Leah LOVES hair. So much so, she dedicated an entire website to it! One of the founders of Hair Everyday and Chief Editor, Leah enjoys reviewing all the hair products and showcasing the best. She believes her most underrated articles are her hair care tips!
Read this article to know how to get hair dye off skin fast, for DIY hacks for 2 minutes stain removal and to learn what removes permanent hair dye.
In This Article:
- How To Get Hair Dye Off Skin Fast
- How To Prevent Hair Dye Stains
- Why You Should Trust Us?
- Frequently Asked Questions
While I love using box hair dyes at home to give roots a touch up every month, I’ve always struggled with cleaning up as I tend to be very clumsy with the application too. I’ve had to deal with unsightly stains around my hairline area thanks to the dye dripping and staining the skin there.
Some hair dyes do not drip as much, which is honestly great. But you’re still at the risk of staining your fingernails if you’re not wearing gloves.
So, I’ve finally managed to find some easy, DIY hacks that you can use to remove hair dye stains from your hairline, skin, and fingernails.
How To Get Hair Dye Off Skin Fast
Wash The Stained Area With Soap and Water
Okay, this might sound really simple, but it works! If you’ve not used a permanent hair dye then the simplest way to get hair dye off skin is to wash it off.
However, I suggest using a clarifying shampoo or a dish soap instead of the regular body washes and cleansers as the former contain a lot more surfactants like SLS and SLES that can really exfoliate skin.
Apply Some Toothpaste to The Stained Skin Area
Toothpaste? Really? Yup! This is one DIY hair dye hack everyone should know. Toothpastes (the non-gel ones, mind you!) are really exfoliating.
So you can use them on your stained skin area to remove any hair dye residue. Just wet the area and rub in some amounts of toothpaste.
I suggest leaving the toothpaste on the area for 5-10 minutes before rinsing to get the full effect.
However, this might sting skin and even cause some redness if you have sensitive skin. So keep a cooling moisturizer like aloe vera or some ice cubes handy to soothe the area.
Use A Paste Made of Baking Soda and Dish Soap
This is an improvement on my first hack. Regular soaps are not exfoliating enough to remove strong hair dye stains. So you can add a teaspoon of baking soda to two pumps of dish soap to create a paste of sorts.
Now rub this paste over the affected area using a cotton pad or an old toothbrush. The abrasive effect from the baking soda and the surfactants from the dish soap work together to remove hair dye stains.
- Related: How To Avoid Purple Stains When Using Purple Shampoo
- Related: How To Get Pink Hair Dye Out Of Hair
Massage In Some Baby Oil Or Coconut Oil
It might seem weird to use oil to remove hair dye, but this works! Remember most makeup removers these days are also cleansing oils or oil-based balms.
This is because oil (especially certain oils like coconut or baby oil) can help breakdown pigments in the hair dye and remove them from skin.
However, this might not be an efficient enough hack if you have permanent hair dye stains. But it works amazingly well for removing temporary color-depositing dyes, hair chalks, and even purple shampoo stains.
Try Using a Makeup Remover
If you haven’t got baby oil or pure coconut oil it’s always easier to use an oil-based cleanser or makeup removing balm to take out the stains.
These formulation might even work better than just plain natural oils as they contain ingredients that are specifically meant to dissolve dye pigments.
Apply Some Rubbing Alcohol To The Stained Area
Rubbing alcohol or Isopropyl alcohol is a very strong agent that can break down dye pigments instantly removing them from skin and nails. (National Research Council (US) Committee on Toxicology. Emergency and Continuous Exposure Limits for Selected Airborne Contaminants: Volume 2. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 1984.)
But this solution is very harsh and can dry skin and strip it of moisture. It can also leave sensitive skin inflamed so you should use it only as a last resort to remove hair dye stains.
To try this hack, dip a cotton ball or a Q-tip in rubbing alcohol and massage it over the stained area till you get the pigment out.
Use Some Hairspray Or Hand Sanitizer Instead
Cannot find any rubbing alcohol in your kitchen skin? Not to worry. There are alternatives you can try instead.
Most hairsprays contain some amount of alcohol, so you can spray some of that on your hands to remove hair dye stains.
Or you can use hand sanitizers instead (the ones that contain at least 60 percent of alcohol) to remove dye stains.
