Not All Hair is Created Equal

We’ve all seen the pictures of the models who just “hop out of the ocean” and their hair looks absolutely amazing, and they’re like, “oh, it’s just the salt water.” And yes, salt water does do amazing things for your hair, it’s almost a natural conditioner while adding a natural texture to your hair as well. But let’s be honest, not everyone has hair like a Sport’s Illustrated model after sitting in a hair and makeup chair for three hours after going for a dip in the Atlantic. Personally, I can’t just hop out of the ocean at Little Monmouth and hope for the best, not with my mop.

When I was working at the salon we got this amazing new beach spray in that pretty much cost an arm and a leg. I was super excited to snag it with my employee discount as I had always wanted to try these sprays. I had the bottle in my hands, all excited to go home and take a shower and test it out when my boss flat out says to me, “Rachel, don’t waste your money, that’ll never work on your hair.” womp womp. My hair is naturally curly and frizzy, when I let it hang out in its natural habitat I need about half a bottle of hair gel to keep it under control. And that my friends, is why not all beachy hair sprays will work for me, because they don’t always contain all the ingredients necessary to tame wild, curly, frizzy hair. If you have the same problems I do, I have a solution for you: make your own beach spray! You can literally swipe together some things you have laying around your bathroom and kitchen and make the perfect spray for YOUR hair, because let’s face it, not all hair and beauty products were created equal.

Here’s what you need: 

A spray bottle; I found mine for $1.00 at Harmons.
Oil; I used natural coconut oil.
Leave in Conditioner; I used Frizz-Ease by John Frieda.
Hair Gel; I used gel specifically for curly hair by Pantine Pro-V
Sea Salt.

Steps:

One: Fill up the spray bottle about 3/4 of the way with warm (but not hot) water.

Two: Add about 1 to 2 tablespoons of sea salt to the water.

Three: Add a few squeezes of hair gel to the water & salt mixture.

Four: Add a few spritzes of leave-in conditioner.

*If you have thicker, curlier hair like myself, you may want to use more hair gel & conditioner. If your hair is thinner and more light weight, go a little easier on those products because they’ll just weigh your hair down and make it look greasy.

Five: Add a drop or two of an oil of your choosing. You can use any oil really that you have in your bathroom… like a hair serum or Moroccan argon oil. I chose to use coconut oil because it is really amazing for your hair. This oil starts out as a solid which will take forever to dissolve in the mixture, so rub it between your fingers for a second to add some heat and make it more of a liquid.

Six: Twist the cap on the bottle (Make sure it’s securely on there) and shake the mixture well. The salt and oil will eventually dissolve and the hair gel and conditioner will blend almost immediately.

Another plus to adding hair gel & leave in conditioner, it makes the whole mixture smell so yummy!

Play around with the components of the spray… you may need more or less of something. Some styling may be required after using the spray too. Let’s just be honest! I hate it when you go to get your hair done and you have all these ideas in your head and your hair dresser waits til the end of the visit to tell you it won’t work on your hair. Fabulous! So this spray may not be all you need, you might need a little blow drying and curling to top off the look perfectly.

This is my hair after using the spray with a little bit of styling – I followed up with blow drying it and using the curling wand (not iron). In the summer I’ll do less styling but in the winter months super beachy hair when you’re not at the beach just doesn’t look super natural. And yessssssss, I do have the ombre hair color now! I got it done last week but I am going to talk all about that later because I need a full blog post to proclaim my love for my salon and colorist. They are angels. 🙂

So anyway! You have all the tools you need now to create your perfect beach spray, so get to it!