Kids manage to get dirty easily. Sometimes they come home covered in muck, sometimes with paint on their face and sometimes with chewing gum in their hair. Yeah, swallowing pennies and coins is another game that sends parents to a wit-ending phase. You can read more about it here. Of all the things, getting chewing gum out of their hair is the most tricky and tiresome thing. You take months to grow your baby girl’s hair and just because of a stubborn chewing gum you have to cut your baby’s precious hair, seems unfair. But worry not! We bring you 10 easy tricks to get that nasty chewing gum out of your baby’s hair without having to cut it!

10 Easy Tricks To Remove Chewing Gum From Your Child’s HairPeanut Butter: 

1. If you have some peanut butter handy is your house, you need not worry about that dreaded chewing gum stuck in your child’s hair, even a bit. Take a coin sized amount of peanut butter and cover the chewing gum with it, if the chewing gum is bigger you might need a little more peanut butter. Make sure the chewing up is completely covered in peanut butter from all sides. Let it sit there for a few minutes and then check with your fingers whether the gum has started to loosen out or not. If it has, gently run a comb or a toothbrush through the hair. With a few strokes the gum will be completely out. You can even use a wash cloth instead of the comb. Later give your child a thorough head bath.

2. Ice Cubes: One of the simplest ways to get rid of chewing gum from hair is to rub some ice cubes on the wad of chewing up entangled in the hair. Take some ice cubes in a piece of soft cloth and press it on the chewing gum for 10-15 minutes. The ice cubes will freeze the chewing gum and harden it. Keep pressing the ice cube on the area until the chewing gum is completely hardened. Make sure it’s away from the scalp and you are not negligently pressing the ice cube on your child’s head. Once the chewing gum hardens break it with your finger tips. Keep repeating the process until you crack off even the last bits of chewing gum from your child’s hair. You can even use ice cube as a precursor before cleaning the hair with peanut butter or oil. It will help to rid the hair of chewing gum effectively

3.  Oil: The greasiness and the stickiness that oil contains, effectively helps to get rid of gum stuck in the hair or anywhere else. Since oil is hydrophobic in nature it breaks down the stickiness of the chewing without damaging the surface or the hair. You can use any sort of oil, be it cooking oil, olive oil, coconut oil, eucalyptus oil etc. Rub copious amount of oil on the chewing gum especially on the edges where it touches the hair. Let it sit for a few seconds and then pull it downwards with your fingers. You can even run a comb provided you are very gentle

4. Vaseline: Just like oil the greasiness and the oiliness of vaseline or any other petroleum jelly can help you to take out chewing gum from your baby’s hair without causing any damage. While using vaseline to take out gum from the hair make sure the kid’s hair is dry and not wet. Take some Vaseline on your fingers and rub it on the wad. Massage it gently until the gum loosens out. Once it has you can remove it with your finger or comb it out. You might need to wash your child’s hair once the gum is out since Vaseline can make it greasy

5. Baking Soda: It is a lesser known fact but baking soda can be very effective to remove chewing gum from the hair as well. Take a spoonful of baking soda in a bowl and add a few drop of water to make a thick paste. Apply this paste on the wad of gum and even the strands of the hair where the chewing gum is stuck. Let the paste sit for a few minutes. When the paste dries off you will be able to easily remove the chewing form the hair

6. Hair Mousse: Hair mousse and even hair sprays can remove sticky things stuck in the hair easily. You only need to be extra careful when using it on your child since hair sprays can easily get in the eye and cause irritation. Apply a coin size amount of hair mousse on the chewing gum, wait for a few seconds and then comb it out. If you are using hair spray, a spritz is enough to take out the gum easily

7. Toothpaste: Toothpaste is readily available in any household and can be used for many home remedies and quick fixes. One of them is to take out chewing gum from the hair. Apply a small amount directly from the tube without diluting it, to the wad of gum and wait for it to dry. Once the toothpaste dries off the remove the gum with your fingers

8. Alcohol: Alcohol can also be an effective solution to remove gum stuck in the hair. Take some in a cotton pad and rub it on the gum for a few minutes. Check whether the gum has loosened up or not and then pull it out with your fingers. You can also use rubbing alcohol to take gum out from the hair.

9. Mayonnaise: Mayonnaise has the same effect on chewing gum as oil. Since mayonnaise has a high fat content it is greasy and oily and nature. Take a small amount of mayonnaise and rub in on the strands where the gum is stuck also rub it on the edges of the gum. Pull the gum out softly and rinse the hair to take out the residue as well

10. Cold Cream or Moisturizing Cream: You can also use lotions and creams from your beauty counter to get rid of the chewing gum. Another effective remedy is to apply cream on the chewing up and rinse the hair with mouthwash. It is known to take out chewing gum from hair easily