How to Wash Denim: Limiting Fading, Drying and How Often

Denim should be washed inside out and on its own, with a neutral detergent, and dried in the shade. The indigo sits on the warp yarns at the surface of the cloth, and water and friction take it off, so turning the jeans inside out to reduce contact is the single most effective way to limit fading. There is no one correct washing frequency: it is a balance between the fade you want and the life of the fabric.

Updated: August 27, 2026 / Written by the KURO editorial team (Blues Inc.)

Why should denim be washed inside out?

Because the indigo-dyed warp yarns sit on the face of the cloth. Turning the jeans inside out reduces the friction on those warp yarns and limits fading.

Denim is a twill of indigo-dyed warp and undyed weft, and it is the warp that shows on the surface. The dye does not reach the core of the fibre but stays near the outside (the white core), so it comes away wherever the cloth rubs against other garments or the drum. Turned inside out, the friction falls on the white weft side and the indigo on the face is protected.

A mesh bag and a load of one reduce friction further. Washing dark colours together is fine, but avoid washing with pale garments, which is how colour transfer happens.

What detergent should be used on denim?

A neutral detergent. Bleaching agents and strongly alkaline detergents will speed up fading.

Indigo is dyed under alkaline conditions. pH is the measure of how acidic or alkaline a solution is, the number a strip of litmus paper reports. The further a detergent sits from the dye in that respect, and the more aggressively it breaks down soiling, the more it acts on the indigo as well and lifts the colour.

A neutral detergent is the middle course: it removes soiling while limiting what it does to the dye. Several Japanese manufacturers now also make detergents formulated specifically to keep the loss of indigo to a minimum.

How should denim be dried?

Still inside out, hung by the waist from pegs so the legs open into a tube, out of direct sun.

Fabric has a property called colour fastness, and one part of it is fastness to light. Denim will scorch if it is left in direct sun, so drying in the shade is the rule. That said, there is no need to be anxious about a short spell outside.

The trick is to peg the waistband so the legs open into a tube. Air reaches the inside of the cloth and the jeans dry far faster than they would folded or laid flat. Heavy denim is slow to dry and half-dry cloth is what starts to smell, so this small step earns its keep.

Is a denim jacket washed differently?

It is washed the same way, but a step is added before it goes out to dry: putting the shape back.

Wash it inside out with a neutral detergent as you would jeans, then, once it has been spun, turn it right side out and smooth the collar, the flaps and the shoulders by hand before hanging it. Skip this and the collar will set lying flat as it dries, and the flaps will keep a fold.

A denim jacket has more cloth than a pair of jeans and is slower to dry, so use a hanger that matches the shoulders and hang it with the front open.

How often should denim be washed?

When soiling or odour starts to bother you. Wash it and the colour goes; leave it and sebum and sweat build up and wear the fabric out.

There are brands that say not to wash for a year and brands that ask you to wash often. The first is most likely written with raw denim (rigid) in mind, where washing while new means a large amount of shrinkage, and the intention is to wear the jeans in until the shrinkage has settled. The second is written with hygiene in mind.

Washing frequency, in other words, depends on how a brand or a shop thinks about it, and there is no single correct answer. KURO recommends that if you want to enjoy the fading you wear the jeans for a while before washing them inside out and on their own, and that you dry them in the shade, since a tumble dryer causes shrinkage.

Frequently asked questions

Is hand washing or machine washing better for denim?

Hand washing involves less friction and limits fading. Fill a bucket with water, dissolve a neutral detergent, put the jeans in inside out, work them by hand for a few minutes, then change the water and rinse. If you use a machine, put them in a mesh bag on their own and choose a gentle cycle.

Does washing shrink denim?

Raw denim, unwashed, shrinks in its first wash. Length in particular does not come back once it has gone, so it is safer to have the hem taken up after the first wash. Denim that has already been wash-treated shrinks less.

Can a tumble dryer be used?

Do not use one. The heat increases shrinkage and pushes the fading along. Denim is dried in the shade.

Is faded black denim finished?

No. Black denim turns grey as the colour goes. Unlike indigo denim, there are not many black denims that fade with real contrast at the whiskers and elsewhere, so there is a view that the change itself is worth having.