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Did your child make a mess with food coloring? Or did you spill some on your hands while baking? It happens at some point, be it a normal Wednesday or the Easter egg dying session got a little out of hand. Here are a couple of ways to get rid of the rainbow mess.
Steps
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Get some non-gel toothpaste. If you can, try getting some toothpaste that has baking soda in it. It will be even more effective. [1] X Research source -
Wash the stain with warm water and soap. Be sure to rub the area with soap to get a good lather. Sometimes, this is all you need in order to get the dye off. Keep your skin damp, and don't dry it off yet.Advertisement -
Wash the stain with the toothpaste. Put a thin layer of toothpaste on the stain. Gently rub it in using circular motions. If you got the food coloring on your hands, rub your hands together like you would with soap. The toothpaste will help scrub the stain away.- You can also apply the toothpaste with a washcloth instead.
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Rub the toothpaste against your skin for about two minutes. If the toothpaste starts to dry, splash it with some water and keep washing. After a while, the dye should start to fade.
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Rinse the toothpaste off with warm water. If your skin feels a sticky from the toothpaste, wash it using some soap and water. The food coloring should be barely visible by now.
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Repeat the steps, if necessary. If the stain is still there, try washing it again with some more toothpaste and water. Deep-set stains may require a few treatments. If your skin starts to feel raw at any point, take a break and try again after a few hours.
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Find some rubbing alcohol. If you do not have any, use acetone or nail polish remover instead. Keep in mind that acetone and nail polish remover are harsh and drying. They are not suitable for young children or for those with sensitive skin. If you want to get food coloring off of a child, use rubbing alcohol, non-acetone nail polish remover, or hand sanitizer.- If you got food coloring on your face, do not use toothpaste instead.
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Soak a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol. For larger areas, use a folded paper towel or a washcloth. If you are using hand sanitizer, you can skip this step and apply it directly to your skin.
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Rub the stain with the cotton ball. The rubbing alcohol will help dissolve the pigments in the dye. Most of the dye should come off with just a few strokes.
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Repeat with fresh cotton balls and rubbing alcohol until all the dye is gone. Do not reuse old cotton balls, or you'll transfer the stain back onto your skin. Toss the stained cotton ball, and soak a new one with more rubbing alcohol. Keep doing this until the stain is all gone.
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Wash the stain with some soap and water and pat dry with a towel. If you still see traces of the stain, you can try rubbing it away with more rubbing alcohol. Be sure to wash and dry your skin afterwards. -
Apply hand lotion if you have sensitive skin. Because rubbing alcohol can be drying, it might be a good idea to put on some hand lotion when you are done. This is especially recommended if you used acetone or nail polish remover.
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Wash the stain with soap and warm water. You can also soak a washcloth with water, and use it to rub off any excess dye from your skin.
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Soak a clean washcloth with white vinegar. Be sure to have more vinegar on hand. You will need it to re-soak the washcloth later.
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Rub the stain with the washcloth. If the vinegar stings or burns, try to mix one part vinegar with one part water. This will dilute the vinegar a little and make it sting less.
- If you got food coloring on your face, dilute the vinegar with water first. You can also use toothpaste .
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Rinse the washcloth with cool water and re-soak it with vinegar. As you continue to work, the washcloth will absorb the dye. You will need to rinse it with fresh water when this happens. If you don't, it will transfer the dye back onto your skin. Be sure to re-soak the cloth with more vinegar after rinsing it. Keep rubbing the stain until it fades away.
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Use a paste made from baking soda and water for stubborn stains. Make a paste in a small dish using two parts baking soda and one part water. Spread the paste over the stain. Rub your fingers over it using a gentle, circular motion. [2] X Research source
- Try not to rub too hard. Baking soda is abrasive and may make your skin feel raw.
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Rinse the paste off with soap and water. Baking soda does not always rinse off well, so this may take a while. Be sure to keep rinsing the area with soap and water until your skin no longer feels grainy.
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Repeat the vinegar and baking soda paste treatment if needed. Most dyes should be gone by now, but you may have to repeat the whole process for very deep stains.
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Take a bath or shower. Sometimes, warm water and soap is all that you need in order to get the stain off. By the end of your bath or shower, the stain should be mostly gone. -
Wash the stain with some water and laundry stain remover. Fill a sink with warm water and add a squirt of stain remover. Swish your hands around in the water for a few moments. If you got the stain on another part of your body, splash that part with the stain.
