Dyes

A government test has determined that a red dye used in many lipsticks is a powerful herbicide capable of killing marijuana plants, prompting some Bush Administration officials to propose using the dye in an airborne offensive against domestic marijuana cultivation.

If you think of shibori as 1960s' tie-dye for adults, you'd be partly right. Many of the chaotic-looking, one-of-a-kind patterns splashed over fashion fabrics today are made by an ancient Japanese "shape resist" dying technique called shibori , which is basically a more sophisticated form of tie-dye as we know it from its hippie heyday in the 1960s and early '70s. More elaborate kinds of shibori are distinguished by complex techniques -- such as with stitching, gathering, binding, clamping, folding, plaiting, knotting, pinching and twisting -- to create a unique pattern.

Let's face it, those off-white colors that were the height of spring fashion are now more off than white. It isn't that they weren't lovely in May--it's just that by September the pristine pales aren't so pristine anymore. The near-whites showed their age quickly. A little wine here, a little salad oil there, some soy sauce on the cuff and what have you got? A wardrobe that looks like an array of tablecloths and a big dry-cleaning bill. No wonder black was so popular for so long.

When we asked writer Debra Prinzing to profile rising Los Angeles designer Kyle Schuneman , we also asked Schuneman to share three projects from his DIY decorating book due out next week. He kindly agreed, walking readers through yarn-wrapped picture frames, striped dining chains and, now, dip-dye curtains. Schuneman said he has done the project twice: once in a bathroom, where he dried the curtain over the tub, and once outside, where he hung the curtain from a tree. In his new book, the curtains make waves in a Seattle apartment with a little bit of urban grit.

"If you are tired of something beige, go ahead--dye it," says Donna Hartman, supervisor of the wardrobe department for ABC. She has done many dye jobs in her career, and coloring a garment does not intimidate her. Hartman darkens white shirts so they won't glow on television, overdyes costumes to make them look old, and dyes shirts, tights and simple garments to match more elaborate costumes. Often she will dye yardage before the costumes are made. "I would never do a jacket.

Color them patriotic, this U.S. Women's World Cup soccer team that plays China for the world championship on Saturday at the Rose Bowl and that has captured the nation's imagination over the last three weeks. Defender Kate Sobrero, for example, has dyed her hair red. Goalkeeper Tracy Ducar has colored hers white. Midfielder Julie Foudy sports blue toenails. Saskia Webber, another goalkeeper, has gone all out with a stars-and-stripes hairdo.

Finding the best dye job in town is not easy. But a few cleaners and dye factories are willing to do the deed. Most of the people we spoke to were reluctant to quote prices over the phone. They said they prefer to see and feel the garment to be dyed, so they know what they are getting into. Prices are determined by fabric and thread count, and can vary widely.

He wasn't caught red-handed, but police have this much to say about a man who robbed a bank this week. He's probably red-handed now. The masked man, armed with a semiautomatic pistol, walked into the World Savings Bank on Monday afternoon, shoved an elderly woman to the floor, demanded money from a cashier and fled with a bag full of cash. But before he crossed the street, police said, a dye pack secreted in the money bag exploded and ruined his cutoff sweatshirt.

A widely used blue food dye may have contributed to the deaths of three critically ill patients after it was used to color the liquid food pumped into their stomachs, according to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine. The three had eaten food with FD&C blue dye No. 1 and their skin and blood turned a bluish-green hours before they died, said Dr. James Maloney of the Medical College of Wisconsin.

The Food and Drug Administration, waiting for direction from Congress, on Tuesday extended its deadline for deciding whether to ban Red Dye No. 3 in foods, drugs and cosmetics on the grounds that it causes cancer. This extension pushes the deadline to Jan. 29, 1990. It had been today. There have been dozens of previous extensions in the 19-year-old controversy. The agency had been prepared to ban the dye when the House voted in July to require further studies before deciding on a ban.

Researchers at Harvard University have created a robot that can change color in seconds, allowing it to blend seamlessly into a background like a chameleon, or stand out so that it is easy to see. It can even glow in the dark, and change its temperature. These are just the latest additions to a family of rubbery, bendable robots first described in a 2011 paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by the Whiteside Group, a Harvard-based research group.

