We tested the wipes that promise to restore the lost black to your clothing: here’s how it worked for us

If in humans the passage of time is expressed through wrinkles, in colored clothing it manifests itself through the loss or distortion of its tones. While this can sometimes give it character and personality, it’s also sad when our favorite item of clothing wears its original color and changes to a less vibrant color.

This is even more noticeable in black clothing, where exposure to sunlight, daily rubbing, dye quality, continuous washing or use of a dryer tend to sabotage its intense darkness.

But all is not lost. In one of the TikTok multiverses, there is a product that is causing a stir. These are Dr. Beckmann’s deep black towels.

These are wipes, similar to wet or disinfectant wipes, but completely black and, after adding one or two to the washing machine full of clothes of the same color, they promise to restore the lost intensity to dark clothes.

On TikTok you can find hundreds of videos with the keywords “Dr. Beckmann Black either “Dr Beckmann intense black, in different languages ​​and formats, but they all summarize their experiences of using them. The answers are varied: some show that it visibly works and others not. Since I like black clothes and have some clothes that I don’t want to part with yet, I decided to try the product.

In Chile, it is not difficult to find the Dr Beckmann version which contains eight wipes in supermarkets or specialized toiletry stores. In addition to the dye, it contains other components that contribute to color care and restoration of the textile fiber. “The special formula with high-quality black dye adheres to washing with textiles, for worry-free, fade-free use,” the box says.

They also add that “special care enzymes soften damaged fibers, preventing pilling in the garment.”

After purchasing them, I followed the instructions on the box to the letter. These are summarized in three steps:

1. Fill your washing machine with selected black clothes and add detergent as usual, depending on the load amount.
2. Product entry. Dr. Beckmann wipes are simply added to the washing machine, as if it were a simple item of clothing. For long-lasting color maintenance, it is recommended to use one sheet per wash. For intensive renewal, up to three sheets can be used per wash.
3. Once washing is finished, Remove the towel, throw it in the trash, and hang your clothes to dry.

Reading the product box, I realized two important details that can affect the result on the clothes:

1. We recommend using it only on pure black textiles. Synthetic materials will not be dyed. This means that fabrics like cotton or wool will look better than nylon or polyester because they absorb less dye.
2. Suitable for all washable textiles and all temperatures, even low.

I generally wash my clothes in cold water, to protect the textiles from high temperatures. Mine has a range of 0 to 20º and the second range up to 40º degrees. The third is 60º. In general, the universal recommendation is to wash at 30º or lower, so in favor of protecting the textile I usually choose the first range.

I made two experimental batches. The first consists of a t-shirt, jeans and a denim skirt. The second batch with two jeans and another black t-shirt.

On Amazon, this product has 3.7 stars out of 5. In other words, people rate it well, but not highly. Therefore, my expectations were not very high when using it.

And so it was: once the wash was finished, some clothes were noticeably blacker and seemed renewed, while in others the difference with the previous version was very subtle.

My suspicion, as stated in the previous point, is that this is related to the material of each textile. For example, on a 100% cotton t-shirt, Dr. Beckmann’s product gives better results, since the fiber holds the dye better. Denim, on the other hand, when mixing cotton with synthetic threads in different proportions – depending on the brand and model – will cost more to become truly black again.

In my case, the experience was varied: in some jeans, like the skirt above, you can see that it turned out blacker than before. In others, however, there is not so much difference, because some jeans also have a worn effect in certain areas.

By having this effect, which comes from the factory, the denim thread does not have the same color throughout the garment, which prevents it from being completely dyed (as can be seen on jeans that have this effect on the pocket).

Is it worth subjecting your black clothes to this type of treatment? Ultimately, it depends on what your clothes are made of. The more natural the textile, with fewer synthetic threads, the greater the possibility that the product will regain its intense black.

Another important point to note is that if the textile has any effect, such as fading or factory wear, the Dr. Beckmann product will not be pigmented on it. At least that’s what I was able to verify in the case of my pants. The other pair, which was completely light, turned out to be darker, as you can see below.

*Product prices in this article are current as of April 29, 2024. Values ​​and availability are subject to change.