Vaseline out of Your Hair

1. Blot your hair with paper towels. You may have success in removing much of the Vaseline by soaking it up with an absorbent paper towel. Starting off with less product in your hair can make it easier to remove the remaining petroleum jelly--because it is so difficult to get out, you will probably have to repeat your method of choice several times to remove all the petroleum jelly. Soaking some of it up may reduce the number of treatments you have to give your hair.[1]
You can use a hand-held hair dryer (or a hood hair dryer if you have access to one) to heat up and liquefy the Vaseline. It may be easier to absorb it with the paper towels in this state.[2]

2. Comb through your hair with a fine-toothed comb. If you have thick globs of Vaseline tangling up your hair, combing it out may remove some of the product. Make sure you wipe off the comb after each stroke so you're not just spreading it around your hair.[3]
You may want to follow up the combing by squeezing your hair with a paper towel. This will absorb even more of the petroleum jelly still in your hair

Method 2 : Using Dry Ingredients

1. Apply a light layer of corn starch to the affected area. Cornstarch is highly absorbent and should bind to the oil-based petroleum jelly.[4] It may also be called corn flour or maize starch.

If you don't have corn starch on-hand, you can try baking powder or baby powder instead.[5]

No matter which agent you use (corn starch, baby powder, baking powder), be careful not to inhale any of the particles. It can irritate the delicate tissues in your lungs.[6]

2. Pat the corn starch into the hair. Rubbing can damage your hair or be abrasive to your skin, but you do want the powder to reach all the vaseline in your hair. Patting it will help push the corn starch into your hair.[7] Allow the corn starch to sit for a few minutes, giving it time to absorb the oil.

Make sure you cover all of the Vaseline-coated hair with the corn starch. You want to get as much of the Vaseline absorbed as possible--this may prevent you from having to repeat the process.[8]

3. Rinse your hair with warm water and apply a clarifying shampoo. Cold water may cause the Vaseline to congeal and thicken, making it even more difficult to remove.[9] Clarifying shampoo is easy to find and is used to remove excess oil and product build-up from hair.[10]

Shampoo your hair twice with the clarifying shampoo. This may dry out your hair some, but it will help make sure you get out as much of the oil as possible.[11]

4. Rinse your hair well, making sure you have removed as much corn starch, Vaseline, and shampoo as possible. Towel-blot your hair dry and allow it to air dry.

5. Repeat in 12-24 hours if there is still some remaining residue from the Vaseline. The corn starch and clarifying shampoo may have absorbed and stripped away much of your hair's natural oil. Giving your hair time to recover will decrease the likelihood of damage.[13]