Hi, guys. Just wanted your opinion on something. I'm going as Katniss Everdeen (the main character from The Hunger Games) for Halloween, and I've got everything figured out except my hair.

Katniss is supposed to have dark brown hair and olive skin. I have reddish brown hair and pale skin. Her hair is also supposed to be braided.

[The first two pictures are of my hair. Duh. And the last one is a picture of the girl they've chosen to play Katniss in the movie.]

I want to stay true to the character, but I can't decide if it would look worse to wear a dark brown wig (and braid it), or just go with my natural hair. A wig might look cheap, but my own hair is obviously not right.

I'm also considering a spray tan. The party I'm going to is on Saturday night. How early do I need to get the tan in order for it to look good then? (I've never gotten a spray tan before.)

Thanks for your help! And may the odds be ever in your favor.

I don't think the hair matters. You're going to have to explain your costume anyway. Next year - after the movie is released - everyone would know who you are. But this year, not so much.

It depends on which kind of spray tan you get. Some of them are like paint - spray and done. Others take a few hours (up to 4, I believe) to get the full effect.

I would just do the wig. No one's going to judge you for wearing a cheap wig as part of a Halloween costume. I think panic's right in that you're going to have to explain the costume to pretty much everyone anyway, but I think it'll go over better, if you do happen to run across someone who's read the books, if you at least have the right hair color and length (can't really tell in the picture, but it looks like your natural hair is just below shoulder length).

As far as the skin tone, I wouldn't do a full-on spray tan just for a costume. I'd suggest just doing some bronzer on your face and calling it a day.

I'm not worried about explaining the costume. I really don't care if anyone else gets it. But I'm gonna be wearing some pretty obvious clues for anyone who's read the book — a mockingjay pin, a t-shirt with "The Hunger Games" on the front and "Dist. 12" on the back, an orange back pack, bow and arrow, flame nails, etc. I'm glad I'll be doing it before the movie comes out and everyone dresses up like her next year.

Thanks for the tips. Since you won't see my whole body anyway, the bronzer's a great idea!

FWIW, I"d totally get it because I thought about going as Katniss this year.

If you don't want to wear a wig, look for the colored hair spray that's always out and about around Halloween: they might have a brown or black one available, and it still gets to be your hair and you can wash it out at the end of the night.

AlwaysOnStage wrote:

FWIW, I"d totally get it because I thought about going as Katniss this year.

If you don't want to wear a wig, look for the colored hair spray that's always out and about around Halloween: they might have a brown or black one available, and it still gets to be your hair and you can wash it out at the end of the night.

Sweet! You should come to the party.

I actually considered the hair spray, but I wasn't sure how easy it would be to 1. spray it and then braid it or 2. braid it and then spray it. I've only used the spray when I've teased out my hair and left it alone.

BRAID IT FIRST! The colored hairspray is like cement.

Thanks for the help, guys. I bought a $6 wig and some hair spray. I'm going to test them out tonight and see which one works better.

A productive day at work, I see.

I sprayed my hair for Halloween once and it was a disaster. I didn't even spray the whole thing (white spray in just a few spots to make it look like dust) and it took a lot of painful combing before I could get into the shower, and a lot of shampooing to actually get it all out. I definitely wouldn't recommend spraying your entire head. Like Panic said, it really is like cement. It ends up making your hair look like plastic anyway, so you might as well wear a wig.