While a haircut is something you should always leave to a professional, dyeing your hair is a task that can sometimes be executed at home. If you do decide to use box dye, there's one key thing you should know before embarking on the slightly messy process: how to keep the hair color from staining your skin. If you aren't careful, hair dye can easily stain your forehead, hairline, hands, and neck and can last for days.
Below, we're sharing a handful of tips on how to avoid dyeing the skin in the first place and how to quickly remove the dye if a little gets on your skin despite your best efforts. For some expert advice, we've tapped Garnier celebrity hairstylist Millie Morales.
How to Avoid Getting Hair Dye on Your Skin
1. Moisturize your skin.
Before you get started dyeing your hair, apply moisturizer to all the skin around the hairline and the nape of your neck. Dry skin will soak up dye more easily. If the skin is fully hydrated, it will have a harder time penetrating the skin and leaving a stain.
2. Apply Vaseline or conditioner around the hairline.
Your next prep step before applying hair color is to apply a layer of vaseline or conditioner to the skin around the hairline. Vaseline creates a thick, impermeable barrier that keeps the dye from directly contacting the skin. It can also be easily wiped away afterward. However, petroleum jelly will stop hair color from penetrating the hair strands. If you do apply this, make sure you only apply it to the skin, don't massage it into your roots.
As an alternative, Morales mentions that most hair color boxes, including Garnier's, come with conditioner. "Place it around the face to prevent any stains," she says. "The best part is that it doesn't interfere with the color process."
3. Wear gloves.
There's a reason hair color kits come with gloves. Without these, your hands will become heavily dyed throughout the process. Your fingernails may even retain the dye permanently until they grow out. If the gloves are slightly big, make them airtight by tying rubber bands around the wrist so no product can creep in through the opening.
How to Remove Hair Dye Stains
1. Use toothpaste.
One DIY method to remove color from a stained area is to use toothpaste to lift the stain. You will need a non-gel toothpaste, preferably something grainy. It should also be a toothpaste formula that includes baking soda, as this is the ingredient that will be particularly powerful in lifting the stain. Apply it to the scrub, scrubbing the area just like you would with a face exfoliant. Then use warm water to wipe the product (and the stain) away.
2. Use makeup remover.
Just like makeup remover breaks down the pigments in your long-wear makeup, it can do the same to hair dye that has been absorbed by the skin. Use a cotton ball on the affected area and allow it to sit on the skin for a few minutes, working its magic. Then wipe it away with a clean cotton ball.
If you're sensitive to oil and/or alcohol (two primary ingredients in makeup remover), Morales says she likes to use micellar water to remove hair dye stains. "It's strong enough to remove the stain and very soft on the skin."
3. Try petroleum jelly.
Just as petroleum jelly will help to keep stains out, it can also effectively help to remove any that have happened anyway. Using a clean glove, wipe Vaseline onto the stained skin, then massage it into the skin. You may see the jelly turn the color of the dye. This is good! That means the jelly is lifting the color from your skin and absorbing it. Wipe it away using a tissue or a makeup remover wipe.
4. Mix rubbing alcohol and dish soap.
If your stain still isn't budging, you can soak a cotton pad with rubbing alcohol and add a drop of dish soap on top. Rubbing alcohol is extremely effective at lifting away color and stains (that's why it's the main ingredient in nail polish remover). Dish soap is also an effective stain remover by breaking down oils. Gently rub the soaked cotton ball and any stains. Anyone with sensitive skin, take note: both of these ingredients can be irritating on the skin. If you are prone to skin irritation, stick to ingredients like Vaseline, makeup remover, micellar water, or even baby oil.
5. Use hair dye (really).
While it may seem counterintuitive, sometimes using leftover hair dye can actually help to lift away hair dye stain. Morales says this is a trick that involves some expertise. "It's a technique that we use in the salon," she says. "It works well but it is best to leave this trick to your hair professional."
If you do decide to give it a go, you'll first want to wet the skin. Then use a gloved hand and rub dye into the stained skin for about two minutes. Rinse away the dye and ideally, your skin should be stain-free.
6. Try vinegar.
If all else fails, you can also try using vinegar as an at-home dye removal remedy. Vinegar works by exfoliating the skin, wiping away dead skin cells and any dyed skin along with it. Apply this carefully with a cotton swab or cotton ball. The acidity of white vinegar can help to remove dye from the skin, but it can also fade dyed hair. Make sure to only apply this to the skin. This is also a method that sensitive skin types may want to avoid as vinegar can often be irritating to facial skin.
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