My hair took a beating at the beach. Salt, sand, and sun add up to dry, dull hair. Blonde hair is especially prone to becoming dry, brittle, and brassy, thanks to the bleach—so I'm trying some cheap and easy at-home tricks to brighten things up a bit.
My hair is very blonde—about as blonde as the poor stylists at the salon can get it. This seems to get harder and harder as I get older! Did you know that gray hair is harder to color and bleach as it already has basically no pigment left in it? That's why it gets trickier and trickier to hide grays.
However, I don't have to let go of being blonde just yet—but sometimes, my hair definitely needs a brightening refresher between washes. I discovered in InStyle that products with purple tints keep blonde hair from turning brassy or fading too quickly. Sure, there are salon-brand purple shampoos and conditioners that you can buy, but there's always a DIY option.
And guess what? You can brighten blonde hair with Kool-Aid! Yes, that Kool-Aid—as in the Kool-Aid Man.
You can't just use any color Kool-Aid for obvious reasons, though. You need purple Kool-Aid (remember on the color wheel how yellow is directly across from purple?) to get the job done.
Using purple tones for hair that's perfectly icy blonde cancels out any brassiness that might be hanging around—just the way you want it! You might be thinking, "Well, then, why don't we use blue?" So let's go back to the color wheel.
Directly across from blue is orange—the kind of orange that basically only shows up on hair as flaming redhead hair. That's not the kind of color that we're looking to cancel out—if you are, then your hair stylist hasn't bleached your hair properly!
For an all-over boost:
Add ¼ tablespoon purple Kool-Aid powder to 4 tablespoons of shampoo. Make sure you mix it thoroughly so that the purple color affects your hair evenly.
Remember, we're not using Kool-Aid as hair dye here. It should be just purple enough to cancel out any super yellow tones but not enough to actually change your hair color.
This is a ton of shampoo—way more than I'm guessing you usually use—so enjoy a big ol' lather. Take time to massage it through all of your hair so that it's going to be evenly brighter and blonder.
Rinse thoroughly. And rinse the tub to make sure no purple stain remains!
I am totally sold on this tip. Not a trace of purple remained after I rinsed it out, and my hair looked nice and bright white! You can do this every month as needed—although you'll need appointments to do your roots in between unless you DIY those, too.
But it's a great way to keep your hair as blonde as possible without needing to head to the salon. Then, if your hair is still feeling dry from a little too much curling or salty air, you can always follow up with your favorite hair mask to make those locks super silky and sleek.
Not a blonde, but still looking for a color refresh? There are lots of ways you can get DIY natural highlights at home! You can also use an array of easy-to-find, natural ingredients like honey, lemon, and chamomile to get natural highlights.
Brightening Blonde with Kool-Aid FAQ
Will this shampoo turn my hair purple?
No, it shouldn't turn your hair purple. My bleached blonde hair is a bright, cool shade of platinum after using this DIY purple shampoo. Remember, you'll be mixing the Kool-Aid with a hefty measurement of shampoo—and you're using it to tone your blonde rather than to dye your hair. If you follow this recipe, the shampoo should be just purple enough to cancel out any super yellow tones without actually changing your hair color.
Will this purple shampoo work on gray hair?
This recipe is ideal for brightening up bleached or dyed blonde locks. As you may know (and I've struggled with this myself!), gray hair can be harder to color and bleach as it has basically no pigment left in it. That's why it gets trickier and trickier to hide grays.
That being said, this shampoo can still be useful in canceling out yellow tones if you have some gray mixed in with dyed or bleached blonde hair, so it's worth a try!
Will other flavors of Kool-Aid work in a pinch?
No, you'll definitely want to stick with purple (grape) Kool-Aid. Because the goal is to cancel out yellow tones in blonde hair—and it just so happens that yellow is directly across the color wheel from purple—your best choice is purple, which is why you'll find so many purple shampoos and conditioners at drugstores and salons.
View this post on Instagram
How to Brighten Blonde with Kool-Aid
Materials
- ¼ tablespoon purple (grape) Kool-Aid
- 4 tablespoon shampoo
Instructions
- Combine Kool-Aid and shampoo in a bowl and stir to mix thoroughly.
- Take time to massage the shampoo through your hair so that it's distributed evenly and is able to fully saturate hair for even toning.
- Rinse thoroughly and style as usual—and rinse the tub to make sure no purple remains!
Dr. George Tumanishvili says
Its always nice and i feel honored reading your Blog . Your Blogs always based on all basic concepts which anyone can understand so easily and relate to Pleasure to read your Blogs Sir.
Jen says
Does she mean 1/4 teaspoon kool aid to 4 tablespoons shampoo??
Carla says
Does it matter what color the shampoo is?
Beth Richards says
Fixing to try this
Jasmine says
Would this work if you dyed your hair dark blonde? I wanna make it blonde
Jennifer says
I tried it after bleaching my hair just today. I couldnt sleep because I eas so mad about the brass. So I found this tip and it worked. I shouldve left it on even longer but NO nrass ALL platinum for me. LOVE LOVE LOVE
Lauren says
Please tell me how long you left this shampoo lather in for?
Irene says
Does it matter what color shampoo it is? I have platinum blonde hair but i have a little brassiness in my hair would it get rid of it?
Sara says
It turned my hair paink no joke
Reagan Weiland says
so can this help brighten naturally blonde hair?
