Household rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) has many uses. Some people use it for first aid purposes or to relive sore muscles. Others use it as a skin cleanser or as a homemade treatment for dandruff. There are, however, even more uses for rubbing alcohol. Here’s a look at five additional ways that you can use rubbing alcohol:
Rubbing Alcohol Removes Hair Spray
My parents owned and operated a large beauty salon. During the course of their work, hairspray would fly everywhere and gunk up the mirrors, counter tops and roller trays. They would have me work in the salon with them. One of my jobs was to clean up the place. I found that rubbing alcohol worked really well when it came to removing built-up hairspray residue on the mirrors and non-porous countertops. It would also sometimes remove hair dye stains from the Formica counters if caught quickly enough.
Rubbing Alcohol Removes Hair Dye Stains from Skin
Based on my experience, rubbing alcohol will also help to remove hair dye stains from your skin. It also works well on removing other stains from your skin. For example, I like to cook with sazon seasoning. When I cook pork shoulder with sazon seasoning, I will use my hands to rub the seasonings all over the meat. The seasoning will turn the pork shoulder, as well as my hands, a yellowish red color. If you wait too long to wash the seasoning off of your hands, it will stain your skin. Rubbing alcohol will help remove to remove those stains.
Rubbing Alcohol Cleans Hair Brushes and Curling Irons
Most salons use Barbicide Disinfectant Liquid to disinfect hair brushes, nail clippers and other items. At least that was what my parents used in their salon. Barbicide is more powerful than rubbing alcohol because it can kill more viruses, fungi and bacteria. You can, however, use rubbing alcohol in a home setting to clean hair brushes, combs and curling irons that may have a build-up of hair gel, hair spray and mousse on them. Sometimes, when combined with very hot water, it will also help to kill head lice.
Rubbing Alcohol Cleans Phone Handsets
When I worked as a social worker in a skilled nursing facility, I would use rubbing alcohol to periodically wipe down my office phone’s handset and door knobs. It helped clean the phone as well as cut down on some germs. Rubbing alcohol, however, does have its limitations and is not suitable for all disinfecting and sterilization procedures.
Rubbing Alcohol Makes an Inexpensive Ice Pack
Rubbing alcohol can also be used to make an inexpensive ice pack. In order to make one, you’ll need a re-sealable plastic bag and a three-to-one mixture of water and rubbing alcohol. Put the mixture into the re-sealable plastic bag and place it into your freezer. Eventually, the mixture will turn to the consistency of slush. Once it reaches that consistency, you can remove the bag from the freezer and use it like you would any other chemically created ice pack.
Killeen Gonzalez’s parents owned a full-service beauty salon and were licensed cosmetologists. She has also worked in health care as a social worker.
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