How To Remove Gum From Hair

A few minutes after Alyssa woke up this morning, she frantically said, "Mom, there's gum in my hair!"

That is not something you want to hear, especially from your little girl with long hair.

"Why did you sleep with gum in your mouth? Why didn't you spit it out before bed?"

"I did spit it out! I know I did," she insisted.

Uh huh, then why is it there in your hair? That's what I was thinking, but instead, I sent her to the bathroom. As I pulled the rest of her hair out of the way, I asked again, "Why didn't you spit it out? How did you brush your teeth with gum in your mouth?"

And again, she was adamant, "I know I spit it out. I remember. I leaned over and my hair fell in my face . . . and, uh . . . I thought I pulled my hair back . . ." she trailed off.

"Ah," I said, "so you probably spit it out right into your hair." 

And there it was--a big glob of root beer gum, deeply matted in the hair by her ear.

I grabbed my jar of coconut oil that I keep in the bathroom for beauty purposes and took about a dime-sized amount. I wasn't sure if it would work. I know that it can be used to remove sticky substances and the fact that it is an oil made me believe that it would help the hair slide off.

I started to work the thickened oil into the mess of hair and gum. Almost immediately, the gum softened and started to stretch. I was able to gently separate the hair as I pulled the gum out in two parts.

And we were done!

Start to finish was less than two minutes.

And the best part? There were no tears, not an ouch, or even a wince. In fact, she said, "You're done already? That was easy!"

Super easy. And the coconut oil is even good for her hair. Double bonus.

We washed her hair and she ran off to play. And to tell her brothers to check out the gross gum gunk on the counter.


So, if you have a run in with spit in-slept in-gum-in-hair, try some coconut oil.

And then you, too, can brag about the gunk on your counter.