How To Remove Food Coloring From Hands

Learn how to rid your hands of food coloring.

So you got a little carried away with the food coloring and your hands are a colorful--though pretty--mess. There are several ways to remove the dye from your hands, but unless you know exactly what you're doing it will take several hours and could leave your hands feeling raw. You can gently remove food dye from your hands in less than 15 minutes.

Things You'll Need

• Shaving cream (try Barbasol)
• Water
• Vinegar
• Fingernail brush
• Cotton balls

Instructions

1. Remove any loose food coloring from your hands by rinsing them with cold water for 20 to 30 seconds. Rub your hands as if you had soap to lather. This will remove any excess food coloring.

2. Squirt the shaving cream into the palm of your hand. Use enough so that you can completely coat your hands. Massage the shaving cream into your skin for 2-to-3 minutes. Rinse with cool water.

3. Apply another coat of shaving cream. When massaging into your skin, concentrate on the areas where the food coloring has soaked in. Use a fingernail brush to get around your fingernails. Let the shaving cream absorb into the skin for five minutes.

4. Rinse the shaving cream away with cool water. Next, apply vinegar to a cotton ball and set the cotton ball onto the areas where the food coloring has still not lifted. Gently scrub the area with the cotton ball. Rinse with cool water.

5. By this time, the food coloring should be almost, if not completely, gone. Repeat these steps as necessary.