How to Get Slime Out of Hair? 3 Easy & Quick Ways

It’s hard not to panic when your kid gets the gooey, sticky slime in his hair. This toy is extremely popular, budget-friendly, and fun to play with but it’s practically impossible to get it out of hair, carpets, and clothes.

However, we are talking about kids here – they don’t mind rubbing this sticky stuff all over their hair.

How to remove slime from hair without tears, screams, and scissors? 

Reviewed & fact-checked by Trisha Chapman.

Slime in hair: what to do?!

First of all, don’t freak out. There are at least four ways to remove slime from hair without cutting it off.

Try the classic shampoo & conditioner method first. If it doesn’t help, try the vegetable oil or good old peanut butter. PB’s idea might sound silly, but boy, it works.

Slime is usually made from borax (cross-linked polymer) and water so in order to remove it from the hair you have to use an oil.

Best way to get all the slime out of hair: 3 easy and fast methods

#1 Conditioner-shampoo method

Some slimes are easier to remove than others. First, you need to get your toddler into a warm shower quickly.

If you are in luck, that sticky goo could be removed with shampoo and lots of conditioner only. 

A shower with warm water and a gentle massage with a hair conditioner should help to remove slime from your kids’ wet hair. 

The trick is to use the conditioner first and the shampoo after. Why? Because masks or conditioners contain oil and oil is the worst enemy of slime.

1. Let the hair soak for a while and apply conditioner. Then start massaging the scalp with it. Try massaging in the direction of hair growth. Let it sit for a few minutes. 
2. Rinse the conditioner out and continue with shampoo.
3. Next, evenly apply the mask or a conditioner on the hair and let it sit for at least 5 minutes.
4. Take a fine-tooth comb and start brushing your kids’ hair. Be gentle! This step would help to remove pieces of slime.
5. Rinse it out with warm water and repeat the same process if you can still see the remaining slime in your kids’ hair.

#2 Use coconut oil or olive oil

Actually, you can use any vegetable oil: avocado, coconut, or olive. 

1. Take excess slime off (if possible). Take those slimy hair strands and massage oil into them. You will see that the slime starts to loosen.
2. Here comes the wide-tooth comb: start to gently comb your kids hair and rinse the comb if you notice the sticky slime pieces on it. 
3. Leave an oil to sit for a while.
4. To remove any removing pieces of slime, finish this process with shampoo & conditioner.

#3 Try peanut butter

If it comes to this point, don’t worry, there is still one thing left that can help you to save your kids’ hairest-ways0.

Peanut butter works well even on super-sticky slime.

This method works best with smooth peanut butter, but crunchy would also be okay if you don’t have anything else.

1. Just take the slimey strands and spread the peanut butter evenly. 
2. Leave it for at least 20 minutes. Oil from the peanut butter would help to dissolve slime.
3. Start combing your kids’ hair gently.
4. Shampoo & condition afterward if you don’t want your toddler to smell like PB&J.

What gets slime out of hair?

The simple answer is oil. Use any kind of oil to dissolve ooey-gooey slime. 

Easiest & quickest method would be to use a conditioner as we are talking about kids who have no patience to wait. The conditioner contains oil and should do the trick.  You can also try soaking your kid’s hair in diluted apple cider vinegar and then washing it off. You can also add baking soda to that mixture as it helps to dissolve that sticky mess on your child’s hair.

Some moms can swear that using dish soap also helps to remove slime from kids’ hair. Apply it on wet hair and let it sit for a minute. Rinse it off with warm water.

The bottom line

How to get slime out of hair?! Hey, you already know what to do, just stay calm. Our advice would be to buy non-sticky slime or make slime on your own. Surprisingly, it’s not that hard!

After an ooey-gooey catastrophe, your kids’ hair might need some extra moisture and care. We prepared the best hair products for the kids‘ guide, check it out!