A little colour in the first rinse of a plant-dyed cotton mat is normal and not a defect. It is loose dye that did not bond to the fibre; it comes away in the first one or two cold hand washes, done separately, and then settles. What is not normal is colour that keeps running wash after wash, patches that go pale, or a band bleeding into its neighbour in a wide stain. For those, write to us.
Why plant dye lets go a little
Our cotton is dyed in our own dye shed with plants: true indigo on the Indico, alkanet root on the Diamond Clay, and more than twenty herbs, turmeric, neem and tulsi among them, across the seven bands of the Prana Shakti and the Prithvi. However carefully the cloth is rinsed after dyeing, a little dye sits on the fibre rather than in it, and the first wash is where it leaves. We would rather tell you before you fill the bucket.
Indigo is the clearest case. In our experience a new Indico may leave a faint blue on a damp white towel or on your palms in the first sessions. That eases quickly, and the colour that stays is the colour for years.
What normal looks like
- The first rinse water is tinted: rose or pale orange from a chakra rug, blue from the Indico, soft brown from the Diamond Clay.
- The second rinse is paler and the third close to clear.
- The mat looks the same afterwards, perhaps a shade softer, bands still crisp.
- The Indico leaves a little blue on hands or a towel for the first few uses.
Nothing here needs fixing. It is the reason we say wash separately and wash cold.
The first wash, step by step
- Wash the mat on its own for the first two or three washes.
- Use cold water with a little mild natural detergent. Warm water lets far more colour move.
- Press, do not scrub, for a few minutes, then lift it out; a long soak gives dye time to travel between bands.
- Rinse in clean cold water two or three times.
- Press out the water between two towels. Do not wring, and do not leave the wet mat folded on itself, which is how one band prints on the next.
- Dry flat in the shade. Light is what fades plant colour over the long run.
The full method, including which mats can go in a machine, is in how to wash a cotton yoga mat.
What is not normal
Write to us through the Contact page with a photo if you see any of these:
- Colour running as strongly in the fourth or fifth wash as in the first.
- A pale patch or streak, rather than the whole mat softening together.
- One band bleeding into the next in a wide, blurred stain after a cold wash done as above.
- Colour coming off on a dry floor or dry clothes after the mat has been washed and dried.
Hand-dyed cloth varies a little from batch to batch; what counts as variation and what counts as a fault is on the Returns page.
After the first washes
From the third or fourth wash the colour is settled and the mat is washed as a normal cotton rug, still cold, still in shade. Over years the dyes soften gently, the subject of why plant-dyed mats change colour. Airing the mat after practice instead of washing it each time slows that down.
Frequently asked questions
Is it normal for a natural dye to bleed in the first wash?
Yes. A little surface dye that did not bond to the cotton leaves in the first one or two cold washes and tints the rinse water; by the third rinse it should run close to clear. Wash the mat on its own so nothing else picks up the colour, and in cold water so as little dye as possible moves. After that the colour settles.
Will the indigo on the Indico rub off on my hands?
A little, for the first few sessions, and sometimes a faint blue on a damp towel. The loose indigo comes away quickly with the first washes and the first weeks of practice. The colour that remains is the colour the mat keeps for years, softening gently as it ages.
How many washes before the colour stops running?
Usually two or three. The first rinse is the most coloured, the second paler and the third close to clear. If the fourth or fifth wash still runs strongly, something is wrong with that batch of dye, and that is exactly the kind of thing we want to hear about.
Next step
Give a new mat its first wash this week, alone, cold and flat in the shade, and keep a photo of the rinse water if you are unsure; we are happy to look at it. Care notes for every mat are on the Mat care page.
