Help Me Get Grease [Petroleum/Mineral Oil] Out of My Hair

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Help Me Get Grease [Petroleum/Mineral Oil] Out of My Hair
« on: February 29, 2008, 03:30:20 PM » by amandamook

I need help! This is not an emergency but I do need replies quickly.

My 2 yo old and I were emptying some old bathroom cabinets. I pulled out a container of Eucerin to throw out. Eucerin is vasoline and mineral oil mixed together into a thick skin cream. I know, gross. Both of those are horrible for you. But, before I threw it out, DD wanted to open it. She loves lotions. We were having fun so I opened it for her. She put some on her tummy. Then she put a little in my hair. We were still having fun so I let her continue. Then she put A LOT in my hair. I've washed it with shampoo three times. It's not coming out. Ahhhh!! Help!! We have home bible study this evening so I've got to get this out. NOW!!! What can I use to de-grease my head??

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Re: Help Me Get Grease [Petroleum/Mineral Oil] Out of My Hair
« Reply #1 on: February 29, 2008, 03:38:29 PM » by floydian

Well, I wouldn't use it every day, but dish detergent comes to mind. I've used it on grease stains in clothing and gotten the stains out.

Vinegar?

Peanut butter gets out gum.

Just brainstorming...

I have to confess I giggled a little. I'm sorry.

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And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

Re: Help Me Get Grease [Petroleum/Mineral Oil] Out of My Hair
« Reply #2 on: February 29, 2008, 03:44:42 PM » by amandamook

Yeah, laugh it up. Tongue

Here's the worst thing. I've had long hair for years. This week my husband encouraged me to have my hair cut short. WOW! It's cute and way different. Nobody at church has seen me yet. So, off I go to home bible study with a super grease head. Great. Not to be totally vain but I have to get my hair clean!!

My dish soap is 7th Generation. do you think that would work? I do have Borax. Maybe I'll try it. I just don't want to hurt myself.

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Re: Help Me Get Grease [Petroleum/Mineral Oil] Out of My Hair
« Reply #3 on: February 29, 2008, 03:51:30 PM » by Jemima

You might check out that thread on help for greasy/oily hair... Since you mentioned Borax, I think some people use a solution of that for washing their hair. Might get some other ideas, too. If I were you, I'd Google "vaseline+hair" or something like that and see what comes up. Do share what works for you, in case I'm ever in that situation!

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Re: Help Me Get Grease [Petroleum/Mineral Oil] Out of My Hair
« Reply #4 on: February 29, 2008, 03:53:19 PM » by mamaofangels

Maybe she meant Dish soap but I would not use Detergent! I would try dish soap like dawn or whatever. They are good at cutting grease. That should help then shampoo again. It couldn't hurt. Sorry I laughed too though! Grin

Either way you'll have a good story to tell! Maybe baking soda would help? Good luck.
Jen

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Re: Help Me Get Grease [Petroleum/Mineral Oil] Out of My Hair
« Reply #5 on: February 29, 2008, 03:58:01 PM » by amandamook

Please don't apologize for laughing!! It's funny!! Why would I let a 2 year old massage my head with Eucerin!! Gross! I'm just glad I have people to laugh with while my husband is at work all day. Okay, I'm going to Google it. We'll see if I am the first person in history to do such a ridiculous thing. Roll Eyes

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Re: Help Me Get Grease [Petroleum/Mineral Oil] Out of My Hair
« Reply #6 on: February 29, 2008, 04:08:54 PM » by amandamook

Here is an article from www.essortment.com:

Raising children is not an easy task. Each stage presents different joys and different challenges. One of the most laborious stages is when children are toddlers and preschoolers. These are the years of exploration. That means parents have to always be alert and on guard with their children. But parents can’t keep their toddlers on a leash. And sometimes toddlers get into things they should not, such as Vaseline.

Naturally the little tyke will not take a finger full and moisturize their lips. They are more likely to take two fistfuls and introduce it to their hair. They love the slick feeling, and think it is the height of fun. But when their parent discovers their new hobby the first question that comes to mind is: How do I get this Vaseline out of their hair?

