Semi permanent hair colour for DC

[ConsternationStation]

Both my DC have said that they would like to colour their hair. They are 6 and 8, one is dark blonde the other is a sort of mid brown colour. Apparently the colours they are most interested in are yellow, orange, red or blue.

I've coloured my hair on and off at home since my teens (box dye when younger and properly with developer etc in my adult years). But I'm wondering what is the best semi permanent hair dye for kids? I'd probably do it at the beginning of the summer so it'd have plenty of time for washing out.

I am pretty relaxed about stuff like this but I'd be a bit hesitant about this. To get proper strong colours, which I assume is what they want, you really need to bleach the hair first, especially if the hair is dark. You could probably get a sort of red that would work on either of them - but I suspect that's not the sort of funky colour they're thinking of.

DD is a bit older and is planning to dye the tips of her hair bright pink over the summer holidays. We know we will have to bleach them first, then apply the pink dye and that at the end of the holiday she'll need a big trim to remove it all. This still feels quite a big deal to me, even though we're only planning 1-2 inches on hair that is at the middle of her back currently.

My younger son has a friend in his class who has coloured his hair recently. He had to bleach it for a bright colour - or two! so we've already talked about all that and they understand that they wouldn't get their hair bleached so the colours wouldn't necessarily be super bright. They've both seen me colour my hair over the years so they do understand it a bit. I think they just want to try it to see.

We did a lot of this. If you don't bleach, the yellow won't show up at all, or hardly. The orange and red probably will, although they won't be super vivid, especially on brown hair. The blue will fade to green pretty quickly. These dyes don't tend to wash out completely - they just fade and fade. Tbh I don't see much point in doing it if you don't bleach.

I got the dyes at Pak's, a London chain full of amazing beauty products mostly for Middle Eastern and Black women. There's one in Ridley road market and one in Finsbury park - possibly more.

No no and no. It's so dangerous. These chemicals are not made for children's skin. Bleach especially. You risk chemical burns and sensitivity or allergic reactions. Or may end up giving them an early on set aquired allergy to colour.

Why expose your children to this type of potential hair. Be a parent and explain the ins and outs. Hair colour or for adults.

You can get them vegan hair colour chalks or clip in extensions instead

I don’t have girls but a mum I know dyed her little girls hair ‘rainbow’ using pots of water and tissue paper. It looks brilliant too and a lot friendlier to young hair.

uk.pinterest.com/dvrcadv/tissue-paper-hair-coloring-techniques/

I didn't ask for opinions or for your criticism of my parenting, thanks very much. I was asking for suggestions of semi permanent dye. I've already said that I wouldn't be using bleach. If you don't have a suggestion, maybe this isn't the thread for you. Thanks.

@ConsternationStationmy suggestion was pretty clear. Don't do it, even with a semi. You risk injuring them. For what it's worth I do know what I'm talking about.

I also gave you 2 alternatives.

But, hey other parents have made these same bad choices, you may as well join them. Also, any hair colour professional or otherwise will state some where in the fine print that these products are not intended for under 16s.

Do some research.

This is 100% the thread for me. If I have offended you, I'm far from sorry because if another parent who reads this and does some research or constructive thinking and decides not to risk injuring their child. Then I've had a positive impact.

Blue, green and yellow are also the hardest colours to remove from the hair. They dont just fade away cleanly. Yes even temporary and semis can stain the hair permanently. Even professional colour cleansers won't remove then without compromising the condition of the hair.

I’d try a spray colour to try it out. I’ve got light blonde hair and most semi permanent coloured dyes don’t last very long. I doubt they would show up on darker hair very much.