Help with Getting Vaseline Out of Hair

Updated on June 28, 2008
M.H. asks from Pine Bluff, AR
27 answers

I discovered today that my three year old daughter had somehaow managed to get seed ticks in her hair and on he scalp. A friend of mine suggested using vaseline to get rid of them. The vaseline worked wonderfully to get the ticks out, but now I can't get the vaseline out of her hair. I have tried Dawn detergent but her hair is still very greasy. If anyone has any ideas on how to get it out I would be very grateful. Thanks in advance. M.

1 mom found this helpful

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So What Happened?

Thanks for all of the ideas. I finally got the vaseline out with cornstarch and a really good clarifying shampoo.

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S.L.

answers from Tulsa on

My friend is a hairdresser and suggests the following remedy for numerous problems...

1/8 cup baking soda
1/8 cup shampoo
water enough to get it to blend into paste

put onto hair. let sit for about 5 mins

rinse well

should just take one application

1 mom found this helpful
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T.R.

answers from Little Rock on

Mix up some baking soda with white vinegar to make a thick paste. Brush it through her hair and let it sit for 5 or so minutes and wash with the warmest water she can stand. It stinks but it works!

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J.H.

answers from Tulsa on

Rub her hair with paper towels, then shampoo. Repeat as often as you need, until her hair is normal.

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P.M.

answers from Huntsville on

Hi M. I had that experience with my daughter when she was about that same age. She used vaseline menthol balm to paste her head. you have to use warm water to wash the hair and it will not come out with one wash so maybe three washes with warm water should help.

If she is anything like my child put away your furniture polish or she will get into it too. Hope this helps.

A Little about me: I am a minister of religion and I live in Jamaica. I have 2 daughters now 17 and 12 so you see i have a little experience. I just celebrated my 40th birthday and I feel great. My husband is a minster too.

1 mom found this helpful
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C.D.

answers from Tulsa on

Hello, I was intersted in what your daughter did, so I looked it up on the net so just in case this ever happens to me I would know. This is what I found.
:Annette, your granddaughter’s experiment is common. Young children watch and try to imitate adults. When they see us putting products in our hair, they like to try it, too. Vaseline, or petroleum jelly, is very difficult to wash out because it is not water-soluble. Launching an Internet search on this subject, I learned that many parents have a hard time getting it out of their children’s hair. In some cases, the children had applied the Vaseline themselves, but in many cases the parents had used it on their children’s hair as a treatment for head lice. Here are some ways other parents and beauticians have removed Vaseline from hair:

Facial Tissues: Use soft tissues to blot the hair to remove as much of the Vaseline as possible.
Cornstarch or baby powder: Apply a little cornstarch or baby powder to the hair and pat it in to absorb the petroleum jelly. Then shampoo once or twice with a clarifying shampoo. Be sure to use warm water in the shampoo, since cold water congeals the Vaseline.
Baking soda: Mix one teaspoon of baking soda with a regular baby shampoo, then wash and rinse out. Repeat if necessary.
Baby oil: Saturate the hair in baby oil, rub it through the hair completely and squeeze out as much as you can. Then wash the hair three times with liquid dish soap and warm water, each time leaving the dish soap on for a few minutes to allow it to work.
Liquid dish soap with degreaser: Shampoo hair up to several times with dishwashing liquid with a degreasing agent, such as Dawn.
Liquid laundry detergent: Shampoo hair up to several times with a liquid laundry detergent, such as Wisk.
If you try this, would you let me know how it works.
Thanks C.

1 mom found this helpful
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J.L.

answers from Tulsa on

try massaging in some baby powder or the corn starch kind. It should absorb it. Then wash with Dawn again.
J. L.

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T.G.

answers from Gadsden on

I would try putting baby power in it and let it sit for a while maybe that will help

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S.

answers from Birmingham on

My son put vaseline in my twins hair a couple of weeks ago..Someone told me to put baking powder in their hair and then wash it out..Hope it helps..

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J.C.

answers from Tulsa on

Try a good dandriff shampoo or T-Gel you can get at Walmart..anything to cut the oil...good luck...

