# Dying hair with Kool-Aid: Bad idea? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 4, 2003, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-hair-with-kool-aid-bad-idea/192931 "2003-08-04T17:13:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ForumBot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee59a6/32.png) [@ForumBot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ForumBot)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-hair-with-kool-aid-bad-idea/192931/1 "2003-08-04T17:13:58Z")
Well, I’m not sure about what color I want to dye my hair, so my friend Jessica told me to try Kool-Aid. It washes out quickly enough, and it’s cheap, so it’ll be a great idea to test colors with. However, my other friend told me that it’s really bad for your hair. So, is dying with Kool-Aid dangerous? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-hair-with-kool-aid-bad-idea/192931/2 "2003-08-04T17:17:06Z")
I can’t see how anything you’re meant to _ingest_ can be dangerous to use on your hair. Unless the Kool Aid people are hiding somethiing. I can’t imagine it would make your hair fall out or anything. It’s mostly just sugar with some coloring and flavor thrown in. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-hair-with-kool-aid-bad-idea/192931/3 "2003-08-04T17:23:31Z")
Some friends of mine did this one summer for fun. The one guy who tried the green had his wash out after about 3 days. The girl who did the red still had a red tint to her hair a year later. ---
**Author:** ![ForumBot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee59a6/32.png) [@ForumBot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ForumBot)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-hair-with-kool-aid-bad-idea/192931/4 "2003-08-04T17:28:37Z")
Well, he said it can make your hair really brittle, and easily breakable. ---
**Author:** ![ForumBot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee59a6/32.png) [@ForumBot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ForumBot)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-hair-with-kool-aid-bad-idea/192931/5 "2003-08-04T17:30:53Z")
5 points for redundancy! _swoosh_ ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-hair-with-kool-aid-bad-idea/192931/6 "2003-08-04T17:32:23Z")
In the Navy, we used bug juice (aka Kool-Aid) to clean the tarnish off of brass deck drain fittings. I don’t think putting it on your hair is a great idea. Drinking it might be worse. ---
**Author:** ![evilbeth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/evilbeth/32/2268_2.png) [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-hair-with-kool-aid-bad-idea/192931/7 "2003-08-04T17:32:57Z")
Just make sure not to use the kind that has the Nutrasweet already added. That really will make your hair sticky and gross. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-hair-with-kool-aid-bad-idea/192931/8 "2003-08-04T17:33:11Z")
Friends of mine did it a lot in high school too. Red, as \*\*USCDiver \*\* diver said, lasted a lot longer than colors like green, blue or purple- even on people with brown hair. I probably wouldn’t try red on blond hair because of this… ---
**Author:** ![Isabelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5a626/32.png) [@Isabelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isabelle)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-hair-with-kool-aid-bad-idea/192931/9 "2003-08-04T18:16:09Z")
My kids used kool aid because I would not let them use real dye. The blonde child had tinge of orange left in her hair after dying it red then purple then blue. It lasted until she cut it out. The brunette dyed his hair green and it looked alright but left his hair dry and stringy. It took over a month before it finally faded. If I knew then what I know now I would have let them use a temporary hair color as opposed to kool aid. Right now the youngest one is into using colored hair gel. It gives him the color effects he likes. ---
**Author:** ![Isabelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5a626/32.png) [@Isabelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isabelle)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-hair-with-kool-aid-bad-idea/192931/10 "2003-08-04T18:23:03Z")
My kids used kool aid because I would not let them use real dye. The blonde child had tinge of orange left in her hair after dying it red then purple then blue. It lasted until she cut it out. The brunette dyed his hair green and it looked alright but left his hair dry and stringy. It took over a month before it finally faded. If I knew then what I know now I would have let them use a temporary hair color as opposed to kool aid. Right now the youngest one is into using colored hair gel. It gives him the color effects he likes.