The Best Way to Get Hair Dye Out of Clothes (Step-by-Step Guide)

Whether you are going to the salon or at home dyeing your hair, the clothes you wear are at risk of having hair dye on them. It may range from monochromes to brighter colors, but nevertheless, knowing how to get hair dye out of clothes is important, especially for those who frequently dye their hair.

Get Hair Dye Out of Clothes

What’s in a Hair Dye Solution?

The majority may think that hair dyes have been developed only recently. However, they seem to have existed long before this generation existed. In fact, the earliest proof and record of hair dye dates back to the ancient Egyptians, Hebrews, Persians, Greeks, Chinese, and early Hindu people.

Back then, their hair dyes were made up of plants, metallic compounds, or both mixed. Here are some of the ingredients (more specific) for hair dye back in the days.

  • Rock alum
  • Quicklime
  • Wood ash
  • Henna
  • Mullein
  • Saffron
  • Birch bark
  • Turmeric
  • Myrrh

What's in a Hair Dye Solution

People were always creative, and there are still many natural ingredients that were neglected. As time passed by, people discovered and developed more ways to combine these ingredients and form even more colors.

As of today, chemists have found a combination of things like chemicals that would help in enhancing the results of dyeing your hair. Scientists have also discovered more ingredients that would help in taking care of hair, despite the mixture of substances that alter the overall state of the hair. This way, your hair is taken care of while letting you style and color it the way you want.

The common ingredients for typical hair dyes and processes today include the following:

  • Hydrogen Peroxide – This is also known as the “developer” or “oxidizing agent.” These things can be ranked according to how strong their effects are, and their main purpose is to help in initiating the color-forming process. Hydrogen peroxide also helps in prolonging the colorant. The majority of hair coloring maintains the developer at 30% volume or less.
  • Ammonia – This substance acts as a catalyst and allows for lightening when hair color combines with hydrogen peroxide.

Getting Rid of Hair Dye on Clothes

When dying your hair, you don’t want to dye your clothes too, but mistakes can always happen, and the clothes you wear are vulnerable to these mistakes. When things go beyond your expectations, you’ll need to know how to remove the stain and protect your clothes from further damage. Here are some ways to get rid of hair dye stains.

Removing Brown, Black, and Blue Dye from Clothes

For this method, you would need the following things:

  • Liquid detergent (heavy-duty)
  • A solution of diluted all-fabric powdered bleach
  • Chlorine/bleach (liquid)
  • Commercial color remover

Steps:

  1. The first step is to pre-treat the stain using the heavy-duty liquid detergent.
  2.  
  3. Place the clothes in the diluted all-fabric powder bleach solution.
  4. Leave them to soak.
  5. If stain is still present after the process, and the fabric you are washing is white, or colorfast, it’s best to soak the whole clothes in a tub of water with diluted liquid bleach. Liquid bleach can change the color of the garment so it’s important to check your clothes’ bleach tolerance. Note: If stain is still present after 15 minutes of bleaching then the stain is irremovable by bleaching.
  6. When your clothes do not allow bleaching, or if it fails to work, you can use a commercial color remover. Note: Commercial color remover will also remove the color of the fabric. Just a heads up so you would know the possible damage and changes.

Removing Red Dye from Clothes

Removing Red Dye from Clothes

Red dye is composed of different ingredients. Its composition is different from that of other hair dyes, and so the tools and the process can differ. Red dye requires a different type of remedy compared to the other colors.

In this method, you will need to prepare the following things:

  • Dishwashing Liquid
  • Ammonia solution
  • White vinegar
  • Oxygen-based bleach

Steps:

  1. The first thing to do is to make a solution out of one quart of water, one half teaspoon of liquid dishwashing detergent, and one tablespoon of household ammonia. Mix the solution in a glass or plastic container.
  2. Locate the stained area and submerge it to the solution.
  3. Leave the fabrics to soak for 15 minutes.
  4. Rub the stain area with your finger. This will help soften and loosen the stain from the fabric.
  5. Place them back into the solution and soak them again for 15 minutes.
  6. Rinse your clothes and then transfer them to the next solution.
  7. Make the second solution by mixing one quart of warm water and one-fourth cup of distilled white vinegar.
  8. Place your clothes in the second solution and let them soak for 30 minutes.
  9. Wash your clothes as you usually do.
  10. After washing, if the dye is still present, do not put the clothes in the hot dryer and proceed to the next steps.
  11. Make a third solution by mixing cool water with oxygen-based bleach and make sure to follow the package instructions.
  12. Submerge your clothes in the third solution and leave them there for at least eight hours or overnight. Repeat if necessary.
  13. Wash your clothes as usual.

