Huffington Post: Gina Rivera on Zombie Hair for Halloween

The best way to create zombie hair is to NOT shampoo the day of the Halloween party. Second-day hair is so much easier to work with.

Halloween is less than two weeks away but we’ve got time to do some planning. Make hair, nails and makeup a priority for that killer look. Everyone focuses on the costume… “Mistake!” Sure, you want a terrific outfit. But ask yourself: what do people see up close? Answer: eyes, hair, lips.

Back to the zombie hair. Get out your favorite teasing comb. You can use any comb but you can pick up a teasing comb almost anywhere. Now start “ratting” your hair, back teasing and generally making a mess of it. You didn’t shampoo, right? Freshly washed hair tends to slick and soft without any of that great traction you get after a day (or two) of wear.

Take a section of hair. Hold the section in one hand in a 90 degree angle off the head (straight off the scalp). Take your comb and starting at the base of the hair, begin to back-tease the hair moving from the base toward the ends. Repeat throughout your hair.

If you don’t have long enough of your own hair, get clip-on extensions. They are so easy to use and that hair extension can be teased pretty much like your own. Do your own hair first, then add the clip-in and tease that.

Work with hairspray. You’ll need a lot of it! Spray sections as you go. If you run into a section that isn’t teasing well (did you wash it?), give it a quick, light blast and tease it again. The hairspray will make it really easy to work.

After your hair is teased and sprayed, leave it alone. Don’t overwork your hair. The natural oils on your hands can cause it to go limp and flat so “do it, then leave it.”

Finish your zombie hair with some color. You can find blue to black and gray in spray cans, chalk and rubs that wash out easily after the party. Maybe spray the roots a light purple or black and the ends gray. Just create your own masterpiece. Hard to go wrong here.

Here’s another one. The dead bride. Buried in her gown. Tragic story.

Again, start with second-day hair. Pull it all into a ponytail at the top of your head. Crimp sections with a crimping iron. Then take your teasing comb and tease each section from base to ends. Blast it with hairspray. Just as you would for the zombie, “do it, then leave it,” no overworking your hair.

Don’t be afraid to use fake critters in your hairstyle. You can find rubber snakes, plastic spiders and webs and tiny pumpkins at almost any trinket store. This is the perfect, finishing touch to your costume. Weave a thin snake into a braid. Spiders can be nested almost anywhere.

Wicked. Have fun.