If you are the one who applied your beard dye too dark or of a different color than you expected, don’t worry, you still have the option to remove beard dye.
How to
remove
beard dye??
The best way to remove beard dye is to go with homemade recipes having ingredients like baking soda, lemon juice, white vinegar, and many more with beard shampoo. Other techniques of using hair dye remover might cause side effects like rash, irritation, and redness.
Beard dye removal depends on many factors like which beard dye you use, the porosity of your beard, and how long you put it on your beard.
Before sharing the ways of removing beard dye, you must know why you are removing it. Maybe you have not applied it right or have not chosen the correct beard dye.
Here we have a complete guide on how to dye your beard and the best options for beard dyes.
Table of Contents
Why do you need to remove beard dye?
There could be several reasons behind beard dye removal, from not liking your beard color to applying it too dark or too light.
If you want your original beard color back, you have to wait for a few weeks because beard dyes are made in such a way to last at least 2-4 weeks.
It is wrong to expect them to get removed in a few washes.
Using removal methods might lighten the color but will not remove it.
If you remove it immediately when applied, you may get your original beard color. Your beard will absorb it more and get darker the longer you wait.
But if your problem is to darken the beard dye, you can do one more coating of your beard dye and wash it out.
How to remove Beard Dye: Steps-by-step process
Congrats! at least you know what suits you and what does not. Once you decide to remove your beard dye, follow the below steps, and you will get closer to the look you want.
This step-by-step guide is affordable, safe, and easy to use. The only thing you need to do is go through it so you don’t miss any steps.
1. Make a mixture
In this article, I will share some DIY methods so you can do it at home with a few kitchen ingredients without side effects.
You’ll need a few of the ingredients I’ve mentioned below so you can experiment to see what works best for you.
Ingredients:
- Baking soda
- Toothpaste
- Lemon juice
- Dishwash liquid
- White vinegar
- Alcohol
- Beard shampoos
- 3% hydrogen peroxide
- Epsom salt
The ingredient list I have shared is always present at everybody’s house. All you need is to pick one and check whether it suits you or not, then go further.
Mix1: Baking soda and beard shampoo
Have you ever used baking soda for cleaning stains? Baking soda has cleansing properties that can help to remove or lighten the color.
We recommend you use beard shampoos for dandruff because those are stronger than usual.
Do not use hair shampoos on your beard. It will make your beard dry and brittle.
For the mixture: Take 1 tbsp of shampoo and 1 tbsp of baking soda and make a paste. You can also dilute it with some water if it is too thick.
Mix 2: Toothpaste and warm water
Toothpaste contains ingredients like hydrogen peroxide and baking soda that helps to clean your teeth and keeps them white.
It doesn’t mean it will bleach your beard. It will help to lighten the beard dye only.
Squeeze a little amount of toothpaste and mix it with some warm water. Make a slightly thick paste.
Mix 3: Lemon juice and baking soda
Using a mixture of lemon juice and baking soda for cleansing yellow teeth is too popular. But it has more benefits.
You can use this mixture to remove dye from the beard. All you need is a lemon and baking soda. Squeeze a lemon or crush a vitamin c tablet and mix it with baking soda and warm water.
Mix 4: Dishwashing liquid and warm water
Dishwashing liquids contain ingredients like triclosan, formaldehyde, disodium, Sodium Laureth Sulfate and many others.
These ingredients help to clean all the stains of the utensils. These are concentrated and should not be used directly on the skin.
Here we will use them in a diluted solution. Take half a cup of warm water and mix half a tbsp of dishwashing gel. You can also add beard wash.
Note: It is not so effective and requires 3-4 repetitions.
Mix 5: Rubbing Alcohol
Using rubbing alcohol is effective within one day of beard dye application. If it has been more than two days, do not use this mixture.
Rubbing alcohol has a mild bleaching agent. In addition, it can cause irritation or redness on the face. Rinse it with beard wash after applying it for a few minutes.
Never take rubbing alcohol on your fingertips. Use cotton balls.
Mix 6: White vinegar and warm water
White vinegar contains 4–7% acetic acid and 93–96% water, widely used for agriculture and cleaning purposes.
Using white vinegar with some warm water can help to remove beard dye.
Take half a cup of warm water and mix 2 tbsp of vinegar. Make sure you are not using apple cider vinegar. It is not effective as white vinegar.
Mix 7: Hydrogen peroxide and baking soda
Hydrogen peroxide is a bleaching agent widely used for cleansing purposes. It can easily clean the beard dye but can make your hair frizzy and dry.
Peroxide is a strong chemical but not harsher than hair bleach.
Take 1 tbsp of baking soda, 1 tbsp of 3% hydrogen peroxide, and half a cup of water. Mix it with some beard conditioner to dilute it.
Mix 8: Epsom salt and baking soda
Epsom salt is nothing but magnesium sulfate that can be used for removing beard color.
The reaction of Epsom salt, water, and baking soda gives a perfect blend for beard dye removal. Though, no evidence proves it.
Take 1 tbsp of baking soda and 1 tbsp of Epsom salt and mix it with some water.
2. Patch test
After choosing the mixture of your choice, the most crucial step is to do a patch test.
For the patch test, follow the below instructions:
- Choose the area where you want to do this test. The body part should not be visible, so if anything goes wrong, you can hide it. You can apply the mixture on areas like behind the neck or inner elbow.
