A little advise please :-)

[Adriana Rose]

My sister just had her third child on Monday and since she had to stay in the hospital for 3 days I watched my niece and nephew so she wouldn't have to worry about them. Well we all have caught one plague or the other while she was in the hospital
So that means that sick kids and a newborn aren't a good mix so my house turned into a plague house. All well and fine by me until last night my 2 yearold niece decided that she needed to put some Vick's on. Like the WHOLE bottle She didn't eat any get any in her eyes just most of it went into her hair. My mum and I got the majority out of her hair its just she looks like a greaser.

So does anyone know how to get Vick's out of hair? I was thinking a wee smidgen of dishsoap but I donno. Ideas?

[Merlin the Elder]

Being that it's so greasy, the dish detergent (use liquid) is probably your best bet. It will help to emulsify the grease to get it out.  Soap will not work well, detergent will.

You would probably want to use some conditioner on her hair after you get all the Vick's out...

[Anna Iram]

Try Dawn. They use it to clean oil from birds caught in oil spills. Should be safe enough for your neice. Give her a lite conditioner after if her hair feels too stripped.

[PollyPoPo]

If you haven't already done it, a dish soap with "grease-cutter" should do the job.  If she's used to "no tears" shampoos, this will be a good chance for her to learn about putting a cloth on her eyes to keep soap out.  

Vinegar might cut the oil of the Vicks.

If you have "clarifying" shampoo (Suave or some other inexpensive brand), it would take out the heavy residue from the Vicks as well.  

Might take a few washings to get the smell out.  

They would all be kind of "rough" on her hair, but at 2 it should recover quite nicely.  

[Merlin the Elder]

Nim (she's a pharmacist) has suggested baby shampoo. She said due to it's nature—castille soap—it is close to a detergent, and would certainly be safer than other things. Try that first, and if it doesn't work, go a bit stronger.  She then suggests Ivory dish detergent next. On a two-year-old, you don't really want to go with the big guns first...

[PollyPoPo]

Just in case she's with you when it happens (and it will), peanut butter is one of the best things to use to get chewing gum out of little girls hair.

Then wash it with whatever shampoo you normally use to get the oil from the peanut butter out.

[Anna Iram]

Adriana, I'm curious what you used to get the majority out so far. I'm assuming you've already tried shampoo.

[Adriana Rose]

We used paper towels to get the bulk of it out and then normal shampoo. She was not a happy camper because she knew that she was in trouble. The smell came out when we washed last night, if it didnt it wouldnt be a big deal because the litttle pistol is sick. She looks super greasy its kinda cute with all of her curls.

[Anna Iram]

I pulled a similar stunt when I was about four. Glopped hand lotion in my hair just before a photoshoot. I thought it would make my hair look pretty.  . Mom freaked.

Well, I don't want to turn your niece into an experiment, but maybe try baking powder or baking soda? Leave it in to absorb the grease then try washing again. Maybe easier said than done on a two year old. Agree with Polly tha cider vinegar would make a good rinse.

[Merlin the Elder]

Try vinegar AND baking soda... now THAT would be fun!

[Archer]

Try vinegar AND baking soda... now THAT would be fun!

Interesting suggestion there Merlin.    . . .

[Adriana Rose]

Haha I dont think my sister would be amused if it did that with her daughter lol. We did the baby shampoo and it seems to be working, just a few washes and she will be good as new.

She normally goes for the lotion, and it always seems to be my good expensive stuff too.

[Anna Iram]

Well thank goodness, 'cause my next suggestion was to just "shave her head, it'll grow back". Glad we didn't have to go there!

[Merlin the Elder]

Now, there's an idea...a little hair off the dog...

[raevyncait]

I'm glad you've found a solution that seems to be working. Nim is right, baby shampoo is a great stripping shampoo. It's designed to strip cradle cap that babies often have, and while gentle for their eyes (hence the no more tears), it's actually a fairly strong product (as we learned in beauty school), and your toddler should actually be using a children's shampoo rather than the baby version, as it's not as harsh as baby shampoo. For years, we used it before we permed my mom's hair, to help strip medication residues and help the perm take a little better. I keep a small bottle on hand for the times when I've been using more product than normal, or on the final shampoo before I apply my henna, because it's typically cheaper than "clarifying" shampoos.