Natural Hair Detangling Spray

Whether you’re transitioning to a more natural hair care routine, or looking for a cost-effective solution to keep your hair shiny and nourished, all the different options can be quite daunting. Commercial conditioners tend to have chemical silicones, mineral (petroleum) oils, parabens/preservatives as well as perfumes which can cause sensitivity, and then also build-up on your hair. Most of these ingredients are not so eco-friendly, so I would be hesitant to use them on my own hair.

Using soap based shampoo bars can leave hair quite dry depending on the hair type. I have curly/wavy hair which is going gray, and these tend to be on the drier part. I try to avoid using too many oils on my hair after I’ve washed it, as this can weigh them down, and the lack of conditioning then presents me with another problem – tangles and frizz. Eish, it’s not easy having curly hair, I must admit!

This DIY detangling spray offers the best of both worlds – it conditions hair with the small amount of oil of choice, combats frizz with the glycerine and smooths and conditions hair with the apple cider vinegar, which results in easy detangling of hair. Plus it has the added bonus of being under R10 per bottle, depending on your light oil that you are using 🙂 It’s also great to detangle kiddies’ hair, as it softens the hair while wet, making it easy to work a comb or your finger through any tangles while rinsing the hair.

Method:

Please make sure that all your utensils are very clean (dunk spoons in boiling water prior to use) if you want to use them to decant rather than pouring directly into a clean bottle.

Simply add all the ingredients to a clean spray bottle with a volume of 200ml or greater.

It’s extremely economical, especially since you’re using a spray bottle. A little goes a long way!

Recipe:

• ½ cup (125ml) Distilled Water (I use this one: https://clicks.co.za/easihealth_distilled-water-1-litre/p/100430)
• 1 tablespoon (15ml) Apple Cider Vinegar (I use this one: https://clicks.co.za/natures-choice_apple-cider-vinegar-500ml/p/218046)
• 1 tablespoon (15ml) Glycerine (any glycerine is fine https://clicks.co.za/dolly-varden_glycerine-100ml/p/836205)
• 1.5 – 2 teaspoons (7.5-10ml) light oil of choice (I like to use extra virgin olive oil, jojoba or grapeseed oil, otherwise argan oil is great too)
  Optional:
• 5-10 drops essential oil (Ylang-ylang, rosemary, lavender, bergamot essential oils are all good choices. Do not exceed more than 10 drops in total)

Instructions:

• Shake very well prior to use.
• Spray onto wet hair in sections and then gently detangle hair with raked fingers (do this under running water if your hair tends to get tangled a lot)
• Rinse out (if required) and then dry and style as normal.
• Can be reapplied to wet hair to add extra conditioning.

Notes:

• Do not make up large batches at a time as this does not contain any preservatives and will spoil over time.
• Get creative!  I like to infuse hibiscus tea or other herbs in glycerine, another great option would be horsetail or marshmallow root. Use these infusions as your glycerine part.