How To Remove Adhesive After An EEG

By Adrian Sparrow
NeuLine Health

During an EEG, your scalp will be prepped with gel and adhesive applied to the electrodes so they can stay in place during the test. Medical glues can be difficult to remove, so to avoid pain and tears, here are some tips on getting the pesky goo out of your hair.

Oil

Unless you have another EEG scheduled in the near future and your technologist has requested you avoid oil-based removers, skin-safe oils can be used to loosen the EEG glue from your hair and skin. Coconut oil, olive oil, baby oil, and sunflower oil are a few examples, and conditioners can also work well in a similar fashion.

Simply massage into your dry scalp, and gently pick at the glue with your fingers and a toothbrush or fine-tooth comb. If the glue clumps aren’t loosening as well as you’d like, leave the oil/conditioner in for an hour or so. Follow up with combing and shampoo for clean hair.

Shampoo

The first thing many try at home is a good shampoo, but the remaining glue won’t always come out on the first wash. It might take multiple tries, but a clarifying shampoo will drastically speed up the process. Clarifying shampoos strip hair of all products and dirt, and after a deep scrub of your scalp, will leave your hair clean and glue-free.

As a gentle solution for removing oils from duck and penguin feathers, Dawn dish soap is another alternative to removing glues, especially if your EEG was 24+ hours. Wash with Dawn as if shampoo and follow up with conditioner.

Acetone

Whether the procedure takes place at the hospital, a clinic, or at home, your EEG technologist might use acetone or another solvent to remove the electrodes from your skin. However, EEG glue can harden again once acetone has evaporated, so be sure to let your technologist know if there’s still glue in your hair. Acetone nail polish remover can be used sparingly to remove pesky clumps of glue. Although safe for household use, acetone can excessively dry out and cause damage to your hair, so this should be a last resort.

Apply acetone to the glue with a cotton ball. Acetone causes extreme drying, so work quickly and follow up with a conditioner. Take special care with textured and colored hair, and follow up with a hair moisturizer and braids to keep your hair protected.

If there are still clumps of glue in your hair, repeat the steps above using oils and shampoo/conditioner, leaving them in for 15-20 minutes at a time before combing and rinsing.

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