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There are always disadvantages and advantages to a DIY Halloween costume, but sometimes the bad outweighs the good. True, you can sew your costume with on-hand materials, but when it comes to hair hacks for your awesome costume, there's a lot that can go wrong.
To help you have the best costume hair without any negative repercussions, Great Clips offers six dos and don'ts for your hairdo this Halloween season:
Don't use too much product
Hairspray is your friend but only in measured amounts and if applied at the correct distance (about 8-12 inches away). The key to big, boo-tiful Halloween hair is backcombing, not in applying copious amounts of product. This goes for gel, glitter and any other product you're using.
Dofocus on spooky textures: windblown and airy, but not too sticky. Use a body spritzer before blow-drying or some quality mousse. Extreme hold hairspray and styling gel both work to keep things firmly in place, but don't underestimate glitter and texturizing spray to add a lot to your tousled look.
Do apply color carefully
If DIYing, it's a good idea to have your costume on and ready before applying spray-on colors. To not mess up your do, cover your costume and proceed to style your hair in the desired do. Then, if using a spray-on color, apply it carefully. Keep in mind that many temporary colorings may be temporary for your hair, but will stain everything else. Just to be safe, apply these outdoors to avoid a mess.
Don't damage your hair just for a good Halloween 'do. The drugstore temporary color hairsprays might seem innocent enough, but they are full of harsh chemicals like dmdm hydantoin, ceteareth-20 and other harmful parabens. Even some of the more permanent colorings can be damaging, so consult your hairstylist with questions about good salon-approved products to buy.
Some products can help you get the added color without all the headache of color lingering and damaged strands. If you're in the market for a natural way to color your hair, consider non-toxic hair chalk to get those bright temporary colors without negative results.
Do prime and prepare
You can prime your hair by using hairspray before applying color spray. This will help the color come out easier since the color is on the surface of the hairspray and not your hair. Don't let all your hard work go to waste, either. Bring an umbrella in case of inclement weather, and keep a comb and extra bobby pins nearby for midnight touch-ups.
Don’t leave the 'do or color in that night. You may have been going for scary hair, but this looks pretty disturbing at your day job on Nov. 1. Leaving a complicated 'do and spray-on color in your hair creates knots and will stain your sheets and pillow as you sleep. Last but not least, leaving temporary color in can possibly make the color stay in longer than you wanted. No matter how tired you are from your monster mash, wash everything out that night to avoid creepy Halloween hair in November.
For more tips and tricks on Halloween hair along with a professional style or cut for Halloween and beyond, visit Great Clips.
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