Recipes For Hair Detangler Spray, Styling Cream & More

 Print     Email

I have many, many fond memories of my grandmother but I do have one not-so-happy recollection…the day she had my hair cut short, and not only short, but cut like a boy’s!

Not A Picture Of Me...But I Sure Do Remember Those Troublesome Tangles!

I was around 4 years old and my younger brother and I were staying at her house for a few weeks one summer. I had lovely long hair with natural curls but each morning it was quite the chore having it brushed out…it was a mass of tangles and knots and I ran a few laps each day trying to escape the brush my grandmother was wielding.

One day she had enough of my tears so she trotted me over to the *barber* to cut it short (with my parents permission of course). Lots of tears were shed but I have to admit, the mornings were never so painful again .

I remember all-too-well how awful it is to sit still for what seems like hours, getting all those troublesome tangles brushed out when you’re a child. Your scalp is more sensitive and your hair is more fine, you feel every painful tug.

Here’s a quick homemade recipe to help make things easier, I wish we had it on hand all those years ago!

*Based on information I found in the book Free Stuff for Baby! by Sue M. Hannah

• In a spray bottle, mix between 8 and 10 parts water with 1 part of your favorite conditioner. Shake it up and spray directly onto hair then comb out.
• You can adjust the recipe as needed if the mixture leaves behind an oily residue (using more water/less conditioner) or knots are still stubborn (requiring more conditioner/less water).

Another recipe to try:

• 2 TBS of apple cider vinegar to a 16 ounce spray bottle filled with warm water. Shake before using, spray on wet hair then rinse out before combing.

If I’ve saved one little girl from getting her hair cut like a boy’s by the local barber, I consider this post a job well done!

Homemade Hairspray

*First published February 20, 2009 and moved to this page for better organization

Here’s a tip and recipe sent in by Mildred for making your own hairspray. This is phenomenal–it’s very frugal, organic and skips those harsh perfume & chemical clouds when spraying on.

Here’s Mildred’s tip:

I found this recipe in a library book awhile ago and thought I would try it. My hair is thick and this hair spray still held well. I thought all the tipnuts would like to know about it, it is a very cheap recipe to try and easy to make too.

2 cups water
2 fresh lemons
1 tablespoon of vodka or rubbing alcohol

• Peel the lemons and chop them into thick wedges or chunks. Bring the water to a boil, boil for one minute, then reduce heat to simmering. Add the lemons and simmer until the lemons are soft and the water has reduced to about halfway.
• Remove from heat, cool and then strain out the lemon bits. Pour into a spray bottle and then add the vodka. Shake well and then shake each time before using.
• If the spray gets a little too sticky, just add a bit of water.
• The vodka or rubbing alcohol is important to include since it will help keep the recipe from going rancid, but this will only keep for 2 to 3 weeks so don’t make too much at one time. Also boiling the water first before adding the lemons will help keep the spray from going bad because it sterilizes the water first.
• If the lemons are organic you can slice them into wedges with the peels on and boil, this is because there are no pesticides on the peel to worry about.

Thanks for sharing this Mildred! I did some searching online and it seems this is quite a common and popular recipe (or variations of this). Oranges will also work.

If you have any commercial hairspray bottles, wash them out well and save them to use for this. If you’re still using aerosol, here’s your excuse to dump those nasty cans!

Styling Cream

Here’s a recipe from Sweet Sassafras:

Hair Cream Recipe By sweetsassafras.org

This is my homemade DIY hair cream. I labeled it pomade, but I think it’s more of a cream/shine product than a sticky pomade. Obviously I didn’t spend a lot of time on making it look fancy, since it’s labeled with masking tape and a sharpie.

I really love this stuff. I have very thick, healthy, strong hair that tends toward the coarse side. Sort of like a horse. It’s got a little bit of wave to it. A little of this cream really helps to give it some moisture, shininess, and control the flyaway bits.

Control stray bits and add a bit of shine with this “pomade” cream that uses wholesome, natural ingredients: shea butter, amla oil, coconut oil, olive oil, castor oil, almond oil, rosemary oil and aloe vera oil. The jar will last for quite awhile (use sparingly–that’s a lot of oil), and you can skip the commercial products with the hefty price tags (loaded with who-knows-what for chemicals).

Please visit the site above for details.

Tips to Fight Static

*First published December 29, 2006 and moved to this page for better organization

When wearing toques, hats and scarves in winter, hair tends to get a tad crazy! Here are a few tips to help:

Does Your Hair Have Issues? Here Are A Couple Tips To Help

• Try rubbing a new dryer sheet around the inside of winter head gear to help fight fashion trauma. You can also fight static cling in your clothes by keeping a dryer sheet on hand (such as Bounce). Simply wipe it directly on the area that has an issue (wipe in one direction).
• If you have allergies or work in a scent free workplace, keep fragrance free sheets on hand–the perfume can be pretty strong in the scented varieties. Tip: cut the sheet in strips and keep in a plastic bag. You can get more uses from one sheet that way.
• You can also try Static Guard–first spray on a brush or comb and then run it through your hair.
• If you can get your hands on a small mist spray bottle that caps, fill it with water and a splash of vinegar, cap and store in your bag. When static hits–mist lightly (lightly!) then brush or comb (even running your fingers through the hair will work). Vinegar smell goes away quickly.

Quick Tip: Used dryer sheets are great for wiping down computer monitors and tv screens as well .