how to get cadaver smell out of hair?

[vinganca]

Anyone who has been through cadaver lab, I need your help. What can I do to get the rotten formaldehyde stench out of my skin and hair? Regular soaps and shampoos just aren't cutting it at all.

I've heard that baking soda, lemon juice and/or vinegar can take smoke smells out of hair, but those seem really harsh and drying; I can't imagine what would happen to my hair after 4 months of daily use. Has anyone used any of these things? How was it?

I suppose I need the seemingly-impossible: products that will take the cadaver smell out without too much damage to my hair. yes, I'm one of those people who is really attached to having uber-long hair; I would be insanely upset if it got so damaged that I had to cut it.

Anyway...what did you use to get the smell out? What would you recommend? Bonus points for natural/non-chemical solutions, as I have keratosis and chemically-scented products cause me to break out in a rash.

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[truthseeker]

Are you sure its in your hair and not in your nose making you think its in your hair? If it is you smelling it it is possible that cleaning/rinsing your sinuses with one of those saline dealies would flush out the chemical from your nose.

You could possible wear a surgical cap when in the lab and that might help.

 

[vapt]

Cut and pasted a portion of a post from one of the OT threads- maybe this will help:

General tips (from the forums and elsewhere):

• buy extra, and change out of, your scrubs!
• For the hands, I recommend double gloving. Some people put soap on in between the gloves, but that's just too much effort. Then, run home as fast as you can to shower.
• Get scrubs solely for anatomy. Wash them in bleach/detergent every couple of days. Keep then at school if possible when you are not taking them home to wash.
• Put your hair in a bun WET and go to lab. Some how this helps keep your hair from smelling.
• Swimmer's shampoo- use it as both bodywash and shampoo. Works much better than regular soap or shampoo.
• Nitrile gloves as first layer (next to skin) and over top latex. The latex is cheap an can be replaced a few times during lab.

 

[vinganca]

truthseeker: thanks for the tip re: surgical cap; I will definitely try that.

Unfortunately I'm pretty sure it's not just in my nose; bc of my allergies I wear a respirator mask during lab, which keeps a good deal of the fumes out of my nose. And my roommate could smell it when we were in the kitchen together, even after I showered.

vapt, thanks for the tips! Will definitely try going in with wet hair in a bun. Good ideas about the gloves too...that's the other problem; trying to eat lunch afterward, with the smell still on my hands even after washing them. A lemon juice/baking soda paste does work really well on hands; you just need loads of moisturizer bc it is drying.

OK so, wet hair in bun and a surgical cap. Will prob look silly with the cap and mask, but no one will make fun of me bc they're all afraid to touch the body and if they pissed me off I'd make them do their share of the cutting. muahahahaha.

 

[PTgirl416]

i did a few cadaver labs in my undergrad and had the same problem. my hair is so thick it seemed to absorb more stench than others.. i found that peanut butter actually helped get most of the stench out. obviously it's messier than we'd like but it worked better than anything else i tried.

 

[artizzle]

To get rid of the smell, shave your head.

 

[Bigshoguns]

LOL!

sorry this made me crack up

To get rid of the smell, shave your head.

 

[DancerFutureDPT]

scrub/surgical cap is the way to go...that's what I did for my dissection class last year. Or a bandana tied like a doo-rag (sp?) would work. I also think I've heard of people using dryer sheets in their scrub caps to help absorb the smell.

You could try Prell shampoo...that really old school stuff. I use it anyway (I swear it's the best shampoo ever). I bought it after a bad dye job (too brassy) and I heard it'd help to take the brassiness out...it kinda did I guess after like 10 washings in 2 days. But, it's really good at getting gross sweat out of my hair after some intense dance classes, workouts etc. It's also like 2 or 3 bucks at Walgreens, so if it doesn't work no biggie. My hair is also in the best condition it has been in years after using it, so it won't damage it.

If you are excessively washing/trying weird things, use a lot of conditioner to protect your hair, and avoid heat products for extra protection.

 

[SportEhab120]

Lol...at shaving the head. Consider it a right of passage. Just make sure you have clothes designated for Lab and change out of them once you're done. The longer it stays on you...the harder it is to get the smell off the skin.