Home auto repair is a dying art, but if you are one of the few independent, mechanical-minded people still willing and able to reach under the hood and get your hands dirty, you can save money and benefit from the satisfaction of doing the job yourself. You can also end up with grease-stained hands. Removing car grease stains from your skin can be a challenge. It’s never a good idea to wash your hands with harsh chemicals: You probably already have all of the ingredients you need to remove stubborn grease stains in your kitchen.
Hold your hand over the sink and pour some cooking oil into your palm. Add 2 to 3 teaspoons of sugar. You can use bath oil and salt instead, but if you have any cuts or scratches on you hands, the perfume and salt will sting.
Massage the oil and sugar into your hands, concentrating on your knuckles, your cuticles—the line where your fingernails grow out of your skin—and the lines on your palms.
Rinse your hands thoroughly with warm water. Hot water can remove the oils from your skin and cause dryness and chapping.
Hold a nail stick in one hand and scrape any trapped grease underneath each fingernail with the point of the nail stick. Repeat for the other hand.
Squeeze several squirts of grease-cutting dish soap into one hand and use a nail brush to scrub your knuckles, nail beds, cuticles and palms.
Rinse your hands thoroughly in warm water and dry them well.
Massage a little hand lotion into the fronts and backs of both hands to prevent cracking, which can make subsequent grease stains harder to remove.
Tip
Use a loofah if you don’t have a nail brush, but keep in mind that grease might not come out of it.
Warning
Never use harsh chemicals or abrasive materials on your hands.
Writer Bio
Emmy-award nominated screenwriter Brynne Chandler is a single mother of three who divides her time between professional research and varied cooking, fitness and home & gardening enterprises. A running enthusiast who regularly participates in San Francisco's Bay to Breakers run, Chandler works as an independent caterer, preparing healthy, nutritious meals for Phoenix area residents.