The weather has been so nice here in New Mexico this week. I am starting to feel a lot like spring and summer are almost here. Last week for our Friday Frolic we were in the garden setting up some top soil planting beds. This week, let’s move back inside and play with our hair for a bit.

This week I’m sharing a couple of home hair remedies that have saved me buckets of money through the years. Now that I have very short hair, I don’t need them as much but they still come in handy in a pinch.

The first is the ever suspicious ‘dry shampoo.’ Many people suspect that it doesn’t do anything, but a good one will actually absorb excess oils and product build up extending the time between shampoos when needed. In addition to the suspicion that they don’t work, if you’ve ever tried one of the store bought kind, they stink (my opinion). Literally, they have an odorous quality to them so I was always self-conscious about using them. So, after much trial and error with various brands, I went back to a tried-and-true recipe my mother used on me as a child – simple, effective, and affordable.

D-I-Y DRY SHAMPOO

Ingredients

¼ cup corn starch

¼ cup baking soda

5-10 drops of your favorite essential oil (depends on how strong you want the fragrance)

Mix ingredients together well. Store in an airtight container until you’re ready to use it.

Instructions

Apply to scalp and roots of hair in sections with a big, fluffy makeup brush.

Let it sit for a few minutes to soak up the oils. Brush out thoroughly with a natural boar bristle brush.

Style your hair as usual. This process adds body to fine, limp hair too so it can be added to clean hair as well.

This second recipe is for ‘surf spray.’ This product helps make your hair have the ‘beachy’ waves like you’ve been playing in the surf all day. This works best on hair that has a bit of natural wave or curl but also works if you just want a scrunchy effect.

D-I-Y SURF SPRAY

Ingredients

3 squirts water-based hair gel (this can be the cheap stuff)

3 teaspoons Epsom salts

¼ cup (4 ounces) warm tap water (warm to dissolve Epsom salts)

Spray bottle

Instructions

Mix ingredients together in the spray bottle, making sure the Epsom salts are well dissolved.

Shake before each use. Spray on hair and scrunch to achieve the desired effect. If your hair tends to be on the straighter side, you can scrunch, then gently twirl sections to create the wave effect. Let your hair air dry.

Enjoy your weekend!