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How to Get Rid of Gum Stuck in Hair

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Gum stuck in hair is indeed a sticky situation. It usually happens when you least expect it, too. The moment the wad of gum lands on your hair, all you can do is hide it under a cap. This means when you get home, the situation is already worse because more hair has become entangled and stuck on the wad of gum.

Thankfully, this commonplace gum dilemma can be remedied without resorting to your grandma’s heavy pair of metal shears or a new batch of hair extensions. Some of these tips may be too sticky for comfort, but at least you won’t have to deal with having a huge chunk missing from your locks.

The tips below will teach you that gum is easy to remove, even when it’s virulently and liberally smeared onto the hair.

How to Get Rid of Gum Stuck in Hair

Ice It!

What you’ll need:

  • ice cubes
  • a plastic bag (preferably a zip-lock)
  • oven mitts or a towel

Before doing anything with the ice cubes, soak your hair in salt water first. This makes the gum more solid, making it easier to remove by lowering the required temperature for the ice to melt. Ice is a great choice for those wearing dreadlocks or those who have hairstyles that are impossible to comb.

Directions:

  • Break some ice cubes into large pieces.
  • Place the ice cubes in a plastic bag. It’s best if you can use a zip-lock so that the ice cubes will be more secure and easy to handle.
  • Wear an oven mitt because you’re going to hold the bag of ice against the wad of gum on your hair. This may take awhile and it’ll to be too cold to handle. You can also use a towel.
  • Hold the ice against the wad of gum for no less than 20 minutes to freeze the hair felon.
  • After 20 minutes, remove the ice and proceed to breaking the frozen gum.
  • Once you break it, remove the bigger chunks first. This requires a lot of patience because tugging your hair might pull out some of your mane needlessly.
  • Repeat icing the gum when some of it stretches and thaws. Remove the hard parts first and treat the remaining gum with ice.
  • This might take a long time, but at the end of the day, your hair will be safe and sound.

    • Heat It!

    This is a tip for those who have the luxury of a straightening iron. This tip is not universal simply because straightening irons are really not for everybody.

    What you’ll need:

    • Tissue paper
    • Straightening iron
    • Conditioner
    • Comb

    Directions:

  • Squeeze a generous amount of conditioner on your palm and apply some of it on the gum.
  • Rub the conditioner into the gum and the hair around it.
  • Set the straightening iron on “low”.
  • Get the tissue paper and moisten it with little water.
  • Fold the tissue paper and stick the hair with the gum on it in between the fold.
  • Iron the fold. Do this slowly but surely.
  • After ironing, hold the tissue paper with ample pressure and pull the hair out of the paper, with the gum inside.
  • Simply repeat the process until the huge wad of gum is removed.
  • Keep the hair warm and comb out the remaining gum.

    • The ironing melts the gum and it sticks beautifully to the tissue paper. The conditioner protects the hair from damage and makes sliding the tissue and gum a breeze.

    Dissolve it!

    There are commercial substances that can dissolve gum (just gum, not your hair) and therefore, are effective at getting that sticky ball off your mane.

    What you’ll need:

    • Lighter fluid or polish remover (sometimes called acetone)
    • Hot water

    Directions:

    There are lighter fluids sold in hardware stores that come with an easy-to-apply nozzle. Use that nozzle to dab some on your hair’s problematic area. The lighter fluid has some chemical components that remove a lot of glue-related problems, including gum. Massage the fluid into the gum and you’ll notice that the gum peels off or melts easily. Using hot water (please, not boiling water), remove the gum residue until all traces of gum are removed. Shampoo and rinse your hair before fate sets your hair on fire (just kidding). Take extra precaution when doing this, since you are working with a flammable substance.

    Oil it!

    Oiling the gum is also an effective way of removing the vicious wad of gum from your hair. Here’s the list of non-toxic oil or oil-based products that prove to be effective at sliding the interlocked gum from your mane.

    • Conditioner
    • Hair cream or any kind of hair oil
    • Margarine
    • Lotion
    • Cooking oil
    • Albumen or egg whites
    • Mayonnaise
    • Non-stick cooking spray
    • Olive oil or Canola

    What you’ll need:

    • Any of the oil or oil-based products listed above
    • A comb
    • Dishwashing liquid

    Directions:

  • Select the oil of your choice and apply a small amount of it to the hair around the gum.
  • Thoroughly massage the oil into the gum and hair.
  • Leave the oil for about 20 minutes.
  • Get a fine-toothed comb (for fine hair) or a standard comb (for other hair types) and use it to comb out the gum. Do this with care so that you won’t damage your hair. The gum should slide out very easily. Repeat the process until there is no more gum left.
  • Now it’s time to wash out the oily mess. Use the dishwashing liquid to shampoo your hair. Dishwashing liquid is designed to get rid of oil on kitchen utensils, so it works well for the oil you massaged into your hair.
  • Rinse thoroughly.

    • Fix It!

    You can concoct a special paste to actually remove the gum stuck to your hair.

    What you’ll need:

    • Baking soda
    • Witch hazel
    • Dishwashing liquid
    • Toothbrush
    • Conditioner

    Directions:

  • Make a special paste by mixing a few squirts of dishwashing liquid, four tablespoons of witch hazel and some baking soda. The consistency of the paste must not be too loose or watery.
  • When you’re satisfied with the paste, apply it to the gum using the toothbrush and leave it on for 15 minutes.
  • Brush off the gum using the same toothbrush with some conditioner.
  • Repeat the process until all the gum slides off.

    • Gum that’s stuck on hair is a sure-fire dilemma for the modern world. Many diverse hairstyles are more acceptable today, which makes snipping off a section of hair an unbearable option. It’s “shear” terror! With these solutions, you’ll never have to ruin your hairdo over a simple piece of gum.





     

     
    1. Jennifer Says:
      September 22nd, 2008 at 6:01 pm

      My daughter had gum stuck in her hair, and peanut butter is what I used…just rub some peanut butter into it work it into the gum and it dissolves the gum…there will be nothing left of the gum and it only takes a few seconds :)
      then shampoo the peanut butter out :)

    2. Candice Says:
      July 22nd, 2008 at 10:44 pm

      Just like Sharon, creamy peanut butter is the best way. All the tips above sound like they take too long and you have to repeat the steps until the gum is gone. Who’s kid can endure all of that? What I did was take creamy peanut butter, mixed a little bit of vegetable oil in it to thin it out a bit and put it into the hair that was stuck into the gum. I let it set for a minute and then took a tooth brush and slowly brushed it out. I didn’t have to repeat anything or cut my little girl’s hair. After I was done, I washed her hair and you couldn’t even tell.

    3. Sharon Says:
      June 15th, 2008 at 1:11 pm

      Forget all the above methods, alot of work and most probably don’t even work. What I use every time on my childrens hair is good old peanut butter. The oils in the peanut butter break down the gum. Just slab on some peanut butter, work it into the gum and watch it dissapear. Wash hair with shampoo afterwards.