The Repurposing Life

Homemade Hair Detangling Spray

I was born with a full head of hair, tangles and messy hair were an everyday occurrence. To compound the problem, I also had waist–length, naturally wavy and very unruly thick hair. Then I became pregnant with my boy/girl twins and it was time to say goodbye to super long hair. Who has the time…am I right? As my daughter grew so did her hair, while hers is not as thick as mine, it is much more curly and unruly than mine ever was. To compound the problem, she has no interest in caring for it nor will she consider cutting it. So her hair is long, thick, wavy and very prone to tangling.

For Little Girls

If the sight of a brush makes your little girl break down into tears, you are not alone. Centuries of little girls have fought their moms in the dreaded daily routine of brushing their tangled hair. It is drama every single morning. The wincing, the crying, the whining and the flood of tears that accompanies it. I’m a fairly patient person and yet I found my patience waning and waning with this morning battle. I had to do something about it. I came up with a fairly natural homemade solution that has helped.

For Big Girls

As for adults, it’s normal to lose 50–100 strands of hair a day. But if you have tangled, knotted hair, you can lose much, much more. That’s why as part of a regime for healthy hair growth and maintenance, or, if you’re struggling to untangle your child’s hair without yelling or tears, I recommend this easy homemade hair detangler spray. It smooths and conditions hair, leaving it soft, silky, and shiny. Plus it helps strengthen hair so there’s less breakage and hair loss. And it even helps promote new hair growth.

How to Make Hair Detangler Spray

Step 1

Add 1 teaspoon vegetable glycerin to 4 oz. spray bottle. Any trigger sprayer will do. Sometimes regular spray bottles can get clogged with oils. I’ve found the metal kind of sprayers from the Dollar Store work really well—they don’t tend to clog and spray a nice fine mist. Perfect for viscous mixtures like this hair detangler spray.

Why Use Vegetable Glycerin?

Glycerol (glycerine in British English and glycerin in American English) is a simple polyol (organic compound comprised of multiple hydroxyl groups). It is a colorless, odorless, viscous liquid that is sweet–tasting and non–toxic. It is found in lipids (fats) known as glycerides. Due to having antimicrobial and antiviral properties it is widely used in FDA–approved wound and burn treatments.

Conversely, it is also used as a bacterial culture medium. It can be used as an effective marker to measure liver disease. It is also widely used as a sweetener in the food industry and as a humectant (moisturizer) in pharmaceutical formulations. Owing to the presence of three hydroxyl groups, glycerol is miscible (mixes in all proportions) with water and is hygroscopic (attracts and holds water molecules) in nature.

Vegetable glycerin acts as a humectant. It helps keep hair moisturized. Moisturized hair is strong hair. Strong hair doesn’t break as easily, keeping it healthy means keeping it growing long.

Tip:  If you live in a humid climate, skip the glycerin as it can attract too much moisture, making hair frizzy in humid weather.

Step 2

Add 1 tablespoon of your favorite hair conditioner.

Why Use Hair Conditioner?

Conditioner is the powerhouse ingredient of this homemade detangler spray. It adds slip to detangle even the unruliest of long, tangled hair. Plus it smooths and conditions hair to leave it silky soft and shiny all day long.

Step 3

Fill the 4 oz. bottle with distilled water.

Tip: leave about 1 inch of space at the top of the bottle so that you have room to put on the spray top.

Tip: If you don’t have distilled water, you can use boiled and cooled filtered water instead.

Step 4

Add the following essential oils (optional, 24 drops in total).

• 6 drops lavender
• 6 drops rosemary
• 6 drops peppermint
• 6 drops tea tree

While essential oils are optional in a hair detangler, I advise the use of these four essential oils in hair detangler meant for adult hair because they help keep my healthy and promote growth. Since I use this hair detangler strictly on my 10 year old daughter’s hair, I skip these essential oils altogether.

Step 5

Put on the spray top and shake to mix well.

Step 6

Add a printable label to your spray bottle (optional).

Tip: you can print a label on specialty label paper, full sheet label paper, or print a label on regular plain printer paper then attach the label to the bottle with clear packing tape. To do this print label, cut it out, then place label face down on piece of packing tape that’s at least 1 inch longer than the label on both ends. Line the label up on the bottle and press it on starting from the center and smoothing out the label from the center out. Using packing tape like this is cheap, easy to do, and the labels stay on and look great for a long time. Wiping down your bottle with a little rubbing alcohol will clean and remove any oil from the outside of the bottle so that your label will stick really well.

Why You Should Use These Essential Oils

How to Use This Hair Detangler Spray

1. Use on wet or dry hair.
2. Shake well to mix before each use.
3. Spritz lightly over hair.
4. Comb through with wide–tooth comb or paddle brush.
5. Detangle hair in sections, starting at the ends and working your way back towards the roots.

Use this homemade hair detangler spray together with these other homemade hair treatments for the healthiest hair:

1. Homemade Mermaid Hair Growth Tonic.
2. Dry Shampoo—It is best to only wash your hair once every 5–7 days (3–4 for oily hair) so that it does not dry out and become brittle. Using a dry shampoo can help extend the time in between washings, keeping your hair moisturized, strong, and healthy. That helps hair grow longer faster. Find dry shampoo powder and dry shampoo spray.
3. Hot Oil Treatment—Warm 2 tablespoons avocado oil and 2 tablespoons honey in microwave or on stovetop. Heat just until warm and viscous but not hot. Then add 3 drops peppermint and 2 drops rosemary essential oils. Stir. Apply to scalp and hair. Leave on for 20 minutes, shampoo as usual.
4. Scalp Exfoliator—Healthy hair starts with a healthy scalp. Using a scalp exfoliator like this helps remove dead skin cells and open pores so that hair can grow properly. To make, simply combine 2 tablespoons rolled oats (ground to coarse in food processor), 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and 4 drops of tea tree essential oil. Mix together then apply to scalp. Gently massage for 1–2 minutes, and then shampoo as normal.
5. Rice Water Hair Rinse—an old family favorite dating back hundreds of years and multiple generations.

Source:
Hair Detangler Spray {with essential oils}
https://oneessentialcommunity.com/hair-detangler-spray/