5yo brunette DD wants pink hair... how?

[YesItsADebate]

DD has asked to have pink hair over the summer holidays. She’s got brown hair with natural blonde streaks. Is there any way of doing this that doesn’t require bleaching first (I’m not prepared to do that).

Titty, doesn't it smell amazing!

I use it on my hair sometimes but I want it pastel so have to bleach it, but in some cases I've seen it over darker hair and it looks good.

Bleaching is only required depending on how vibrant you want the colour, I believe.

Tatty I can't believe people actually get worked up about kids dyeing their hair!
I'm a mum and a teacher and have lived the trends of thousands of kids. I personally love to see children's personality and individuality coming through in how they choose to look.

I have thick dark hair that nothing shows up in unless it’s bleached.

Quentin, did you mix two different bottles? Those are the Live colours with metallic salts.
No, I use the semi permanent which is just cream in a tube that you put on wet hair.
Not planning to let DD dye over it with permanent colour later, it fades after 2 weeks!

Actually at the moment 6 year old DS has a purple streak too

What's the harm?

AnyFucker chill the fuck out you're normally more reasonable, but you're bring a bit of a tit.

If she still wants it by the summer, I think I've seen hair chalk sets in the crafts section in toy shops. Not sure what the age restriction might be.

People seem incredulous that she wants pink hair and I'm not sure why, quite a lot of tv characters have pink hair and colourful dyed hair has been a mainstream trend for a while.

I think my youngest started with streaks of colour at about 6/7ish.

DD1 was obsessed with coloured hair from the age she could talk until present day. There was a woman with pink dreads who lived near us and DD was besotted with her. She would attempt to stalk her around shops. I had to hold her tight if we spotted pink dread woman or she'd be off trying to stroke her hair

I held out until she was about 10. The following year her younger sister asked to join in. It felt wrong saying no when her sibling was allowed, so she got to have colours in her hair before 10. The youngest grew out of it. The oldest has been every colour under the sun. Canary yellow is planned for the first half of this summer, followed by silver grey.

Badhair, I'm a mum and previously a teacher. I have had my hair pink and orange and white too but ... I was an adult.
My DD is very creative and 'expresses her individuality' but I will not let her permanently dye her hair. She is a child and people talking about the best way to colour a 5 year old's hair is so ridiculous that I wonder if I have somehow gone through a wormhole. Where do you draw the line? Permanent make up?
I do think there is something inherently wrong with pandering to a child's whim for coloured hair/working out the best way to pander to that whim/arguing that pandering to said whim is all in the spirit of their 5 year old 'expressing their individuality'.
Tell them to put some old jeans on, take them to the park and let them climb trees and get muddy. I despair. Or, get them a Girl's World.

My daughter has wanted pink and purple hair since she was 4, because she greatly admires my friend's older teenage daughter's ever changing hair. I bought hair chalks from Poundland, DD has a lovely (messy) time with them and it all comes out in the bath that night. What's the problem with it?

Its the same as face paints for DD, shes always making herself up as a tiger/ghost/fairy/wolf etc.

Absolutely what TattyFrench has said, especially on P1.

OP never suggested using permanent colours. She asked about wash in, wash out.

All the colours suggested to her are 'true' semis. They're basically vegetable dye mixed with conditioner.

I've just checked all mine. Directions and Freak Direct Colour have no age restriction on their packaging or in their instructions. If they were in any way harmful they'd have the obligatory 'keep out of reach of children/not intended for persons under 16' etc on them.

GothMummy But people aren't talking about a bit of harmless hair chalk they are discussing the best and most effective way to dye children's hair. Hair chalk is harmless half term fun and not comparable to chemically dying a child's hair because that's what they've asked for. My son would like a quad bike. He's as likely to get one as my DD is to have pink hair. Tough.

Gosh, my dd wants her dipped in summer, she's 14 and I was still debating it.
I do think 16 is young enough for chemical dyes.
I do hope and pray that anyone who colours childrens hair does any necessary allergy test.

I really can’t get worked up about this. It’s a bit of colour on some hair ffs. I’d go with chalks (bleach London are good) or the spray. The Live semis I have helluva job getting out of my hair. Chalks or a spray is a safe bet. My DD has the occasional pink streak or blue spray on the ends. Washes straight out and no harm done. It’s like dressing up really isn’t it. I mean, glitter/fake tattoos are in the same category. It’s just expression and play.

My 6yodd has had pink and purple in her hair.

