Remove Bubble Gum

Boy who is blowing bubble gum — Photo: Shutterstock

Q: My six-year-old took a piece of bubble gum into bed with him while camping in the back yard at his father’s place. This, of course, resulted in the gum ending up stuck in my son’s hair.

His father simply took him by the barber shop the next morning and had his head buzzed, claiming that “cutting it out” is the only solution. I told him that he could have used peanut butter, but he argues that I’m wrong. Am I?

A: Actually, you’re not wrong. Peanut butter is one home remedy that has been used successfully for generations in order to deal with just this type of situation. It works because of the peanut oil that makes peanut butter creamy.

Of course, today, many people are advocating the use of other oils directly, such as canola oil, corn oil, and even olive oil. Olive oil is especially popular because it is commonly used in other beauty applications.

Simply apply the oil to the affected hair, work it through from scalp to ends, and let it sit for 10 to 20 minutes. Then use a comb to gently comb the gum out of the hair. It should slide off the hair strands with some ease. Of course, you can also add another home remedy to the process which can make things even easier.

This is ice. Simply take a piece of ice and rub it over the wad of gum until it hardens, which should make it easier to pull out of the hair. Some people use small zip-bags with ice in them and wrap the bags around the affected hair until the gum fully hardens. In some cases the gum can then be broken up and slid out in smaller chunks. Your course of action will largely depend on the amount and type of gum-wad with which you’re dealing.

Note: this also works to remove candy that is stuck in the hair.

©Hairfinder.com

See also:

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