that coats the hair and it's always miserable to work with, texturally offputting, gets all over you, and is often completely unstylable.

You'd be better off with a wig or one or more hairpieces to augment your hair with true vivid red fake hair.
posted by Lyn Never at 2:29 PM on October 15, 2022 [6 favorites]

I've had fun using Overtone. It's a conditioner, so my hair is softer when I use it. The degree of redness will depend on how dark your brown hair is, as will how long it lasts. I've found that the color fades from the brown in my hair relatively quickly, and (at least for me) it lingers as an understated light color in the white in my hair, which is fun.

You can put it in on either wet or dry hair, and then let it sit for 20 minutes. Then rinse, use a dark towel, and wash out your tub or sink. For any of the "[color] for Brown Hair" options, you definitely want to wear gloves.

(Abusing the edit window: The link I have there is for both the tub of initial dye and the bottle of maintenance conditioner together. If you want it to just be for a weekend, you don't need both.)
posted by past unusual at 2:58 PM on October 15, 2022 [4 favorites]

Do an image search for red henna on dark hair. If you like it, you can probably pick it up at your local food co-op or similar. I feel like when my neighbors did this for my hair, it lasted about a month.
posted by aniola at 3:11 PM on October 15, 2022

Hair chalk!
posted by Bottlecap at 3:14 PM on October 15, 2022 [2 favorites]

I haven't done it, but what about small hair extensions that can add streaking without risk? This sounds like a job for a friend to get the extensions fastened into place.
posted by TrishaU at 3:57 PM on October 15, 2022

You can get temporary colour hairspray. I've personally never used one but here's a YouTube video with some being tested so you can get a general idea of the pros and cons.
posted by BeeJiddy at 4:11 PM on October 15, 2022

I've never tried this CurlSmith color gel, but it looks promising.
posted by missriss89 at 4:46 PM on October 15, 2022

Wig.
Red is notoriously difficult to remove, notoriously difficult to get/keep vibrant, and even temporary things like sprays can stain for weeks or months or until it grows out. Not to mention the sprays will get everything even near it red, even after it's "dry". Unless you want a commitment, or a ton of cleaning, a wig is the answer. Source: I've dyed my hair pretty much every color of the rainbow, sometimes without bleaching. Red STAINS.
posted by Crystalinne at 7:47 PM on October 15, 2022 [8 favorites]

I did something similar once for a convention costume, but it may be a little more drastic than you’re willing to go. My usual color is a medium brown. I say “usual” rather than “natural,” because I’ve been coloring my premature gray for a long time.

I colored my hair a medium auburn using a 30 volume developer, which can lift your color by three levels. Then I covered that with a copper spray-in color with “intense” in the brand name.

I lived with the auburn until it was time to color again, and then used a slightly darker brown. It ended up being a sort of brown with auburn undertones.

I was happy with the results, but in hindsight it probably would have been easier just to get a wig. If I hadn’t been confident in my dyeing-out-of-a-drugstore-box skills (with a side trip to the beauty supply store for the developer), I might not have attempted it.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:17 PM on October 15, 2022

Unsweetened cherry kool-aid is the traditional, low-risk way to temporarily dye hair red. I've heard it can work pretty well even on dark hair. The only drawback is that it leaves your hair quite scented.
posted by spiderbeforesunset at 8:23 AM on October 16, 2022

You want a pigment (large molecules of colour that cover up your hair's natural colour) rather than a dye (chemical reaction that changes hair's own colour) so it will wash out. Your best bet is probably a spray-in hair colour. Manic Panic make a line called Amplified that has at least one red, L'oreal also have a line called Colorista as well with a few options.
posted by seanmpuckett at 10:03 AM on October 16, 2022

If you just want it for one event, the traditional answer is those cans of spray on hair color they sell at like Spirit stores. It's not great but it's ok. It just goes on top, so it takes a LOT if you want the color to be all the way through, and you need to not brush your hair, and the texture of your hair changes (it's hair spray!) and it will rub/flake off on things.

On second thought I think what I'm saying might be "wig"
posted by Lady Li at 10:27 AM on October 16, 2022

Oops, I was mistaken. I have been informed that kool-aid is not temporary. Please disregard my suggestion above.
posted by spiderbeforesunset at 11:41 AM on October 16, 2022 [2 favorites]

Henna is permanent - the vibrancy may fade over a few weeks, but it may never wash out entirely. Also, even residual henna can react with regular (non henna) dyes, so it’s better not to use henna unless you really want to commit to it.
posted by maleficent at 12:08 PM on October 16, 2022 [3 favorites]