Back in the day, no beauty routine was complete without suffocating clouds of highly perfumed hairspray and holding your nose. Considering smoking was very much in favour at the time, it’s a miracle hair wasn’t being set fire to on a regular basis. Maybe it was and we just didn’t hear about it. You can probably hide a lot in a beehive.
I walked past a salon the other day and wondered if anything much has changed when it comes to hairspray ingredients. I could see a can being wielded with a flourish and choked up as I walked past, so maybe not.
Next time you go to the hairdresser, have a chat with them about how easy it is to diffuse essential oils to help counter some of the odours and toxins free-flying around all day every day. From mixing up and applying colours to shampooing and conditioning umpteen heads of hair to spritzing and styling, that’s a lot of synthetic fragrances and potentially harmful ingredients to be constantly exposed to. Not to mention the occasional perm. I hear they still exist. That’s scary in more ways than one! (Did you know you can build a business with Young Living? If chatting and helping people is something you love, please get in touch with me to find out more.)
If you don’t know what diffusing is, please click here to learn why and how it’s such an easy and effective way to use the oils in your home or workspace environment. No, it’s not the same as burning oils and if you’re still doing that, please stop now. It might be nice for setting a mood but that’s about all, and it might even be doing some harm.
Hair and skincare have come a long way in the last decade, with a number of non-toxic alternatives easily available in the marketplace. Reading the label and acquainting yourself with known undesirable ingredients is important. A lot of ‘greenwashing’ and fancy marketing footwork goes into bamboozling us with clever wording and a handful of ok ingredients distracting our attention from mostly not-ok ones. But you’ll certainly find ‘the real deal’ out there when you know what to look for. FYI, Young Living makes a wonderful range of shampoos and conditioners, all enhanced with their beautiful essential oils and with ingredients you can trust.
As for your styling needs, you can DIY your own natural hairspray with essential oils for extra oomph and support. It’s very economical compared to the store-bought ones. And you know for sure of what you’re getting. Ready, aim, spray!
Flexible-Hold Hairspray
Adapted from DIY Natural
- 1 whole organic orange (for dark hair) or lemon (for light hair: when exposed to sunlight, it can further lighten the hair)
- 2 cups filtered water
- 2-3 tablespoons high proof vodka or any clear grain alcohol
- 6 drops lavender essential oil
- 1 drop geranium essential oil
- 1 drop rosemary essential oil
- glass ‘fine mist’ spray bottle for daily use plus glass bottle to store the rest until needed
Cut the orange or lemon into wedges.
Combine with water in a small pot and boil over medium high heat until the liquid is reduced by half.
Remove any large chunks with tongs and carefully strain the liquid through cheesecloth into a measuring cup. If you boiled off too much liquid, add water to bring the quantity up to 1 cup. Allow to cool.
Put the essential oil, alcohol and cooled citrus juice into a bowl and blend well. Using a funnel for ease, fill the glass spray bottle leaving room at the top so you can shake it easily. Funnel the rest into your spare glass storage bottle. Store both in the fridge to help retain freshness. Shake bottle well before each use. If the mist nozzle gets clogged, use lemon oil on a cloth to clean it.
Essential oils are potent, so as always, please follow directions on the bottle and the usual guidelines for safe use of authentic essential oils.
Not all oils are created equal. Far from it! Please ensure you are choosing a brand with complete transparency from seed to seal, such as Young Living. Discover why we love them so much in this short video.
This will also connect you up with The Good Oil Team for our personal support and coaching. We'd love to help you on your journey to vibrant well-being the natural way!
Any questions? Please get in touch via our Contact page.
