Have you noticed one of the latest trends in hair fashion? A few years back it was feathers, so it seems that hair chalking is the thing. I know there are salons or places now that you can go to to get streaks of color, and you can buy “hair chalks” online, like here for instance. I recently even saw a deal for a set of hair chalks in one of those “groupon-type” emails. Being the artist and crafty experimenter that I am, I thought, hmm… there has got to be homemade, crafty way to do this. I mean, we made homemade sidewalk chalk, why not hair chalk, right?

Sure enough, I found a few variations on using artist chalk pastels as hair chalks for a simple, inexpensive, DIY way to achieve this colorful hair trend. You can get a set of chalk pastels as low as $5-6, and they go up in price from there depending on how many you get in the set and the brand name. Look for them in your local art and craft store in the art/drawing aisle. Make sure to look for chalk pastels, NOT oil pastels. They are two completely different things. My daughter takes a weekly art class, so we actually already had some on hand to test out. So, technically we didn’t need to “make” any hair chalk, we just needed look into her art supply box to try out this crafty experiment.

Last week was Spring break for my girl, so I thought it was the perfect time to experiment with this hair fashion trend on her. I was actually the one who asked her if I could try to color her hair with chalk. She thought I was a little crazy at first, but then of course, she jumped at the chance. She didn’t want to just do one or two strands of hair. She has beautiful strawberry-blonde hair, and she wanted a cool blue ombre effect all along the bottom of her hair.

Here is quick before and after shot of what we did:

I love crafty experiments, and I like to dive right in trying out a new trick or technique. The basic treatment I used, was to wet (I used a squirt bottle with water), color (with chalk pastels), and then heat set (I used a flat iron, but a curling iron would work too) hair for this homemade hair chalk DIY.

Here is how I applied homemade hair chalk onto my daughter’s hair:

We did get some really cool effects, and her hair was a vibrant blue the first day.

Using the flat iron did seal in color, and help dry the hair as I was applying. I did notice that as her hair dried more, some of the chalk did rub off onto her shirt. I would probably add a touch of hair spray at the end next time to hold it in next time. The chalk washed out easily from her shirt. I just made sure to pre-treat it, but it came right out.

Another tip, is that I could have worn plastic gloves, but I am not afraid to get messy. I used my hands, and yes, they got blue as well, but I washed them up with soap and water after applying as well.

She washed her hair out that night, and because her hair is so blonde, we actually temporarily die it a little bit.

Here is what her hair looked like after one washing:

You can see, there are still streaks of blue, and it definitely still has a subtle ombre look. The blue mixed with her strawberry blond hair gave off a slightly “greenish-blue” hue at the end. The color lasted in her hair almost a week. She did a lot of swimming over the weekend, so that might have also helped take the last remains of the color out of her hair.

You can omit the “wet” step, especially in blonde hair, if you want a 1-day only affect. I would definitely use hair spray at the end to help hold it in hair and not rub off onto clothes or furniture.

SheKnows has a great tutorial on how to use artist pastels for temporary hair coloring, as well as tips for different hair colors.

It was a fun experiment, and she loved showing off her blue hair around town.

I want to try just one strand next time, and dare I say, I think I want to try on my hair. = ) I’m thinking a cool pink stripe of hair may be in my future.

Have you ever tried applying hair chalk before? Share your thoughts and experiences below. I would love to hear them.

Happy crafting!

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