Acid washed pants?

Question

Where does the term acid washed pants come from? Aren't pants washed in bleach - a base?? Just curious

Answer 1

By the late eighties, acid-washed jeans and denim jackets had become popular with both sexes. Acid washing is the process of chemically bleaching the denim, breaking down the fiber of material and forcing the dye to fade, thus leaving undertones of the original dye evidenced by pale white streaks or spots on the material. This became associated with the heavy metal trend (called "hair metal" in later decades for the large frizzy coiffures worn by both male and female enthusiasts).

p.s. Bleach is really sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl)