Whenever I think about baby oil, I think back to the summers of my childhood. I was obsessed with swimming and being out by the pool, and my friends and I would cover ourselves in baby oil in hopes of getting the perfect golden-brown tan. (Of course, that was back before anyone really understood much about the harmful effects of sun exposure!)
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But even though my youthful tanning days have come and gone, I still keep a bottle of baby oil on hand at home! Because apart from being a tanning agent and even apart from being useful for babies, there are plenty of useful things you can do with baby oil! And today I’ll be sharing 11 of my favorite practical uses for baby oil around the house. By the end of this post, you’ll see why everyone (and not just parents!) can benefit from keeping a bottle of baby oil in the cupboard!
Related: 9 Unexpected & Useful Things You Can Do With Vegetable Oil
11 Practical Uses For Baby Oil
1. Neater Manicures
Use baby oil to help keep your at-home manicures nice and neat. Just use a cotton swab to apply baby oil around your cuticles before you start painting your nails. Then if you get a bit of nail color on your cuticles, it will be easy to wipe right off!
2. Closer Shaves
You can use baby oil as a shaving liquid for a super close shave with no irritation. And as a bonus, you can also apply it after shaving as a great after-shave treatment! Your legs have never been so luxuriously smooth. :-)
3. Remove Stuck Rings
Accidentally put on a too-tight ring? Grab your trusty bottle of baby oil! Apply a bit of the oil around the finger the ring is stuck on. Then (carefully) slide the ring right off!
4. Stretch Your Shower Gel
Mix a bit of baby oil into your favorite bottle of shower gel. Not only will it help soften your skin every time you shower, but it will also stretch that bottle and make it last longer! (I love a good two-for-one tip.) :-)
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5. Soften Skin
If you struggle with dry or cracked heels, baby oil can be a huge help. Slather baby oil onto your feet right before bed, then pull on a pair of socks. The oil will work overnight to soften and moisturize your skin. In the morning you’ll wake up to much softer feet!
6. Remove Makeup
Baby oil can help remove even the most stubborn eye makeup. Just pour a small amount of baby oil onto a cotton round, then gently swipe it over your eye makeup. It comes right off!
7. Dissolve Sticky Stuff
If sticky stuff like bandaids, temporary tattoos, or stickers are giving you trouble, baby oil can help! Saturate the area with baby oil and let it sit for a minute or two. The oil will start dissolving the sticky adhesive, making it much easier to wipe off!
8. Clean Stained Hands
Use baby oil to remove grease or paint from your hands after completing a messy project. It works well, and it’s much gentler on your skin than scrubbing the mess off! Plus, your hands will feel super soft afterward.
9. Shine Things Up
Baby oil is great for shining up all kinds of materials! Just dab a bit of oil onto a soft cloth, and buff it onto wood, leather, steel, and chrome to leave behind a lovely shine. You can also use this method on your dashboard, golf clubs, stainless steel appliances, faucets, and more! (Just remember that a little bit of oil goes a long way!)
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10. Silence Squeaks
If you have baby oil on hand, you have everything you need to silence a squeak door or window. Just apply some baby oil, open and shut it a few times, and the squeak will be gone!
11. Smoother Shredding
If you have a paper shredder at home, you may notice that the shredding action gets less smooth over time. This can occur when the blades and gears start to dry out. But you can use baby oil to fix it! Just soak a piece of paper in a small amount of baby oil, then run it through the shredder. The oil will transfer to the blades and gears, and it will help lube up the machine and keep it running smoothly!
Don’t Care For Baby Oil? Try Coconut Oil Instead
Most baby oils are made from highly purified mineral oil products. Because of this, some people choose not to use baby oil in their homes. But even if you don’t want to use baby oil, that doesn’t mean you can’t use these tips!
In fact, you can use coconut oil instead of baby oil for all of the applications listed above. (Fractionated coconut oil may work best for these tips though, as it stays in liquid form instead of solidifying like regular coconut oil does.)
What’s your favorite practical use for oil around the house?
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