Permanent hair dye, semi-permanent hair dye, henna, hydrogen peroxide, and lemon juice are just a few of the many techniques for coloring hair.
If you have dark hair, hair dye doesn’t lighten your natural color, and what you need is a lighter color where hair bleach powder or solution you get from the local beauty supply store is the only solution.
However, while the bleaching process removes hair color to leave your hair lighter, it can be messy and smelly. Wearing gloves is recommended when coloring hair; however, even if you wear gloves, you can still get hair bleach on hands. Once you do this, you’ll find the smell lingers, so how do you remove hair bleach smell from your hands? (Read Does Bleach Kill Weeds)
What Is and What Isn’t Hair Bleach?
Before diving into getting the bleach smell off your hands, note the following:
Many individuals mistake chlorine bleach (sodium hypochlorite) for the same ingredients used in bleaching hair. Such products are dangerous and cause bleach burn, damage your hair, and cause chemical burns when exposed for too long to sensitive skin.
Hair bleach contains peroxide, regular shampoo, and bleach powder. This approach is safer, but it still leaves bleach on your hands as a bleach stain or bleach odor. You’ll also find this bleach on your hands can cause skin irritation if you have sensitive skin.
How To Remove Hair Bleach From Hands
Bleach and hair dye stains are prevalent, particularly if you dye your own hair at home. While removing a dye stain from your skin can be challenging, it is not impossible. Remove hair bleach stains and smells from your hands with these instructions.
1. Remove Hair Bleach Off Hands with Soapy Water
When you find bleach on your hands, the first action to take is to remove as much of the chemical as you can.
- Here’s how to use mild soap and water to remove hair bleach from your hands.
- Rinse your hands with cool, running water for a few minutes to remove bleach stains.
- Gently rub your hands together after applying gentle dish soap, shampoo, or hand soap.
- Pay close attention to the bleach-stained regions and get in between your fingers.
- Rinse your hands with warm water while rubbing them to remove any soapy residue, then pat your skin dry with a cloth.
2. Get Hair Bleach Off Hands with Citric acid
Using citrus juice is one of the finest ways to remove hair bleach from your hands.
- It’s also a good idea to get the food color off of your hands. Citric acid, found in lemons, limes, bleach, and even dye juice, counteracts the basic chemistry of bleach and dye.
- In a bowl, add some citrus juice from lemons, limes, or oranges. If you don’t have any of these, tomato juice and white vinegar will also work.
- Cover your hands with the liquid you choose to counteract the bleach and rub it into your skin for about a minute. After washing your hands with soap and water, dry them with a towel.
3. How to Get Bleach Off Hands with Baking Soda
Baking soda works well to clean hair bleach from hands and fingers; it removes the bleach smell and can get hair color off your hands.
- Start by making an exfoliating scrub to get the blue dye off the skin or remove bleach.
- Combine shampoo with baking soda or coffee grounds and rub the mixture over your hands for one minute.
- Wipe the excess cleaner off your skin with a paper towel and rinse your hands under warm water.
- To use something gentler, apply some white toothpaste to a cotton ball and rub it over the affected areas.
- Once the bleach is gone, rinse your hand with water and dry it with a towel.
4. Use Oil to Get Bleach Smell Off Hands
You could find that your skin dries if you employ a different method to remove the hair bleach from your hands. For sensitive skin or if your hands are prone to drying, try using oils to wipe away the bleach while hydrating your hands.
Use a small amount of olive, almond, or coconut oil at a time and gently work it into the damaged areas of your hands or remove hair dye from your face and scalp. Reapply as necessary. If not, dispense a small amount of lotion onto the backs of each hand and massage it into your skin. (Read Does Bleach Kill Maggots)
How to Prevent Getting Hair Bleach on Your Hands
The next time you dye or bleach your hair, it’s a good idea to consider taking preventative steps. Here are some valuable pointers to help you style your hair without incident.
- Set up your work environment by placing old towels over the floor, sink, counters, and other surfaces before bleaching your hair.
- Before handling any hair products, wear gloves and apply petroleum jelly around your hairline to form a barrier on your skin.
- Keep a roll of paper towels handy to clean up spills and splatters as soon as you see them.
- Apply moisturizer as soon as you bleach your hair, then rinse your hands with cold water and wash them with soap and warm water.
- Keep some cotton balls and a bottle of nail paint remover or rubbing alcohol on hand if you use a regular hair dye. To remove a purple dye stain, these products work wonders.
Alternative Ways To Get Hair Bleach Off Hands
1. Baking Soda and Dish Soap
This alkaline can assist in getting rid of bleached skin quickly, but don’t forget to peel before employing the baking soda procedure. Compared to women with thin skin, baking soda is best suited to men with thicker skin.
To use, mix equal parts baking soda and dish soap. Apply to the affected area with a stain on the skin and massage in before rinsing. Adding some lemon juice increases the bleach stain remover to boost the power while combating the smell. (Read Can Hydrogen Peroxide Bleach Clothes)
2. Tomato Juice
This is lightly alkaline and contains vitamin C, which can quickly make your hand skin whiter and cleaner. But you must be patient as the bleach stains may last on your hands overnight. Vinegar works in the same way, and all you need to do for either is wet your hands in the chosen liquid and rub it into the skin to neutralize the bleach.
Rinse off the vinegar or tomato juice with warm water.
3. Toothpaste and Toothbrush
Toothpaste comes in various forms, including gel, cream, paste, and powder, and makes a great gentle cleanser. Using toothpaste, you may find it has the same effect as using baking soda.
With this beauty equipment, you can effectively and deeply scrub stains and dead skin cells. But, when bleached stains have been soaked for a long time, you must scrub the area, which is laborious.
Apply some toothpaste or a cotton ball to your toothbrush, and massage the cotton ball against the stain.
4. Nail Polish Remover
Because nail polish remover is a little abrasive on the skin, you only need a tiny bit of product. Dab the stain with a small nail polish remover on a cotton swab. If you have them on hand, nail polish remover pads might speed up this process. Note you can use clear nail polish on your nails if your nails are discolored.
5. Hydrogen Peroxide Method
Another choice is hydrogen peroxide. It’s important to use hydrogen peroxide in moderate amounts because large concentrations can harm your skin. You can easily find the hydrogen peroxide solution at the drugstore with a concentration of about 3%.
Only the affected areas of your skin should be treated with a cotton ball soaked in hydrogen peroxide rather than to soak your hands. Before washing it off, it would be helpful to give it time to dry. After that, you can wash with warm or cold water.
What Are The Consequences?
These stains can cause severe harm to the look and health of your hands if they are not removed from your skin. Skin peeling and cracking could result if bleach stays on the skin too long. Both your skin’s appearance and your discomfort will be poor! (Read Killing Gophers With Bleach And Ammonia)
It is difficult to remove these stains if you regularly use hair bleaching products from beauty supply stores, as this can cause more severe problems later. Keep a roll of paper towels handy to wipe up spills and splatters as soon as you see them. As soon as you are done bleaching your hair, rinse your hands with cool water, and wash them with soap and warm water to get rid of the bleach paste mixture chemicals to protect the skin. After that, moisturize your hands with baby oil, coconut oil, or petroleum jelly if you have dry skin. Even olive oil possesses enough soothing properties to protect the skin.
