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Adhesive removers explained – Walker Tape overview

Walker Tape Adhesive Removers Overview image

Adhesive removers – How to remove Walker Tape adhesive products

Common questions about Walker Tape products often share a similar pattern. “How to remove Ultra Hold?” “How to remove Lace Front?” “How to remove Extreme Hold?” hope this article explains more about adhesive removers.

With products that stay on as well as ours, it’s only right to also offer ways to take them off. So, to those with questions like the ones above, we have a slam-dunk answer: remove Walker Tape products with Walker Tape removers.

Though, of course, we have quite the variety to choose from. Where should you start? Or how do you know you’re going with the right choice? In hopes to help your search, we’ve created the following background to adhesive removers and an overview of our entire product line.

Original article by Walker Tape

How do Adhesive Removers work?

Removers are often called solvents since they dissolve adhesives down to liquids. This weakens the hair system’s bond to the scalp for an easy removal. Plus, it also softens the residue buildup, making it much easier to clean off.

Basically, removers work by reversing the process of what makes adhesives sticky. Think, for example, of our liquid adhesives.

  1. They stay soft and glue-like in their bottles thanks to solvents.
  2. Once applied to your client’s scalp, the solvents evaporate from the mixture.
  3. With no more solvents, adhesives solidify and become tacky to the touch.

Now, here’s what happens when we add removers into the mix.

  1. Without solvents added yet, tape and adhesive bonds are solid and strong.
  2. Once solvents are added, tapes and adhesives soften and become liquid.
  3. Now softened by solvents, they become easier to remove from hair systems and skin.

 

 

Walker Tape Removers

 

Oil-Based Adhesive Removers

Oil-based removers are the fastest at breaking down adhesives, and our selection offers you the fastest-acting solvents we’ve ever seen. Plus, we’ve created our oil-based options to work with all hair systems and all adhesive and tape types. Whatever the combination, whether your clients prefer lace frontals with Lace Front tape or poly systems with Extreme Hold, our oil-based removers do the job.

When you use an oil-based solvent, it will leave behind some oily residue that needs to be cleaned off. That’s why we’ve made all our options in this category easy to rinse out with soap and water. For the cleanup phase of your removal process, we recommend Bond Breaker Shampoo.

Below are the six oil-based options we offer. All but Rapid Release are skin safe. Rapid Release happens to be stronger than we feel comfortable for your client’s skin, yet it works great on all hair systems.

  • Walker Signature Remover: our fastest solvent for your clients with sensitive skin
  • C-22 Solvent: our most popular remover, a great balance of fast-acting and skin-gentle properties
  • Action: our fastest skin-safe solvent
  • Rapid Release: the fastest-acting solvent, meant to be using on the hair system only and not on your client’s skin, also ideal for solvent soaks
  • S3 – Sensitive Skin Solvent: our first remover meant for your clients with sensitive skin

Directions

  1. Saturate the adhesive area. Breakdown begins in seconds. The release time will depend on adhesive buildup.
  2. Wipe or brush off the residue.
  3. Shampoo, and rinse.

The Solvent Soak Method

  1. Fill a large bowl with solvent.
  2. Submerge the unit completely with the adhesive-side up, and let soak.
  3. Wearing gloves, work off the adhesive while keeping the system submerged.
  4. Shampoo, and rinse.

In theory, you could use any of our oil-based removers for a solvent soak, but we recommend using either Walker Solvent or Rapid Release. Considering the quantities needed for a solvent soak, we’ve created these to be the most economical options to save your salon money.

Alcohol-Based Adhesive Removers

Though alcohol-based removers are slower at breaking down adhesives, they offer the fastest cleanup. Alcohol evaporates quickly and completely. This means zero oily residue left for you to rinse out.

We offer an excellent, skin-safe option that’s meant for delicate mesh and combined mesh/poly systems, such as popular lace front choices. Its breakthrough is the ability to release the fragile mesh while keeping most of the adhesive on the scalp. This supports a safer way to remove delicate (read expensive!) mesh systems.

  • Lace Release: releases adhesive from mesh, lowering risk of damage to fragile systems

Directions

  1. Apply generously through the unit toward the scalp.
  2. Wait for 30 seconds.
  3. Repeat once more.
  4. Gently lift the system away from the head.
  5. Shampoo, and rinse.

We wouldn’t recommend trying to do a solvent soak with an alcohol-based remover. It evaporates too quickly to allow any time for the adhesive to soak.

Water-Based Adhesive Removers

Water-based removers are made just for water-based adhesives. They’re the only nonflammable solvents in this overview, which makes them the easiest on shipping costs. Plus, the water base makes these solvents a breeze to clean up, leaving hardly any residue. But because their main solvent is water, they break down adhesives at slower rates than oil-based options.

That said, we’ve found that our water-based option below works faster than any other competing brands out there.

  • H2GO: removes water-based adhesives faster and easier than any other water-based adhesive remover that we’ve ever seen

Directions

  1. Saturate adhesive area, and let sit for 5-10 seconds.
  2. As it softens, start removing adhesive.
  3. Wipe or brush off residue.
  4. Repeat the process as needed until the skin is clean.
  5. Shampoo, and rinse.

We also wouldn’t recommend using a water-based remover in a solvent soak. Since water is the main solvent involved, it would take extra time to achieve the desired results.

Proper Storage

Besides H2GO, the rest of our removers are flammable and combustible. Considering this, it’s critical to keep them away from possible sources of ignition: heat, flames, sparks, pilot lights, electric motors, static electricity, etc.

As is good practice with any solvent-based mixtures, it’s best to store them locked and out of reach of children. If there is an accident, we have safety sheets available for each of our removers.

To get the most from our removers, we also have the following storage tips.

  • Make sure to keep their lids tightly closed.
  • Store them in a consistently cool, dry, and well-ventilated place.
  • Keep them in areas controlled at room temperature, at the very least below 90°F at all times.