How To Remove Hair Dye Stains

Dye your hair at home? We get it, it’s way cheaper and if you love switching up your colour then it can be seriously addictive. If you’ve ever got hair dye on your skin though, then you’ll know it’s the biggest pain to remove and the worst part about dyeing your hair at home. There’s nothing worse than having to rock up to work with a brown patch on your forehead and there aren’t many foundations that can cover that either. To help you guys out, we thought we’d share a few hacks for removing hair dye that will keep your skin squeaky clean during the process...

Prevent It

We get that if you’re reading this then you’ve already skipped this step but it’s a good hack to know for future reference. To prevent hair dye getting on your skin it’s best to apply a thin layer of petroleum jelly around your hairline first. This will create a barrier on top of your skin to prevent the pigment from sinking in. Petroleum jelly is also great for removing stains, you just need to dap some on a cotton pad and rub it over the mark to remove it.

Be Quick

As soon as you see dye on your skin you want to remove it immediately to reduce the intensity of the stain. This may sound obvious but leaving it until you’ve finished coating your hair will make it way harder to remove. It’s best to keep one of the products below to hand as you’re applying the dye so that you can quickly wipe it off before it stains your skin.

Add More Hair Dye

This is going to sound so crazy but applying more dye to the stain will actually help to remove it. This is because it reactivates the dye to stop it drying on your skin. Once you’re done just use a wet cloth to buff off the stain. David Stanko, vice president of technical design and education at Madison Ree told Cosmopolitan "The rule is that color 'removes' color, and water 'sets' color," which is why the hack works so well.

Use Olive Oil

This is the best and most accessible product that will totally remove your hair dye stains while being really gentle on your skin. Olive Oil is a great moisturiser too and as you’re likely to have some in the kitchen it’s a total lifesaver when you’re caught off guard. Just blot this onto a cotton pad and then gently rub it over the stain to remove it. You can also use Olive Oil as a hair mask after dyeing your hair as it’s amazing at nourishing and adding loads of shine.

Use Rubbing Alcohol

If you can, then we’d definitely recommend picking up a bottle of rubbing alcohol before you start dyeing your hair. This is a great stain remover and disinfectant that has loads of beauty benefits and you can clean your heat tools with it too. Just apply a small amount to a cotton pad and gently buff off the dye to remove the stain. You might want to do a patch test with this first though, as it can be a little harsh on your skin.

Invest In Wipes

They’re a little tricky to find but if you can get your hands on some hair colour remover wipes then we’d definitely recommend it. Superdrug have their own which are 49p and it should be in the hair isle along with the dye, so keep an eye out! These are specially formulated to remove the colour, but are a little more expensive than olive oil or rubbing alcohol.

We hope that with these hacks you’ll be able to keep your skin stain free while dyeing your hair at home! If you’ve had a disaster though then make sure to read our post on 5 ways to remove hair dye here which are total life savers. You can also email the team [email protected] if you need any tips or advice.