A dyeing aid composition containing 1 to 60% by weight of a surfactant selected from (a) C.sub.8-24 alkyl or alkenyl alcohol sulfate, C.sub.14-18 alkane sulfonate and C.sub.10-14 alkyl benzenesulfonate; (b) castor oil containing 20-50 mols ethylene oxide, alkoxylated C.sub.8-24 alkyl or alkenyl alcohols, and alkoxylated C.sub.8-12 alkylphenols; from about 1 to about 25% by weight of sulfated hydroxyalkyl alkylpolyalkylene glycol ether corresponding to formula I ##STR1## in which R is a C.sub.1-6 alkyl radical, R.sup.1 is a C.sub.6-8 alkyl radical, M is an alkali metal or, ammonium cation, n=2 or 3 and x is a number of about 2 to about 10; and from about 1 to about 30% by weight of C.sub.2-12 alkyl alcohol; with the proviso that the ratio by weight of surfactants (a) to surfactants (b) is from about 5:1 to about 1:5, the ratio by weight of surfactants (a) and (b) to sulfatized hydroxyalkyl alkylpolyalkylene glycol ether is from about 1:1 to about 4:1 and the ratio by weight of surfactants (a) and (b) and sulfatized hydroxyalkyl polyalkyene glycol ether to alkyl alcohol is from about 1:1 to about 5:1.