- Do not use this on your face. Try toothpaste instead.
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Make a paste salt and vinegar. Put two to three tablespoons of salt into a bowl, and add a few drops of vinegar—enough to make a paste. Dampen the stain with some water, then rub it with the salt-and-vinegar paste. Rinse the paste off using soap and water. [3] X Research source
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Try wiping the stain off with face or baby wipes. The oils may help break down the food coloring, and cause it to fade away. -
Try using some baby oil or other food-grade oil. Soak a cotton ball with some oil, and wipe it over the stain. Replace the cotton ball once it becomes dirty with a fresh one. Be sure to rinse the stain off with soap and warm water. -
Use shaving cream to remove the stain. Shaving cream contains peroxide, which may help get the dye off. Rub the shaving cream over the stain like you would with soap. Rinse it off with soap and warm water
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Make a scrub using dish soap, a squirt of lemon juice, and a pinch of sugar. Rub the scrub over the stain until the dye goes away. Be sure to rinse your skin off using soap and warm water.
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Give it some time. Most food coloring will fade away on its own as you go about your day, touching things, washing your hands, and taking baths or showers. It may take about 24 to 36 hours until it fades away.
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Tips
- Rub some hand lotion over the stain before trying to wash it. The oils in the lotion will help loosen the dye and make it easier to get off. [4] X Research sourceThanks
- Act fast. Try to get the stain out as soon as possible. The longer it sits in your skin, the harder it will be to clean.Thanks
- Use a toothbrush or nail brush to get into those hard-to-get-at areas, such as around the fingernailsThanks
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Warnings
- Acetone and nail polish remover are harsh and drying. Do not use them on children or sensitive skin.Thanks
- Baking soda and vinegar can sting. They are not recommended for sensitive skin.Thanks
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Things You'll Need
- Toothpaste, rubbing alcohol, or vinegar/baking soda
- Water
- Cotton balls (optional)
- Washcloth (optional)
- Hand lotion (recommended)
Expert Interview
Thanks for reading our article! If you'd like to learn more about removing skin stains, check out our in-depth interview with Mohiba Tareen, MD .
References
- ↑ https://beauti.tips/how-to-remove-food-coloring-from-skin/
- ↑ How to Clean Stuff, Hoe to Remove Food Coloring from Skin
- ↑ Modern Mom, How to Take Food Coloring off Your Hands
- ↑ Modern Mom, How to Take Food Coloring off Your Hands
About This Article
Article Summary
X
To clean food coloring off skin, wet the stain and rub toothpaste into it for 2 minutes. Then, rinse off the toothpaste and repeat until the food coloring is gone. You can also try scrubbing the stain off using white vinegar and a cloth. For stubborn food coloring stains, make a paste with baking soda and water and then scrub it into the stain until it's gone. Or, soak a cotton ball in rubbing alcohol and try scrubbing the stain off with that instead. For more ways you can clean food coloring off skin, like using baby wipes or shaving cream, scroll down!
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Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 828,520 times.
Reader Success Stories
- "I was making slime and adding the food coloring as I realized my hand started turning blue, because instead of using a mixing tool, I used my hand. I immediately picked up my phone and looked up what would get food coloring out of your hand the fastest, and your website popped up. I started scrolling down and clicked on one of them and started doing what it said, and it worked. I love your website. Thank you!" ..." more
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"I was making slime and adding the food coloring as I realized my hand started turning blue, because instead of using a mixing tool, I used my hand. I immediately picked up my phone and looked up what would get food coloring out of your hand the fastest, and your website popped up. I started scrolling down and clicked on one of them and started doing what it said, and it worked. I love your website. Thank you!"
..."
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"In our class we had to make art out of food colouring so when I got home I could not get the food colouring off my hands. The worst thing is that the next day I would come to my friends house, so I used the toothpaste method. It went perfectly. Im not done scrubbing, but there was lots of food colouring before."
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"The food coloring got in my face while I was helping my daughter with dyeing some cookies. Some soap got it off my daughter's hands, but mine was harder to do. But the rubbing alcohol helped a lot! Thanks for the article, it really helped."
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"So we were making slime, and we were dying the slime pink, but I got some on my hands. Rubbing soap for an awfully long time didn't work, but then I tried the shaving cream one and it was a SUCCESS!! THANKS SO MUCH!!!"
..."
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"The only thing I found on short notice was the toothpaste. It didn't completely get off the dye, but it certainly got some off. I'll just wait for it to fade away."
..."
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