This week I’m going on a beach vacation with M. Dig and K. Dig and I’m super excited about it! There are so many reasons to love the beach but one secondary benefit I always get from the beach is really great hair days.  The sand, the salt, the fresh wind blowing…something about it just works magic for making everyone’s hair look great.

In an attempt to recreate that beach look from my last vacation, I came home and whipped up this sea salt hair thickening spray.  This is the basic version that’s only 2 ingredients absolutely necessary ingredients and 2 optional ones; the more advanced version will be coming out fairly soon after it passes all of my quality checks.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons epsom salt (magnesium sulfate…more gentle and less drying than sea salt)
• 15 drops lavender essential oil (optional)
• 5 drop geranium essential oil (optional)

(A note on essential oils and the sun: citrus essential oils can increase photosensitivity–read: sunburn–so I’d avoid those.  But all other essential oils are great!  I like lavender because it’s so calming.)

Steps:

1. Boil 1 cup of water (distilled is best but I was lazy and used boiled tap water…still works).

2. Mix the cup of water and 2 tbsp epsom salts in a jar (see picture above).

3. Shake until the epsom salt is all dissolved.

4. When the mixture is close to room temperature, add in the essential oils and shake the jar. (Don’t add essential oils to hot liquids.)

5.  Decant into a spray bottle.

6. Shake spray bottle prior to each use.

How to Use:

This spray can be used on wet or dry hair.  Either way it works to increase volume and give hair a thicken texture.  I use it on wet hair when I want more of a curl…I just apply and scrunch.  I use it on dry hair when my hair is looking limp which just involves spray at the roots.

M. Dig has gotten amazing results from spraying this mix on dry hair and applying pillow soft curlers before going to bed.  Then she takes them out in the morning and has amazing curls that last all day long.

All this talk of the beach and we’re supposed to get 6 inches of snow tonight. Groan…