Starbucks has declared that it will no longer use cochineal extract, an insect-derived red coloring, in its wares. If anyone is imagining that the use of this dye is rare or new, they're mistaken. At a UCLA “economic botany” website we learn, among other things, that cochineal bug, or Dactylopius coccus , if you want to address it formally, is an insect that sucks the sap of prickly pear cactus and was used by the early Mixtec Indians of pre-Hispanic Mexico as a red dye for clothing.

Your Strawberries & Creme frappuchino will no longer feature a splash of bug - enough customers didn't want to slurp crushed cochineal insects that Starbucks Corp. is ditching the red dye used in their making. The Mexican and South American tropical creepy-crawlies were dried and then processed into a coloring product that gave some Starbucks goods - including strawberry banana smoothies, raspberry swirl cakes, birthday cake pops, mini doughnuts with pink icing and red velvet whoopee pie - their rosy hue. But it wasn't vegan.

Strawberries & Creme Frappuchinos at Starbucks Corp.will no longer feature a splash of bug - the coffee giant is ditching the red dye made from crushed beetles. The tropical, cochineal insects were dried and then processed into a coloring product to give that rosy hue to the Frappuchinos, as well as strawberry banana smoothies, raspberry swirl cakes, birthday cake pops, mini doughnuts with pink icing and red velvet whoopee pie. The insects, often found in a woolly-looking mass that covers prickly pear cactuses in Latin America, are also commonly used to color fabrics and cosmetics.

Murray Rose Swimmer won Olympic gold medals Murray Rose, 73, a four-time Olympic gold medal swimmer from Australia who also competed at USC while studying acting in the late '50s, died Sunday in Sydney of leukemia, Swimming Australia said. Rose became a national hero at 17 after winning three gold medals at the 1956 Melbourne Games, in the 400- and 1,500-meter freestyle events and the 4x200-meter freestyle relay. Four years later, in Rome, he won the 400 freestyle, took silver in the 1,500 freestyle and bronze in the 4x200 freestyle relay.

For most men, it's about staying competitive in a youth-focused workplace. For others, it's a need to keep up with new young wives. And for some, well, they just like the sleek black tops on those "Jersey Shore" boys. These are among the reasons stylists say that more men - including those in their late 40s and older and those at senior corporate levels - are dyeing their hair, shedding the shame that was once attached to the practice. Hair salons across the board - from inexpensive chains to ritzy Beverly Hills places - are noticing a rise in the number of men coming in for color treatments, hoping that covering the gray will help them hang onto jobs or put them on the fast-track at work.

The American Optometric Assn. recently issued an alert to its members after getting reports that some junior and senior high school students, mostly in the Midwest, are tinting their contact lenses with food coloring. The practice, which produces bright colors not generally available for contact lenses, can be dangerous and should be discouraged, association officials warn.

A federal appeals court on Friday declared unlawful the Food and Drug Administration's decision allowing the use in cosmetics of two dyes that contain traces of cancer-causing chemicals. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals here ruled that the FDA had violated what is known as the Delaney Clause that bars cancer-causing substances in dyes and food additives, even though the judges agreed with the agency's determination that the risk posed by dyes Orange No. 17 and Red No. 19 was extremely minimal.

A season UCLA safety Tony Dye said has been "terribly depressing" may yet have a happy ending. Dye, a senior, has been out seven weeks because of pain and numbness caused by a pinched nerve in his neck, but was allowed to go through contact drills Tuesday. "Once I got through the individual tackling drills, I felt great," Dye said. "I didn't have any pain. " It improved Dye's chances of playing against Colorado on Saturday. He spent much of the practice working at strong safety with the first-team defense.

Secondary issues cropped up for UCLA Thursday. Coach Rick Neuheisel confirmed Thursday that cornerback Aaron Hester was suspended for the first half against Utah Saturday. Hester missed practice Thursday because of a sprained ankle. Safety Tony Dye , on the other hand, looks ready to return after missing the last five weeks because of a neck injury. Hester was reprimanded by the Pac-12 Conference for comments about referees after the Arizona State game last Saturday.