Name: fiona
Message: this probably sounds like a strange question but i just heard somewhere that you can dye hair with food coloring, i don't suppose you'd know if that's true? tnx!

Yes, it is true. Acid dyes, which is what most food colorings are, can be used to dye animal wool or human hair. It shows up well only on light-colored hair, whether naturally blond or bleached. 

I have heard of people dyeing their hair with artificially colored gelatin dessert mix or with artificially colored and flavored drink mixes. It is best to get the kind that has no sweetening added, or to get the type with artificial sweetening, instead of sugar, if you can. Sugar would make a sticky mess. The artificially colored food product is mixed with enough hot water to form a paste, and applied to the hair as hot as is practical without burning the skin. The hair is then covered with a plastic bag or aluminum foil, to keep it wet, and additional heat applied by directing a blow dryer at the outside of the covering. 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.

It is always best, before dyeing hair, to take some hair from your hair brush and use as nearly as possible the same procedure first, to see whether the color you get is what you want.

One very good thing about food coloring as hair dye is that it is certainly safer than most commercial hair dyes. It is always important, before using a synthetic hair dye, to do a patch test for any allergy to it, by applying some to your arm and covering it with a bandage for one or two days; you should never use a hair dye that produces a rash during this test. If you are able to consume the same artificially colored foods without a reaction, though, you already know that you are okay with applying it to your hair, and can proceed without the allergy test. This is particularly nice if you want to dye your hair today, and not wait two days for the result of your home allergy test first.

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