Meerkats vs Goo

Mini Meerkat has quite a lot of very curly hair.

Mini Meerkat does not like having her head touched.

Mini Meerkat does not like having her hair washed or rinsed.

Mini Meerkat really does not like having her hair brushed or styled.

Mini Meerkat had to have a test that involving glueing goo and wires to her head, wrapping her up like a mummy, and leaving her that way for a few days while we went about our business. I was very concerned going in that she was going to be miserable. She did have some discomfort, but overall she really rocked it. Instead of crying, she occasionally laughed and said getting it put on and taken off tickled.

They doused her head in something that smelled like watered down paint thinner to get the goo off and left her looking like we dipped her head in an oil slick. But the tech wrapped her hair up with gauze in a high ponytail and tied a big puffy bow on top of her head, which made it all better.

Mini Meerkat declared that she liked her hair gooey, but alas the fumes were making my head hurt. She had gotten bath paints for Christmas that we hadn't used yet, and they were the perfect distraction while I dealt with her hair. I've heard a lot of horror stories about bath paints staining the tub, but these ones didn't stain the tub or Mini Meerkat (though she would only put her feet in the water when there was paint in it). I'm on the look out for a recipe for home made bath paints for the future, so if you have a good one, let me know!

For those wondering, the easiest way I have found to remove medical goo from hair is to go really heavy on the conditioner. I worked the conditioner through her hair, combed out the tangles while the conditioner was still in, added more conditioner, and then worked in some shampoo on top of the conditioner before thoroughly rinsing every off. Her hair was pretty saturated at that point, but it really helped to work out all of the goo. Once her hair was rinsed, I combed it again to get the last of the tangles. She's still go some residual goo on her scalp, but her hair smells great and feels like hair again!

She wasn't terribly thrilled during the washing process, but I think her head felt much better by the time we were done.