Dyeing your hair at home is super common, but that doesn’t mean we’re all experts at it. Sometimes do-it-yourself hair dye can lead to an unexpected mess, like getting dye on your skin.

You might have some concern about the chemicals on your skin or you might just not like the look of stains all over your palms or forehead. No need to sweat. We talked to Annie Joerger, curriculum specialist for Nurtur Aveda Institutes, to find out what you need to know about hair dye on your skin and how you can remove it easily at home.

What effect does hair dye have on your skin?

Hair dye isn’t harmful to your skin, says Joerger. While it’s possible to experience a skin sensitivity or even an allergic reaction to a color product, this isn’t common. “I would think that an irritation is more likely to come from trying to remove that stain than from the actual stain,” says Joerger, “like from rubbing it too hard.” Despite this, you may still choose to remove any product for appearance reasons.

What products remove hair dye from your skin?

You can purchase color stain removers that are specifically designed for ridding any residual dye from your skin. There are also at-home solutions you can try.

When removing hair dye from your skin, you want to use a product that is not water-based. “If you’re looking for something at home, you could use something that isn’t water based because water is going to set that color,” Joerger explains, “so I would use something like Vaseline, … or a makeup remover or even rubbing alcohol.” Other products Joerger suggests are Dawn dish soap and even leftover hair dye.

How do you remove hair dye from your skin?

How you actually go about removing the hair dye depends on what products are available to you.

If you have a bottle of makeup remover or rubbing alcohol, apply one of these products to a cotton ball and gently dab this on the dyed patch of skin until the color fades.

For the other products Joerger mentions — like the Vaseline, Dawn dish soap or hair dye — take a small amount of one of these agents and place them on the stained skin. Gently rub the product in a circular motion on the skin and then wipe it away with a towel. Rinse off any residue with soap and water.

Whichever product you choose, try to remove the hair dye right away, says Joerger. Acting promptly should lead the color to come off more easily.

Will hair dye come off your skin naturally?

If you don’t have any of the products needed to strip hair dye from skin, then no need to worry. “Your skin naturally exfoliates … so [the product] will come off naturally,” says Joerger, “it just might take a while depending on how dark the color is.”

Regardless, your hair dye will likely come off within a couple of days or so, she explains.

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