If the dye is on your fingernails or hands, using a sanitizer should be easy enough. But if the stains are on your hairline you can use a cotton ball or cloth dipped in sanitizer to wipe the stains away.
How To Prevent Hair Dye Stains
Now that you know how to get hair dye off skin fast, wouldn’t it be easier to not have any stains at all? After all, prevention is better than cure!
So here’s what you can do to prevent your hair dye from staining your hairline, nails and hands.
- Form a protective barrier between your skin and the dye by using Vaseline, a thick moisturizer or cream, or oils around the perimeter of your hairline.
- You can even use masking tape or cotton to form a boundary of sorts between your hairline and skin to prevent hair dye from dripping
- Always wear plastic gloves while applying hair dye to prevent staining your hands.
- Keep tissues and a cotton swab handy to wipe up any spills as you go. It’s easier to clean up fresh hair dye than it is to remove dried hair dye stains.
- Choose hair dyes that have a creme formulation instead of a liquid one. These dyes do not drip easily and therefore are less likely to cause staining.
- Apply hair dye on the second or third day after washing hair, as the scalps’ natural oils will protect skin from staining to some extent.
Why You Should Trust Us?
The author of this article, Leah Marie Priest has a degree in Cosmetology with years of experience in dealing with hair care, scalp care, and hairstyling. As someone who extensively deals with all kinds of hair textures, products, styling methods and more, hair Leah Marie knows what kind of products and procedures suit each hair type and person. We have also tested these hair products and processes ourselves to provide you an unbiased review about every product. Each of our articles are also reviewed by a team of medical professionals so that you get the most accurate and expert-reviewed information.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I remove hair dye from my skin in 2 minutes?
If you want to remove hair color instantly from skin, using simple hand wash or soap won’t be enough. You’ll need something more exfoliating. So you can make a paste out of baking soda and dish soap (it’s got more surfactants than body soap) and rub it on the area of hair dye stained area of skin. Doing so will ensure that the hair dye gets out quicker, in only 2 minutes.
What removes permanent hair dye from skin?
If you’ve been unfortunate enough to dye your skin with permanent hair dye, a simple soap and water solution might not be enough. You can use rubbing alcohol in this case to remove the stains.
Just dab a q-tip or a ball of cotton with rubbing alcohol and rub it over the stains. You can also use hydrogen peroxide of concentration 3 percent or lower to remove permanent hair dye stains from skin, but be careful as this can irritate the skin and dry it out.
Does milk remove hair dye from skin?
Not exactly. This is half-baked information. Yes, it’s true that if you use full fat cow’s milk you can remove stains of temporary hair color from skin but it’s useful for semi-permanent or permanent hair dyes. Or any other color that’s very pigmented. However, this same thing can be accomplished with a good lotion as well.
Does Vaseline remove hair dye from skin?
Nope. Vaseline cannot remove hair dye from skin that’s already been stained. However, you can apply Vaseline all over the hairline and your fingernails to prevent hair dye from staining. It forms a protective coating between your skin and dye and can be wiped off later.
How to remove hair dye stains from nails?
Some of the DIY hacks that work for removing hair color from skin can also be used to remove hair color from your fingernails. So using a baking soda and dish soap solution or toothpaste to rub the stains away really helps. But the simplest way to remove hair dye stains from nails is by using a nail polish remover.
Does color depositing shampoo stain skin as well?
Color depositing shampoos are designed to deposit color onto the hair, not the skin. However, it’s possible for these shampoos to temporarily stain the skin if they come into direct contact with it. This is more likely to occur if the shampoo is not rinsed off the skin immediately or if the skin is already compromised (e.g., cuts, abrasions). To minimize the risk of staining, it’s important to apply color depositing shampoos directly to the hair and ensure thorough rinsing. If accidental staining occurs, gentle cleansing with soap and water should help remove the color from the skin.
Summary
Learning how to get hair dye off skin fast when it stains will ensure your hair dye looks professional and doesn’t cause embarrassment or worse allergies on sensitive skin.
You can use DIY hacks to remove hair color stains like toothpaste, baking soda, or even dish soap.
In my opinion it’s always better to be safe than sorry so invest in protective gloves that you can wear during dye application.
Also, some tricks like using no-drip cream-based hair dyes or applying Vaseline to protect your hairline can go a long way in preventing dye staining your skin.
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