How to Get Fabric Dye off Skin and Hands: Different Ways

Fabric dyes surely bring joy to your clothes but not that much on your hands or skin! I mean who would like to walk down the street with rainbow hands? You need to remove the dye as soon as possible but how to get fabric dye off skin and hands?

Mix a small amount of baking soda with water and create a paste. Place that on the dyed skin and rub the area. The dye will start removing soon. Finally, wash the area and clean the residues.

Well, we have all other methods like this in-depth described below. Read one by one and confirm which one is the right method for you.

Can You Get Fabric Dye off Skin?

When you do some dyeing works on your old clothes to revamp them, you can also create a mess on your hands as well as other parts of your body. It’s very normal! But fortunately, there are some ways to clean up those dingy paintings from your hands, face, ear, and any other parts that come into contact with the dyes.

Some household ingredients come in handy in this process. Detergent, dish soap, different oils can do the cleaning job properly. For professional and faster cleaning, you can take help from commercial paint removers. Overall, you can get fabric or cloth dye off from your skin and hands quite easily.

How to Get Fabric Dye off Skin and Hands: 2 Different Methods

Dried dyes are difficult to clean. To ensure hassle-free cleaning, don’t let the dye dry on your skin. It’s important.

However, you can’t always be careful, and sometimes the dye can dry up. Not a problem; the following dye cleaning procedures can help you in every situation.

Method 1: How to Remove Fabric Dye from Skin with Household Items

You can get fabric dye off using different items. Household items are very easy to gather, and you can use them for easy removal of dyes from the skin. Let’s proceed on.

1: Use Laundry Detergent and Dish Soap: Step by Step

Every home has laundry detergent and dish soap also. These are the very common things that we count first for cleaning anything. Well, these ingredients work well for removing fabric dye from the skin.

But the properties in these items can cause skin irritation. If your skin is very sensitive, avoid detergent and use dish soap as it includes less harsh chemicals in its composition.

• Take a damp soft cloth. Place a little bit of detergent or necessary amount depending on the dyed area of your skin.
• Rub off the dyed part gently. Continue it until you see the dye is removed completely.
• Then wash your hands properly. Wait and dry your skin. As the inner properties of detergent can dry out the skin, apply moisturizer after removing the dye.

Warning & Tips:

• When using dish soap, the process is the same. For sensitive skin, dish soap works better.
• You shouldn’t continue the method if you see redness on the skin or feel irritation.
• One thing worth mentioning is that you can also use them

Read Next: How to remove fabric paint from clothes

2: Use Baking Soda or Toothpaste with Baking Soda

If using dish soap doesn’t work, you should try the following methods.

Baking soda is one of the most common products in your kitchen.

It not only helps to make soft cookies but also works pretty effectively when it comes to removing tie-dye off your skin. Here is how to remove tie-dye using the soda:

• Take a little amount of water.
• Now, take some baking soda to mix with the water and make a paste; no specific amount but you can take like half a tablespoon or more depending on the amount of water.
• Make sure you don’t take too much; you can end up getting a dry paste. If you accidentally used more soda, add a little bit more water and if your paste feels too watery, add a little bit more soda.
• Rub the mixture on the dye-stained skin for a while.
• Now scrub and wash the area thoroughly using water.

Warning: 

Please note that baking soda can cause skin irritation to some people. So, it would be better if you do a patch test on a small area of your skin.

Toothpaste Containing Baking Soda

This one is the substitute for baking soda. If you run out of baking soda then this will come in pretty handy.

• Squeeze out some toothpaste from the tube.
• Apply it in the stained area, rub for a while.
• Now, wash off the excess toothpaste.

Tips:

Add a little bit of lemon juice to the baking soda paste. It will enhance the strength of this homemade dye remover.

3: Use Oil (Olive Oil/Baby Oil or Oil Moisturizer)

Are you one of those with sensitive skin? If yes, then this one is for you. Oil and oil-based items work great for getting tie-dye off your skin. You can use different types of oils like olive oil or almost any mild oils you can get from your kitchen cupboard. An oil-based moisturizer will do the work as well. They are safe and easy to use.

• Rub the product on your dye-stained skin for a couple of minutes.
• Make sure to use a cotton ball for better result.
• After that, rinse the area thoroughly.
• Check the outcome, and repeat the process if required.

Tips:

If the stain is too stubborn, here is one more way to remove it. You can leave the oil overnight and wash the area using warm water after waking up. This will get the job done.

