Is hairspray a no-no? Need some control over crazy hair

[Boudicca]

So good to see this board up again!

I've been wondering, is it OK to use hairspray? :confused: I have hip length curly/wavy hair with a tendency to frizz. If I wear it down when it's windy or rainy outside - I wind up looking like I've been dragged through a hedge backwards. If I ponytail it, I have these stupid curly bits at my ears that escape everytime. :mad:

I'd just like to look a little tidier and more polished. Any advice?

[Smokie]

Aloe vera gel! Of the clear as-natural-as-you-can-find variety. It's replaced hair gel, mousse, and hairspray for me and my 3b/c curls. I love it. And if the whispy bits near my ears do escape, they keep a pretty polished shiny formation instead of just looking like dried out frizz. HTH :)

Everyone makes their own rules and decisions on what's good or bad for themselves. So it's really up to you. I know there are also a few recipes for more natural, less drying hairsprays that don't build up as much floating around the internet and in a few books as well. I just haven't tried making any of 'em. Hehe.

[FrannyG]

To be honest, I never found a hairspray that wasn't drying. Then there's the risk of breakage if some hairs get stuck together and then they're accidentally tugged on. I recall that happening in the days I did use hairspray.

That said, it's your hair and you need to be happy with it. If you must use hairspray then use something as gentle as possible. I can't tell you of any good brands but someone might be able to.

All the best! :flowers:

[Xandergrammy]

I've been using gels and finishing sprays with no alcohol, HOWEVER, I just recently started using a few squirts of a finishing spray with "low alcohol" because I'm getting frustrated with my "halo". Most times I don't care if I have a cloud of white around my head, but when I want to look a little more together, I use a couple of spritzes of low alcohol spray. (I use a brand made by Thermafuse)

[intothemist1999]

So good to see this board up again!

I've been wondering, is it OK to use hairspray? :confused: I have hip length curly/wavy hair with a tendency to frizz. If I wear it down when it's windy or rainy outside - I wind up looking like I've been dragged through a hedge backwards. If I ponytail it, I have these stupid curly bits at my ears that escape everytime. :mad:

I'd just like to look a little tidier and more polished. Any advice?



I have the same problem, although I have straight, BSL hair. I was hoping to stay away from commercial products. I've always had frizz pop up on the top of my head (and elsewhere, but it's the top that looks goofiest :) ), but recently it's going NUTS! I'm finding hairs 5" long standing straight up! I couldn't make it do that if I WANTED to!! lol It's quite embarassing, because it's at work that I notice it.

I've tried the various de-frizzer recipes I found on the board and lately have tried the straight aloe vera gel, but it doesn't work for me. As with just water, it works while damp, but I have to constantly re-applying it.

I really, really do not want to have to go back to hairspray. I never believed it was good to have that stuff floating around in the air. I liked being FREE of commercial styling products. If I give in, I'll look around for a commercial gel or smoothing lotion of some sort. In the meantime, anytime I'm in front of a mirror, I check and add smooth it down with some water.

An afterthought: I usually wear my hair down. I think as I get more comfortable with wearing up-do's I will be able to get my hair in place and leave it, and hopefully with it not moving around so much it might behave better. It's a theory :)


Lady Myst in the Order of the Long-haired Knights

[Delila]

I've got some of the George Michael InStar spray, and spritz a bit of it on my hands and then smooth it across the surface of my hair after I've made an updo.

I like the look it gives, and prefer it to hairspray. I don't apply it through my length, though, I'm not sure how my hair would respond to that.

Another thought about hair that's just got lots of body/lift, you might try using a heavier conditioner.

I've been using some lately, and it helps control the wild fluffies. I'd avoided it for a long time, just on principle (trying a simpler/lighter routine), but I find that I prefer the look, in a cosmetic sense, so I've kept using the heavier stuff. Mine has cones, but the general principle is the same, cones or not.

[Stagecoach]

I've found that Aloe Vera jell works well for me. (Though I do have a bottle of hairspray for those emergency moments!)

Maybe you could try a moisturizing cream instead? I use Biolage Shaping Cream-Wax when I do reenactment hairstyles and need it to stay smooth and frizz free. That holds very well without getting crunchy, thus causing breakage.

[Yuki]

I'd also advice Aloe Vera gel or Sheabutter.
Personally, I've never used hairspray in my life and I believe it's pretty bad for your hair if you use too much of it too often. I'd rather go and look for something more natural to put in your hair.
I've also heard of people using a mixture of honey and water.

[Kirin]

I've found some hairspray's drying, but thats its only drawback to me. There are just times to me its required. I find pump works best and i use a lot less than the aerosol which just puts clouds of it in the air. Low acohol or none is what i would recommend, I dont think using it sparingly and occassionally would do major damage.

[Shandra]

I've totally been introduced to the joys of aloe vera gel as hair gel. I always have a "baby hair halo" when I put my hair up. The aloe vera gel keeps my baby hairs tamed, but without drying them out... which is a huge YAY in my book.

[Chamomile betty]

I think if you use hair spray in moderation and look into the one's with no or low alcohol if would be ok.
You might want to give it a try then decided. I will use some on just rare occasions.

hth

[Katze]

No matter what I do I have frizz, a halo, wisps...call it what you will, I call it messy. :P

Aloe - the kind we can get here (from Spinnrad) isn't gel, it's more like liquid, and doesn't do anything to hold my hiar.

