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One of the most common pieces of advice you may find online when trying to remove dried silicone from your hands is to use acetone. Acetone, an organic chemical frequently used in nail polish removers, is able to dissolve some plastics (like, for instance, acrylic nail polish) with ease. Its ability to dissolve or weaken silicone caulk is less definite. However, many online sources attest to its usefulness. To use this method, soak the corner of a paper towel with pure acetone or a nail polish remover containing acetone and gently wet the spots on your hands covered with acetone. Don't pour the acetone all over your hands this is wasteful and can produce noxious unpleasant fumes. If using nail polish remover, check the ingredient label to be sure it contains acetone before using. Silicone, like many other synthetic compounds, will eventually weaken if heated up gradually. Because of this property, some sources recommend using a hair dryer to loosen the caulk's hold on your hands. Turn the dryer on and wave it over the affected areas, allowing the silicone to gradually warm. Once you feel that the silicone has heated up, try scrubbing with a sponge or another mild abrasive to get it off. If you want to try this method, be sure to start with the lowest possible setting on the hair dryer. Gradually increase the heat as needed and stop immediately if the heat becomes intense or painful. Silicone isn't worth burning yourself over it will eventually fall off on its own. Another way to get silicone off of your hands is simply to rub (and rub, and rub...) until there's none left. However, this method requires a warning. Silicone is quite tough in fact, for most purposes, it's tougher than your skin. Because of this, you'll want to be very careful as you use your abrasive to remove the silicone to avoid rubbing your skin raw. Use only mild abrasives, not harsh ones like steel wool. Stop rubbing well before you think you might be sore. Remember, the silicone will eventually fall off on its own, so there's no reason to hurt yourself trying to get it off. Just a few appropriate abrasives you might consider using are: Kitchen sponges Fine-grit sandpaper (if you're careful) Pumice stones Like acetone, mineral spirits (a turpentine substitute sometimes called "white spirits" in the UK) are sometimes prescribed for the task of weakening stubborn silicone caulk. As with acetone, the actual usefulness of mineral spirits is the subject of some doubt, though some home improvement sites recommend them. If you have some mineral spirits handy, try applying some to dried-on silicone lightly with a soaked paper towel. Follow with abrasion once the spirits have had a chance to weaken the silicone. If you don't have mineral spirits, you can usually find some at major hardware stores for fairly cheap (usually not much more than $10 per gallon). While mineral spirits are usually not dangerous to touch, be sure to thoroughly wash yourself after coming into contact with them. Being in direct contact with mineral spirits for several hours or longer can lead to seriously nasty chemical burns. Sometimes, particularly stubborn spots of silicone caulk can stick to your hands despite your repeated efforts to get it off. In these cases, your best option may be simply to wait for it to fall off on its own, rather than wear your hands red trying to get it off. Your body naturally sheds dead skin cells nearly constantly. Once the skin under the dried-on silicone dies, it will eventually fall off, taking the caulk with it. The human body usually takes about 27 days to completely shed and replenish an entire layer of skin. The silicon gel dried to your hands will probably take less time to fall off (on the order of a week or so). When it comes to getting silicone caulk off of your hands, stick to the safe methods described in this article don't risk trying anything that may hurt you. For instance, while acetone and mineral spirits are generally safe for brief use on your hands, other, harsher chemicals can present serious problems. Many noxious or caustic solvents can be harmful if touched, inhaled, or ingested, so you'll want to stay far away from them. Below are just a few of the sorts of chemicals you definitely won't want to use to get caulk off of your hands: Bleach Drain cleaner Paint thinner Lye Strong acids or bases. Never use a sharp tool or a harsh abrasive to physically remove silicone caulk from your hands. Though it may be tempting to use a knife or a handful of steel wool to scrape or cut annoying dried-on caulk away from your hands, these methods run a high risk of injuring your hands. On top of this, there's very little guarantee that they work well against the gummy, clingy texture of silicone. Though this advice probably goes without saying for most, in the interests of safety, it bears mentioning.
Try acetone. Try (cautiously) using a hair dryer. Try an abrasive. Try mineral spirits. When all else fails, simply wait. Don't use harsh solvents. Don't scrape or gouge the caulk.