Tie-dye is a lot of fun, and it can get messy sometimes. Dye is great at coloring fabric, but it can also stain your skin.
Getting dye on your hands is no big deal most of the time. But if you need the stains gone quickly, you might be struggling.
In this post, I’ll cover the most effective ways to get dye stains off your skin in a timely manner.
The good news is that tie-dye is not toxic. The stains are purely cosmetic and go away on their own after a day or two. This is good news if you happen to tie-dye a shirt and accidentally get dyed yourself.
How your Skin gets Stained
Your skin can get stained in very much the same way fabric gets colored. Once dye gets on you, it reacts and forms a bond with your skin.
The mechanism of action is similar to what happens when setting the dye on fabric.
Luckily for you, dyes used in tie-dye can only stain non-living tissue. This means that the staining is confined to the topmost layer of you skin which is made of dead skin cells.
How to get Tie-dye Off your Hands
Stains will go away on their own as you naturally shed your epidermis (the top layer of skin). To speed up this process, we can gently scrub the affected area.
Rinse the area as quickly as possible
The first step to getting tie-dye off your skin is to rinse the affected area as soon as possible. The more you can remove early, the less you’ll have to remove later.
Simply wash your skin in the sink under running water for a few seconds or wipe it with a damp paper towel. Your goal is to reduce the extent of the staining before the dye has a chance to set.
Scrub with a Washcloth and Soapy Water
Start off easy by gently rubbing the skin with a damp washcloth and some warm soapy water. Go over the area repeatedly and see if that helps you.
This should remove most light stains, but may not be enough depending on your situation.
Scrub the Skin with a Baking Soda Paste
Make an abrasive paste by mixing a very small amount of water with regular baking soda. Start off with the baking soda powder, adding a few drops of water at a time until you get a paste.
Apply the baking soda paste on the stain and gently rub it on your skin with your fingers. Take the time to gently rub it on all areas of the skin affected by the dye.
Baking soda is a very mild abrasive, it will take a few minutes of constant rubbing to remove most major stains. The goal is not to rush it. Stop if your skin starts getting irritated.
Exfoliate the Skin
The last option, as far as rubbing the skin, is to use tools or products specifically made to exfoliate the skin. If you didn’t have success with the previous methods, this one is sure to work. It’s more irritating to the skin, so you should only use it as a last resort.
Use an exfoliating tool such as a pumice stone or brush to scrub the skin. Be gentle so you don’t remove too much skin.
Alternatively, use a chemical exfoliator product. Follow the instructions according to the particular product’s packaging.
How to Prevent Staining your Hands
Prevention and proper safety equipment will all but insure you don’t ever get a drop of dye on your skin. These are some of the most effective ways to prevent your hands from getting stained in the first place:
- Always wear waterproof gloves when dyeing. Also protect your hands when mixing dyes or manipulating freshly dyed garments.
- Use squeeze bottles when applying dye. This is the cleanest way to tie-dye. Using bottles prevents accidents and makes sure you only pour dye where you want it.
- Be careful of rubber bands when dyeing. If a rubber band happens to snags on your bottle, it can send small droplets of dye quite far.
Additional Tricks to Get Dye Off Your Skin
In most cases, your best bet is to rub the stain to take it off or simply wait it out. If this doesn’t do the trick, there’s more things you can try. I generally don’t recommend those.
Vinegar and Citrus (Mild Acids)
Mild household acids like vinegar and citrus are sometimes recommended. The truth is that they might do more harm than good.
The claimed properties of these mild acids are that they soften the skin and exfoliate it. There is no evidence that vinegar, citrus, or other acids help remove dye stains.
In any case, if you do decide to try it, you shouldn’t leave vinegar or citrus on your skin for longer than 10 minutes. Make sure to rinse the area after the time has elapsed.
Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, or Other Oils
While olive oil and coconut oil might hydrate your skin, they won’t help in removing tie-dye stains. They won’t damage the skin, but they don’t have any means of removing stains.
Nail Polish Remover, Rubbing Alcohol or Other Solvents
I do not recommend using polish remover, rubbing alcohol or other solvents on the skin to remove dye stains. They’re not effective at removing stains and can damage the skin.
How Long does Tie-dye Stay on the Skin?
While it may stain the skin temporarily, tie-dye will come off on its own. The time it takes depends on the size of the stain and how much time it has to set on the skin.
Tie-dye stains will come off on their own in a few hours up to two days, depending on the extent of the mark.
They’ll rub off on their own with usual wear. Washing dishes, taking showers, and generally using your hands will accelerate the shedding process.
How to get Tie-dye Off your Nails and Cuticles
The same methods apply to your nails and cuticles. You can use a washcloth or rub with a baking soda paste.
Rub the nails and cuticles using a mild abrasive like a baking soda paste. Scrub the paste on the area with your fingers or with a toothbrush. Be gentle because the skin around the nails is fragile.
Solvents such as nail polish remover won’t work to lift the stain. Tie-dye stains are chemically bonded to the topmost layer of dead skin. It won’t break from the effect of acetone or other polish remover.
How to get Tie-dye Off your Hair
Tie-dye can stain your hair in some circumstances. Luckily, the ability of reactive dyes to stain your hair is limited.
Rinse your hair quickly before the dye has a chance to set in. This should remove most of it.
Since your hair is made of keratin (a type of protein fiber), it should be resistant to staining from tie-dye.
If your hair does get stained, there’s not much to do apart from cutting it, dyeing it over with darker hair dyes, or waiting for it to fall off naturally.
Protect your hair by putting it up in a ponytail or covering it when dyeing.
How to get Tie-dye Off Kids’ Hands
In most circumstances, kids won’t mind having stained hands.
If you’re intent on removing it, please keep in mind that kids’ hands are more fragile. You should only use the gentlest methods of stain removal.
Start by rinsing the affected area with water. Then, I recommend making a paste of baking soda and water and gently rubbing it on the skin. Be careful not to scrub too forcefully.