Remove Tar From Skin
Whether you were at the beach or doing some roof work, you may need to remove tar from skin. Anyone who has ever had tar-covered skin knows it doesn't just wash off. You may need to try a few different remedies before you find one that works for you.
Contents
Steps
Remove Tar Without Chemicals
- Rub ice over the tarred area to harden it. If you are in no pain, let the tar dry completely on the skin. Tar is easier to peel from skin once it has completely hardened and begins cracking.
- Peel off the dried tar from the skin. Keep peeling at the pieces of tar until you remove it all. This may feel a little uncomfortable or even painful if the tar is covering hair, because you will remove hair with each tug.
- Wash the area with soap and water to remove any remaining tar fragments or residue. Stains from the tar may remain on your skin. You may be able to wash the stains off with soap and water, skin scrubber or cleaning solution.
Remove Tar With Household Products
- Spread a layer of mayonnaise over the tar and let it sit for at least 30 minutes before using a rag or brush to scrub the tar from your skin.
- Cover the tarred area with any oil you can find in the house such as olive oil, baby oil, tanning oil, mineral oil or vegetable oil. Keep the tar moist with oil for 30 minutes, then attempt to scrape it away.
- Use Bacitracin ointment or mixture of half liquid paraffin and half white soft paraffin. Spread either over the tar and again wait 30 minutes before attempting to remove it.
- Dab the tarred area with a rag soaked in nail polish remover. Rub the area, apply more polish remover and repeat as often as necessary. If you are left with tar-stained skin after removing tar, you an also use nail polish remover to take out the stain.
- Wash your hands or feet with pure gasoline. This is a very dangerous to remove tar that you should only use on your hands or feet. If you wash tar away with gasoline, use soap and water to wash any skin that came in contact with the gasoline.
- Use a razor to remove small fragments of tar or tar-stained spots on your skin. Moisten the area with shaving cream and shave the area to lift the stain out.
Warnings
- Never use a harsh chemical like nail polish remover or gasoline on your face or other sensitive skin areas.
- Treat the skin as a wound if the tar was hot enough to burn. Once you've managed to remove the tar from the skin, check for damage and treat the area by washing it clean and leaving it uncovered. Taking ibuprofen can help take away pain and inflammation. If the burn is blistering or very painful, seek medical attention.
- Never use gasoline around an open flame and dispose of any rags or materials that came in contact with gasoline in a container designed for flammable waste.
