Food can smell delicious after being cooked, especially when you add ingredients like garlic or onion. A pot of stew simmering will tempt you all afternoon. However, chopping garlic, meat, fish, onion or any other strongly scented food can leave odours on your hands for hours. It is likely that you clean your hands with perfumed soap and lemon multiple times, yet that ripe smell still lingers. Even after so many washes, it’s still distinct. So how can you get your hands to smell normal again? In this article, we’ll cover some easy methods to get that musty cooking smell off your hands.
1. Exfoliating hand scrub
Exfoliating hand scrub is the most effective bet when it comes to getting rid of odours. The potent odour residues on your hands come from sulfur molecules in foods. Due to our skin’s natural oil, the sulfur molecules are easy to “stick” around your hands, which makes odours linger. An efficient exfoliating hand scrub helps loosen any build-up of sulfur molecules and dirt for a deeper cleanse. It not only removes odour and grime so quickly but also can also strip away the top dead layer of skin to make way for new, softer skin.
2. Gloves
Gloves are commonly used for preparing food, especially for those who work in the food industry. Unfortunately, it’s often ignored in home cooking. Wearing thin gloves while you mincing garlic cloves or slicing onions can create a barrier between your skin and the vegetables and keeps the smell from sticking around. Moreover, wearing gloves reduces the spread of disease by covering up the remaining bacteria on our skin left there after washing.
3. Vinegar
Another method for removing food odours (especially fishy odours) from your hands is to wash them with vinegar. Some people prefer exfoliating hand scrub over vinegar as vinegar has a relatively strong odour of its own. Nonetheless, it’s effective at removing the smell as it contains acids that react with the molecules transferred from foods onto your skin. These molecules are those compounds that produce stinky smells. Simply wash your hands in vinegar then rinse them with clean water.
What is the best odour-removing product on the market?
With hundreds of five-star reviews, DU’IT Tough Scrub is one of the most popular hand scrubs in Australia. The 3-in-1 formula can easily remove any dirt or grease as well as unpleasant odours without drying the skin. Walnut shells work to buff away pungent fishy, garlic odours, stubborn dirt, and dead skin cells, leaving your hands feeling super soft, clean and supple. Vitamin E and glycerine act as super moisturisers which help repair skin’s natural protective barrier and prevent moisture loss. Without adding any parabens, harsh solvents, or irritating chemicals, it’s suitable for dry and sensitive hands to keep them in top condition.
A great follow up hand care product is DU’IT Tough Hands or DU’IT Tough Hands for her, which comes with a lovely scent of rose, cherry blossom or green tea.
“I have used this a couple of times now and I am always amazed by how soft and hydrated my hands are afterwards. I simply take a small amount and massage it into wet hands and then rinse off and done! It has walnut shells for exfoliation purposes and then vitamin E which leaves your skin so hydrated! You hardly even need to apply hand cream after this scrub!
The scent is subtle but divine. It is fresh and natural! Especially when I’m cooking, I use this, when I want to get rid of the hard to get rid of the odour of garlic and fish. This stuff removes it in one wash – magic.
I think this is a must-have going into summer – it helps to get rid of dry/dead skin while leaving your skin so hydrated! You will not be disappointed with this tube! “- Anna26, Beaumont Hills
DU’IT Tough Scrub 150g
DU’IT Tough Scrub is a 3-in-1 moisturising hand scrub that works as hard as your hands. This hand scrub cleans, exfoliates and moisturises the skin and contains no harsh chemicals or irritants that dry out the skin.
It cleans stubborn dirt, removes odour, grease and grime, whilst leaving your hands silky smooth.