Delacruize :) says
I just dyed my hair Blonde again last night and tried the Grape Koolaid trick this morning and it worked to blend my hair enough to cover the brassiness. Thanks for the great and (CHEAP) idea.
Jen says
Just curious if anyone knows how soon after coloring you can do this? Could you do it right away or wait a couple of washes first? I'm excited to try it!
Emily Faith says
How do you get 1/4 a tablespoon?
Melissa says
Use a measuring spoon. You can buy one from just about anywhere.
Trish says
1/4 tablespoons (Tbsp) would be equivalent to 3/4 teaspoons (tsp). However, measurements usually aren't given (and measuring spoons usually don't exist) in fractions of a tablespoon so I'd almost wonder if it was a typo and was supposed to be 1/4 teaspoon...
Chelsea says
Love the uses of Kool-aid and all the things you can do with it for hair color. This is the first time I've heard this - brilliant! I will have to pass this info on to my blonde friends
Trinkets in Bloom says
OMG! I never would have thought of this! I'm so trying it! Brilliant!
jennifer miller says
FYI: It will stain your hands so wear gloves! I didn't but found that after scrubbing my hands twice with baking soda the color was gone. Should be in the directions :)
Kristen says
What a great idea!! If your hair is naturally blonde will it still take out the brassy color in it?
Tiffany says
i wish i would have known this years ago when i got my hair dyed blonde, and even the salon couldnt get all of the brass color out...thanks!! i will have to try it when i dye my hair again!
heather says
can you use this on brown hair?
Michele T says
Cool! Sure would have been nice to see some before and after shots :-)
GirlfriendShoes says
I was wondering if this would work! Thanks for sharing.
Gina says
amazing! I have been buying purple tinted shampoo to make my salt a little more bright against my pepper. I will have to try this homemade version with my favorite shampoos!!
amyp says
I do this with my brown hair that gets ridiculously brassy. It really does help to tone things down. Downside: kids get excited to see purple kool-ade in the cart, then get mad at me for not letting then drink it.
Sally says
I just did this & it TOTALLY worked! Don't be afraid to try it. It is SO MUCH CHEAPER than the toners & conditioners made for this purpose, & so much more gentle on your hair.
henryhappened says
It totally works, doesn't it!! So glad you tried it!
Danni says
I understand that the Grape KoolAid will take brassiness out of hair......what will the Grape KoolAid do to the gray hair that is mixed in with the brassy colored hair?
Michelle says
Dying to see pics of this! Sounds crazy cool! Thanks for linking up with DIY under $5!
Kelly @ Glitter says
What a great tip!! Awesome!!!
henryhappened says
What a great idea! That pink looks delicious!! Thanks for stopping by :)
Rachel says
Ha, I used to dye my hair crazy colors (pink, blue, purple) with Kool Aid when I was in high school. Drove my mom crazy, I'm sure. Too funny that it can actually help with "normal" color hair too!
henryhappened says
Rachel, that's too funny :) I was actually a little worried about turning my hair purple!
jessica says
We use lemon-aid kool aid to pull the cholrine out of my daughters hair. She is a swimmer and was going through swim shampoo like crazy a hairdresser suggested we try it! Works awesome and super cheap!!!
henryhappened says
Jessica, what a great tip! I'm so amazed at all the cool stuff you can do with Kool-Aid! Who knew?! :)
sharde says
did you know they have purple shampoo at sally beauty supply that is made for hair? its for the same purpose, to cut out brassy tones, but is actually made for your hair. blue tones too..i like blue malva from aveda. its a life saver!
Michelle says
Great tip! thanks! I order lemon kool-aid by the box full because it's the BEST at getting dishes in the dishwasher clean! 1 tbsp. added in with the soap! - NOW I have a NEW kool-aid trick! :)
Rebecca says
Oh my gosh, this sounds so crazy! I'd be terrified to try this. I'd be scared that my hair would turn green, like Anne of Green Gable's when she tried to dye her hair raven black!!! lol....
Sam Addison says
How would your hair turn GREEN from using something PURPLE? Lol!
sherri lynn says
I've never heard of this before! I'd love to see an after picture :)
Hannah says
Wow..I was a little iffy to read this. I've heard of people dying their hair with red kool-aid. But I'll take your word for it! Show us a picture of the result!! :)
Katie says
That is really awesome! I don't have blond hair, but still- that's a really good tip, considering Kool-aid packets are like 20 cents each! ;) You're so smart!
Anne @ Domesblissity says
That's so Kool Stephanie! (Sorry, lame I know! LOL) You would save a fortune on some of those hair colour treatment shampoos and conditioners. I'm getting my hair coloured a platinum blonde (sort of) colour tomorrow. I'm hoping the greys that are growing through really quickly won't be as easily recognisable! LOL
Anne xx
MageeMommy says
Ok, I'm going to try it out!!! Thanks for the tip! :)
Lindsay says
Ahh this is kind of crazy but I'm diggin it anyway!! I want to see pics! ;)
Tonia@ TheGunnySack says
Really? Kool-Aid...I had no idea!!
Sherry says
Is it safe to use grape koolaid to get orange out after trying to dye hair blond
Taylor says
Use blue to contrast the orange. Look at the color wheel.. for future reference. Do opposite of each other..works for any shade.
mommyundone says
This is a great tip! who would've thought?!