Name: Christopher

Message: Hey,
I want my hair GREEN and I can't find any permanent hair dye. Is there any out there that is, or can I mix colors together? If so plzzz, let me know how I can do it and what kind...

I've never dyed my hair green, but I can give you some pointers based on my knowledge of dyeing textile fibers. Dye is transparent, so dyeing blue hair yellow, or dyeing yellow hair blue, will produce green hair. Alternatively, you can mix blue and yellow dyes to make green, though it is impossible to predict whether the blue or the yellow will work better. If the blue works better, you will get a blue-green color, whereas if the yellow works better, you will get a chartreuse yellow-green.

Dark hair cannot be dyed a brilliant green. If your hair is dark, the most you can get is a subtle greenish tone on top of your regular hair color. To get a brilliant green, you must start with blond or bleached hair. However, bleached hair will hold on to the color much, much longer than dark hair. If this is a temporary color only, beware of dyeing bleached hair green. It might last longer than you want it to. This is probably not a problem in your case, since you are asking for permanent hair dye.

Unless you are fine with all of the possible outcomes, always do a test first, using hair that you collect from your hairbrush.

Never use fabric dyes on your own hair. The dyes used to dye fabrics are not safe for use on your body. Instead, use food coloring. People have successfully dyed their hair brilliant colors using unsweetened Kool-aid drink mix or Jello dessert mix, as both of these products are colored with a great deal of artificial food coloring. You can also go to a crafts store and pick up Wilton's cake decorating colors, which are available in many different colors in paste or gel form. Food coloring is actually safer for your health than the usual dyes promoted for use as hair dyes. Avoid sweetened drink mixes and sweetened gelatin mixes in favor of unsweetened or artificially sweetened products, because the sugar in the sweetened varieties could produce a sticky mess. 

Mix your choice of artificially colored food product with enough hot water to form a paste, and apply it to the hair as hot as is practical without burning the skin. Do this first with the hair you've gathered with your hairbrush, remember, then wash that out and dry it to see what color you have, and then do it on your own head only after you've decided what combination of colors, heat, and time gives the results you want. After applying the food dye paste evenly, cover it with a plastic bag or aluminum foil, to keep it wet, and add additional heat by directing a blow dryer at the outside of the covering. I can't predict whether you'll want to do this for five minutes or for an hour; more time heat-setting gives you more intense colors. When washing your hair afterwards, use only cool water, if you can bear to, instead of hot water, to help keep the dye from washing out as quickly.

If you go ahead with this project, please let me know how it turns out!

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