How was your The Color Run experience?! Mine was amazing and I’m pretty sure all of you Color Runners had a great time as well. Fun aside, there is no doubt that we’re all left with vibrant color-stained hair, skin, clothes and shoes after the big event.
The colored powder used at this year’s The Color Run, brought to you by CIMB Bank, was actually synthetic holi powder that’s typically used to celebrate a Hindu spring holi festival, which mainly happens in the north and east of India. The celebration has become so popular that other countries have adapted the concept for huge parties and festivals worldwide.
While most of us are dying to get rid of the colour, there are also those who wish to make the colours permanent to commemorate the good times they’ve had. Whether you want to remove the stains completely or make them permanent, we’ve got some tips and tricks to help you with it!
To make the colours permanent:
1. To set the colour and prevent it from fading off, iron the piece of clothing with a hot steam iron and then wash it with cold water.
2. Spray your clothes with vinegar and iron it on a medium hot setting. After that, wash it with cold water.
3. You can also try spraying the item of clothing with adhesive before washing it to make the colours set.
To remove the colours:
1. Dust off as much coloured powder with your dry hands. For the leftover colours on your skin, rub a lemon slice over the stains and leave the juices on for 15 minutes before going in with your cleanser. Use cold water as hot water will set in the colour. The colours on your hair should come off fairly easily with regular shampoo and conditioner.
2. For your clothes, make sure to work fast as fresh stains come off quicker. After the event, rinse and soak your clothes in water right away. For white clothes, you can always clean off the stains with bleach. You can also pre-treat the stains with powerful detergent and leave it on for at least half an hour before throwing the clothing into the washing machine. With an old toothbrush, it also helps to brush the stain-remover onto the stains.
3. You can use coconut oil to remove the stains from your skin. Just rub in the coconut oil into your skin, concentrating on the areas with more colour stains. Then, wash it off with cleanser and warm water.
4. Try washing out stains from clothes with a bucket of cold water with 1/2 cup of white vinegar and one teaspoon of liquid detergent. The acid from the vinegar can counteract the chemicals in the colours.
5. Some people also use ammonia-based window cleaner on stains. Spray on the window cleaner, leave it on for not more than 15 minutes, then rinse it off with cold water and throw it in the washing machine or wash manually.
