Temporarily Dye Your Hair Using Chalk
Do you want to dye your hair a bright color, but only keep it in for a couple of days? Have some chalk around your house? This article will show you how to dye your hair using just a few sticks of colored chalk. Time for a fun and easy experiment!
Contents
Steps
The pre-dyeing stage
- Purchase some artist's chalk. You will need at least one or two sticks of each color chalk. For best results, use soft pastel artist's chalks if you can; oil based artist's chalks may be difficult to remove, and sidewalk chalk is dusty and won't give you bright, vibrant colors.
- Think about what colors you want to use! Most artist's chalks come in boxes of at least 24 -- you should be set with that many. And if you have dark hair, you'll need to work with bright colors.
- Grab a towel or old t-shirt. While chalk is not a permanent stain on virtually any fabric, it will transfer quite easily and it'll save you time and worry in the long run if you're donning materials you don't care about. So throw on that old tee and/or wrap an old towel around your shoulders before you start.
- You may want to clip the towel together at your neck to keep it from going anywhere.
- Pre-soak the chalk. That's sort of a misnomer -- what you want to do is set your chalk in a few drops of water. If you have a pillbox, that's ideal. If not, set down your chalk and put a small teaspoon of water over it, releasing the color.
- This stage can be skipped if you're in a bit of a time crunch -- but does allow for a more vibrant color (which is especially important if you have darker hair).
Applying the color
- Wet a small section of your hair. This can either be done with a paintbrush, a spray bottle, or your fingers. Choose a piece of hair that is smaller than the length of the chalk. The smaller the section is, the easier it will be to work with.
- You may want to tie up the top portion of your hair so you can color the lower section without it getting in the way.
- It's easiest to chalk-dye your hair if you want just a few strands or the tips dyed. Coloring your whole head is a very time consuming endeavor.
- Rub a small section down with chalk. Take the chalk (the one you pre-soaked) at the top of where you want the hair to be colored and rub down. Lift it up off the hair and repeat. Avoid rubbing up and down -- going against the grain isn't great for your hair.
- Continue the area you are coloring until it is saturated with the color the way you want it. You can color different colors in different layers or places, depending on how you want it to look.
- Chalk will get all over your hands. Don't worry -- it'll wash right off with soap and water.
- Start on a different section. If you're working with a bunch of different colors, it's best to work on a section that's far away from the one you just worked on. Since the hair is wet, the color will transfer -- and you don't want the two mixing.
- Of course, if you're only doing one color, this isn't an issue. However, if you're worried about the color mixing, dry the strand before continuing on.
After the rainbow
- Let the hair dry. You can either blow dry your hair or let it air dry. Heat is generally bad for your hair, but if you're pressed for time, it'll have to do. It's very important that the hair dries before you go about your day as the color will transfer to your clothes if it's not.
- Completely dry -- not just mostly dry.
- Run through a clean hand. If you don't have a clean hand, wash 'em (and then dry 'em). Then grab a section and run it through your hand. Does any color come off? It so, it's not ready. It'll need to dry more.
- Do this with each section. Pat down with a hair straightener to speed up the process.
- Style as desired. Once it's dry, the color will stick regardless of what heating implements you use. If you've colored the bottom layer or the tips, make sure it shows! Chalk-dyed hair looks just as good pulled up as down.
- If you have blonde hair, it may take a couple washes to come out 100%. But darker shades will see the color come out after one wash.
Tips
- Avoid oil pastel chalks, as these can stain clothing and will be more difficult to remove.
- Brush and shake loose chalk out before washing your hair to remove the color.
- Use a flat iron or curling iron to set the color when you are finished.
- Wear a towel so you don't get messy.
- Avoid sidewalk chalk if you can, since it is very dusty and will not color with bright, vibrant hues.
- If you have light hair, use bright/vibrant colors for best results.
- Blush can work in just the same way as chalk.
- If you are blonde or have very fair hair, then try to use lighter colours such as a light blue or pink, but try to avoid reds, dark purples and black.
- Don't use pastel chalk, it will be a mess.
Warnings
- Protect your clothing and hands while coloring; wear gloves and a smock while you work.
- Keep chalk out of your eyes while coloring your hair.
Things You'll Need
- Artist's soft pastels or other chalk
- Smock/t-shirt/towel and gloves
- Water
- Spray bottle/paintbrush (optional)
- Curling iron or flat iron (optional)
