If you ever have the misfortune of getting a piece of chewing gum stuck in your hair, there’s no need to panic or tug on your hair to get the gum out. There are better ways to get gum out of hair.
Tugging could stretch the gum or rip out a chuck of hair from the roots, making things worse. Wait before considering cutting off your hair. Here we have listed some easy and effective methods to remove chewing gum from your hair.
Most of the recommended remedies include readily available cooking ingredients and household items.
6 Ways To Remove Chewing Gum From Hair
Getting stubborn gum stuck in your hair may end up in an unplanned haircut. The easiest and least costly solutions include commonly available kitchen ingredients that are suggested here to remove the gum while keeping your hair intact.
1. Peanut butter
Applying peanut butter on the gum stuck on your hair minimizes its adhesive property, and makes it easier to remove from your hair. Chewing gum and peanut butter both are hydrophobic in nature.
Hence they get attached to each other and get removed conveniently. With the help of your fingertips, apply peanut butter evenly on the chewing gum stuck in your hair and leave it for a few minutes.
The peanut butter will make the gum stiff and it can easily be removed from your hair.
2. Cooking oils
Similar to peanut butter, cooking oils like coconut oil, canola oil, groundnut oil, and olive oil, are also hydrophobic in nature. The chemical properties of cooking oils shatter the adhesive bond present in the chewing gum.
This will easily remove the gum from your hair without causing any damage to your hair.
All you have to do is apply the cooking oil to the gum stuck on your hair and rub the hair gently. Now remove the gum gently using your fingertips. This way, you can easily get gum out of your hair.
3. Vinegar
Vinegar is also very effective in breaking down the adhesive bond between the gum and hair. First, you have to saturate the gum stuck on a section of your hair with some vinegar.
Either dip your hair in a glass of vinegar or soak the section with a cloth dipped in a vinegar solution. The vinegar will break the adhesive bond and help to remove the gum from the affected hair. For immediate action use lukewarm vinegar.
4. Petroleum jelly
Petroleum jelly is also an effective remedy for removing stubborn gum from your hair. Petroleum jelly is a non-abrasive lubricant that can be used for removing gums and tar.
Make sure to dry your hair thoroughly before applying petroleum jelly to your hair. Using your fingertips, apply a small quantity of petroleum jelly on the affected section of your hair. Rub it gently until the stubborn gum comes off your hair.
Then rinse your hair properly using a mild shampoo to remove the stickiness of the petroleum jelly.
4. Ice cubes
Ice cubes can also be instrumental in removing gum from your hair. Freezing the gum minimizes its adhesive properties and makes it easier to remove from hair. Extremely low-temperature ice cubes work great to remove gum from hair. You can freeze tap water in any container if you don’t have ice trays [1].
All you have to do is keep some ice cubes on the hair stuck with gum for approximately 10 to 15 minutes. This will harden the gum and remove it immediately from the hair.
5. Baking soda
Baking soda is also very effective in removing chewing gum from your hair. Make a thick paste of baking soda by adding a small amount of water to it. Then apply this thick paste to the gum. Let it dry for a few minutes. The chewing gum will come off easily.
6. Rubbing alcohol
Rubbing alcohol on the affected area of the hair breaks down the polymers present in the chewing gum. Just apply some alcohol onto the affected section of your hair and let it dry. Then gently comb down the gum from your hair. And rinse your hair afterward.
Closing words
Whenever gum gets stuck to hair, you can choose from the safe household products suggested here to easily remove the gum. Other natural and simple ingredients that can also be used to remove gum from your hair are toothpaste, mayonnaise, conditioner, lotion, and hair mousse. The use of these ingredients can easily bring back your lustrous hair in no time.
I’m Natalia, the mind behind HairLossCares.net. I was facing hair fall a few years back. I’m sharing my experience on this blog.