How to Get Ink Off Hands

Everyone has held a leaky pen at some point and gotten pen ink on their hands. You can remove most or all of it easily at home, regardless of the pen type. Ballpoint ink, fountain ink and even permanent marker can be removed with ease 1. If there is a tiny amount still staining your hands, it will wear off as your skin sloughs -- it only stains the outermost layers of your skin. There is no risk to your health if you have ink on your skin.

Pour rubbing alcohol onto a paper towel generously. Rub the ink on your hands vigorously with the saturated paper towel. This will remove a large portion of the ink 12.

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Wash your hands with a pumice-containing soap, such as Lava soap.This soap is effective at cleaning oil, grease and ink from skin. It contains pumice, a rough volcanic rock that works as an exfoliator. You can buy this type of soap at grocery stores and big box retailers.

Repeat Step 1 if you still have ink on your hands. Alcohol is used in medical facilities to remove presurgical ink marks and tape residue from skin.

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Apply hand lotion to your hands to prevent chapping and dry skin. Skin is the first barrier of defense against harmful germs.

Tips

Try to remove the pen ink from your hands as soon as possible. Once the ink dries, it will be harder to remove.

Warnings

Pen ink on your hands poses no threats to your health. Do not use abrasive chemicals on your hands to remove pen ink; this can cause burns and damage to your skin.