4: Use Rubbing Alcohol

One of the common chemicals in the household is rubbing alcohol. It has different uses in cleaning and personal care. To disinfect and remove odor, rubbing alcohol has huge popularity. However, you can use this ingredient to get fabric dye off your skin and particularly your hands.

• Use a small piece of soft cloth or cotton swab in this process. Soak the cotton swab in the rubbing alcohol and rub it on the dyed skin. The dye should come off soon.
• After getting all dyes off the skin, rinse the area under warm water. Use a mild soap to remove all residues.
• Alcohol can dry out the skin quickly and it is quite callous for sensitive skin. Try to use moisturizer soon after cleaning the dye from your skin.

5: Using Vinegar

To remove the fabric dye off your skin, this one is pretty handy as well. Take a look at the steps to remove dye stain using vinegar:

• First, take some vinegar in a small bowl.
• Apply the vinegar on dye-stained skin using a washcloth.
• Keep scrubbing the dye off using your hand.
• Finally, wash the area under a running faucet.
• Repeat the process a couple of times.

Warning: Vinegar can cause skin irritation. Try a small patch to test first.

Method 2: How to Get Clothes Dye off Hands and Skin with Commercial Dye Remover

Now, when talking about removing dye with commercial dye removers, we can suggest you use two types of products: Professional Dye Stain Remover and Dye Stain Remover Wipes.

Dye Stain Remover 

They are basically hair dye removers but they work quite well for removing fabric dye from the skin. You can easily get them from your local drugstores or order online.

Dye Stain Remover Wipes

This one is also used for removing hair dye from the skin but works for fabric as well. It is one of the easiest ways of removing dye stains from the skin. The wipes contain some special types of solvents that help to remove the dye stain from your skin in a hassle-free way. They are available at local drugstores and online shops. You can purchase them easily.

You can use these two commercial products if you don’t want to spend hours and hours finding a home remedy to remove the dye stain from your skin. If you have sensitive skin, make sure you read the warning provided by the manufacturer to be on the safe side. 

How to Get Tie Dye off Skin: Step By Step Guide

You can use different types of remedies to get tie-dye off your skin. Take a look at some of these tie-dye-removal ideas:

Washing Off

This is the first thing that any normal human being would do if something got into their hands. To remove the tie-dye stain, you need to wash it with any regular soap. If mild soaps don’t help, you should look for a little bit harsher ones.

If you can wash the stained area before the dye sits in properly on the skin, there is a probability of getting rid of those stubborn dye stains with just water. To wash off:

• First, rub the soap in the stained area for a while.
• Now, wash off under running water.
• You can repeat the steps if you see the color fading away from the skin.

Exfoliators

You can use a mild exfoliator or make a homemade exfoliator yourself. Both work fine. To make a homemade exfoliator, take a little amount of oil and mix with sugar depending on the amount of oil. You can do it the other way by mixing some sugar with a moisturizer. This will be safer than harsh chemicals.

The process is the same. Put the exfoliator on the dyed skin and wait for a while. Then gently rub the area to remove the dye.

Professional Stain Removers

Lastly, if nothing works, it’s time to think about some professional products. You can take help from a stain remover or stain removal wipes and apply it following the instructions provided by the manufacturer. These are the easiest ways to save your time and get the expected results while removing tie-dyes from the skin.

Extra Guide: How to Stop Dye from Getting On Skin

Fabric dyes can come into contact with your skin while painting your old clothes. There is no guaranteed way to stop it but you can apply some possible techniques to mostly stop the dye from getting on your skin.

• Don’t go to dye your old fabric without wearing plastic gloves. Wearing gloves is an easy way to protect your hands from paints. Wear gloves all the time you dye your fabric. Note that latex gloves are also good but these are not ideal for people with allergies.
• Create a barrier between your skin and dye. Oil-based lotion and lip balm can work well. Apply these on your hands. Then cover all the areas that have possibilities to come closer to the dyes. These oil-based products ensure that your skin is unable now to absorb the fabric dye.
• Recheck what type of dye you’re going to use. Commercial dyes can include many chemical ingredients that are difficult to remove from the skin. On the other hand, natural dyes will not make much trouble while cleaning. So, use natural fabric dye if possible.

Final Words

When dyeing your fabric, your hands will be a little messy also. So, consider it as a normal thing and try to prevent fabric dye from getting on the skin. Prevention can help you most if you take precautions properly.

And finally, this guide is always with you. Make sure which method is suitable for you and apply that to get the dye off the skin.