Remove Gum From Your Child’s Hair

Bubble gum can put a smile on almost any child’s face, but what happens when it get stuck, tangled, and mashed into your child’s hair? This sticky situation may sound like a parenting nightmare, but don’t worry, there is a fairly simple solution to remove gum from your child’s hair.
A quick search of the internet will turn up many methods to remove gum from your child’s hair. Some parents swear that freezing the gum will work, while others simply grab a pair of scissors a cut it out. Dr. Kapadia explains how tips from the Academy of Dermatology can help you safely remove gum from your child’s hair without using scissors or dangerous chemicals. The answer? Use creamy or smooth style peanut butter to remove gum from your child’s hair.

How To Use Peanut Butter To Remove Gum

1. Retrieve a jar of peanut butter from your kitchen’s pantry (olive oil or vegetable oil will also work)
2. Completely coat the gum and hair surrounding the sticky mess with regular, creamy peanut butter
3. Let the peanut butter sit on the gum and hair for approximately 30 minutes
4. Easily work the gum out of your child’s hair using your fingers
5. Wash your child’s hair as your normally would

How It Works

The science behind the peanut butter method is pretty simple. Gum is what is called a hydrophobic material. Hydrophobic materials such gum will not dissolve in water, and thus, you cannot simply wash gum out of your child’s hair. Instead, you must use another hydrophobic material, such as fats and oils, to remove the gum. Lucky for most parents peanut butter, which is made up of fats and oils, is only an arm’s reach away.
The Academy of Dermatology demonstrates removing gum from your child’s hair using peanut butter in their video entitled “Remove Gum without Cutting Hair”.