Onion smell does not wash off with soap. It soaks into your skin and stays there for hours, and your wedding ring keeps it even longer. One thing already sitting in your kitchen pulls it out in about thirty seconds.

What finally worked was already sitting in my sink.

The stainless steel trick

Rub your hands on anything made of stainless steel under cold running water for thirty seconds. A spoon, the blade of a chef knife, the faucet itself, the sink basin. Something in the metal bonds with the sulfur compounds that cause the smell and pulls them off your skin.

I keep a cheap stainless steel soap bar by the sink now. It cost about eight dollars and it has outlasted three bottles of specialty hand soap that never worked.

How to actually do it

1. Rinse your hands with cold water first. Cold, not hot, because hot water opens your pores and pushes the smell deeper.
2. Rub your hands all over the metal surface for thirty seconds. Fingers, palms, between the fingers, under the nails.
3. Wash with regular soap, then dry.

Do not skip the cold water step. I tried the metal trick once with warm water and it barely helped. Cold water is doing real work here.

What also helps

• Lemon juice works almost as well, and leaves your hands smelling like citrus instead of nothing. It stings if you have any cuts.
• Salt and baking soda mixed into a paste will scrub the smell off, but it is rough on your skin if you do it often.
• Vinegar works but you trade an onion smell for a vinegar smell, which is a lateral move.

The real fix is prevention, honestly. I wear a nitrile glove on my chopping hand now and I have not thought about this problem in months. But when I forget, the faucet is right there.