Halloween is just around the corner. Can you believe it’s already October? I can’t either! And with that in mind I’m busy making my kids their various Halloween costumes. I try to do my best to not actually purchase my kids costumes out right, only because I am never impressed with the quality.

This year, my daughter wants to be Merida from Disney’s Brave movie. Our first thing to consider was how to make her hair that orange red color, and curly. Her natural hair is blonde and slightly wavy. I did consider buying the wig for Merida at target, but I honestly didn’t think it would work well. The wig was a one size fits all, which usually means it won’t fit. I didn’t want her to be fidgeting with her hair all day Halloween, or the wig falling off and making her upset. So we have opted to use her own hair.

We considered three options, colored hair spray, colored gel, and good old fashioned Kool Aid.
First we tried the spray. Once I got her hair curled I just sprayed the colored spray all over. It was hard to get even coverage, and even harder to not spray her face. If you go this route, take care to avoid spraying areas without hair. The best part of this method is that it washed right out. It did however make her hair very stiff and crunchy. And it came off on everything she touched.

The colored gel was harder to come by, however the closer we get to Halloween the more options will be available. Again, once her hair was curled up I added in the gel. It took much longer than the spray to apply, but I liked the look a little better. It was harder to get her entire head red without seriously messing up her curls.

Our final attempt was Kool Aid. I used to dye my hair with Kool Aid all the time as a kid, so I thought this might be a good solution. My favorite part is that it leaves the hair soft and manageable. It washes out just like the hair sprays and gels. I also liked that I could really customize the color. To dye hair with Kool Aid buy a few packs of unsweetened packets at the grocery store. Get about a quarter cup of your favorite conditioner and mix in the Kool Aid. Feel free to mix packets to get different colors. Be sure to get unsweetened packets or your hair will end up super sticky. Once your drink packets and conditioner are well mixed apply it to your hair. Work it in really well. Then cover your whole head with plastic wrap. Let it sit on your hair for at least an hour. The longer you leave it on, the more intense to color will be. Rinse it out with warm water then dry and style as usual.

This method was my favorite for the ability to customize the color, and the way her hair didn’t have to be crunchy. It looked more like Merida’s hair is supposed to look. It was also the cheapest method out there.

-Stephanie Wright