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Thursday, May 14, 2009

Create Your Own Sea Salt Texturizing Spray!


I just came up with a recipe for a Sea Salt Texturizing Hair Spray - similar to Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray and Aquage Sea Salt Texturizing Hair Spray. How did I come up with it? I did lots of research online and combined several ingredients that sounded good. I tested it on my own hair and tweaked the recipe until it worked! Why did I decide to do this? Because I love beachy, texturizing sprays (especially the smell, yum!) but I can't find my Aquage Sea Salt Texturizing Spray anymore (sells out all the time!) and I can't afford the Bumble and Bumble one. I don't like the Sunsilk and Garnier ones - plus, this one only cost me $4 - and I have tons of ingredients leftover to make several more bottles. So, basically, I get like 10 bottles for $4! What a steal. So, here's what you need:

  • A CLEAN spray bottle - bonus points if you can find one around your place. Otherwise you can find them super cheap at dollar stores, grocery stores, and mega marts. Make sure it holds at least 8 fl. oz. - 10 fl. oz. is better, you need the extra room for shaking.
  • 8 fl. oz. of water - try distilled or filtered if your tap water isn't the best on hair
  • Sea Salt - I used the more finely ground stuff because it mixes easier and faster with the water. It cost me $2.19 for a large canister of it. Use 1 tsp for each 8 fl oz of water.
  • Coconut scented conditioner - It doesn't have to be expensive conditioner - I used Suave brand for $1 at the dollar store. I mostly added this for the "beachy" scent BUT it helps counteract the drying that the salt will cause. I used 1/2 a tsp - use more if you have extra dry hair.
  • A dab of hair gel (unscented, preferrably - otherwise it will interfere with the coconut scent of the conditioner) Don't use gels that are too thick or goopy - they won't mix as well. Usually the cheaper brands (Dap, anyone?) are more runny and mix better. Use a higher hold gel for more hold.

OPTIONAL ADD-INS:

  • Essential oils: If you have dry or coarse hair, this is a good add-in. They will help condition your hair and add some shine. Choose whatever scent you want - ylang ylang works great for sensitive skin and problem scalps. Rosemary is great to help deepen the color of brunette's hair and chamomile brightens blonds. Use 3-5 drops.
  • Tea Tree Oil: Great for sensitive and oily scalps. If you have oilier hair, this is the best oil to add for you since it won't make your hair oilier or weigh it down. Use 3-5 drops.
  • More sea salt: You can add a little more if you have oilier/thicker hair. The more salt you use, the more it will dry out your hair. BUT the more you use, the "beachier" your hair will look and the more hold there will be. If the recipe doesn't have enough salt for you, add 1/4 tsp at a time until you reach the desired level. Make sure to record your changes so you know how much to add when you want to make more!
  • Lemon or lime juice: This will add a slight citrus-y scent as well as some extra hold. If you don't want to lighten your hair, don't use this! By adding this and going out in the sun, you could lighten your hair. Add a Tbsp at a time and be careful - too much and it will be sticky!
  • Hairspray: If you tried the spray and it STILL doesn't have enough hold for you, try adding some of your favorite non-aerosol hairspray to the mix. To keep the "beachy" look, you should use an invisible hold spray. If you don't care about that, use whatever spray you want. Just remember that the whole point of this spray is to cause a beachy, messy, undone sort of vibe. If you don't want that, maybe this isn't for you.
  • Rubbing alcohol: Several online recipes suggest adding this. If you add lemon juice, you will need to add about 1 tsp to preserve freshness. If you have oilier hair, adding this is fine (even without the lemon juice) it will help the other ingredients dry faster and it will help with hold. Just don't add too much or else you'll smell like rubbing alcohol! You can also try vodka (if you're over 21). The scent isn't as overpowering and you can use a little more of it.


Then, all you do is add all your ingredients to the spray bottle and shake it until it mixes together. Any oils added will never fully combine well with the water so you'll have to shake it a little before each use. If your hair gel and/or conditioner don't combine you can try warming the mixture in the microwave (remove any metal pieces and don't use until cool!) to see if that helps - if it doesn't, you may have used too thick of a conditioner/gel.

For me (and a few friends) this worked great. We all had our own add-ins (listed above) so it was personalized to our hair types. I have jaw length, straight, thick hair and it gave my hair a nice, textured, beachy look with a medium hold and a nice scent. So, if it doesn't work how you want the first time, I suggest playing around with it. If you want more texture, add a little salt. If you want more hold, add more gel. If it dries out your hair, add some essential oils (or even some jojoba oil) or more conditioner. A friend of mine has super dry hair, so she added the salt, tea tree oil, and just a tiny bit of strong hold gel to her leave-in conditioner creme and she loved it. It gave her nice texture and didn't dry her hair out. Also - make sure you use Sea salt because it's better for your hair than table salt. It's not as drying and it has needed minerals.

Styling Tips, Tricks, and Ideas

When I used this product on my hair, I sprayed it on when the hair was damp. I blow dried with a diffuser until hair was fully dry. Then I lightly misted again with the spray and mussed it a bit to add more texture. It looked great! When you add the product and then blowdry, it adds TONS of volume. When you mist the product on dry hair, you add more texture with a firmer hold.

If you're just looking mainly for volume, I would mist this on damp hair, flip head upside down, and blowdry.

If you want the whole "beachy" hair look, mist on damp hair, scrunch, and let air-dry or blowdry with a diffuser. You can even wind dry strands around a large barrel curling iron to add more waves - just don't use the clamp on the iron!



I just wanted to share this because Summer's just around the corner and I think it's a great, wallet-friendly idea. I'm so excited about this that I HAD to share it with someone! What do you think? Have anymore ideas for add-ins? Let me know how this idea works for you!


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It would be nice if the yellow text could actually be read....

Anonymous said...

Change the colour of the text you fucking plank

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