Halloween Hair Color: A One Night Affair, Yes or No?

My first temporary hair color for Halloween was a wig, beginning my transformation from a 5th grader to a full-blown glamour girl, complete with red lipstick and a Marilyn Monroe beauty mark on my cheek. This is certainly America's most playful holiday and whether a kid or a grown-up kid, here are some Halloween hair color ideas and a hairdresser's down-low on which will be a treat or a trick the day after.

Temporary Halloween Hair Color Options

There are so many choices in the temporary hair color pantheon, it can get really confusing really fast. I’ve laid out some Halloween hair color options below including pointers that will help you select the most suitable; depending on the hair color one currently has, its texture, and the desired effect, whether you’re feeling spooky, super-hero or glam. There are links to particular brands, but the internet world is your oyster, so branch out from here!

Curly Hair Temporary Dyes

Temporary hair dyes go by a myriad of names and textures, one being “hair makeup” such as this one offered by Curlsmith, which as one might guess is formulated especially for all curl types and is offered in many colors, including a gorgeous copper hair color that is truly stunning on dark shades of hair, which are often resistant to vivid tones without bleaching or lightening the hair first, which is not everyone's cup of tea, or to be vampire inclusive, cup of blood. Finally, a good option for those deep dark tones.

Paste-style Temporary Dyes

Halloween-colored hair can also be achieved with a paste such as those offered by Pulp Riot to help create completely unnatural shades such as yellow or neon-green, which is perfectly suitable for Hulks and She Hulks. These are fast to apply and dry before heading out for candy treasure hunting, and because of their paste texture will show up over dark hair colors by essentially masking them. This masking effect can look rather clay-like, but it also gives the option of layering coats of paste for a truly vivid effect, and the texture can also add to either a playful or purposefully non-realistic vibe.

Spray Hair Color for Halloween

More typical are the colored hair sprays for Halloween such as those from L’Oreal or the pearlier “unicorn” version from Lime Crime which offers a shimmery more translucent effect. These can be very effective, giving the control of spraying and drying in-between coats to create deeper tones, but will have less of a dramatic effect when applied over darker hair colors. 

Extra Halloween Hair Tips

Remember, you don’t have to put any of these choices on all-over, it could be more dramatic to add them as a money piece whether silvery-white or a bold vivid. You can also achieve a dipped look, by coloring just the ends. Add some streaks ala Bride of Frankenstein? Or match your Halloween hair color spray color to your lip color. If you really want to get into the spooky spirit, you can stream Halloween Ends at home or see it in the theater where you can share the scare.

Does Spray on Color Wash Out Easily?

And of course, the question everyone has: does spray on hair color wash out easily? What about pastes or “temporary” dyes?  Well, it depends on your hair. If you have bleached, highlighted, or naturally blonde to light brown hair, Halloween hair colors may haunt you for days to come. Even though this category of hair color is formulated to adhere primarily to the outer layer of the hair, and is not meant to penetrate enough to become permanent, it may end up becoming more akin to a “semi-permanent” taking several or more washes to completely remove it. Why? Because lighter hair colors, finer and more porous hair textures tend to “grab” pigments. No matter what the marketing claims, if this is a concern it would be wise to test on a small area of hair a week or so before in a more hidden area of your head. This will give you time enough to plan on another option, or just decide you’ll go for the slow fade over a few days or weeks of your chosen Halloween hair color.

Halloween Inspired Hair Color

Here’s a Halloween-inspired hair color idea: if you’ve been wanting a more permanent hair color change anyways, why not both unveil the look to your friends and work it into your costume? The Hummingbird is great at handling both permanent and semi-permanent dye formulations in any liquid-style color. How about jet black? I’ve always been partial to Morticia Adams and “Maddy'' of Euphoria also has a dramatic monochromatic deep-dark hair color. The Hummingbird applies color precisely, so your bathroom counters, walls, and floor won’t become a Halloween blood bath.

Put a Wig on It

Harkening back to my first hair color transformation those many years (and colors!) ago, a great and no-worry option for a transformative Halloween hair color is a wig. They are much more creative in terms of color and style than ever before and, after the grown-up, you has had their fun with it, the wig will surely become a dress-up box favorite. Wigs by Vanity is a great place to start, and my personal favorite? All the color choices in the Bowie collection. Hmmm, sounds like a good look for my dress-up box. 

Happy Halloween Hair Color!

Kathryn
Founder & CEO Dye Candy, aka Hummingbird Mama