For most, college is the prime time for experimentation and exploration of one’s style. Who wouldn’t want to change their hair color every once in a while? The only problem is that dying hair is a tedious process… and comes with a few consequences. If you’ve ever wondered what the best way to handle this situation in a college bathroom is, you’ve come to the right place. I present to you a step by step process on how!

- Make the trek to Walgreens
First and foremost, you’ve got to get the hair dye. If you’re like me, you definitely do not have the funds to Doordash hair dye, so that means taking a walk to Walgreens. While you’re there, make sure to grab other groceries you might need, so you can avoid taking the journey again anytime soon.
- Choose your hair color!
This is probably the most fun part of the whole ordeal. Choose the color you feel is best suited for you! Will it be cosmic purple, deep sea blue or maybe even a red reminiscent of lava? Whatever you choose, I bet it’ll turn out great.
- Prepare!
Pick out your least favorite t-shirt and apply vaseline to your neck and hairline. That way, you won’t have to spend the week afterwards scrubbing purple off of the back of your neck and the tops of your ears.
- Get a friend, and read the directions!
Separate your hair into the sections you want and choose a good partner to help with the application. This way, you can joke around while you wait for the dye to do its job. Whatever bathroom you choose, play some music, and have a fun time.
- Wash it out…
At this point, you may have realized the difficult part: the hair dye doesn’t just dye your hair, it dyes everything. As you rinse it out of your hair, and watch it go down the drain, you may realize that it seems impossible to wash out of the bathroom tiles and shower curtains. That’s because it is.
- Beg your CA for forgiveness.
To prevent yourself from having to execute this step, be extremely cautious about how you wash out your hair. Try to cover the area with a trash bag or be extremely precise so you don’t ruin anything in the bathrooms. In the event you do get dye on things, do your best and beg for forgiveness.
- Close your eyes everytime you pass the “Do Not Use” sign.
Nobody will know you’re the reason ResLife closed the bathroom. (Unless they see the purple dye in the shower curtain a week later). Next time, maybe lean closer to the drain. I doubt your luck will be much better, though, but at least your hair will look rad!
Emily Cookson is a freshman double English and philosophy major at Drew.