Why is it that so many stores slap super-sticky labels right in the middle of a mirror, or piece of art? I've always struggled to peel them off neatly without a hazy, yucky residue being left behind – until my mom introduced me to one miracle product.
Originally made for skin, the Avon Skin So Soft dry oil spray from Amazon actually has an abundance of uses around the home, with my favorite and most useful being removing sticky residue from surfaces with ease.
Here, I explain how to use it to easily remove stickers, while cleaning experts reveal why it works so well.
Why Skin So Soft oil works to clean sticky residue
So far as cleaning tips go, this is not the most obvious. Like cleaning with shaving foam or cleaning with nail polish remover, your first thought when you buy a body product is not, usually, to start spraying it on everything you own.
However, my mom assured me that the Skin So Soft Spray, also available at Walmart, was the best solution for a whole host of otherwise hard household cleaning tasks. And she was right.
If you're wondering how a spray that so easily ‘melts’ sticky residue is safe for use on your skin – it's the Jojoba oil.
One 2021 study in the Polymers Journal found that besides its pharmaceutical uses as a medicinal plant, this natural oil ‘also holds value in the industry as [...] a lubricant, [and] surfactant,’ making it one of the best natural ways to fight grease and grime and a far cheaper alternative to cleaning with olive oil at home.
The oily nature of Skin So Soft acts as a solvent that lubricates and breaks down the glue in adhesive as it soaks in, softening it so that it is easy to wipe away.
The Skin So Soft spray has a whole host of uses around the home from skin care to cleaning to pest prevention. It comes in a handy spray bottle, making it quick and easy to use, too.
How to use it
I tried it first to get stickers off a mirror, and the steps were simple – saturate the sticky area with the spray, let it soak in for a few minutes, and then scrape off with an old credit card.
To my amazement, the stubborn, messy sale sticker peeled right away with barely any resistance, leaving an unscratched mirror behind. You can also use a plastic scraper tool, available at Walmart if you do not have a spare card to hand.
Amazed, I decided to test it out on a few other sticky problem areas in my home. The most notable of them all was the remains of a thick sticky pad that was left on my tiled bathroom wall after an adhesive wall hook had fallen off.
I had previously tried to scrape it off with a dull craft blade when cleaning a bathroom, but I was at risk of damaging the tile, and the sticky residue was hardly budging. It resulted in me leaving the unsightly sticker on the wall for the better part of three weeks.
So, with Skin So Soft in hand, I soaked the pad and the area around it with the oily spray. This time, I let it sit for almost 10 minutes before I went at it again with the old credit card. To my relief, it peeled right off, albeit leaving a little slimy feeling behind, but left the tile undamaged.
Finally, I used this spray to remove the sticky residue that appeared on the rubber-coated handle of my hairdryer.
Over time, rubber or silicone-coated tools can become sticky as they absorb grease and oils from your hands, especially if they are coated in hair products like mine usually are when I come to dry my hair after a shower.
This time, to avoid spraying the liquid into any electrical components, I made sure the hair dryer was unplugged and cool, then I buffed a layer of the oil onto the surface using a microfiber cloth, from Target.
I let this sit for five minutes before buffing away with a dry cloth, amazed as all the residue melted away, leaving a near-new hairdryer behind.
What to shop
For very sticky messes, use a metal scraping tool to give the Skin So Soft spray a boost.
Skin So Soft can leave behind an oily residue after sticker removal. Use an all-natural degreasing solution such as the EWG-verified Attitude spray to help polish the surface afterward.
Microfiber cleaning cloths are your best bet for cleaning the surface after removing sticky residue with Skin So Soft. They do not damage surfaces, and can be machine washed, so the oily residue is not spread around your home.
One of the best bits about using the Skin So Soft spray to clean sticky residue is that I do not need to worry about the skin on my hands when using it.
Many of the cleaning tips I actually use as a cleaning editor require me to wear gloves to prevent drying out my skin. This method, on the other hand, helps my skin as I work, making it a win-win for my health and my home.
