How to Remove Acrylic Paint from Hair

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: September 18, 2022 References

Getting acrylic paint out of hair can be a major pain. Like other forms of paint, it can form clumps on individual hair strands to resist combs and brushes. However, because acrylic paint is water based, shampoo and oil can make it easier to remove without hurting your scalp or damaging your hair in the process.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Using Shampoo

1
Wet your hair with warm water or take a warm shower. Massage the painted parts of your hair with your fingertips to soften any hardened sections.You could also take a bath to allow your hair to soak in the warm water for several minutes.
2
Apply a liberal amount of shampoo to your hair and massage gently. No special shampoo is required – you can just use your normal product. Let the shampoo sit for about 10-20 minutes before washing off.^{[1]
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3
Run a fine-toothed comb gently through your hair. Try to comb out the sections of paint that have now softened. You may want to clean the comb periodically with your fingers and set aside the bits of paint so that they don’t clog the drain.
4
Rinse the hair thoroughly. Once you’ve removed as much paint as possible, rinse your hair again in warm water. Comb your fingers through your hair to help remove any lingering bits of paint that have flaked off.
5
Use conditioner on your hair. Saturate the hair with conditioner to help restore some of its moisture. Let it sit in your hair for at least three minutes before rinsing so that your hair has a chance to soak up the conditioner’s oils.^{[2]
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Image titled Remove Acrylic Paint from Hair Step 5

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Using Oil

1
Rub olive oil or baby oil between your palms. Use a generous amount so that you can saturate your hair. If you have long hair, or if there’s a lot of paint in your hair, you may need to refill your palms with the oil several times.
- If you don’t have either of these oils, you could use other substances from around the house, like peanut butter or WD-40.^{[3]
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  Research source} Follow the same process of rubbing the product between your palms, but if using WD-40, wear latex or disposable gloves since the product could cause skin irritation, and avoid using it near your scalp.^{[4]
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2
Run your hands through the part of your hair with the paint. Check that the affected part of your hair is coated with oil, and allow it to sit in your hair for several minutes. This will soften the paint and make it easier to flake off.^{[5]
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- For really stubborn dried paint, you may want to apply the oil to your hair, wrap your head in plastic wrap, and then wait a few hours to give it extra softening time.^{[6]
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3
Use a fine-toothed comb to remove the softened paint. Make sure to use gentle strokes, so as not to pull your hair from your scalp or to break it off at the ends. Try dividing your hair into 1-inch sections and combing them each separately.
- For bad tangles, start at the bottom of your hair and just comb out the last inch. Then move up and comb the inch above that. Progress this way until you’ve reached your scalp and can easily glide a comb from root to tip.
4
Shampoo as usual. Lather your hair with your typical shampoo and then rinse to remove the oil. Depending on how much oil was in your hair, you may need to shampoo and rinse a second time.
- You may condition if you wish, but you don’t need to since the oil you used to remove the paint also moisturized your hair.^{[7]
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Community Q&A

Question

If I were really desperate for a temporary dye, would this is a suitable replacement?

Brenley.Horrocks

Community Answer

No. It would be better to get colored hairspray or something similar. The paint clumps up and fuses with your hair, making it difficult and painful to remove.
Question

How do I remove real spray paint from hair?

Community Answer

Try soaking your hair with shampoo and warm water, or rinse and rub your hair at the same time.
Question

How to get rid of extreme paint on braided hair?

Community Answer

You'll need to unbraid the hair since the only way to get all the paint out is to comb it out once you've softened it with shampoo or olive oil. If you can't undo the braids, start by saturating them with olive oil, wrapping them in plastic wrap, and letting the product sit for several hours before washing it out.

Warnings

Do not use chemical compounds such as turpentine or paint thinners to get the paint out of the hair. These chemicals have strong ingredients which have damaging effects on your hair.

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