Egg dying is a fun pastime that can be participated in by the entire family; all you need are eggs and a few basic materials to get some stunningly coloured eggs.
Although white eggs are often used for dying because of their superior ability to retain colour (particularly pastel hues), you may not have any white eggs available to utilise in your project.
Can you colour brown eggs? Yes, you can tint brown eggs! Brown eggs may still be dyed in other colours, but the resulting hues won’t be as light as those achieved with white eggs, and you may need to do some pre-dyeing preparatory work to get a pastel hue out of them. Brown eggs can still take on other colours, however.
If you want to dye brown eggs, read on for all you need to know about dying eggs and how you can still get lovely coloured eggs even if you dye them brown! If you want to dye brown eggs, read on!
Is It Even Possible To Dye Eggs A Different Color?
Eggs that are brown and eggs that are white are almost similar in every way, with the exception of the colour of their shells.
When it comes to dying, clearly brown eggs provide a bit of a challenge due to the fact that the brown surface will not be able to show colours as effectively as white eggs would if they were dyed.
White eggs are able to retain more delicate pastel hues such as pink, mild blue, spring yellow, and others, but darker brown eggs are unable to do so. White eggs, on the other hand, are able to. Brown eggs, on the other hand, are capable of retaining deeper hues, including red, blue, dark green, and even more.
The issue is that these hues are not very Easter-like, and Easter eggs are often painted in a variety of colours. You are in luck since there is a way to lighten the shells of brown eggs so that they are better able to retain pastel hues by following a few simple steps.
How to Make Dark Eggs Look Whiter
You may dye brown eggs “as is” and settle for a deeper coloured dyed egg, such as a navy blue, dark green, or maroon red; but, if you want to acquire lighter colours, then you can lighten the brown egg’s shell before dying it. This is because lighter colours need less dye to achieve.
The egg should first be submerged in vinegar before it is coloured since this is the most effective method. Since it does not matter as much whether the shell grows weaker as a result of the vinegar soaking, it is better to do this step after the egg has been hard-boiled.
If you soak the egg in vinegar, part of the darker colour that is on the exterior of the shell will be removed. When you wipe away at the surface of the egg after it has been let to soak, it should be a hue that is light enough that it may be dyed pastel.
Advice on Using Vinegar to Lighten the Color of Brown Eggs
A simple method, soaking dark egg shells in vinegar in order to make them lighter in colour is described below, along with a few helpful hints and notes to bear in mind when doing so:
- As a result of its low price and accessibility, distilled white wine vinegar is an excellent choice for use in the process of bleaching eggshells.
- You may keep the eggs in the vinegar for longer than 5 minutes if they haven’t lightened up enough, but you shouldn’t leave them in the vinegar for more than 10–12 minutes since it might cause the shells to become too soft.
- After being soaked in vinegar, certain brown eggs may lighten to a hue that is practically white, while other eggs may only lighten to a colour that is closer to cream. On the other hand, they will keep their colour better than a shell that is deeper brown.
- Be careful to dye the eggs using a food colouring that is suitable for human eating, particularly if you intend for others to eat the eggs after they have been coloured.
- It is not abnormal for there to be some bubbles on the surface of the egg when it is put in the vinegar since this is merely the result of the vinegar interacting with the shell of the egg, which releases gas bubbles. When the egg is removed from the vinegar, the bubbles should disappear.
How Are Dark Brown Eggs Obtained?
The procedure of dying brown eggs is rather simple, and it is very similar to the process of dying white eggs.
On the other hand, there is a specific process that you can do that will lighten the outside of the brown egg, bringing it to a position where it is more capable of holding onto lighter colours.
The process of colouring eggs brown is outlined in the steps below.
1. Hard Boil Eggs
You may prepare your eggs to be dyed in a variety of ways, but the one that is most suited for families is to first hard boil the eggs. Other options include using a microwave or an oven.
You may prepare the eggs in the traditional manner by putting them in water that is boiling and keeping them there for eight minutes, at which point they will be firm.
2. Soak In Vinegar
This stage is optional and is only required if you wish to lighten the brown shell of the eggs so that you may use lighter pastel colours. If you do not want to lighten the shell, you can skip this step. If you simply want to use darker colours for the eggs, then this step is not actually necessary for you to complete.
However, you will need to soak the eggs in vinegar in order to utilise colours with a lighter shade. After the eggs have been cooked until they are firm, splash cold water over them to stop the cooking process.
After they have cooled, the eggs should be placed in a basin and covered with white vinegar. The eggshell should be completely submerged in the vinegar. Allow the eggs to spend the next 5 minutes soaking in the white vinegar.
After five minutes, take the eggs out of the vinegar and use a paper towel or a clean cloth to remove the brown colouring off the surface of the eggs using a rubbing motion. Eggs should be washed and then placed aside so they may be coloured.
3. Make the colouring agent.
Put the eggs in an appropriate basin or container, add enough water to cover them, and then sprinkle one teaspoon of white vinegar over the top.
To get the desired level of darkness or lightness in the dye, add about 20 drops of food colouring, but feel free to use more or less.
4. Make Sure the Eggs Are Ready
The next thing you need to do is get the eggs ready to be dyed.
You have the option of putting the eggs into the dye solution “as is,” adding some rubber bands to the eggs, drawing patterns on them with a wax crayon, or using waterproof tape to mark off designs in areas where you do not want the dye to take.
5. Add Color to the Eggs
After the eggs have been prepared, set them one at a time on a slotted spoon, and then carefully lower each egg into the dye solution. Submerge the egg in the dye and flip it around periodically to ensure that it is coloured on all sides.
You may keep the egg in the dye for up to five minutes, but the length of time you do so will depend on how deep and intense the colour you want it to be.
If you are just colouring a little area of the egg, you may create a multicoloured, layered effect by first dipping the egg into one colour and then dipping it into another colour. This works best if you are only colouring a small portion of the egg.
6. Let the Eggs Air-Dry
When it comes time to take the eggs from the dye, use a slotted spoon to gently remove the eggs from the dye, and then set them aside to dry after they have been removed. Putting them on paper towels before putting them on your tabletop will help them dry more quickly and will help avoid any stains from occurring on your countertop.
Before continuing to decorate the eggs with stickers or tape, you should wait until the eggs have completely dried out.
When they are coloured, what happens to brown eggs?
The main difference is that since brown egg shells are darker than white egg shells, the dyes that are applied to the egg will need to be darker in order for them to be seen. When coloured, brown eggs produce results that are remarkably similar to those that are produced when white eggs are dyed.
It will not be possible to dye the egg pastel or light colours if it has not been prepared first by soaking it in vinegar to remove part of the brown colour. The egg will only be able to keep deeper colours properly if it has been prepared.
If you wish to observe the conventional colour scheme for Easter, this may provide a challenge for you.
However, brown eggs may be coloured successfully; they can retain some strong and vibrant colours, and they can still be a lot of fun for the entire family to explore; all you need to do is choose deeper colours or soak the shells beforehand.
A Few Parting Thoughts
There is no need to put off the procedure of dying some eggs even if you are unable to locate any white eggs to utilise, as long as you have some brown eggs that are ready to be used.
It is feasible to give brown eggs a different colour, and there are two approaches you might use while doing so.
You have the option of dying the brown eggs in their natural state with a deeper dye that will show up on the brown shell, or you may lighten the brown shells by soaking the eggs in vinegar first and then dying the eggs in pastel colours after that.
Dyeing the shells of brown eggs can be a fun activity for the entire family to participate in, regardless of whether you want to go with more typical pastel hues for Easter or darker colours for the holiday.