How to remove scents from your skin

[kraken]

I've had an absolutely horrible time getting some scents off my skin. Usually, when plain soap and water fails, my trusty Dawn dishwashing liquid works. But when that doesn't, I have a bottle of Bi-O-Kleen Produce Wash sitting by my kitchen sink that usually does the trick. And if that doesn't work, I top it off with Dr. Bronners liquid peppermint soap. Usually one of those or a combo works (except in the case of Harvest Moon which just wanted to stick around and stick around just to spite my allergies).

[symbiosis]

I've really gotta add some props for the alcohol method.

 

I had a bottle of Skyy vodka sitting around that had like 1/3 of an oz. left in the bottom, and when baby wipes and soap and water didn't take pannychis off my skin, Skyy erased it like a magic erase board!

 

Of course, you don't have to use top-shelf vodka (I'd save your Grey Goose for drinking, haha) but it definitely works!

[desertwaya]

hey guys guess what?! i found a way to get the BPAL oil off your skin w/ out harsh chemicals or chewing your arm off!

 

youll never guess what it is. give up,ok its simple baby wipes!! i used my sons Huggies brand baby wipes to try to get one of the sample imps off my arm and it worked. i just had to smell like baby wipes for a few minutes and whalla no more bpal!

 

hope this helps some of you that have had not so nice experiences with the oils and had to live with it the whole day.

 

dont worry...i still love u Black Phoenix!

[Pendragon]

Nice one! I can't beleive I haven't tried that!! There have been several scents that I've tried that have resulted in a run to the bathroom thinking not-so-calmly 'getitoff!getitoff!getitoff!' and I scrub and scrub and wash and lather but am still left with a residual scent...

 

I shall try this next time - thanks heaps!

[forspecial_plate]

I use mild dish detergent from the health food store, with a very light grapefruit scent. Then I use these:

 

 

.....let that dry and if I'm testing something else, I'll rinse again because witch hazel does leave a little smell behind. Usually after those three steps I'm good to go. The pads are very convenient, if a little expensive (around $7).

[GypsyRoseRed]

Unscented, alcohol free wipes have always worked well for me.

[Morganza]

I tried Gluttony on my ankle but also got some on my fingers. Even after a shower I could still smell the sickly-sweet toffee/buttered popcorn. I finally tried witch hazel, which totally worked!

[The_Merf]

I find that Villainess Byzantium soap will remove the traces of even the strongest, most resinous BPAL from my skin, so long as it's had at least 20 minutes to set in. (This is why I always order 2 Byzantium samples when ordering my 12 jars of Smooch!)

 

I guess if you have to get something off right away, the baby wipes would be your best bet.

[Indefatigable]

You could try whatever kind of lotion or soap you use to remove makeup. I have Philosophy's all-in-one Purity cleanser, and I think it took the remnants of this morning's Yerevan test off my wrists. I can smell something but it might be the cleanser itself. I'll give it a little while and then see if the scent is really gone.

[blktauna]

Lancôme Effacils and alcohol wipe.

 

And I'd rather cut my arm off than smell like a baby wipe

[caffinatedangel]

I couldn't get the last remnants of the spicy baby powder smell off my hands at all last night. Then I cleaned up after the cats with Nature's Miracle.

 

And suddenly the baby powder was gone, as well.

 

Next time I have a "I need this off NOW" reaction, I'm reaching for the Nature's Miracle. *g*

 

OMG. We use nature's miracle. And I happen to have a scent clinging to me that I want off. o.o -goes to try after post-

 

 

Alcohol, salt, lemon....

That just sounds like one step away from a night out at the bars!!!!! (change lemon to lime!)

 

 

Or change salt to sugar. I love my lemon drops

 

Rubbing alcohol?

Salt and lemon juice?

BLEACH?!

 

Wow, be good to your skin....on top of removing your bpal oil you're removing your skin's natural oils which are there for good reasons...and people go to the e.r. for contact with bleach, don't forget!

 

This is what I've been worried about. I'll get an oil stuck to me I want off, and cry "How do I get you off but leave ME intack!" So it's been annoying. I've gotten a few scents that just -don't- come off. Snake Oil, Robotic Scarab, countless others. Some in a good way. But if you want it gone, you're kind of doomed o.o

 

My trick to getting off an unwanted scent is to rub the "affected area" with a whole bunch of some sort of carrier oil (usually jojoba in my case) to try to soak up some of the scent, and then rub with either a sugar scrub or plain dishsoap. Almost always does the trick, and is moisturizing, too.

 

That sounds perfect.

 

My biggest problem is not having the materials. I should go out and get some Witchhazel to see if that works, but for the time being I just have to die in scents? I lack an oil carrier right now (We're even out of vegetable oil atm.) and I don't have baby wipes. I'd rather not bleach or dip my arms in alcohol :/

 

We'll go read the natures miracle bottle and see if it will eat me alive or not.

 

I was hoping to find this in the FAQ (searched through it) but couldn't. This seems semi-vital. I assumed there would be a well-known way by now, for all these "Testing" parties I've heard mention. Or do you just hope you don't get scents mixed up? o.O

 

sigh.

[lunaticana]

scrub it off with goodies from the Silk Road Company!

[vikitty]

I was hoping to find this in the FAQ (searched through it) but couldn't. This seems semi-vital. I assumed there would be a well-known way by now, for all these "Testing" parties I've heard mention. Or do you just hope you don't get scents mixed up? o.O

 

sigh.

 

Maybe it's because some people's skin takes the oil more than others? I know people have said that their skin is so dry it sucks all the oil up, so I guess maybe the scent still lingers because it's been absorbed quickly into the skin?

[myth]

It's always the especially stinky headache-inducing ones that seem to cling relentlessly to my skin. No amount or kind of soap gets them off. The other night I had something stinky on that I wanted off, but I couldn't get up at the moment [i forget what I was doing, maybe a cat on my lap ] so I reached for the jar of Villainess Jai Mahal Whipped that sits on my desk. Rubbed a little dollop into the spot a la the oil-cleansing method. Rubbed it in, wiped with a tissue, repeat once more. The smell was gone. Since the oil-cleansing method has taught us that oil removes oil much more effectively than soaps do, this makes total sense.

 

And as a bonus the spot smelled like Jai Mahal instead!

[tikiera]

I have a two step process.

 

First - witch hazel. The kind they sell in the drug store for less than a dollar that is witch hazel and alcohol.

 

Then, normal alcohol to get rid of the witch hazel scent.

 

Neither will work alone for the strongest resiny BPAL. But for some reason the witch hazel gets rid of stuff the alcohol alone won't.

[jizatt]

I use hand sanitizer. I apply that liberally and then scrub with soap (scrub not just wash). After all that, I use unscented Aveeno lotion.

There are some scents that this doesn't work for though.... But the sanitizer cuts through most of it. I'll have to try pouring straight rubbing alcohol and see if thats better.

 

I haven't had many omg-wash-it-off scents (ultraviolet-hurk), I just use this on massive testing days to get a clean slate =)

[veronicafranco]

to those that hate baby wipe smell... i only use unscented aloe ones on my kids, and they do work nicely.

i will now also try the witch hazel pads i have

left over from when my baby was born

... don't need them normally.

Edited July 31, 2008 by veronicafranco

[coldandsleepy]

There are a couple of BPAL scents I've had a hell of a time getting off. Obatala, one of my arch scent enemies, absolutely would not come off of me. Ugggh. I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed with a different variety of things and it just wouldn't budge. And it lasted for hours. Bad memories.

 

For most things, though, I find that a good dish soap works wonders. It makes sense if you think about it-- dish soap is meant to cut through grease/oil on dishes, so a good dish soap'll cut through oil on your skin that hasn't sunken in too far. If you've got unscented dish soap, this is an extra bonus, since you'll be scent free and ready to put on something you like more or less immediately after.

[forspecial_plate]

I confess that now, two years after the quoted post, I've used all of these alone and in combination to wash off scents. I was such a newbie when I said that......(once I was hand-washing some white shirts and conveniently stuck my hands in the bleachy water just to get rid of a scent I was trying.....still, the bleach gave me a rash : /)

 

Anyway, I find that a lot of washing off strips the oil from my skin completely. Then I can't test anything for a while....the oil just gets sucked right up by my skin, and the scent is distorted.

 

Rubbing alcohol?

Salt and lemon juice?

BLEACH?!

 

Wow, be good to your skin....on top of removing your bpal oil you're removing your skin's natural oils which are there for good reasons...and people go to the e.r. for contact with bleach, don't forget!

 

I did feel a need to get Silk Road off because I was tired of smelling like my great grandmother's house (as nice as those memories are)...so I just jumped in the shower and used Kiss My Face Olive Oil soap. But I haven't had big problems like some of you, where something stayed on me for days. I guess that calls for drastic measures!

[Dark Alice]

any suggestions for Montresor?? I just put it on, I have used soap and water and now my skin is getting red and itchy and the scent and oil apparently don't come off with soap and water...

 

Help!!

[donnatron]

You can try rubbing alcohol or try slicking your arms with vegetable oil and then washing the vegetable oil off.

[AcadianSidhe]

I actually have more trouble getting the scent to stay on my skin than getting it off! I've always had this problem, even with perfumes, but you would think the oils would last more than 2 hours!

[Seadreamer]

I did a quick search, but I'm at work, and NOT supposed to be on the internet.

 

Also, I'm really sorry if I shouldn't post here, but I'm kind of desperate.

 

I did a stupid thing. *sighs* I put on a perfume at work without a pre-test, and now I'm dying. It's Snake Oil, and it went overpoweringly alcohol with only a mini-swipe on each wrist. My coworkers are complaining. I've tried washing with regular ladies-room soap and with hand sanitizer and I can't get it off. In short, I REEK.

 

Please help!! How do I remove the scent, or at least get SOME of it off, because so far, no success at ALL.

 

Thanks guys!!

[tartchef]

Got a coffee pot at work? This is a real MacGyver, not pretty, but it should work... make a paste of ground coffee, water, and a dab of soap. Massage it into your wrists & let it sit as long as you can afford to be away from your desk. Rinse... and cross your fingers. If you have a can of Oust or Febreeze, give your workspace a squirt to help clear out the BPAL fumage...

 

Been there, it BLOWS. Good luck!

[tigerfish]

You might try the Washing off BPAL thread. What works really well (at least on me) is using lemon juice and salt plus lots of scrubbing. Just assuming you have lemon juice at your work place (perhaps somebody has a bottle for tea drinking purposes)...

 

Good luck!

 

ETA: Perhaps you can get some rubbing alcohol? I know quite a few people who have a small bottle at the office to remove sticker glue and the like.

Edited October 9, 2008 by tigerfish