It is a dark green or orange, gelatinous, thixotropic substance used to clean grease, oil, printer's ink, or general persistent, hydrophobic dirt from the skin. Swarfega is used by working a small amount into dry skin, then wiping or rinsing off. As with other such cleaners, it can be more effective than soap or other common cleansing products at removing such dirt; accordingly, Swarfega has become virtually ubiquitous in environments where this kind of dirt is common, such as garages and machine shops.