Table of Contents:
Tom asked: How do I get walnut color from walnuts off of my fingers?
Berries, 
wood stain, grease, walnuts – they all leave marks on our hands that seem impossible to wash off. Here are a variety of household items that can be used to scrub stains off of hands.
You Will Need:
- Vegetable oil
- Vinegar
- Dish soap
- Nail polish remover
- Lemon juice
- Salt and lemon juice (for really stubborn stains)
- Dishwashing soap and baking soda
- Toothpaste
- Hand soap
- Water
- Hand lotion
Steps to Remove the Stains:
- Select a stain remover from the list above.
- Apply to the stained area on the hands and scrub.
- If necessary, the items can be mixed or used on their own.
- Once the stain is removed, wash with hand soap and warm water to remove the cleaning agent.
- Dry with a soft towel.
- If the cleaning agent used dried out your hands, apply a quality hand lotion.
Additional Tips and Advice
- Of course if time allows, just leave the stain be. It will eventually wear off.
- Avoid using harsh cleaners/scrubbing mixtures on facial skin as it is more easily irritated.
My hands and nails were stained from peeling apples – making applesauce. I had previously used bleach and scrubbing – that was quite harsh. This time, I chose lemon juice from your list. How easy; most of the stain immediately disappeared without harsh scrubbing.
Thank you.
This lemon juice idea has a lot of truth to it. WOW, it really works!
Vinegar works for getting off wood stain from your hands.
I had really bad stains on my hands from timber decking. I tried all kinds of soaps, turpentine, even methylated spirits, and nothing worked. I chose lemon and salt because you have suggested that for really stubborn stains, and thank you! It worked really well. I will never forget this one.
Thanks again,
Carmelo
I have a very, very dark spot on my knuckle, and also on my big toe. Please tell me something to use. I feel very embarrassed when I meet anyone. Please help; I will be very thankful to you.
See a dermatologist.
I work in a machine shop drilling aluminum and a lot of greasy parts which leave black stains on my hands. How do I get it off?
I was using a wood stain called Minwax Poly Shade. I tried WD-40, which removes some stains, and then vegetable oil. Unfortunately, as useful as those two were, I still couldn’t get every bit off. However, I’m still satisfied I got the vast majority off. Thank you for the advice! I couldn’t believe vegetable oil worked.
OMG – I just finished making apple butter and my hands were black from the apples. I tried bleach with no results. I then cut a lemon and used the juice. It is amazing; my hands are perfectly clean. Thank you so much.
Thanks for the tips! Worked like a charm!
I just dyed my hair. I didn’t use gloves. I know, very dumb of me. I have tried toothpaste, bleach, oil, lotion, soap, and nail polish remover. What will get rid of hair dye all over your hands? Thanks; I appreciate it.
Look! We’ve answered your question! Yippee!
I still have walnut stains on my hands from two weeks ago. I tried everything almost, but no change. I am very worried because I have to be in a marriage party soon and my hands are looking very bad. Kindly suggest something by which I can get rid of these stains please.
Same with the walnut stains and I go back to school tomorrow. ????????????
Sounds crazy, but try unripened walnuts. It works with mulberries; they leave stubborn purple stains on your hands and the only way to remove them is by rubbing green/unripened mulberries on the affected area. Truly.
How do I get chestnut stains (brown) off of my fingers?
I work at a restaurant where I work with tons of limes for margaritas. My hands are stained and splotchy, and dry and cracked. I am getting married soon and I cannot have my hands look like this and I do not want to find another job. Anyone know what I can do to get rid of the brown spots?
Nicole,
The brown spots on skin from lime juice is known as Mexican Beer Dermatitis or Margarita Dermatitis. It is not from only touching the limes, but rather touching the limes and then being exposed to sunlight. According to Examiner.com, you can “use hydroquinone or a glycolic acid-based treatment to lighten” the brown spots.
To prevent additional spots from appearing, consider placing a glass of water somewhere you can easily access (behind the bar, etc.) and dip your hands in the water after touching a lime if you are too busy to fully rinse your hands each time. (Replace the water in the glass as often as possible.) Also, you do not need to use soap to remove the lime residue, so if you are washing your hands only to remove the lime juice, do not use soap, which will cause more dryness and cracking. Keeping your hands out of sunlight after touching a lime would also help. If your work allows, you could wear fingerless hand covers, or get a pair of lace fingerless hand covers to wear during your wedding. Another idea would be to do Indian wedding henna, which has the fun tradition of hiding your groom’s initials in the henna design so that he can search your body for his initials on the wedding night. You can also cover the spots with make-up.
