How to remove scents from your skin

[schackjj]

Libertine? OMG. I think it could survive a nuclear holocaust. But your best bet is a good facial scrub. I use Olay thermal dermabrasion. It's a two step kit, one is the orange scented scrubby crystals, and the other is the gel that makes it foam up. It's not cheap ($20-25 for the set) and I wouldn't buy it just for that, but I use it on my hands after I scrub my face if I've been testing, and it removes every trace of scent. I would guess any good scrubby facial cleanser would work pretty well.

[backthatelfup]

Okay, WHEW. The Alchohol worked! Mostly. But I'm not getting whiffs of it anymore. *whew*

 

Good to know about the scrubby, though. I have some if it starts creeping up again...

 

edit: After a few minutes, it's still there. Off to try to mask it under some 'Quick or Dead.'

Edited December 12, 2009 by trisj

[amyw]

Lemon juice or alcohol has worked for me in the past.

[Violaine]

I scrub with kosher salt, juuuust a bit of warm water, dish soap, and a fingernail brush. And I mean scrub. HARD. Just short of bleeding. Heh. Of course I don't recommend that anyone else scrub that hard, but... yeah. That's what I do. It seems to take 80-100% of the scent off, at least on my skin. But some oils are STRONG and will linger even after that.

[backthatelfup]

Well, 'Quick or Dead' is now the smell of the day....and my wrists are bright red.I only have limes in the house but I'll keep that in mind.

I scrub with kosher salt, juuuust a bit of warm water, dish soap, and a fingernail brush. And I mean scrub. HARD. Just short of bleeding. Heh. Of course I don't recommend that anyone else scrub that hard, but... yeah. That's what I do. It seems to take 80-100% of the scent off, at least on my skin. But some oils are STRONG and will linger even after that.

Good to know; those things, I always have.

I scrub with kosher salt, juuuust a bit of warm water, dish soap, and a fingernail brush. And I mean scrub. HARD. Just short of bleeding. Heh. Of course I don't recommend that anyone else scrub that hard, but... yeah. That's what I do. It seems to take 80-100% of the scent off, at least on my skin. But some oils are STRONG and will linger even after that.

Good to know; those things, I always have.

[odalisque]

I have good luck with cold cream (Ponds and Queen Helene are both floral scented on their own and that helps cover up BPAL I hate while I am waiting to wipe it off). I smear it on and leave it for a few minutes and then wipe it off with cotton, following with warm water and soap. I think the oily cold cream dissolves the BPAL oils.

Edited December 12, 2009 by odalisque

[tragedy]

baby wipes always always do the trick for me!

[backthatelfup]

baby wipes always always do the trick for me!

 

Ha, I always have those in the house!

 

[kohaisama]

Ditto on the baby wipes. I use a bit of elbow grease when rubbing with the baby wipes just in case the offending oil sinks deep into my pores.

[Koukla]

Lemon juice or alcohol has worked for me in the past.

 

Yep, Beth once recommended lemon juice to me at a WC. Works for me.

 

[ephemera]

Lemon juice or alcohol has worked for me in the past.

 

Yep, Beth once recommended lemon juice to me at a WC. Works for me.

 

 

Anyone else have a weird desire to know which one of her own scents Beth wanted off her skin in a hurry?

[hlemonds]

Lemon juice or alcohol has worked for me in the past.

 

Yep, Beth once recommended lemon juice to me at a WC. Works for me.

 

 

Anyone else have a weird desire to know which one of her own scents Beth wanted off her skin in a hurry?

 

LOL. Just a theory here, but if they're working on perfecting a scent, or just playing around with potential blends in the lab (imagine that! gah, what i wouldn't give to sit in on that party!), they probably occasionally need a good way to remove the different oils I mean, then they can test more, right?

 

[KesHiro]

I haven't yet run into an oil that made me desperate to wash it off but I thought someone on here recommended lemon juice and brown sugar crystals (like the big turbinado kind). I imagine that this might work, plus sugar is really gentle on the skin.

