Homemade Lemon Hair Spray Has Staying Power

 

Trying to keep your hairstyle intact and yet escape from toxic chemicals like aerosol propellants or artificial fragrances can be challenging to say the least. However, I have a homemade lemon hair spray that you owe it to yourself to try. Believe it or not, this simple hair spray has staying power and keeps longer than a completely natural blend because of just a tablespoon of vodka as a preservative.

Though you can use homemade lemon hair spray as a finishing spray, you can also count on it as a setting spray to help your style along. This is not a recipe that calls for worrying about chunks of lemon sticking in your hair because it uses just the lemon peel along with boiled water and the vodka. If you’re not a big lemon fan, you have the option of substituting any other form of citrus that you like to use what you have on hand and to customize the fresh scent you prefer such as orange or grapefruit or a mix of a few.

I do have one warning about your citrus choice. Using lemon can lighten your hair a bit so it is a safer choice for blondes and redheads. Brunettes and those with black hair might prefer using orange or tangerines instead. Being brunette, the lemon did warm up the brown tones in my hair slightly so keep that in mind when making this homemade lemon hair spray.

What I do is basically boil water and then immerse my citrus peel in a covered glass dish like a small corning dish overnight. This gives the brew a chance to draw out the power of the citrus. Once I take out that lemon or orange rind, I use a small funnel to catch any stray citrus that may be floating in the citrus water before adding the vodka.

Afterwards, I just pour this homemade lemon hair spray into a clean spray bottle.

If you want to get even more out of this homemade lemon hair spray, you can add an essential oil like lemon essential oil along with a carrier oil like jojoba oil toward the end along with the vodka. The lemon essential oil can help stimulate circulation for help with hair growth, oily hair and assist with a dandruff problem since it is also antibacterial and antimicrobial. The jojoba oil is a lighter oil that won’t weigh the hair down.  Besides that quality, jojoba oil also comes in handy for faster hair growth according to one study.  I use that at times as well as olive oil for when my hair is drier for providing an extra shine and conditioning.

You won’t get a hard hold from this homemade lemon hair spray, if that is what you are after. I consider this DIY hair spray more of a gentle, flexible hold.

Try it for yourself and you’ll see that maybe you can get away from chemicals with a natural form of hair spray!  In fact, you also might want to try my DIY Pomade recipe for another healthy hair styling option.

 

Homemade Lemon Hair Spray

 

1 complete lemon peel (just the yellow rind)
1 cup of boiling water
1 tablespoon of vodka
8 drops of lemon essential oil + 1 tablespoon of jojoba oil or olive oil (optional)

 

Use your lemon zester to remove the complete clean peel from your lemon or any citrus.

Boil one cup of water to immerse your lemon peel that you placed inside a covered glass dish. A small corning dish works well for this purpose. Let these two ingredients rest overnight.

The next day, remove the peel and strain with your funnel to remove any small citrus pieces.

Add the vodka next and pour into your clean spray bottle.

If you want to add the essential oil and carrier oil, you can do that before pouring into your spray bottle.