For the dryness and cracking, consider using a moisturizing lotion at night and wear gloves throughout the night to lock in the moisture. A hydroquinone lotion could help combat all problems at once. There are also moisturizing gloves that can be worn at night.
Congratulations and Best Wishes for your wedding!
Source: Examiner.com – If life hands you limes, have Lemon-Aid on hand
Source: NPR – Mexican Beer Dermatitis: Scourge Of The Beach Bum And The Proper Lady
Source: Shape Magazine – Is Your Margarita Bad for Your Skin?
Source: Camp Wander – Rescue Remedies for Summer Dry Heels
Source: Henna Caravan – Henna for Weddings, Sangeets and Engagement Celebrations
How do I get rust stains off my hands?
Dalton,
To clean rust stains off surfaces, it is recommended to use an acid like vinegar or lemon juice, or an abrasive like baking soda. The lemon juice and salt method sounds ideal for removing rust from skin. As a side note, do not combine baking soda with an acid like vinegar or lemon juice; they will react.
Source: How To Clean Stuff – How to Remove Rust Stains from Patio Furniture
INK. That’s what’s bugging me so badly. I’ve been on the article about clearing ink stains and they either didn’t work or I simply didn’t have access to the ingredients. I am left with blue ink smudged randomly across my palms and despite my best efforts, it won’t clean away. I am about to try the lemon juice and salt and the toothpaste, but I need some more advice. Please help! 🙁
I am an ex postal worker and we worked with ink pads to cancel stamps that the machines had missed. The ink is made to be very PERMANENT and could get messy staining our skin and clothing. For both skin and clothes, we found Aqua Net hair spray (or any other kind of hairspray that leaves a tackiness) would do the trick! For clothing, spray and let dry before washing. May need repeating. This even removed ink from a broken pen on my car cloth upolstery.
I got my stain from pitting cherries for jam. I used juice of one lemon. Cleaned my hands beautifully. My problem is I can’t get the stain out from around my nail. It looks like my hands have been in dirt forever. By the way, the cherry jam is delicious.
It’s been almost two weeks from when I peeled a walnuts and my hand is just like it was soaked in brown dye. I am so frustrated that I cannot remove it. Please do help me. We will have visitors next week and I couldn’t let them see these hands of mine. :'(
I was peeling butternuts and walnuts, left brown stains on my fingers. I tried everything from Javex, lemon juice to peroxide, nail polish remover, and nothing is helping. Please help. 🙁
After peeling hull off butternuts that had been soaking in water overnight, I now have dark brown stains on my hands and nothing seems to work removing the stain. Any suggestions? I tried everything listed on this article.
Paul,
Butternuts (and also walnuts) are sometimes used to make ink. You could look through some of the comments on the How to Clean Ink Off Your Hands article to see if there are other ideas there that you might want to try.
Source:The Fountain Pen Network – Making Walnut and Butternut Inks
That was fantastic! I had some serious decking stains on my hands; the the lemon and salt just took it straight off. Just be careful if you have cuts because it will sting terribly.
Thanks for the advice. I had black furniture stain all over my arms and around my fingernails, and I used hand lotion and it worked!
THE BEST WAY to remove a butternut stain!!!
Put your hads in very, very warm/hot water for like a minute, then use one of those things that they use to scrub off dead skin from your feet…use it on your hands and the butternut stain WILL come off!!!
Good luck!!!
My partner has very black hands through his job. He shot blasts metal for a living and the metal seems to stain his hands. We go away soon and they look so bad. What can he use to get rid of it?
Natasha,
Try using some of the solutions listed in the article How to Remove Tarnish Stains from Fabric.
You can also try using baking soda. Plain white toothpaste might also work.
Also, castile soap is a great surfacant – better than most chemical surfacants in my opinion. Try using one of the Dr. Bronner’s soaps (the eucalyptus one might be best for this purpose) or the Desert Essence hand soap – both are available at most health stores. Using these regularly might help to keep the staining build-up down and make removal easier in the future.
PLEASE HELP!!!!! I cannot get red lip stain off my cheek! I have tried what the manufacturer recommended! I even tried a little gasoline. The stain will not budge! Could I try a little laundry bleach? What about WD-40? HELP!!!!!!
