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Remove Hair Dye from Clothes Effectively

Dyeing your hair can be loads of fun. With so many options to choose from, you can make your hair color look super natural and unique. It’s really up to you! What isn’t so fun is when hair dye drips from your hair onto your clothing. This can happen to the best of us, even if the right precautions are taken. So how do you remove hair dye stains from clothes? We’ll go over what you need to know.

A glass of red wine spilled onto a button-up shirt.

How to remove hair dye from clothes

We’ve all been there. Even with a smock on and a towel wrapped around your shoulders, somehow your hair dye has ended up on your clothing. Maybe it’s your shirt, maybe your sock, but either way that hair dye has to come out. The most important thing to remember when trying to remove permanent hair dye from clothes is to act fast. The longer the dye sits on the fabric, the more difficult it will be to remove.

When you use a detergent with stain-lifting enzymes like Persil® ProClean® Stain Fighter liquid detergent, you are able to remove hair dye with laundry detergent effectively.

  1. Remove any excess hair dye with a tissue or use a blunt knife or spoon to scrape it off. 
  2. Flush the stain using cold water. Apply a small amount of a powerful Persil® liquid detergent and rub it in with your fingers or a toothbrush. 
  3. Rinse out the stain with cold water. 
  4. Launder according to the care instructions.
  5. Check to make sure the stain is completely gone before drying the garment. 
  6. If the stain is still visible, soak the garment in oxygen-based color-safe bleach overnight. For white garments, soak in a diluted chlorine bleach solution for no more than 15 minutes. 
  7. Wash the garment according to the care instructions. Check to make sure the stain has gone before drying.

Removing hair dye from carpet

Getting hair dye out of carpet requires some patience. Unlike when you remove hair dye from shirts, you can’t simply throw your carpet into your washing machine. However, if you act quickly, you’ll be able to save your carpet, too.

  1. Scrape off any excess hair dye using a dull knife or spoon. 
  2. Mix two cups of cold water with a tablespoon of distilled white vinegar and one tablespoon of dish soap. 
  3. Sponge the solution into the stain, starting from the outside of the stain and working your way to the center. This will prevent the stain from spreading. 
  4. Blot the stained area with a paper towel or clean white cloth, making sure to use a clean part once hair dye has been transferred to the towel. 
  5. Repeat the process of sponging the solution into the stain and blotting it until the marks have been removed and no more of the stain transfers to the paper towel or cloth. 
  6. Use fresh cold water to sponge the stained area to remove the solution and blot with a fresh paper towel or cloth.