How to Get Tree Sap Off Hands

Sticky tree sap can easily accumulate on your hands when handling a Christmas tree or even when cleaning the gooey stuff off of your car's hood after parking beneath a tree. There are chemical preparations to remove the sap-turpentine, gasoline, WD-40 and paint thinner among others. But not everyone wants to put those strong-smelling and toxic solvents on their skin. Try this more gentle method instead.

Things You'll Need

• Baking soda
• Baby oil
• Hand soap

Instructions

1. Pour a handful of baking soda into your palm.

2. Add a generous squirt of baby oil to the baking soda.

3. Rub your hands together to make a paste and spread it all over the sap-covered portions of your hands.

4. Rinse your hands under warm running water to wash away the paste.

5. Wash your hands as usual to get rid of any greasy film left over from the baby oil.

Tips & Warnings

• Alternatively, try rubbing mayonnaise on your hands and then washing them with plain soap afterwards. The sap should rinse right off.

• Yet another method to get rid of sap on hands is to rub Crisco, bacon grease or any other lard on your hands and then wash them with a grease-cutting dish soap.

• Use a cream-based make-up remover, like cold cream, to remove sap. Wash your hands as usual afterwards.

• All of the above methods of removing sap work by softening the sap enough that regular hand soap or grease-cutting dish soap can easily remove it.