Beachy hair is a long-standing summer trend that speaks to days spent lounging on a beach, cocktail in hand without a care in the world. When considering what beach hair should look like, I decided the two most important factors are volume and texture. While I would love to say waves are required, for someone with thick, straight hair like me, that is not necessarily realistic. I made this DIY sea salt spray to see if it would hold up to my standards.
I generously applied my homemade beach spray in the morning to my damp, towel-dried hair and documented how it held up while I was out and about during the day — here's how it went.
The Recipe
To create my spray, I combined 1 1/2 cups of hot (not boiling) water in a small spray bottle with; 2 1/2 tablespoons Epsom salts, 3/4 teaspoon pink Himalayan sea salt, 1 teaspoon jojoba oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons pure aloe vera gel and several drops of lavender oil (you can switch this oil up depending on what scent you'd prefer). Once all these ingredients were in my bottle, I shook it up for a couple of minutes to combine, then called it good — easy peasy.
The Test
After applying the spray to my towel-dried hair, I flipped it upside down and scrunched it to create that key volume and texture. I was running a little late so I used a blow dryer to dry my hair the rest of the way before my first activity — work!
I worked at my job as a waitress from 9:00 am until 3:00 pm, which involved everything from carrying chairs to pouring drinks, plenty of movement overall. I had my hair in a ponytail during this period so the top of my hair lost some volume throughout the morning (I reapplied the spray to my roots after work to help remedy this). Overall, the spray kept my hair very textured, so I'm going to count that as a win for the morning.
My next activity was walking about 10 blocks to my nail appointment at 5:00 pm. Because it is currently June in Minnesota, that meant trekking through 80 degree heat, complimented by what can only be called excessive humidity. However, I then got to sit in an air conditioned room for an hour doing nothing but picking out a nail color, so I made it through. And I am happy to say, so did my hair. My locks held their volume and texture almost to the same level as when I started in the morning.
My final test was by far the most tedious, watching "The Bachelorette" with fellow Spoon University writer, Beka Barski. I will spare you the dramatic details, but there was a lot of yelling at the TV and exasperated hair flips involved. That being said, my hair had begun to lose its beachy-magic by this point in the day.
The Conclusion
My DIY sea salt spray definitely surpassed my expectations, it almost completely held up through my various activities, until nearly the end of the day. Although reapplication may be necessary, I would definitely recommend trying your own DIY sea salt spray as a cheap, fun alternative to buying one in a store.