Remove gum from your kid's hair with olive oil

Not just gum in hair: gum in hair WHILE CAMPING. Brava, Jessie!

My daughter got gum stuck in her hair the other day when she fell asleep with it in her mouth (I thought that was a myth, but it really does happen).  Since she was out for the night (yes, I'm a bad parent and she had sugar free gum right before bed), I decided to wait until morning.  It wasn't at the end where it could easily be cut, it was right by the root, and in a lot of hair. Ugh! 

The next day I grabbed some olive oil (we were camping), and put some on my fingers and rubbed it in her hair.  Just to see if it was working i tried to remove some of the gum with my fingers, and it seemed to be coming out ok.  I put more olive oil on the area, and all of the gum pulled right out of her hair! Not in one bunch, but in several passes pinching my fingernails together.  If one had a comb and olive oil combo, it would work like a charm.

Comments

[Julie]

This reminds me of when I was in the 7th grade (many years ago!) and got gum in my hair. My mom used this 'Goof Off'stuff and it worked like a charm. It smells horrible, but it's another alternative.

[TeacherA]

Peanut butter is also good for gum removal.

[Kelly]

I was told to try Dawn dishwashing soap next time. I had to use scissors on my daughter's hair!

[joy]

i used butter to get some matted places out of my 2 year old niece's hair.
she'd been in a hospital bed for a few days, and she has super-fine curly hair and a sensitive scalp.
we did the butter this in the tub, partly for distraction and partly for ease of clean-up. it took awhile -- there were several serious knots, far worse than a wad of gum, but the butter and a small brush worked really well.

[marta]

I've successfully used olive oil to remove bandaids, sticker residue, even cradle cap. Probably any kind of oil would work just as well.

[Greg C.]

I always user peanut oil - works like a champ but leaves me hungry for a PBJ.