With three long-haired girls in our house, we spend a lot of time brushing and grooming and braiding hair. Hair detangler spray certainly makes this job easier, but I was tired of buying bottle after bottle at the store. I wanted a natural alternative that really worked and used ingredients I already had in my house, thus this recipe for Homemade Hair Detangler Spray was born.
Let’s go deeper into my requirements because I don’t want it to seem like we just did a quick internet search and found this recipe that we’re presenting to you as our own. We only pass along recipes that work for us – real people using real products.
(See the actual results below on two of my daughters!)
Most of the recipes I found online were simply watered down conditioner. I had three issues with this approach:
- That’s not really a recipe. Add water?
- Conditioner isn’t actually meant to be left in your hair without rinsing. This would surely leave a residue.
- Most of the conditioners people recommended weren’t natural and I didn’t have them in my house.
So I pressed on to look deeper into maybe using straight aloe vera gel [1] with water. This is probably workable for some people. But I found that the aloe-only approach didn’t really leave great texture to the hair all by itself. I know it added nourishing components but I was still wanting more shine and volume from the product.
Next, I tried diluted vegetable glycerine [2]. This really left the hair moisturized and shiny and full of body. Now we’re getting somewhere.
Just a touch of carrier oil is what we needed. I chose apricot oil [3] because it has almost no smell and it’s really powerful so you don’t have to use a lot to get great results. You can choose another carrier oil [4] that you have on hand. Remember to only use the amount called for or it will weigh down the hair and make it heavy and greasy.
Lavender Essential Oil in this recipe is primarily for the hair-brushing experience. The aroma adds calm and peacefulness to the activity. Plus, lavender is gentle enough for all members of your family.
New to essential oils? Learn more about how we use them and why you should use them as well. [5]
Homemade Hair Detangler
Ingredients
- 10 teaspoons distilled water
- 1 teaspoon aloe vera gel [1]
- 1/2 teaspoon vegetable glycerine [2]
- 10 drops Lavender Essential Oil
- 2 drops apricot oil [3]
- 1 spray bottle [6] (2 ounce size)
Directions
- Combine all ingredients in your spray bottle. Swirl to combine.
- Store in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight.
- To use: Spray onto hair and use brush to gently smooth out tangled strands.
This recipe will have a shelf life of a few weeks. I make this in small batches and remake it often to keep a fresh batch on hand.
More essential oil beauty recipes you might enjoy:
- Foaming Face Wash [7]
- Nourishing Scalp Massage & Cleansing Hair Rinse [8]
- Overnight Deep Conditioning & Spray On Conditioner [9]
- Soothing After Sun Spray [10]