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B.L.

answers from Oklahoma City on

my brother used vaseline to become dracula for halloween one year, to get it out wash, and wash, and wash, and wash, and wash . . . it just takes numerous washings.

FYI, some of the other "home remedies" for lice are just as bad to get out - mayonaise or vegetable oil - the reason they work is they smother the bugs, but you have to wash and wash and wash several times a day for several days.

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A.M.

answers from Fort Smith on

Use dawn and baby powder. Don't ask how i know this..lol!

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M.C.

answers from Dothan on

My son loaded his hair up with vaseline before and what a mess! Rubbing cornstarch in the hair and then rinsing it out with a clarifying shampoo does a great job! Good luck! (Of course be careful not to get in the eyes.)

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M.K.

answers from Alexandria on

Vinegar works. You could try diluting it first since she's so young, then use stronger portions if it doesn't. It won't hurt her, just maybe stink. But, be careful if she has any scratches or cuts because it will sting.

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J.H.

answers from Oklahoma City on

Neutrogena makes a very good 'stripping' shampoo, and it should be mild enough for your little girl. It may take a few washes to get it out tho. :]

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S.L.

answers from Oklahoma City on

M., As a hairdresser for many years I have been faced with this problem many times! use baking soda first to absorb oil, rinse, use vinager I would use full strenth, however its your baby so use 1/2 strenth twice.

hope this helps

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L.H.

answers from Jonesboro on

When my son was about 15 months old, he managed to get into some vaseline I left open and smeared it into his hair. All I did was wash it over and over and over. I think I had to wash it about 5 or 6 times to get the greasy all out. But it worked.

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N.R.

answers from New Orleans on

wash with Dawn dish washing liquid it'll get it right out...

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M.H.

answers from Enid on

Try Prell shampoo (it's green and really gets hair clean). The bonus? It's pretty cheap!!

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S.K.

answers from Albuquerque on

I would shampoo it and then rinse it with half diluted vinegar. I do this to my hair when it gets build up on it and it works wonders! Don't think it could hurt, probably just stink!

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K.C.

answers from Pine Bluff on

When I was 15 I had long curly hair down to my waist. At my mom's wedding, my stepdad thought it would be funny to rub a wad of vaseline that someone put on their car into my hair. it was horrible. I COULD NOT get it out. Finally I tried liquid laundry detergent, like Gain. I used a lot and got it all lathered into my hair and scrubbed and scrubbed, then let it sit for a min or two and then rinsed it out. It took a couple of washings like that and it all came out. Good Luck!

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L.P.

answers from Jonesboro on

use baby oil. it will take it right out

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S.S.

answers from Lawton on

Unfortunately it's going to take a lot of shampooing and rinsing to get it all out. That stuff's sticky!

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K.M.

answers from Tulsa on

Hi M.! I have already pulled several of these tiny ticks from my 5-yo DDs "privacy", as she calls it. (Ha!) Anyway, I just yanked them out with my fingernails.

As far as the Vaseline, have you tried peanut butter? I've read that works on gum. You could also try some of the soaps used by auto workers to get grease off of their hands. My DH uses Gojo; if you use this cover the eyes well since it's not gentle at all. If nothing else, realize the Vaseline will come off eventually if you can wait and endure a greasy looking kid.

Have fun with tick season!

K.

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B.S.

answers from Huntsville on

try baking soda.. it is course feel. i use it often to remove the hair spray build up in my hair.. hope it works,

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M.R.

answers from Fayetteville on

i've heard that vinegar helps get anything out of hair. you might want to give it a try.

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T.A.

answers from Lake Charles on

My Mother-inlaw said she did the same thing with the vasaline, but it took at least 3 washes,and in between each she took the towell you already use to dry the hair-keep it on the head and hold a hairdryer around/to it to heat up the oil, so that it will absorbe into the towell. It will probably take more than one time doing this. I never heard of this before, but Momma knows,I guess.

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S.L.

answers from Lake Charles on

try Tresemme Deep Cleansing shampoo. My granddaughter has extremely oily hair, we have to wash it every day, and it really works good.

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