At my age and for my job (uni lecturer) I want to look a bit more polished (within reason) so have gone to using hair gel mixed with a bit of conditioner (or oil) on washed hair, AND hairspray for when I really want it to stay. If I use hairspray, it is only in a small amount, and I try to save it for "dirty" days (day 3+) when the tangles will get washed out anyway.

It does tangle, but it does work, and I don't feel that bad about it.

[Ursula]

I wouldn't consider it a "no-no" - provided you have one you like, and you have a wash routine you like that removes it well without causing other problems.

I'm not sure that hairs spray would be the best form to be used for hold. Particularly for loose hair. It would settle on your canopy, I think, making it stiff, while leaving the hair underneath loose, giving the odd result ofa thin stiff layer over soft loose hair. You'd wind up with stiff frizz, rather than soft frizz if left alone.

Working gel through dripping wet hair, Curly-Girl style, might do better for holding curls/waves without frizz, and with even control that keeps all your hair nice.

[Nightshade]

As others have pointed out, the alcohol can be drying, and when you move shelacked hair, that can damage it to.

http://www.pg.com/science/haircare/hair_twh_111/hair_twh_111_02.jpg

http://www.pg.com/science/haircare/hair_twh_111/hair_twh_111_03.jpg


Source (http://www.pg.com/science/haircare/hair_twh_98.htm).

ETA: I'd advocate either aloe gel, or one of the hair products from Max Gree (http://www.maxgreenalchemy.com/cat--HAIR-CARE--MGA-Hair.html)n. Great stuff!

[WritingPrincess]

Eeesh. I'm glad I don't use hairspray! I have a bottle of sparkly hairspray that I never used. It seems like a shame for it to sit, unused, in my drawer.

[Katze]

how do you all get aloe to work? I have wondered this for ages...do you drench your hair in the stuff, style, and let dry...?!?

Aloe, like most other things here, only comes in small bottles. If I were to drench all my hair, I'd use up the entire bottle in one go.

Other than that I am curious - for those aloe works for - maybe you are straighties without a lot of frizz, or without those "five inch long hairs that stick straight up"? If aloe works for you, do you use a couple of drops as you'd use hair gel?

I am really at a loss for something that works in updos...the fuzziness is really unattractive...

[spidermom]

I've been using Giovanni L.A. Naturals Styling Gel lately. It smoothes down all but the shortest little sticky-ups. For them, I use a bit of pomade spot-applied.

[Kittee]

I am naughty. I use hairspray. Just a spritz on the front or I look like Nick Notley in that crazy mug shot.

[heidihug]

I only wear my hair down about once a year or so, so my advice may not be very valuable to you, but here goes.

I use hair spray all the time - I have a couple of different kinds - some soft hold/low alcohol, and a firm hold, too, for when it is really humid. Sadly, I have extremely oily skin all over my body. I never had to use moisturizers anywhere until just a few years ago, and now it's just necessary on my heels and elbows. Therefore, if I didn't use hair spray, my bangs would be a greasy, flat, piecey mess very quickly.

That said, I only use hair spray on my bangs, rarely on the back, unless I have it in a sleek up-do and there are stickee-outies that need to be tamed. I have never had a problem with breakage, since I trim my bangs every other month, and I gently finger comb at day's end if it is anywhere else on my hair. I do have to clarify shampoo every once in a while if I feel there is some build-up on my bangs, though.

[Curlsgirl]

I have some Giovanni styling spritz that I like. I don't use it that much. I am another that aloe gel does NOTHING for. I think Ursula had the best idea, work a curly girl friendly gel through your hair and you can smooth it over the canopy at bit if you need to. You can get those gels pretty cheap at the drugstore that have no alcohol and hold pretty well. Labella Lots of curls is on and LA looks (certain kinds) is another. Herbal Essences makes several too.

[k_hepburn]

Katze wrote:
how do you all get aloe to work? I have wondered this for ages...do you drench your hair in the stuff, style, and let dry...?!?

Aloe, like most other things here, only comes in small bottles. If I were to drench all my hair, I'd use up the entire bottle in one go.

Other than that I am curious - for those aloe works for - maybe you are straighties without a lot of frizz, or without those "five inch long hairs that stick straight up"? If aloe works for you, do you use a couple of drops as you'd use hair gel?

I am really at a loss for something that works in updos...the fuzziness is really unattractive...

I was similarly surprised when I ordered some aloe vera gel through BaccaraRose and received a little dripper bottle with a liquid in it. I think the kind of aloe vera gel most people here are acquainted with is more a very soft jelly type consistency and accordingly sold in tubes. You can get that in Germany too, but the downside is that most of those aloe vera products contain even more additional other ingredients than the liquids. That includes some sort of thickener that gives it the jelly like consistency which may also be what makes it act like a hair gel. As for you, katze, for me the liquidy stuff does nothing to tame my frizz. So it pays to take a close look at the list of ingredients to see if you are happy about putting those in your hair. You can get those types of aloe vera products in pharmacies as well as regular drugstores (Drogerien), they are mainly sold as skin care products, or as burn remedies. If you want to pursue it you might want to get your local pharmacy to check what degree of purity of aloe vera gel they can get (it usually states on the tube something like 97.9 % pure aloe vera).

Greetings

katharine

[zule]

Katze, I don't know what postage would be from the U.S. to Europe would be--you'd have to write to the company. But go to Google.com, and type "aloe vera" into the Search box. They have all sizes up to a gallon at a very good price, from a variety of stores (not Amazon itself). It's the clear gel that most people use for hair, although some is food grade.

I imagine a gallon would be quite an expense to ship!