To start, one wants to remove as much as possible before washing the hair. Using a wide tooth comb, comb through the hair, rinsing the comb after each comb through. Repeat the process using a medium tooth comb, and repeat again using a fine tooth comb. Next, use a textured hand towel to remove any left over Vaseline. More Vaseline can be removed if the hair is sectioned before using the hand towel. Once you have used one section of the hand towel, rotate to another section or you will just be replacing old Vaseline back into the hair.

The next step is to shampoo the hair. The main active ingredient in shampoo is sulfate. Sulfates are the detergent compound and are responsible for cleaning the hair by cutting dirt and grease. To remove Vaseline one will need a shampoo that is high in detergent content.

The strongest sulfate is ammonium laurel sulfate, followed by sodium laurel sulfate. A variation of these sulfates are ammonium laureth and sodium laureth sulfate. Baby shampoo carries a very mild sulfate, olefin sulfonate. It is for this reason that baby shampoo will not work as effectively. One would need a full ten-ounce bottle to remove Vaseline from the hair.

Once you have the necessary shampoo, wet hair and place a palm size amount of shampoo onto the hair. Lather and then rinse. Repeat but before rinsing, allow the shampoo to sit on the hair for about ten minute. This will cause the shampoo to penetrate past the coat of Vaseline on the hair shaft. After shampooing, it is important to condition the hair. Conditioning will replace any excess moisture loss from the hair due to the shampooing. After conditioning and rinsing again, dry and style as usual.

Life’s little emergency come in all shapes and forms. Having preschoolers and toddlers multiplies the amount of unexpected events in a day. But with a little patience and a lot of ingenuity, all things can be conquered. This includes large amounts of Vaseline in the hair. To avoid Vaseline removal becoming a regular occurrence, place the Vaseline on a high shelf or get a child proof safety lock for you cabinets. If not, buy your shampoo by the dozen because you will definitely need it.

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Re: Help Me Get Grease [Petroleum/Mineral Oil] Out of My Hair
« Reply #7 on: February 29, 2008, 04:11:18 PM » by floydian

Quote from: mamaofangels on February 29, 2008, 03:53:19 PM

Either way you'll have a good story to tell! Maybe baking soda would help? Good luck.
Jen

Oh yeah, I did. Embarrassed

Thanks!!

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And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

Re: Help Me Get Grease [Petroleum/Mineral Oil] Out of My Hair
« Reply #8 on: February 29, 2008, 04:13:02 PM » by floydian

Quote from: amandamook on February 29, 2008, 04:08:54 PM

That's great!!! This lady has had experience with toddlers!!!

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And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

Re: Help Me Get Grease [Petroleum/Mineral Oil] Out of My Hair
« Reply #9 on: February 29, 2008, 04:13:32 PM » by amandamook

Okay, I didn't want to follow the advice in the article b/c I try to avoid SLS when I can. I took some 7th generation dish soap and mixed it with baking soda. I washed my hair with it and it is sitting in my hair right now. The article suggested letting shampoo sit for ten minutes so I guess I'll let it sit for awhile. Has anyone else let baking soda sit in their hair? I hope nothing crazy happens. I don't want my hair to alll fall out.

In the meantime, my girls are now up from naps. The 3 yo old says, "Your hair looks CRAZY!" The 2 yo old is totally unconcerned with my plight. Tongue

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Re: Help Me Get Grease [Petroleum/Mineral Oil] Out of My Hair
« Reply #10 on: February 29, 2008, 04:15:04 PM » by amandamook

If you notice in the article, she assumes that the child found the vaseline while unattended and put it in their own hair. Sigh. My child was attended and put it in my hair!! Maybe there is a limit to being a fun mommy. Wink

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Re: Help Me Get Grease [Petroleum/Mineral Oil] Out of My Hair
« Reply #11 on: February 29, 2008, 04:22:52 PM » by Kitty

I would try the borax/citric acid, too...check out this thread:
http://www.welltellme.com/discuss/index.php/topic,1602.msg157268/topicseen.html#new
There's a summary at the end...

