How to get superglue off of your hands
I’ll just say it - If you have gotten superglue on your fingers you are pretty much doomed. There are ways to get it off, but it will not be quick or easy.
Don’t panic! Superglue won’t harm your skin. Once the superglue is on your fingers it is best not to try to wipe it off. You will just get stuck to whatever you are wiping with. Wait for the superglue to dry.
Once the superglue is dry soak your fingers (or whatever part of you has superglue on it) in warm soapy water. If you have it, soak your fingers in nail polish remover. (Nail polish remover's main ingredient is acetone, which works as a solvent.) This will loosen the bond between the glue and your skin.
Now dry off your fingers and rub them together to loosen the glue some more. At this point you should be able to start peeling the glue off of your fingers. Do this slowly so you don’t rip your skin off.
In most cases, you can do nothing and the superglue will wear off eventually as the oil from your skin lifts it. If the superglue gets in your eyes or mouth rinse with water for 10 -15 minutes and seek medical attention. Do not use nail polish remover as it will irritate your eyes and should not be ingested!! (Duh.)
To prevent glue from sticking to your skin try putting on some lotion before you work with it. Be careful though…if the lotion gets onto whatever you are trying to glue it will have the same effect it had on your fingers - it won’t stick.
On a side note - Sometimes having super glue on your fingers isn’t so bad. I have heard of guitarists using it so they don’t cut their fingers up on the
guitar strings.
doyle says "habitual barefooted folks sometimes use it to
bond cracks that develop in our leathery soles".
ke6isf says "Superglue also works as an
ad hoc bandaid as well - sometimes better. In fact, I think that's what its original use was."
Also see Krazy Glue.