How do I get wall paint out of hair?!

[ApricotPony24]

For background - I'm a foster carer. A little girl arrived with me earlier this evening. She's somehow got thick black emulsion in her hair and it's dried on and completely tangled/knotted through. She's in bed now, but tomorrow I need to try and get it out. Any suggestions or advice?

Apparently oil (baby or vegetable) left on for 20 mins will soften it and then you can rinse it out with warm water, shampoo and a comb.

Hi I have no advice on the paint in the hair but I just wanted to thank you for being such an amazing person fostering children xx

I think you need to get out out before it dries -warm water with washing up liquid.

She arrived with it already dried. I think it's been that way for at least a couple of days

Thanks for the suggestion of baby oil. I'll try that in the morning. Its so matted with the paint that if she was my own I'd probably take her to the hairdresser's and get them to cut the worst of it out - unfortunately we haven't got permission for that at the moment. So baby oil, hopes and prayers it is!

I'd start by just giving it a wash, massaging your shampoo into it. I have been decorating a lot in the last couple of months and whenever I have paint in my hair, a normal shampoo gets it out. With baby oil you'd have to be really careful not to get it in eyes, plus you'd need a few washes to get it back out. I'd save that for if a normal shampoo/conditioner cycle didn't work.

Tea tree oil left on for a few minutes. Massage it in, apply again and wash

Soak, then conditioner and comb it out - nit comb at the end if you can.

Standard emulsion should be water soluable so it should come out with a normal shampoo. I’d try a shampoo and then pop some conditioner on and leave it in place for about 15 mins before rinsing. Then shampoo again and a normal conditioner.

poor wee Bairn. Thank you for giving her somewhere safe