oopsie! I got quite a bit of varnish in my hair!

[browneyedsusan]

At work today, I was laying down to varnish some woodwork, and the end of my ponytail jumped into the varnish pail! I wiped it off with paper towel, squirted it with WD40--it was the only thing available that I thought would remove varnish without melting my hair off!--, and washed it in the bathroom sink with handsoap.

On the upside, now it's as sparkely as a disco ball; but on the downside, it's a tad crunchy. Any advice?

[brickworld13]

What was in the varnish? Like disolves like so it would help to know what the varish is composed of.

[lapushka]

Try and wash it again and slather a great big glob of conditioner on the ends & let marinate for at least half an hour. That's what I'd do. Make the shampoo a clarifying one if you have it.

[Anje]

WD-40 was quick thinking!

I'd probably drench it with oil for a few hours, see if that gets more off and helps with the crunch at all. (Personally, I'd go olive oil for this. It's heavy but it makes my hair soft more reliably than most.)

Can you tell if there's still much varnish there?

ETA: Obviously, next time you'll remember to bun it! I'd also suggest tying a bandana or scarf around your hair once it's bunned, too -- I don't know about you, but I'm prone to getting paint spattering everywhere, and I'd rather exclude my hair from that.

[Sterlyn]

:rollin: :rollin: "sparkley as a disco ball" :rollin:

Seriously though not laughing at your hair situation......

[MandyBeth]

Do you still have varnish in your hair? I'm suspicious of that with the disco ball flare with crunch.

If so, faux Zoya Remove + (it's acetone with glycerin and water mixed in) will get it out without being quite as evil. Straight acetone will remove it but it's nasty as all get.

[Doreen]

In addition to what other have suggested, try going at it with a fine-tooth comb for a while and see if you make some progress in removing it. I don't know whether this will work depending on how much is in your hair but might be worth a try!

[browneyedsusan]

Thank you all for the prompt responses and excellent advice. I was mildly freaked out, and had visions of reliving the pixie--which was fun, but took a LONG time to grow to my current length.

@brickworld13: It was a nasty, stinky, sticky petroleum product. Minwax wood varnish, I think. I can't imagine how I got my hair in it?!?

@lapushka: Thanks, girl! I hauled my Joico clarifying shampoo out from under the sink and went at it--gently, of course. My hair made a birdnest, but I expected that. 2 handfuls of condish, and a finger comb, and the tangles smoothed right out! :)

@Anje: WD40 dissolves all sorts of goo, why not varnish, eh? --Desperate times call for desperate measures!-- (PineSol was my other thought, but I was kind of afraid of it! lol!) I think I got most of it out at work. My ends looked super greasy, but it wasn't horrible. Didn't even think about bunning before that job. It was back out of the way, and I'm usually very neat with paint and stain, but not today! I dribbled an embarrassing amount on the drop cloth and everything!
I put a gob of EVOO in and bunned up for an hour, then fired lapushka's guns.

@ Sterlyn: Gee thanks! You're such a comfort! lol! :bounce:

@MandyBeth: The "dicso ball" reference was mostly ribbing from my co-workers. They weren't about to lose an opportunity to give me a hard time! It was shiny, but it could have been the henna, too. I could tell my hair had something sticky in it, but think I got most of it out with the WD40. :)

@Doreen: I'll get after it with a fine-tooth comb when it dries. I think it came out. *fingers crossed*


You all rock harder than the Stones! :rockerdud
Thank you so much. :blossom: I think I got it out. I used every tip you girls offered up, and just got out of the shower. My hair isn't dry yet, but is behaving normally so far.
Thanks bunches. It's hard to think when you're half-traumatized!

[lapushka]

@lapushka: Thanks, girl! I hauled my Joico clarifying shampoo out from under the sink and went at it--gently, of course. My hair made a birdnest, but I expected that. 2 handfuls of condish, and a finger comb, and the tangles smoothed right out! :)

You're welcome! :D


I put a gob of EVOO in and bunned up for an hour, then fired lapushka's guns.

Kapowwww. :lol: :guns:

[browneyedsusan]

Yup. It's out!
Thanks for sharing your awesomeness! :flowers:

[MandyBeth]

Yay!

WD-40 (petroleum oil based product) will help with a petroleum based finish while wet. It's not great for removing, but it prevents the finish from setting up completely. Thus the odd look, but it came out when washed. DH was playing with oil paint, thus minimal experiences there. He wasn't home when I first asked.

But man, disco ball shine could be awesome.

[browneyedsusan]

Yay!

WD-40 (petroleum oil based product) will help with a petroleum based finish while wet. It's not great for removing, but it prevents the finish from setting up completely. Thus the odd look, but it came out when washed. DH was playing with oil paint, thus minimal experiences there. He wasn't home when I first asked.

But man, disco ball shine could be awesome.

Yes! I think that's exactly what happened--it never set up. I didn't know why, though. Thanks for the explanation. :) Good thing we had WD40 at work, else I would have had a big mess and potentially hard decision to make. :scissors: