As a prank, I want to dye my hair black for 3 days. . .

[FallingDarkness]

. . . but idk how to temporarily dye my hair. Plus hair dye is pretty damaging, right? So I'm coming to you guys for advice. Would there be any way that I could do this without actually dyeing my hair? Are there temporary hair dyes in the world that I could find? Any bit of knowledge would be GREAT.

[HazelBug]

You can buy a decent wig from amazon.com. I've bought cosplay quality wigs from the seller taobaopit. I wouldn't mess with your actual hair for a 3 day thing. in the long run, even if you get a $50+ wig, you might spend less than dye and dye removers and deep treatments to make your hair managable. I've dyed my hair black and then stripped out the dye. It's not an easy process. Temporary and semi permanent dyes are really hit and miss. For me they actually never work.

[morrigan*]

I think there is styling foam that is coloured and it gets out with one shampoing

[stachelbeere]

or: hair colour in spray. but I wouldn't want to sleep with that on my hair ;)

[MarlieJane]

If you have very light colored hair I would be cautious about using the black spray-in color. I had a friend who used that to color her hair black for Halloween one year, and she ended up with dark gray hair for at least the next month. A wig may be your best option in that case.

[Arya]

You can get certain rinses or one wash out colours like "fanci-full" that can sort of do the trick. I've also mascara-d my entire head for a costume (it was up in a Japanese updo, so the lacquery look was ok), both came out fine, but wear dark colours, as there's certainly some transfer. My hair is red so I didn't get a true black out of the fanci-full stuff, more of a darkest chestnut brown, and it certainly felt like my hair was full of mousse. I added black extensions to my hair, and it helped the overall effect. Or you could get a wig. A lace front would look natural, but it depends on how much you want to invest. I'd say go for the fanci-full mousse, it left no staining and didn't flake off like other temporary sprays. For me anyway, ymmv. I've heard the liquid stuff is pretty messy, but the mousse was fine for me.

[Auburndreaming]

Maybe a wig would be a better option? I've used semi black permanent dyes and they've always stayed permanent, not so sure about how the hair sprays work but if you're unsure I wouldn't know if it was worth risking it good luck anyway :)

[hairpleasegrow]

Changing anyone for anyone else (even if it's for a prank) is always a bad idea. anything that colors your hair is going to be damaging. Arya said it best, just get a wig.

Edit: I mean changing anything for anyone else is a bad idea.

[Madora]

Definitely go with the wig option! Better than ruining your hair because of a "prank"!!!

[lapushka]

Definitely go with the wig option! Better than ruining your hair because of a "prank"!!!

This. ^^ Your temporary dye might turn out not to be so "temporary". You never know. And for something as stupid and silly as a prank. No way! You'll end up spending a lot of money for nothing, either in dyes or in wigs. I'd say think before you act.

[MandyBeth]

I'm in the not quite brown, not quite blonde range, though I have some lightening and grays. Different as my grays balk at holding color, the light areas don't.

Anything less than Manic Panic usually either is very very short term (as in a day), feels ick or leaves a gray cast - or all of those.

Manic Panic Raven on my daily washed hair does not leave. First application, it goes charcoal maybe, but I've not added black to my ends in 8 months and they're as perfectly black as Raven gets on me. The blues fade a bit, but black does not.

For the record, MP is deposit only, it used without pre lightening your hair is no more damaging than the typical BAQ henna if your hair tolerates henna. MP damage relates to bleaching to white or nearly white - then stripping the final remains of color out later. Both of which are damaging, no matter what you use.

[woodswanderer]

So what is the gist of the prank? Inquiring mind here...

[FallingDarkness]

My hair's blonde, not a dirty blonde or a really really light one, but somewhere inbetween, so thanks for warning me that it might turn gray! That would not be fun to deal with.
Thank you all for telling me that a wig would be a better option; I'd have never thought of that. I just need to find one that matches my hair length, thickness, and style... :P

[restless]

If you dont want the black hair for any longer than a few days then I agree with the ones who are saying a wig (or maybe plenty of black extensions) is a better option, especially if your hair is blonde (!).

Many years ago I wanted my own middle brown hair to be black so I started out by buying a semi permanent (I think thats the word? One of those that are supposed to disappear within 15 washes or something) dye to try it out. Sure, with every wash it faded a little but it definitly stuck to my hair longer than what the box promised. Therefore I wouldnt mess with colours if I were you unless I actually wanted my hair to be this shade of colour for a longer time. Its quite a big jump going from blonde to black too...

[allmixedup88]

I vote for the spray or foam that washes out.

[Zebra Fish]

Seconding the wig option. If you really want to dye it, Manic Panic is good in the no damage thingy, but it want be there only for 3 days. I have vampire red on virgin hair, and after 2 months I had to redo roots, the colour faded maybe just a little bit (while red box/saloon dye would fade in less than a month on me).

[spidermom]

My niece did a temporary black hair color (supposed to last through 6-12 washings) on her ash-blonde hair, and she had to grow it out and cut it off.

[MeAndTheMaz]

Now that we've established the best course of action, I agree with woodswanderer. What's the prank?

[ashke50]

My niece did a temporary black hair color (supposed to last through 6-12 washings) on her ash-blonde hair, and she had to grow it out and cut it off.

I agree with the don't dye it advice! My sister had very blonde hair, and dyed half of it with a semi-permanent "washes out in 5 washes" type thing to be Creulla DeVille when she was younger - it eventually faded to very dark brown, but was still obvious in her hair right until it grew out.

[SkyChild]

My hair's blonde, not a dirty blonde or a really really light one, but somewhere inbetween, so thanks for warning me that it might turn gray! That would not be fun to deal with.
Thank you all for telling me that a wig would be a better option; I'd have never thought of that. I just need to find one that matches my hair length, thickness, and style... :P

If you're any good at cutting, you could find one that's longer and thicker and cut the shape to match. (That's assuming you're not classic and seeking a black floor-length wig!)

[Anje]

Wig or Fanci-full, as others have said. It'll feel pretty gross with Fanci-full in it, but that stuff is supposed to come out in ONE wash. You could always strand test it, since you're blond and staining would be bad, but I doubt it'd stay on long.