Removing Hair Dye Stains Out of Clothes

Removing Hair Dye Stains Out of Clothes

Here’s another method of removing hair dye stains from your clothes. For this method, you would need the following things:

  • A spoon, blunt knife, or anything that is effective in scooping up excess dye
  • Warm water
  • Powder Detergent
  • Liquid detergent

Steps:

  1. Remove excess stain from the area by softly and swiftly scraping any excess dye on the surface. Be careful and avoid pushing the stain further in.
  2. Rinse the stained area under cold, running water.
  3. Mix warm water with powdered detergent.
  4. Soak clothes in the mixture for 30 minutes.
  5. Repeat step one and get the tools for scraping excess stains.
  6. Rinse under cold running water again.
  7. Locate the stained area and pour liquid detergent on the stain.
  8. Do not rinse off the liquid detergent and wash your clothes the way you normally would.

Removing Hair Dye Stains from Carpets and Upholstery

Removing Hair Dye Stains from Carpets and Upholstery

Some carpet and upholstery cannot be cleaned and are hard to put in the washer and soak for hours. These things require more care and patience. To remove hair dye stains, you would need the following stuff.

  • Spoon, blunt knife or anything to scoop excess stain
  • Clean white cloth, sponge, or cotton swabs
  • Paper towel
  • Alcohol
  • Hydrogen peroxide

Steps:

  1. Scrape excess hair dye from the surface using a spoon or a blunt knife. Be careful to scrape swiftly and easily without pushing the dye further into the fabric.
  2. Make a solution by mixing two cups of cool water, one tablespoon of distilled white vinegar, and one tablespoon of dishwashing liquid.
  3. Using a clean white cloth, a sponge, or a cotton swab, work the solution on the stain.
  4. When working the solution on the stain, start from the edges and move towards the center to prevent the stain from spreading.
  5. Before blotting, if the stain is older, leave the solution on the carpet or upholstery for 10-15 minutes.
  6. Use the paper towel and blot out the stain, letting it transfer to the paper towel. Repeat the process as much as it needs to.
  7. If you feel that it is needed, you can apply alcohol by dipping a cotton swab into alcohol. Then, you can apply it to the stain.
  8. Blot the stain with a clean white paper towel. Repeat as many times as necessary.
  9. Remove more traces of the hair dye by blotting the carpet with a cotton swab dipped in hydrogen peroxide.
  10. Let the solution sit for two to three minutes.
  11. Sponge the stained area using a clean white cloth and cool water.
  12. Blot the wet and stained area with paper towels.
  13. Allow the area to get air-dried. If these steps don’t work, you can conclude that the stain is irremovable.

Tips to Help Effectively Remove Hair Dye Stains

  • Time is an important aspect in cleaning hair dye stains. The sooner you address the stains, the easier it will be to get rid of them. As soon as you see the stain happening, stretch the garment tight and run it with cool water, side down.
  • If you have done the former, try pouring alcohol over the spot.
  • While you work with hair dye and clean them off, make sure to use gloves because it could be difficult to get the dye off the skin too.
  • Avoid putting the stained fabric in the dryer unless the stain is completely removed.
  • In doing these methods, you may need to repeat certain steps, so do not give up!
  • If the stain is too stubborn, you might want to contact laundry services just to be sure.

Summary

Hair dye stains can be composed of different substances as the colors change. These stains can be challenging depending on the duration and type of hair dye that left them. Nevertheless, it’s important to know how to get hair dye out of clothes as a way to take care of your clothes.

 

get hair dye out of clothes

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