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Re: Help Me Get Grease [Petroleum/Mineral Oil] Out of My Hair
« Reply #12 on: February 29, 2008, 05:00:51 PM » by daisey

When I have done intensive oil treatments on my hair, example~~olive oil and rosemary oil, and really saturated it, I take Burt's Bees Shampoo and lather it in my hands. Work it into the not wet but oily hair and let it sit until I get in the shower. Maybe 5 minutes or so. Get just enough water on it to get some lather and work it in then rinse. At times I have shampooed again after that right away and it usually comes out well.
I am totally sold with the Borax water though and have used it after and oil treatment although my oil treatments aren't as heavy anymore. Although my hair doesn't feel real clean it never looks greasy. I personally wouldn't leave BS on my hair for any length of time. HTH

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Re: Help Me Get Grease [Petroleum/Mineral Oil] Out of My Hair
« Reply #13 on: February 29, 2008, 05:55:15 PM » by Grace

I didn't have time to read everything, but one time I got one of those sticky fly catcher things stuck in my hair(with flies!). I have pretty logn hair and it was a mess, my mom helped me to scrub with some scouring powder and we got almost all of it out. Might help you...I don't know! Huh

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Re: Help Me Get Grease [Petroleum/Mineral Oil] Out of My Hair
« Reply #14 on: February 29, 2008, 06:04:19 PM » by mexmarr

Quote from: Grace on February 29, 2008, 05:55:15 PM

This happened to me once. I scrubbed and scrubbed my hand's first. Nothing worked until I had an idea. Every last speck was off my hands in seconds, and out of my hair within minutes!!!!

Melamagic from Melaleuca was my secret. It is a nontoxic heavy duty cleaner. I think that Sol-U-Mel would have worked, too.

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Re: Help Me Get Grease [Petroleum/Mineral Oil] Out of My Hair
« Reply #15 on: March 01, 2008, 12:08:47 AM » by amandamook

mexmarr-I have melamagic! Good thinking! Too bad I signed off b/f you posted.

Okay, so I washed my hair with dish soap mixed with baking soda. I let it sit maybe 10 minutes and then rinsed it out. It looked better but my hair is definately coated with oil. I styled it and it looked great. So, my hubby and you all are the only ones who know I went out with nasty hair! I actually got compliments on it!

I think I will try the melamagic tomorrow morning. I don't think my hair can handle being washed again today. It really doesn't feel that bad. It just looks like I overdid the styling products. Cool

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Re: Help Me Get Grease [Petroleum/Mineral Oil] Out of My Hair
« Reply #16 on: March 01, 2008, 09:36:20 AM » by HelpmeetPlusHelpers

So did the melamagic work?

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Re: Help Me Get Grease [Petroleum/Mineral Oil] Out of My Hair
« Reply #17 on: March 04, 2008, 08:50:47 AM » by healthybratt

When I was young (about 8, I think), my step sister and I decided to play in my mother's vitamin E supplements. Roll Eyes

We got them in our hair. Shocked

We just knew we were going to be dealt with severely and started brainstorming ways to get rid of the evidence. Grin

What finally worked was baby powder. I don't keep this in the house anymore, but we coated our hair with baby powder and combed it through and then washed our hair like normal. It worked. The powder absorbed the excess oil and allowed it to come free of our hair like normal. Of course, baby powder contains oil and we were still using regular shampoo back then. These days, with my aversion to shampoo, I'm afraid I would just walk around with a greasy head for a few days. Undecided

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Re: Help Me Get Grease [Petroleum/Mineral Oil] Out of My Hair
« Reply #18 on: March 12, 2008, 11:06:01 PM » by amandamook

Alright ladies, I finally have time to do an update.

I washed my hair with Simple Pure Clean brand All Purpose Cleaner. The ingredients are: water, vinegar, borax, surfactants, alcohol, and essential oils. It seemed close to the borax rinse that daisey recommended. In the shower I flipped my head over and sprayed the cleaner into the hair. I rinsed it well and then washed my hair with Burt's bees shampoo. I feel like the cleaner removed the eucerin but I didn't want my head to smell like my clean bathroom, so I used shampoo. It was clean. Very clean. Limp to my head kind of clean.

I put away the eucerin for good. Of course I made my own plantain salve this past week. My next thread will be on how to remove beeswax and olive oil from your hair... Roll Eyes

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