How to get food coloring off fingers

Get food colouring out of your skin or your kids’ skin easily with this simple hack.

It was the day after my daughter’s second birthday and it genuinely looked like penguin paraphernalia had been thrown up all over our home.

My aunt had just arrived in town that day and was en route to visit us. As I picked up remnants of the party with my hands and feet, it got so quiet.

“The kids are playing so nicely,” I thought. “This couldn’t be more perfect.”

Then, the silence became almost deafening. “Do I capitalize on the peacefulness and solider on? Or do I dare find out what they are up to?” My daughter chose to answer this question for me when she presented herself looking like a melting smurf. FOOD COLOURING. They had gotten into my food colouring. My son was considerate enough to choose yellow as his war paint, but my daughter, well my daughter looked like the photo above AFTER I tried bathing her. I took to Facebook and cried to begged asked my friends for any help they may have to get food colouring out of skin.

Get Food Colouring Out of Skin With This Simple Hack

My friend Natasha saved the day and told me ANY foaming shaving cream would do the trick. I put it on their skin, let it sit briefly about 30 seconds or so, and then wiped it off. Voila! Clean.

If you craft with food colouring often like we do or bake with it, you may want this hack in your back pocket so you can get food colouring out of skin fast 🙂

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The holidays can be as colorful as your red velvet cupcakes, candy cones, and rainbow cakes. Baking is truly a fun activity especially when your kids can help in their little ways. But when kids accidentally spill food color on her body, that’s when the stress begins.

Why Use Food Coloring?

People have been using food coloring since ancient times. Certain spices like annatto, paprika, and saffron are valued for giving a dish some color.

But today, artificial food coloring dominates the market and is used in almost all types of food. Food color gives M&Ms their beautiful hues. Food coloring is also used in commercial beverages and candies.

Interestingly, some varieties of oranges are even injected with orange food coloring to provide the fruit a uniform and brighter orange look.

The main reason people use natural and synthetic food coloring is because color makes food even more appetizing. Color automatically sends a signal to our brain about a particular food.

A red strawberry means it’s ripe and sweet. Would you consider eating a green strawberry? Probably not.

At home, food coloring is often used in baking. Working with dough and food coloring can be fun, but you’re also at risk of stains if you don’t wear gloves and protective clothing. Fortunately, there are multiple ways on how to remove food coloring off the skin.

How To Get Food Coloring From Skin

You must act fast as soon as a spill happens because food color can stick to your skin after some time. This will make it difficult to remove food coloring. You also need a few home products to start removing the food coloring. There is 6 best way to get food coloring off skin.

Method 1 of 6: Toothpaste

• Wash the stain off with lukewarm water and soap. Give it a good lather to remove as much stain as possible.
• Get a whitening or non-gel toothpaste. Squirt a small amount into the stain and spread the toothpaste with your fingers.
• Massage the toothpaste into the stain for around 2 minutes. Add more toothpaste if it starts to dry out.
• Wash the stain with running water and check if the stain is removed. Repeat the process if necessary.

Method 2 of 6: Vinegar and Baking Soda

• Wash the stain off with lukewarm water and soap. Give it a good lather to remove as much stain as possible.
• Pour some white vinegar into a small bowl.
• Get a clean washcloth and dip into the vinegar. Rub the cloth into the stain.
• If you feel a stinging sensation on the first few rubs, add an equal part of water into the vinegar and mix.
• ​Keep rubbing until the stain begins to fade. Replace the washcloth if it becomes too stained. Discontinue using a stained washcloth as it will just transfer the stain back into your skin.
• Rinse the stained portion with running water and repeat the process if necessary.
• Consider using baking soda if the stain still doesn’t lift out. Just combine two tablespoons of baking soda with one tablespoon of water. You may need to adjust the ratio if the stain is rather big.
• Mix baking soda and water until you form a paste. Rub this mixture over the stain for one minute.
• Wash the baking soda off with running water. Dried out baking soda can be a little tricky to remove so just give it more time to rinse.
• Check if the stain has lifted out. Repeat the process if necessary.​

Method 3 of 6: Salt and Lemon

• Wash the stain off with lukewarm water and soap. Give it a good lather to remove as much stain as possible.
• ​Combine 3 tablespoons of salt and five tablespoons of lemon juice. You can also use apple cider vinegar in place of lemon juice. Mix them together until you form a paste.
• Apply the paste over the stain and rub in a circular motion. The abrasive nature of the paste will help lift the stain out. Keep rubbing until you see the stain disappearing.
• Wash the stain off with running water. Repeat the process if necessary.

Method 4 of 6: Alcohol or Hand Sanitizer

• Wash the stain off with lukewarm water and soap. Give it a good lather to remove as much of the stain as possible.
• Squirt a few drops of rubbing alcohol into a cotton ball and rub over the stain. If the stained area is near the eyes or mouth, use hand sanitizer instead. Also, use hand sanitizer in place of alcohol if a child acquired the stain.
• Keep rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer over the stained area. Throw away the discolored cotton ball and use a new one to continue removing the stain off.
• Rinse the stain with running water and soap. Check if the stain has disappeared. Repeat the process if necessary.

Method 5 of 6: Baby Oil

• Wash the stain off with lukewarm water and soap. Give it a good lather to remove as much stain as possible.
• Squirt a few drops of baby oil on a cotton ball and rub over the stain for a few minutes.
• Discard the foul cotton ball and use a new one to continue removing the stain off.
• Rinse the stain with running water and soap. Check if the stain has disappeared. Repeat the process if necessary.

Method 6 of 6: Shaving Cream

• Wash the stain off with lukewarm water and soap. Give it a good lather to remove as much stain as possible.
• Lather some shaving cream over the stain. Rub it in a circular motion for a few minutes. The peroxide in the shaving cream can help lift the stain out.
• Rinse the stain with running water and soap. Check if the stain has disappeared. Repeat the process if necessary.

More Tips on Food Coloring Stain Removal

Certain home products like vinegar and baking soda can feel raw to the skin after rubbing them for some time. When your skin feels stingy, wash it running water right away.

Give it some time before using the product again. You can also consider using gentler products like baby oil next.

Moreover, abrasive solutions like salt and lemon juice paste can feel painful if you rub too hard on the skin. Do it gently. Don’t rub to the point of skin feeling raw and stingy.

Also, don’t forget to change the washcloth or cotton if they become too dirty or stained. You’ll only transfer the stain back to the skin if you keep using them and defeat the whole point of stain removal.

Lastly, using some products on your skin can make it feel dry. Apply some hand or body lotion over the previously stained area for moisturization.

Prevent Future Stains

Accidents happen and staining your body with some food coloring is not the end of the world. Still, you can prevent them from occurring in the future by keeping certain things in mind.

• Use hand gloves when kneading the dough with food coloring. You’ll need to knead your dough manually, but you don’t have to end up with red hands after baking.
• Wear long sleeves. Protective clothing can serve as a barrier from food coloring to staining your arms.
• Cover food coloring when not in use. Unprotected food coloring could get toppled and spill on you and your workspace. Be sure to cover the food coloring after each use.
• Supervise kids when using food coloring. Be the one to add coloring if they’re too young to handle it. Otherwise, you’d end up worrying over an exaggeratedly red velvet cake that’s just too red. That’s on top of the stain you have to deal with.

Conclusion

You can prevent food coloring stains while baking or cooking with some safety measures in place. If an accident happens, you just need to act quick and administer one or some of the products mentioned above to get rid of the stain.

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