When you dye your hair at home, you want to dye your hair, not your tub. Both my girls and I have dyed our hair many times. It didn’t take me long to learn that blue hair dye can color anything fast!
From that experience, I learned how to keep hair dye from staining the tub. We’ll break down everything you need to know, including how to remove hair dye when your tub gets dirty.
How do I remove hair dye from my sink or bathtub?
If you dye your hair at home, you definitely do it in the bathroom. But even with great care, sinks and tubs can get stained with paint! Since hair dye stains can be difficult to remove from bathroom supplies, you may be wondering how to clean surfaces safely and effectively.
Well, first of all, don’t despair! Instead, use these seven ways to clean hair dye splatters and stains from bathroom sinks and tubs.
- rubbing alcohol. Just apply some to a rag and wipe away the stain. However, be careful with painted surfaces as this powerful cleaner will remove paint with ease!
- Nail polish remover. Acetone with this liquid works wonders on hair dye stains! But the same applies here: be careful with wood and painted surfaces!
- Vinegar and baking soda solution. Make a paste of these ingredients, then use an old toothbrush or sponge to scrub the stain off your bathtub or sink. Rinse and repeat if necessary.
- lemon essential oil. This is another natural cleaning option. This cleaner works to lighten stains naturally and is safe on nearly all surfaces.
- OxiClean and water. Just mix them up and clean the affected area in your tub or sink with a nylon brush or kitchen sponge.
- SoftScrub with bleach. This product contains the perfect balance of bleach, cleaning solution and non-abrasive abrasives. So it takes care of any stain in your bathroom with ease!
- BarKeepersFriend cleaner. Simply spray on the stained area, let it sit for a minute, then scrub the stain with a non-abrasive sponge or rag. Rinse and wipe and done!
Here’s How to Keep Your Tub from Getting Stained With Hair Dye
If you’re coloring your hair at home, be sure to follow these tips to make sure you don’t mess up the tub. Avoiding stains is much easier than removing them.
Dye your hair in a separate room
The easiest way to avoid stains when coloring your hair is to keep hair dye out of the bathroom as much as possible. Do not mix dye your hair in the bathroom and avoid dyeing your hair in the bathroom. Paint splatter can stain your beautiful porcelain bathtub.
Instead, place designated hair dye towels on the floor in your bedroom or living room to catch the dye that falls from your hair. Put a full-length mirror on the wall of the room of your choice, then color your hair as usual.
Use gloves
If you run out of gloves, get a new box before coloring your hair so you don’t get your hair dirty. Stains appear when you wash your hands after washing your hair.
If you absolutely must wash your hands, use a stainless steel sink in your home. For most people, this means using the kitchen sink instead of the bathroom sink.
Cover the tub with a towel or tissue when coloring your hair
While coloring your hair in a different room is ideal, it’s not always an option. If so, that doesn’t mean you have to have stubborn stains on your bathtub. When coloring your hair, cover tubs and sinks to avoid getting stains.
Treat hair coloring like a messy craft project with kids. If you have a washable painters towel, throw it over the tub. You can also use a few extra strands of designated hair dye towels or paper towels to protect your china.
Use petroleum jelly
If a small part of the tub or sink seems impossible to cover with a towel, dab a dollop of petroleum jelly on it. This is a common trick people use when coloring their hair at home to keep their color from staining their skin.
The thicker the Vaseline layer, the better it will prevent hair dye from staining.
Immediately clean hair dye
Sometimes you end up with clumps of hair color where you didn’t want it. In this case, wash it as soon as possible to avoid staining with hair dye. Hair dye wipes are great for a quick clean.
Even if you don’t have hair dye removal wipes, make sure you have something on hand to wipe up spills when you’re prepping your hair-coloring workspace in the bathroom. Makeup wipes and baby wipes are great alternatives. You can also use a soft sponge or washcloth:
- Hydrogen peroxide cleaner
- Liquid detergent
- Bathroom cleaning preparation
- Drift
- Bathroom cleaner, such as Tilex
- Chlorine bleach
These will both remove the hair dye and keep it from staining the tub.
Let the detergent do the work of removing the stain
Sometimes a simple wipe isn’t enough to remove hair dye from the tub. Permanent dyes tend to be easier to stain. Red and blue hair dyes are also notorious for staining everything they touch, including the bathtub.
If you still see paint on the tub after wiping it off, spray it with whatever cleaner you use. If you’re using regular cleaning bleach, make sure to put it in a spray bottle and dilute it properly with warm or cold water.
Then spray the stain and let the cleaner sit on the stain for twenty minutes. Finally, scrub with a non-abrasive sponge.
