Glue in hair from a sleep study

[renarok]

I got home an hour ago from an all night sleep study. The technician was very nice, but he used sooo much of the glue that adheres the electrodes to the scalp that my hair is a matted mess of what feels like chewing gum. I have slathered it with probably a cup of thick conditioner and massaged it in to break up its bond to the scalp. I can tell there is going to be a lot of breakage. I am upset that this part of the study wasn't even discussed prior to my appointment. Grrrr. I am wrapped in plastic wrap and hoping that the glue dissolves enough to wash out.
Does anyone have any experience with this? Imagine 12 giant wads of chewing gum pasted onto your scalp....

[pailin]

Oh, I've had that. 3 times at least. The first time was the worst, I think they used a different glue in my later studies and it wasn't so awful (I was expecting it the second time and pleasantly surprised).
After my first sleep study (mind you, it included the all-day study as well as the overnight one- they were serious about keeping those things on my head), I think I went in the shower with a comb and just went at it with conditioner. Some of that stuff really didn't want to come off, and I remember digging at the lumps on my scalp with the comb. It was a very long shower, and I used a LOT of conditioner. I may have still been scratching stuff off my head afterwards...

I don't think I was told just how hard it would be to get it off, and when I left they just told me to use a lot of conditioner. I don't think I was that concerned then, except that it was a major nuisance; that was when I was keeping my hair short.

I don't have any better solutions than conditioner and patience, but you absolutely have my sympathy.

[renarok]

I am still soaking in conditioner. Apparently it needs very hot water to dissolve. I hope it doesn't adhere to the length as it washes out. It feels like pitch more than gum now.

[mindwiped]

When I had my last one they recommended dish soap. I know, I screamed inside my head too. A round with really really hot water and a clarifying shampoo got almost everything, and it was good enough to where my next CO finished it off.

[meteor]

I haven't had that experience and I don't know which ingredients are in the gel (you could ask at the clinic, of course!), but there are special rinse-free shampoo caps used in hospitals that specifically clean off things like EEG gel (and blood, iodine, etc) - for example, http://www.sageproducts.ca/products/shampoo-cap/
This makes me think that those sleep study gels were probably designed to be washed/shampooed away, rather than removed dry with conditioner/oil, etc.
Not saying that the "dry method" with conditioner won't work, but I would think shampooing (clarifying) might give better results... :hmm:

[renarok]

I was able to dissolve, (or emulsify?)the glue into a more liquid state by adding coconut oil (monoi) to my scalp area and massaging for a long time. I rinsed well with very warm water in my kitchen sink with the sprayer. My husband held my hair up so I rinsed out the glue without it touching my length. I now have a generous amount of SMT in my hair and will rinse it out in an hour or so.

I am so glad I didn't follow the advice of some of my Google searches. The most common recommendation is to rub with alcohol or acetone until it is gone.
Can you imagine how horrid that would be?

[renarok]

I haven't had that experience and I don't know which ingredients are in the gel (you could ask at the clinic, of course!), but there are special rinse-free shampoo caps used in hospitals that specifically clean off things like EEG gel (and blood, iodine, etc) - for example, http://www.sageproducts.ca/products/shampoo-cap/
This makes me think that those sleep study gels were probably designed to be washed/shampooed away, rather than removed dry with conditioner/oil, etc.
Not saying that the "dry method" with conditioner won't work, but I would think shampooing (clarifying) might give better results... :hmm:

It wasn't a gel. It was a thick paste that dried to a hard lump. Gross!

[meteor]

I was able to dissolve, (or emulsify?)the glue into a more liquid state by adding coconut oil (monoi) to my scalp area and massaging for a long time. I rinsed well with very warm water in my kitchen sink with the sprayer. My husband held my hair up so I rinsed out the glue without it touching my length. I now have a generous amount of SMT in my hair and will rinse it out in an hour or so.

That seems like a very smart approach. :thumbsup: If your husband is tired, you can also braid/bun and wrap in plastic wrap your length and wash only scalp area - like a scalp-only wash.

That said, I'm really happy to hear the "glue" is emulsifying well. Keep at it! Best of luck! :cheer:

[lapushka]

For me, I had a SSEP done many many many years ago, and had electrodes stuck to my head as well. My hair was between chin & shoulder at the time, though. It shampood right out for me.

[Jadestorm]

Yes, I unfortunately have experienced the same thing. :rolleyes: It was horrible, because they kept turning up the heat of the hair dryer because the glue wouldn't stick and they had to put more glue on several times. I had a lot of breakage during the tests itself. :mad:

Afterwards I had to get out of the room very quickly so they didn't have much time to get the elektrodes and sticky bandaids off with the chemical stuff they used. They actually said 'wow, what have they done to you?! It's like they poured an entire jar of glue over your head'. Very nice, considering I had asked them in advance to be extra careful because of my long hair. :confused: I tried everything to get the glue out. Oil, lots of conditioner, lots of shampoo, multiple washes in one go... I kept pulling out glue even days later and my hair looked and felt like it was completely ruined but then I used a hair repair silk mask (by the brand Kruidvat, as far as I know it's only available in Belgium and in the Netherlands though) and after that my hair was back to normal!

So, try using a deep repair type of mask and your hair should feel normal again. To get the glue out I don't have any tips unfortunately as nothing I tried worked.

[Komao]

I got home an hour ago from an all night sleep study. The technician was very nice, but he used sooo much of the glue that adheres the electrodes to the scalp that my hair is a matted mess of what feels like chewing gum. I have slathered it with probably a cup of thick conditioner and massaged it in to break up its bond to the scalp. I can tell there is going to be a lot of breakage. I am upset that this part of the study wasn't even discussed prior to my appointment. Grrrr. I am wrapped in plastic wrap and hoping that the glue dissolves enough to wash out.
Does anyone have any experience with this? Imagine 12 giant wads of chewing gum pasted onto your scalp....

I started this thread as I had the same problem. Please read my last post as it turned out not to be as bad as I initially thought and believe me I was also upset. :)

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=130395