Susan,
Try rubbing alcohol; that works well on most dye stains. Nail polish remover might also work. Here are some other related articles that have more suggestions:
How to Remove Hair Dye from Skin
How to Remove Food Coloring from Skin
Many people have written in on the article How to Remove Ink from Skin saying that laundry bleach worked for them. However, laundry bleach is a hazardous chemical and is not intended to be used on skin.
If you can’t get it all off, try covering it up with some concealer. If you have one of those green concealers for acne, that would probably work best since the green would cancel the red. Good luck!
Source: HowStuffWorks – How are lip stain and lipstick different?
Source: Styles101 – How to apply green, yellow, and purple corrective concealers
My fingertips were stained from peeling a green walnut shell. After reading up on how to get rid of the stain, I tried lemon juice, lemon juice and salt, borax and Dawn, and dish soap (all separate attempts). Nothing worked. My husband suggested a nail brush. I didn’t have one. However, I did have an Earth Therapeutics foot file. It worked! I started doing it dry, and noticed the stain started to fade. I had to wash the file off. I then used the file on my finger tips while under running water. Back to normal!!!
Peeled the outer green skin/peel off of a pecan; I had the worst stains on my fingers, cuticles and nails! So awful, dark brown, dirty looking! I tried toothpaste, bleach, baking soda, and vinegar. Nothing was really making a difference, then I tried dipping my hands in vinegar and then in baking soda and scrubbed… looked a little better. Then scrubbed with that mixture and a soft man-made pumice-type food scrubber; looking much better. Finished with a mildly abrasive nail board/file and clipped the skin on the sides of my nails as well as the nails themselves… Whew! Not 100% gone, but way better; almost unnoticeable!
Help! I removed tarnish from copper using vinegar and salt, and now my fingernails are green. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to remove the color without drying out my hands?
Thank you!
Denise,
Try using the methods in the article How to Remove Tarnish Stains from Fabric, then follow up with a good lotion afterwards.
How about roofing tar cement stains? I’ve already tried everything poison control has recommended.
Cynthia,
Try using either acetone nail polish remover or a Fels Naptha laundry soap bar. Lemon juice also might work. (Each brand is likely unique, but Karnak Tar Cement contains acetate and naptha, which can be dissolved by acetone/naptha.)
Source: Karnak – 170AF Tar Cement, SDS
I was digging in dirt and I saw white stuff in the dirt. I got it on my hands and it’s now gone clear and turned into something like glue. What is it? How do I get rid of it?
I really want it gone. ;(
Luke,
That could be a variety of things – maybe mycelium (a type of sticky soil fungus that helps organic matter to biodegrade), possibly some type of sap or starch from plants, etc. Try using either alcohol (isopropyl alcohol or drinking alcohol) or white vinegar. You may need to let it soak for a minute or two before you can scrub it off. Another option is to try an oil (cooking oil) or lotion; that is particularly effective for glue and other sticky substances as it helps the glue to separate from the skin. Since it is on your skin, not absorbed in it like a stain, you can also try exfoliating it off with a nail file – just be careful not to scrub too hard. Good luck!
Source: The Bloomin’ Garden – What is the White Stuff in My Soil?
Source: Google Books – Diversity of Microbes, Fungi and Lichens
Source: FlowerShopNetwork.com – White Sticky Residue On Peace Lily Soil
Source: HowToCleanStuff.net – How to Remove Super Glue from Skin
I have diarrhea stains on my hand. I know it’s nasty, but I have been constipated. Anyway, I need help removing it. I used all kinds of soap, even dishwash soap; nothing, and I used alcohol to disinfect the bacteria. I think I’m the only one in this situation. Any tips? I’m freaking out.
Fernando,
While it’s not common for diarrhea to stain skin, there are several reasons why it could: either the stains are caused by something you ate (food coloring, foods with strong natural dyes like beets, etc.) or from a medicine you used to relieve the constipation. Unfortunately, since there could be so many different causes, the key to removing stains from skin is just to keep trying different remedies until you find the one that works. Baking soda and white vinegar work well for removing food coloring stains and since they are on opposite ends of the pH scale, it’s likely that one or the other would work. Good luck!
Source: HowToCleanStuff – How to Remove Food Coloring from Skin