# How remove chewing gum from hair? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 19, 2003, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-remove-chewing-gum-from-hair/176139 "2003-05-19T00:08:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JillGat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@JillGat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JillGat)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-remove-chewing-gum-from-hair/176139/1 "2003-05-19T00:08:04Z")
What’s the best way to get chewing gum out of my daughter’s hair? Is there any common household fluids that will do this? ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-remove-chewing-gum-from-hair/176139/2 "2003-05-19T00:12:25Z")
Ice. Freeze the gum and it should break out. I have read that peanut butter works too. ---
**Author:** ![kunoichi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4da419/32.png) [@kunoichi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kunoichi)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-remove-chewing-gum-from-hair/176139/3 "2003-05-19T00:12:38Z")
[http://www.tipking.com/Tips/publish/tip\_387.shtml](http://www.tipking.com/Tips/publish/tip_387.shtml) Not sure how well it works, but worth a try… and sure beats cutting it out or using something flammable or toxic! Good luck ---
**Author:** ![sj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@sj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sj2)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-remove-chewing-gum-from-hair/176139/4 "2003-05-19T00:23:29Z")
Egg whites are the best. I think it is the slime factor! It may also work to smooth the hair follicle. Just remember to work the gum down…this being that hair is smooth down. So, how about the back story on this?? Just kidding. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-remove-chewing-gum-from-hair/176139/5 "2003-05-19T00:31:35Z")
When my sister got gum in her hair, I’m pretty sure we used peanut butter to get it out. That seemed to work. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-remove-chewing-gum-from-hair/176139/6 "2003-05-19T00:37:03Z")
Peanut butter didn’t do squat when I got gum in my hair as a kid. The thing that worked best was zippo lighter fluid. You don’t need a lot- the gum just dissolves. Light-years better than monkeying with ice, peanut butter, mayonnaise, etc… ---
**Author:** ![JillGat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@JillGat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JillGat)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-remove-chewing-gum-from-hair/176139/7 "2003-05-19T00:38:11Z")
Thanks for the quick answers. I just put egg white in her hair and we’ll see if that works. She’s mad that I slimed her, but it’s better than putting WD-40 in her hair, which was my first plan before seeing this advice. I also see that chocolate is supposed to work, but then I guess chocolate works for everything. The story is that we were on our way somewhere, and she needed an excuse to throw a tantrum to add to the stress. So she managed to get gum, smeared and dried, in a large section of her hair. I once got a lot of pitch in my hair after climbing a pine tree, and I used gasoline to get it out. Embarrassingly enough, this was just a few years ago. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-remove-chewing-gum-from-hair/176139/8 "2003-05-19T00:42:30Z")
If you chew a tootsie roll with gum in your mouth the gum will dissolve. Not sure why, but maybe it’s the chocolate. So if you put the hair, gum and a tootsie roll in your mouth and chew it all together that might do the trick. Blecch! ---
**Author:** ![sj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@sj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sj2)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-remove-chewing-gum-from-hair/176139/9 "2003-05-19T00:44:26Z")
Oh, and my mom used a blow dryer on us as kids. Warmed up the gum and got most of it out and then did the egg whites… ---
**Author:** ![Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirror_Image_egamI_rorriM)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-remove-chewing-gum-from-hair/176139/10 "2003-05-19T03:05:26Z")
Peanut butter has always worked for me. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-remove-chewing-gum-from-hair/176139/11 "2003-05-19T04:49:52Z")
[Passionately make out with her hair.](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_201.html) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-remove-chewing-gum-from-hair/176139/12 "2003-05-19T09:40:14Z")
Scissors.