Hairspray is one of the worst offenders when it comes to chemicals in beauty products. It typically has aerosol, plastics, VOCs and more.
Luckily, like most beauty products, there is a simple, natural and easy to make alternative that is also less expensive and healthier for hair.
Surprisingly, it uses only a couple ingredients, including white sugar (an ingredient that is terrible for the body but can be great for skin and hair).
If you use hairspray, try this natural alternative… your health and the environment will thank you! If you are looking more for a texturizing and volumizing spray, check out this sea spray for hair instead.
Hair Spray Ingredients:
- 1.5 cups filtered wter
- 2 tablespoons white sugar (dark ones don’t work)
- 1 tablespoon high proof alcohol like vodka (I prefer spiced rum for the scent)
- 10-15 drops of essential oils of choice
What to Do:
- Boil water and dissolve sugar in it.
- Allow to cool to room temp and add alcohol and essential oils.
- Store in spray bottle and use as regular hair spray.
Note: This recipe lasts indefinitely if kept in an air tight container. Adjust the sugar up or down for more or less stiffness/hold (more sugar=stronger hold) but don’t add too much or hair will feel sticky. I have had some luck combining this with the salt from my beach waves spray for a texturizing spray. I reduced the sugar by half and added half of the magnesium.
Not a hairspray user? Here are some other natural beauty recipes that work well and save money:
How to Make Natural Shampoo [Easy way]
Make Your Own Natural Deodorant With This Simple Recipe
Homemade Shaving Soap Recipes
Luxurious Sugar Scrub Recipe
Homemade Lotion Bars
Deodorant Bars
DIY Sunscreen Bars
Bug-Off Lotion Bars
Herbal Hair Color Recipes
Seven Natural Baby Care Recipes
DIY Beach Waves Hair Texture Spray
DIY Dry Shampoo for Dark or Light Hair
Natural Skin Care Recipes
Homemade Make-up Recipes
Feminine Hygiene Solutions
Have you ever made your own hair spray? Share below!
I have loved his recipe and have been using it since last November (during the winter months). HOWEVER as soon as it warmed up, my hair was sticky like cotton candy… any suggestions?
I can’t wait to try this! Thanks for sharing.
I made this and it has left my hair looking stringy. Any ideas on what went wrong and how to fix it?
Try using the Sea Salt Texturizing Spray first. Then this hairspray.
Are the essential oils necessary for any purpose other then scent? I don’t have any but am using pear Vodka lol
Only for scent…
Wont the alcohol dry out our hair?
Not in this quantity…
Katie,
Clarification, the water portion is 1/5 cup. I feel like when I made this before you added more water then that.
Thanks!
I also have the same question. I wonder if the 1/5 is a typo and is meant to be 1.5 cups? I tried it at 1/5 (quintupling the batch to get a full cup) and two sprays turned my head into a sticky helmet. I tried it at 1.5, and it seems to be much closer to the correct mixture. Any clarification is welcome — thank you for all of these great recipes.
Yes. Thanks for the catch. Apparently that formatting messed up when we had to switch out a plugin. Thanks for pointing it out and yes, 1.5 cups!
That is so smart! I will try a flavored vodka. Thanks!
Hi there! So excited to try this. Just wondering where you bought the glass (?) spray bottle to put the hairspray in? Thanks!
I made this and I love it! Been using it for 2 weeks now and haven’t touched my store bought stuff since. I use hairspray a lot so it’s nice to have a cheaper natural option that works and smells good.
I have yeast/ candida issues in my hair… do you think the sugar will be an issue?
Katie, where do you get your containers from? Ae they BPA free? Do you have a source you recommend?
I tried a similar recipe- without alcohol- but I didn’t like it. It did hold, but made my hair frizzy. I’m hoping the alcohol will help the spray dry faster & prevent this problem, so I’m going to try your’s. I think I may try chamomile tea in place of water to help lighten my hair a bit.
Ps I love that you use rum for scent. I made my hubby aftershave with bourbon & everyone thought I was crazy, but that spicy smell you can get in liquors really is great. He loves it, of course, but I think some of that is the bragging rights of wearing bourbon lol.
Thanks, I am interested to try this. My husband uses hairspray to tame his greying frizz, hopefully this will work for him.