Do you always find yourself worried about how to remove sharpie marks from your skin? Well, we have found new and easy ways to remove sharpie stains from your skin.
Permanent markers, commonly known by the brand sharpie, are made with xylene and toluene. These chemicals make the ink of permanent markers fade-resistant. However, they can still be removed with these techniques.
Fastest Ways To remove sharpie
Natural oils remove sharpie stains from your skin without causing any inflammation or irritation.
As you apply these oils as daily moisturizers, they coat your skin and form a barrier. This barrier reduces the intensity and adherence of permanent inks on your skin pores.
This is why it’s easier to remove sharpie stains from oily skin than dry skin.
However, if you don’t use any of these oils as a moisturizer, apply a small amount to the permanent stain on your skin. The oil would attach to the pigment and remove the stain.
Baby oil, or mineral oil, removes sharpie stains using a similar technique to the one above.
However, baby oil is a unique technique because it is approved for removing sharpie stains specifically from children’s skin. Baby oil works with the already present oil on the skin to remove sharpie stains.
It can be used for adults, but carefully on acne-prone skins.
As a natural exfoliant, sea salt can be used to remove some layers of permanent ink on the skin.
Mix some portion of sea salt with small warm water. Make sure the mixture is not watery, but like a paste. Gently rub the paste on the ink stain. Do this twice a day.
This technique does not remove the sharpie stain entirely, but it reduces the intensity till it’s not noticeable.
- Banana peel
Don’t be surprised, banana peels can also remove sharpie stains from your skin without irritation.
The technique is simple. Peel a banana and use the inside of the peels to rub on the stain in a circular motion.
Do this for some time, and continue with a new set of peels. Slowly but eventually, the stains would come off.
Other Ways of Removing Sharpie From Skin
- Butter
Butter can be used as a substitute, in case you don’t have any of the mentioned oils. Animal fat works in the same manner as oils.
Get a small portion of butter and make a smear on the stain. Allow the skin to absorb it for some time, before caressing it on the stain.
After the stain has been removed, wash that spot with water.
- Toothpaste or mouthwash
Toothpaste has properties that make it able to cleanse our teeth from every form of stain. These properties also contribute to its ability in removing ink stains from our skin.
You can also use an alcohol-based mouthwash on that spot after a toothpaste. The alcohol ingredient would contribute to removing the sharpie stain from your skin.
- Alcohol
Alcohol would remove sharpie from your skin easily. You can get alcohol from anywhere, but you’d also need to apply a dominant force to remove the stain faster.
Dip a cotton ball into some alcohol, and use the cotton ball to wipe off the stain. After a while, the sharpie stain would be wiped off completely.
Also, it is imperative to rub a dermatologist-approved moisturizer after rubbing alcohol on your skin.
Removing Sharpie From Skin
- Butter
- Hand sanitizer
This is one of the most popular uses of hand sanitizers. Hand sanitizers are made with alcohol which makes them effective in removing stains.
Add two to three drops of hand sanitizer and rub it on the stain. The stain would disappear in no time.
Ink stains can happen anytime, and it’s best practice to at least have a hand sanitizer with you then.
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How long does a permanent marker stay on your skin?
As stated earlier, stains from a permanent marker can be gotten from anywhere- especially for children. If you do not desire to use any of the above techniques, you can leave the stain to go on its own.
According to the Northern New England Poison Center, it takes roughly two to three days for a permanent marker stain to leave on its own. It might take more depending on the intensity of the stain and how wide it is.
Precautions for removing sharpie from your skin
Although these techniques make removing sharpie from your skin easy, there are a few guidelines you should note:
- Only use skin-safe markers: There is no need of applying permanent markers on your face or parts of your body when there are skin-safe markers.
Not only do permanent markers give stains, but they might also trigger inflammation, and irritate your skin. It is best to use skin-safe markers to prevent unwarranted skin issues.
- Avoid eye and mouth contact: While using the above techniques, prevent every eye, nose, or mouth contact with the instrument.
Be most careful with substances that contain alcohol like hand sanitizers, nail polish, makeup remover, etc.
If the substance enters the eyes, wash immediately with a lot of water. Also, perhaps if there is contact with the nose or mouth, visit a doctor immediately.
- Alcohol usage: Do not allow kids to use alcohol or alcohol products without supervision. Alcohol is very flammable and it evaporates easily. It can cause allergies and inflammation to the skin if used undiluted.
- Friction burn: Do not try to remove a sharpie stain from your skin without an ointment. By manually rubbing your skin without an ointment, your skin becomes irritated and very sensitive to friction.
- Make a patch test: Before you decide to use any of the techniques, try it somewhere first.
A patch test is normally done on the inner part of your arm. Do the entire procedure there and watch out for any reaction.
The point of doing a patch test is to know if that substance would irritate your skin or not.
- Only give children child-appropriate markers: Other than allowing them to use permanent markers that are frustrating to remove, ensure that only child-appropriate markers are available at home.
This would save you stress, and prevent frequent irritation of your child’s skin.
Bottom line
Permanent markers like sharpie were not made to be used on the skin. They contain ingredients that can irritate the skin, and if used frequently (as children might do), would lead to frequent skin irritation.
Sharpie stains can leave on their own, but if you are in a hurry, you can consider using some of the techniques above. Keep in mind to use only diluted alcohol.
Other substances like bleach and hydrogen peroxide can also be used to remove stains from a permanent marker, but they must be very diluted.
Also, visit the doctor if the sharpie stains bring along rashes, swelling, or inflammation.