[lothien]

I've had good success rubbing in plain ol' vegetable or jojoba oil (also Villainess Ennui Whipped, which is unscented) to get off the evil ones that won't go away. ^^

Edited December 12, 2009 by dragonsidhe

[vampirate]

I'm guessing most people don't just happen to have it around, but what about that hand scrub that mechanics use? I used to use that or something like that after I'd been dying fabric if I got some on me.

[liat]

Vinegar. No smell survives vinegar.

 

Dilute some in a glass of water (2 or 3 tablespoons should do it), wet some paper towels with the mixture and scrub wherever the scent is. Let it dry, then rinse off and towel dry the area if it smells faintly vinegar-y. Works for me every time.

[Koukla]

Lemon juice or alcohol has worked for me in the past.

 

Yep, Beth once recommended lemon juice to me at a WC. Works for me.

 

 

Anyone else have a weird desire to know which one of her own scents Beth wanted off her skin in a hurry?

 

LOL. Just a theory here, but if they're working on perfecting a scent, or just playing around with potential blends in the lab (imagine that! gah, what i wouldn't give to sit in on that party!), they probably occasionally need a good way to remove the different oils I mean, then they can test more, right?

 

Yes, that was the context.

 

It was a long whole ago, but iirc, we were talking about testing fragrances and getting the smellies off so you could go on to test more. I think my arms must have been covered with about 20 different scents by that point. I'd lamented not being able to cram any more spots in.

 

[Venneh]

Here's my slightly odd suggestion:

 

If you have soap in it with a note that you know takes everything to dead nothing on your skin (say, for me, lavender), rub it on, and wash. Almost nothing survives those sort of death notes in my experience.

[neverything]

I just had a scent go so nasty on me that it actually made me throw up. And that was AFTER washing with soap and water. I scrubbed my wrists with orange peel and then dusted face powder over them. It really helped a lot.

[FelicityTwitchell]

I believe I read somewhere that alcohol does the trick (no not to drink, silly!). If you get a cotton ball and rub the applied area, this should take the sniff out. Depending on the oil, from my experience, it is possible to just use soap and water to wash the scent off, but this doesn't work with some fragrances, especially the resin-esque ones.

 

-doreen

 

but if I drink it, then I may stop caring

[KesHiro]

The Dodo went horribly, horribly wrong on me (mango cough syrup = ) and I had some luck removing it with a bar of Villainess Mudslide. It didn't get rid of the scent entirely, but it took it down several notches.

 

I have yet to experiment with actual coffee grounds, but since sniffing coffee beans is supposed to neutralize any odors hanging in your nose, I wouldn't be surprised if the grounds take the edge off some scents.

 

Should I encounter another oil that needs scrubbing off, I'll try this and report back.

[fairnymph]

I scrub with soap (sometimes like, detergent, if needed), then rub vigorously with rubbing alcohol, then rub vigorously with vegetable oil a few times, then repeat the soapy scrubbing. That's for the ones that really won't come off, but usually unless a scent makes me feel really foul the soap wash will reduce it to tolerable levels. I have also learned to test VERY SPARINGLY so that in the case of something dreadful, I don't run into such a large problem.

 

I have the biggest problem with CLOVE and CHOCOLATE scents that nearly always turn into pure evil on my skin and have insanely strong throw. Oh and fucking WISTERIA and PENNYROYAL.

Edited January 2, 2010 by fairnymph

[jizatt]

I tried the lemon juice after reading it here, and it really does work. My go-to combination for removing scents (either for testing days or for yuck, or in my case for baby time) is lemon juice, followed by Dawn soap. Vaseline rubbed over the oil area works pretty well too =)

[Katherynne]

I've not tried baby wipes or alcohol, but I have found that dish soap works pretty well.

I use dish soap, too.

 

Though I have learned that almost anything, if I hate it badly enough, will stay around NO MATTER WHAT. I think my brain just remembers its hatred for a little while.

[GalliumSpider]

Shampoo!  I haven't seen anyone else mention it, but that I've been having good results using it lately--I just lather it up on the affected area, then wash it off.  It seems pretty effective--better than regular soap, dish soap, or alcohol--and it's not harsh on my skin.  (Mine is Pert, the shampoo/conditioner combo.)