- Take a cotton swab and dip the chosen mixture in it.
- Wear hand gloves to avoid any allergy and apply it to the area.
- Leave the mixture on the skin for at least 24 -48 hours.
- If you notice any rash, redness, or irritation within minutes, rinse it off. If not, let it be on the skin for the recommended hours.
- If you feel comfortable with the mixture, you can apply it to your beard. If not, try another one.
3. Apply that mixture
After finding the mixture that suits your skin, apply it all over the beard using a dye brush. Do not forget to wear hand gloves. You might feel itchiness.
Massage the solution on the colored beard and leave it for 20 -40 minutes.
4. Wash out beard dye
After waiting for 20-40 minutes, the solution will lighten the dye of your beard. Do not expect the mixture will completely remove beard dye with just one application.
If you notice the color is coming out of the beard, massage your beard few minutes and wash it with the best beard shampoo.
Use beard shampoos designed for dandruff because those are stronger than the normal ones.
5. Towel dry
After cleansing the beard dye, pat dries your face with a towel. Never rub it because your beard has already suffered different solutions and shampoo.
They are wet and weak at that time. Give your beard gentle care.
6. Moisturize
After going through beard dyeing and beard dye removal, your beard has already suffered a lot. It requires extra care than before.
After one application of the beard removal mixture, give at least a break of 2 days and moisturize your beard as much as possible.
You can apply the best beard serum, beard oils, or beard balm for moisturization.
Tips to lighten too-dark beard dye
Sometimes we purchase the correct beard dye and apply it correctly, but we put it on for so long that our beard appears too dark for the natural beard. And you can not accept your look as it looks weird.
In that case, you want your beard to look normal and natural at any cost. You want it to lighten your dark beard or remove your beard dye.
The things I have shared above are the tips that will help you to lighten the too-dark beard dye.
Lightening the beard dye is much easier than removing them completely. All the steps I have shared will gradually lighten the too-dark beard dye, and with 4-5 applications, it will get removed.
Can we use hair color removal on the beard?
There are a lot of hair dye removals present in the market. We can discuss them here, but I would not recommend you go with those hair dye removers.
The scalp and hair of your head are thicker than the facial hair and skin. Using products that are made for head-on face is not correct.
Hair dye removals have a lot of chemicals that can damage your face. You might suffer rashes, blisters, redness, irritation, and whatnot.
I would recommend you use the homemade DIY ideas that I have shared. They have less possibility to irritate your skin.
How to remove beard dye from the skin?
Removing beard dye from the skin is much easier than your beard.
Firstly, try washing out the beard dye from your skin as soon as it gets applied mistakenly.
You can use rubbing alcohol, soap, or olive oil on the stains to remove beard dye from the skin. Take any of them, apply them to the area, and rinse them.
The best part is you can prevent these beard dye stains on your skin by applying baby oil or vaseline to the areas where it can stain.
Vaseline or baby oil helps to prevent beard dye stains on the face, neck, or other parts.
Beard dye removal facts
All dyes are different
Three types of beard dyes are present in the market, permanent, semi-permanent, and temporary.
Permanent beard dyes last for more than 4-5 weeks, and you directly cut them before they fade. It is difficult to remove them or lighten them once you apply them.
Semi-permanent beard dyes last for 3-4 weeks, and it is easier to remove them than permanent dyes through homemade mixtures.
Temporary dyes are the ones you apply, like makeup. Once you wash it, it will get removed.
The beard dye removal time will depend on the type of dye used.
You can not entirely wash out beard dye.
Beard dyes, especially permanent and semi-permanent, are designed in a way that lasts for more than 4 weeks. So that customer gets satisfied.
If you want them to get removed entirely with some mixture, you are at the wrong expectations. It can only get lightened with those solutions and fades away with time.
Remove beard dye as soon as possible.
The beard dye phenomenon depends highly on time. The more you wait, the more your beard will get dark as it gets absorbed in your hair.
The sooner you find your beard color, the better. It will be easier to remove the beard dye the sooner you remove it.
Color oops doesn’t work on other colors.
Color oops is a hair color remover that I don’t recommend you use. Still, if the situation is worse and you want to take that risk, you can take it.
Yes, it is true that the hair color remover works effectively only on black color dye but not on the colors like red, yellow, and green.
Is it safe to remove beard dyes?
You can remove beard dye naturally or use homemade mixtures that I have discussed above. It is safe. Still, if you have sensitive skin, try to avoid them.
Always do a patch test before applying anything to your beard.
FAQs:
How long does it take for beard dye to fade?
If you have used permanent beard dye, it will take more than a month to fade out, and a semi-permanent beard dye takes 3-4 weeks.
What can you do if you dye your beard too dark?
You can wash your beard using baking soda and lemon juice. It will fade your too-dark beard color, and your beard will look natural.
How do I remove beard dye from my face?
You can use baby oil or vaseline while dyeing your beard. It will prevent beard dye stain your face. If you already got that stain, clean it with rubbing alcohol.
How to wash out beard dye?
To wash out beard dye, use baking soda with lemon juice or beard shampoo and massage the paste on your beard color. After resting it for 20 minutes, rinse it with warm water.
Kayden is an entrepreneur, writer, hairstylist working in a professional salon. He specializes in men’s grooming. He loves to blog about beards, hairstyles, and skincare.