Surgical and EEG Glue
Removing EEG glue from your child’s hair-is there anything worse? I cannot believe that we have the technology to actually do EEGs, but we do not have a good way to remove that damn glue from their heads, painlessly. The child has already been through enough.
As if kids and parents weren’t stressed enough about having to do an EEG, then we have to go home and figure out how to get that concrete off their heads.
It’s awful, right?

I heard a great tip from a Mom recently, so that inspired me to ask a few moms what they use. I’m also sharing what I use to get EEG glue off of Kevin’s head.
What DOES NOT work to get Medical EEG glue off
First, I’m sharing two tips that I was given, and they did not work.
- Acetone: This is the tip that the EEG techs gave me. Even if you’re comfortable putting nail polish remover on your child’s head, it didn’t work for me. It just made a mess. Also, it had zero affect on removing the EEG glue from his hair. I had made sure that it was 100% acetone, but it didn’t work.
- “Just shave his head!” : When my boys were younger, we just shaved their heads every other month or so. That was their haircut. Once, I was struggling to get the glue off and I thought, “heck, he’s due for a haircut anyway” and started shaving. What a mistake that was! It was like pulling 50 band-aids off his scalp, one by one. It was awful. I felt terrible. But once I started, I couldn’t stop since he had some shaved spots in his head.
Getting EEG glue out of a child’s hair:
And I’ve saved the newest (and I hear best) tip for last. I haven’t had to try it yet because Kevin hasn’t had an EEG since I heard this tip. But she swears it came off super easy.
How to Get Medical Glue out of Hair
- Heavy lotions or creams: I have used Formula 2, shown above. I generously slather it on, leaving it on as long as possible (at least an hour). I put a towel on pillowcase and let him sleep in it if I can. The next morning, the hunks of glue just combed out. I have also used the original Eucerin cream with the same effects.
- Heavy conditioner: Same as above. Leave on in tub for several minutes if you can, let them play or enjoy the shower. Then comb out while still using running warm water.
- Aspirin: Yes, really. Here’s a tip I got on epilepsy.com. To help you remove the glue from your hair after an E.E.G try this 5 to 7 aspirin crushed Half a cup hot water dissolve aspirin in water, 2 good size squirts of shampoo, 4 tablespoons witch hazel or Sea Breeze mix well all together. Massage thru wet hair and let sit for about 15 to 20 minutes. You can comb thru after allotted time has passed. Rinse and shampoo and condition as usual. Can be repeated if needed. This can also be done once a month to remove traces of medications from your hair. DO NOT NOT GET IN EYES!! and I would not use on children under 10.
- Let it go: This solution only works if the child has short hair, but I’ve tried it and it does work. Depending on hair style preferences, this works great if you can shave the child’s head before hand. But, you can just let it naturally wear off. Kevin wears a seizure helmet most of the time anyway, so his head is covered. It took about a week. We just did our normal daily shower routine and it will naturally flake off. When it’s coming off it looks like peeling sunburn.
- Micellar Water: This is the best tip that I saved for last. My friend Jenny shared it with me and I can just imagine it. Her daughter was likely resisting getting worked on, and Jenny just grabbed…something, anything…in the bathroom and tried it. And it was micellar water and she swears it worked like a charm! I don’t use it myself, but now I have a bottle in the bathroom cabinet, just in case.
Do you have an unusual tip on how to remove EEG glue from hair? Let me know and I’ll add it!