Oh my goodness, sorry for the radio silence on the DIY side of the blog lately! Busy season with lots of do-it-yourself cooking, versus projects. But today I’m back with a new and super-easy “recipe” that I’m currently obsessed with — DIY sea salt spray!
I will admit that I am totally a hair stylist’s customer-come-true when it comes to buying hair products. I never really seek them out on my own. But when my stylist works her magic and my thin, straight, flat hair suddenly has volume?!? Well, let’s just say that I’ll buy just about any products to try and re-create the look. One of those, of course, has been my trusty sea salt spray.
To be honest, I’m not quite sure why I love the stuff so much. Maybe it’s my undying love of all things salty, maybe it’s living just a little too far away from the ocean, or maybe it really is that effective. But whatever the reason, I’ve been hooked on using sea salt spray as a texturizing product for years. Something about it just seems to give my hair that extra “oomph” when it comes to volume, and also hold curl better all day long. (And, um, sometimes a few extra days.)
But paying $20+ for a bottle that’s practically just saltwater? Well, when my last bottle ran out, I decided to do a little improvising and see if I could make a homemade version instead. Turns out you can, turns out it only takes 4 ingredients, turns out works beautifully, and — the best part? — turns out that it literally costs pennies to make.
Here’s how I made mine:
How To Make DIY Sea Salt Texturizing Hair Spray | 1-Minute Video
Begin with 4 basic ingredients:
- 1 cup warm water (for spraying)
- 1 tablespoon sea salt (for texturizing)
- 1-2 teaspoons argan oil or avocado oil (for moisturizing)
- 4-5 drops essential oil (for smelling yummy — I used this lavender oil)
You’ll also want to have a nice spray bottle ready to go. I used this glass bottle from Amazon.
Heat the water in a measuring cup or small bowl until it comes to a simmer.
Stir in the salt until it is completely dissolved. Whisk in the oil and a few drops of the essential oil. Then pour it into your bottle (with the help of a funnel, if you’d like) and give it a good shake.
Spray it all over your hair while it’s still wet. Then once you blow it dry and style it…
…get ready for some extra texture!!!
The formula I’ve listed above works best for me. But if you have more:
- Dry hair, and you’d like a little extra moisture, add in an extra teaspoon or two of the oil.
- Oily hair, then I’d go light on the oil and just use 1 teaspoon.
- Curly hair or styled hair, and you want to really “set” or hold a style in place, you can add in a teaspoon or two of hair gel. (Otherwise, I’ll sometimes just use a bit of regular hair spray after styling my hair.)
Seriously, the sea salt creates that perfect “beachy” feel that’s perfect for curls, waves, or even just giving your straight look a little extra boost. Feel free to tinker around with the proportions to find the mix that’s perfect for you. But otherwise, enjoy this easy (and super affordable!) DIY alternative to the salon prices!
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Love this , thank you for this post. And sorry about the other chai seed post didn’t see your response first thank you for that also :) Love love love this blog.
I am going to use this to spray on my back for my psiriosis. Since I life alone, no one around to give my back the salve needed for this disease. My friend let me use her salt water pool & just one dip helped my skin so much!!! Thanks for this recipe
You’re so welcome Angela — we hope it helps!
I recently made my own, instead of using coconut or normal argan oil, I used some of my beard oil (mixture of argan and some manly smelling stuff) and tee tree oil. The spray bottle is currently sitting by my sink. Should I store it in the fridge or is it fine where it is?
Very cool Amiel! Also, we think it should be fine to sit out where it is. We hope you’re enjoying it!
DOESN’T THE SALT DRY OUT YOUR HAIR? I HAVE DRY WAVY HAIR AND IT IS ALSO VERY LONG.
Hi Loretta — we haven’t found that the salt dries out our hair. The coconut oil helps condition it too.
Definitely going to try this tomorrow! Such a simple recipe :) thanks for sharing! Also, you should be able to use fractionated coconut oil. It stays liquid so no worrying about it solidifying! It’s a little bit lighter than regular CO too, so if your hair is greasy (like mine), it’s a good alternative. Also, it doesn’t have a smell to it (although I do love good coconut smelling beachy waves).
Awesome Lynne — we hope you love it! And thanks for your tip about the coconut oil — that’s good to know! :)
Do you use all mixture at once or as you needed? I never use any hair product in my hair other than shampoo. My hair is about two feet long
We just mist a little here and there, while our hair is damp. Don’t use all of this at once (it will be too much)! :)
This is exactly what I’ve been looking for! Thanks a million! I live in the PNW so coconut oil is solid ALWAYS haha! I’m going to try making it with some almond oil that I have on hand and see how it turns out ;-)
Awesome Brooke, we hope you love it! :D
Can you use other oils instead of coconut oil? – what is the oil used for?
Hi Catherine! The coconut oil is used for moisturizing. It’s awesome stuff! :)
Does this add volume or just texture? My hair is pretty fine/limp, but I’m trying to find something to give it some oomph without filling it with store-bought stuff. What do you think?
Didn’t work!!!!!
Hi there, we’re sorry to hear this didn’t work for you. :(