Removing gum from hair (Head hair, beard or mustache)

Question

I mis-chewed, and ended up with gum stuck in my beard. How can I get it out? Shaving off the beard is an absolute last resort.

Answer 1

Depending on where the gum landed, you can simply cool it quite a bit with ice, at which point it's much easier to remove with a comb. You'll need to make an ice pack in a manner that cools (close to freezing) both sides of the affected area, creative use of chopsticks and snack-sized ziplock bags might work.

Solvents are of course an option, but make sure to watch out for your skin. Some folks can wash their hands with denatured alcohol 20 times a day without problems, some break out at the mere sight of petroleum jelly.

Try 'freezing' (I use the term loosely because you're not really freezing anything, just really lowering the temperature) first before going with any kind of chemical is the best advice I can give. I've gotten it out of my kid's hair using ice, a beard attached to an adult with an average pain threshold should be much easier :)

Answer 2

According to wikiHow you can use peanut butter:

1. Get one of the "home made" styles. The higher the fat content the better, when you first open the jar if you see a little puddle of peanut oil on top it should work.
2. Apply the peanut butter to the affected area with your fingers or an old toothbrush, don't be afraid to use too much.
3. Use a toothbrush or comb to work the gum/peanut butter out and away using long strokes. The idea is to dissolve the gum in the oil from the peanut butter.
4. Use a dry towel to pull the peanut butter out. The gum should come out with the peanut butter.
5. Wash, rinse and repeat if necessary.

Be sure to check the link, it has a few other methods that may be worth exploring. I only included the peanut butter method because that is the most common one.

Answer 3

I can't laugh at you because well... I found the best way out of this is to use a strong citrus solvent (I use this). It worked, but leaves a residue, and can cause minor irritation. Spray it on, work it in as well as you can, and let it sit for a minute or two. The gum should loosen from the hair, and pull out much easier.

If it's below freezing outside, and you have a long beard, do it outside, because the cold will make the gum become less sticky, and roll off easier.

Answer 4

Rub some bacon on it. The bacon grease will loosen the gum.

Answer 5

Vegetable / Olive oil

It's easily available, and perfectly safe to use (although a bit hard to clean up).

I recently went to sleep while chewing a gum, and woke up in the morning with my head "stuck" to the pillow. I had an almost bottle-cap sized patch of hair tangled up in the gum.

After pondering the internet for advice, I ended up using vegetable (cooking) oil, although the Olive oil is recommended. I soaked the exposed area with an old toothbrush for 5-10 minutes, and then just combed the gum out and washed the hair a few times with the shampoo (the oil is really hard to get out).

It's messy, and your skin will hurt for a bit near the hair roots, but you will be gum-free. And it beats the solvents by a long shot.

Answer 6

Hold a compressed air can upside down and spray the gum (pointing away from yourself of course). This will freeze it solid and should be easily broken and combed out then.

Answer 7

Try putting some grease in your beard, like sunflower oil or shampoo. Then you can remove the gum.