How To Remove Super Glue From Hair Without Cutting It: DIY Guide

You’d be surprised at how many people get super glue in their hair – it happens a lot more often than you might think.

Unfortunately, super glue is one of the hardest things to remove from the hair, but it can be done with the right remedy. In this article, we will share several ways you can remove super glue from your hair. Let’s get right into it.

Table of Contents

How to Remove Super Glue from Hair: Step-by-Step Guide

You may have heard that using harsh chemicals is the only way to remove super glue from hair. Thankfully that’s not the case.

There are few things that you can try before you take drastic measures with chemicals. Let’s explore them in the following sections.

Use Soap And Water

If the super glue hasn’t dried yet, act fast with soap and water. For this method, you can use dish soap, hand soap, or shampoo. Some use laundry detergent, but we advise against it.

Follow the instructions below to quickly wash the super glue from your hair:

• Find a large bowl and fill it with warm water.
• Add some soap to the water and swish it around so that it becomes visibly soapy.
• Lean over, put your hair into the soapy water, and wait for 10 minutes.
• Pull your hair out of the water and attempt to pull the glue off of your hair.
• Use a conditioner to rehydrate your hair after the soak. Your hair may feel extremely dry.

If you don’t have access to a large bowl or your hair is short, you can lean over the sink and put water on your hair until it’s saturated.

Then lather your hair up with the dish soap or shampoo and let it sit on your hair for 10 minutes. Afterward, rinse the soap from your hair and attempt to remove the glue.

It’s important to know that this method may not work if the glue has been on your hair for more than a half-hour.

Try Lemon Juice

Lemon juice is another method for getting super glue out of your hair. The lemon will loosen up the super glue so that you can gently comb it out or rub it away.

For this method, all you need is lemon juice, shampoo, conditioner, a towel, and a bowl.

Follow the below instructions to use lemon juice to remove super glue from your hair:

• Pour about a cup of lemon juice into a plastic bowl.
• Soak your hair in the lemon juice for at least 10 minutes.
• Once time is up, lift your hair out of the lemon juice and then attempt to rub the super glue from your hair.
• Shampoo and condition your hair to remove the lemon juice and rehydrate your hair after the soak.

If any super glue is left over, you can repeat this process after conditioning your hair. If your hair begins to show signs of dryness or damage, try a different method.

Removing Super Glue with an Oil Soak

Oil helps remove super glue from the hair because it weakens the glue’s bond on the hair. What’s great about using oil is that it won’t damage your hair like some other methods on this list.

You can use any slippery oil for this method, like olive oil, jojoba oil, grapeseed oil, lemon oil, sandalwood oil, or even vegetable oil. You can also use butters like shea butter and mango butter.

To remove super glue from your hair with oil, follow these steps:

• First, soak your hair in water and soap/shampoo. Doing so will ensure that your hair is ready for the next step.
• Dispense some oil or butter into your hands and apply it to the super glue-covered areas of your hair.
• Work the oil/butter into the problem areas until the super glue begins to loosen. Take your time and be gentle, because if you handle your hair too roughly, you can end up with breakage.
• Wash your hair thoroughly with a clarifying shampoo to remove all of the excess super glue and oils. After washing your hair, follow up with a moisturizing conditioner to replenish any lost moisture.
• Examine your hair and see if there is any super glue left. If there is, repeat all of the previous steps.

Use Acetone or Nail Polish Remover to Remove Glue

If none of the previous remedies works, there’s one final thing you can try – acetone or nail polish remover.

These chemicals are super strong, but they are highly likely to rid your hair of the super glue. You should be careful when working with chemicals such as these – we recommend that you follow our instructions to the T.

To remove super glue from your hair with acetone, you’ll need the following supplies:

• Cotton balls (or cotton swab)
• Acetone or nail polish remover
• Your favorite shampoo and conditioner
• Comb

Follow the below instructions to get started:

• Dispense a small amount (½ to 1 cup) of acetone or nail polish remover into a glass bowl. You want to make sure that the nail polish you use has acetone in it. Check your label to make sure. A non-acetone nail polish remover will not be as effective as one formulated with acetone. Please don’t pour nail polish remover on the affected area directly.
• Dip a cotton ball into the glass bowl and then hold it onto your hair where the super glue resides. This part will take a little patience because you’ll need to wait for 3 to 5 minutes for the super glue to loosen.
• After the time is up, remove the cotton ball from your hair and gently comb through your hair to remove the super glue. We recommend that you take your time with this part to avoid ripping out your hair.
• If there are any stubborn pieces of super glue left in your hair, dip another cotton ball into the glass bowl and reapply it for a few minutes. Try your best to minimize the amount of time that the acetone or nail polish remover sits on your hair. These chemicals can easily dry your hair out and leave it prone to brittleness and breakage.
• Wash your hair using a clarifying shampoo to remove all of the acetone or nail polish remover from your hair. It’s vital to wash out all of the chemicals from your hair. If they get close to your scalp, they could cause irritation, and that’s a headache you don’t want to have to deal with.

We don’t recommend repeating this process if it doesn’t work the first time. These chemicals can not only dry out your hair, but they can negatively affect your body if you inhale or ingest them.

Proceed to the next section if the acetone/nail polish remover remedy didn’t work for you. Also, as an additional reminder we don’t recommend applying nail polish remover or acetone directly to your hair.

Can’t Get Glue Out of Hair? What To Do if Nothing Works

If none of the above options work for you, you have two other options: you could cut the super glue out or take a trip to the ER or dermatologist to see what they can do about it.

Most people don’t want to cut their hair off, but it’s an option, nonetheless. And medical professionals may have knowledge of, and access to, body-safe chemicals and tools to get the super glue out of your hair without having to cut it off.

So, if you’re having trouble getting the super glue out, don’t leave it there and hope that it’ll come out on its own. The next logical step is to see a professional.

Getting super glue in your hair can be a real pain. But with the above remedies, you’ve got a good chance of getting rid of that super glue in minutes. We wish you the best and hope that your hair will be super glue-free soon.

Kenneth Byrd holds a BS in Accounting and Management Information Systems and an MBA from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. With over 15 years of experience, Kenneth has been dedicated to hair care since 2008, when he co-founded Curl Centric® and Natural Hair Box alongside his wife. As a team, they promote healthy hair care practices through their comprehensive platform, Curl Centric. Curl Centric is a website operated by a husband and wife team that encourages healthy hair care. At Curl Centric, we aim to help our readers take control of their hair care journey and make good decisions about products, hairstyles, and maintenance techniques. We also have strict editorial integrity; here’s an explanation of our editorial guidelines and how we make money.