It’s light enough to take without dye (which is a no as it is actually permanent)

I am surprised my the strength of feeling against it here, particularly from anyfucker who is usually not so judgemental

Dd is not and has never been my dolly, that’s not something I need.
She is one of the few kids I know who is actually allowed to get outside and splash in puddles, she is as far from a prissy clean clothes groomed to a stereo type girl as you could wish for.
Definitely not instagram.

Pink hair was her choice, i thought about it carefully, looked through the ingredients and made an informed decision to give her the go ahead.

I'm finding this thread really interesting because I'm really, really not judgemental but I'm staggered at the idea of dying a child's hair.

I'm not sure I can properly articulate why but my consistent thought is 'fuck no' no it bothers me that anyone would do this.
I'm curious to see if anyone articulates for me why I think it's a hideous idea. Because I undoubtedly do.

I'm curious to see if anyone articulates for me why I think it's a hideous idea. Because I undoubtedly do

I do think 5 is a bit young and suggested hair chalk way back on page 1 but I can tell you why I don't think it's hideous.

The list of ingredients on the colours I have to hand are shorter than the list of ingredients on a bottle of shampoo and no-one would suggest not shampooing a child's hair because chemicals would they?

Comparing the ingredients (Freak Direct Colour compared to Aussie 3 minute Miracle Moist if you're interested) with the exception of the oils in the Aussie and the colours in the Freak, they are almost identical. Freak has some sulfates in, which I assume is to emulsify the colour before rinsing, Aussie, being a conditioner not a shampoo does not. Freak also has Parabens which Aussie does not, although again these are found in most shampoos.

The colours basic violet 16 and HC Blue No. 15 are both considered non-toxic and safe for cosmetic use.

There are no more chemicals in direct dyes than there in shampoo in other words. To me it is harmless, non permanent fun. I'd think differently about using colours mixed with peroxide or containing PPD on children younger than 16.

Why not let her wear a full face of make up too?

It’s not like make up though, it’s more like face paints. Dress up. Make believe.

I remember magical summers as a child, weeks and weeks of freedom and feeling like it was a whole different life. Ok I never wanted to dye my hair but I wanted to stay up late and occasionally have sugar and lemon pancakes for dinner and nothing else and other such inadvisable things and that was ok cos it was summer.

I cant get worked up about some semi permanent bright colours in a kids hair. It’s a bit like those awful cotton wrap braids we used to get..

Interesting. I’m the strictest Mum my DD6 knows, borderline army general when it comes to manners, attitude, nutrition, timeliness, school, respect for elders, TV time, language, extra curricular stuff etc (actually that’s a really long list... ) but I would have zero problem with DD colouring her hair with a child-appropriate chalk thing, or clip in strands. Obvs absolutely no way to the real stuff, but I too would see the clip in/spray on stuff like face paint or costumes.

Maybe it’s BECAUSE I’m so strict with pretty much everything else, actually. To me this is harmless fun, appropriate for a 6yo. She’ll soon grow out of costume-based play, as she would the hair thing. If she ever asks for real hair dye, the answer will be no until she’s old enough to assess the consequences for herself.

The Schwarzkopf Live (not XXL) is just the tube of bright coloured paste, similar to Manic Panic or Directions. IMO I'd prefer either of the other brands just cause it's easier to scoop from a tub, but the Skopf are easier to find.

It's hair, and it is semi-permanent. As your DD has blonde streaks I'm guessing she isn't that dark of a brunette, so the colour should take reasonably well. You could mix some pink and purple to get a deeper shade, and it will wash out eventually (although it can stain/fade a bit weird sometimes so I wouldn't do it too much)

This is hilarious. I’m the most straight laced of all my friends. My dds are 10 and 6. No ear piercings, no make up play, I don’t even like my 10yo having lip gloss (thanks Claire’s ) but a bit of pink in a kid’s hair over the summer? I wouldn’t dye it but chalks, sprays, gels, whatever. Let the kid have pink hair for a few weeks. There’s some waxy stuff I keep seeing advertised on FB that looks good and has some nice bright colours. It’s really not a big deal and I’m surprised at the arse clenching on here. It’s not the first step to a debauched lifestyle. But what’s funniest are the ones that think a 5yo can’t possibly want something and it has to be the “mummy playing dollies” ffs. What a wanky argument.

It's interesting the amount of posts that are prefaced with 'I'm the strictest mother I know but....'

I'm not the strictest mother I know but clip in bits of pink is as far as I'd go on a five year old.

Stargazer hair chalk