What is the deal with Hairspray?
Why do we care about our appearance so much in society today? Have humans always used products in order to change, alter, or simply enhance their own physical features? There are hundreds of thousands of cosmetic products available for humans to use, and the average person is probably not aware of what goes into the products he or she may be using on a daily basis. This is concerning. I am definitely guilty of buying products at the store simply because it has pretty packaging, or from commercials I have seen with the product being used, and honestly, I am guilty of buying certain products because I happened to like the actor who promoted the product on television. The reasons behind buying the products that we buy are endless, and it seems that the number of products we buy is also endless; however, the research that we put into finding out how our products are made and more importantly, how they might impact our health over time, is surprisingly slim.
I grew up practicing gymnastics. For gymnastic competitions, my team would always wear our hair the same way. We would braid our hair into buns, and hairnets would be placed around our buns so that we did not have any flyaway hairs. Before putting in the hair nets, we would hairspray our buns and then re-hairspray our buns after the hairnets were in place. We would then spray the rest of our heads, very excessively if I recall, to make absolutely sure that our hair would not fall out of place or become lose during a routine. I remember hating this process because it always took me forever to wash the copious amounts of hairspray out of my hair the night after a competition, and I hated my hair feeling stiff and sticky. I would always ask my coach why we had to do this if we didn’t have to do our hair like this for practice, and her answer was always the same: we do this because it is what we have always done and this is just how it is going to be.
Is this why we use so many of the products we use? Is it because people have always used them so we assume we need to use them as well? Probably. There is really no good way to answer this question, but instead, we can try to come up with better, safer, and more natural alternatives to the chemically enhanced products we are so used to keeping around our houses. First, let’s talk about why we should do this and some of the questions we should be asking.
1. What is hairspray?
2. How does hairspray affect our health?
Although there is not an abundance of research on the effects of hairspray on our health, scientists have found indications that “neutrophils predominantly seen in the lavage fluid is blamed for the development of inflammation causing pulmonary changes after the inhalation of hair spray” (Kawajiri et al., 2004). This concludes that hairspray actually does have a significant impact on our lung health, because it causes inflammation in the lungs when inhaled, and inhalation is the main path to which hairspray can enter a person’s body when in use.
Vinyl chloride is another reason we should be cautious of the hairsprays and products we use, because although now banned because it is a known carcinogen, it used to be one of the chemicals used in the make-up of hairspray. An article in Risk Analysis concluded in their studies that in the amounts of vinyl chloride inhaled via hairspray use was not significant enough to lead a person to have an increased likeliness of being diagnosed with cancer (Sahmel, Unice, Scott, Cowan, & Paustenbach, 2009), but it is still a cause for concern since it was then banned in 1974.
3. How does hairspray impact the environment around us?
One study found that after decreasing the use of aerosol product like hairspray throughout a span of about five countries, ozone-depleting substances were significantly reduced (Velders, Andersen, Daniel, Fahey, & McFarland, 2007). These same ozone-depleting substances have been found to collect in runoff water and pollute our environment and can impact our health when we drink this water or cannot properly filter and clean it (Zhang, Leu, Aitken, & Riediker, 2015).
Although there are numerous aerosol spray products on the market today, Dinh, Kim, Son, Choi, Park, Sunwo, and Kin (2015) actually concluded that hairsprays emit more volatile organic compounds (VOCs) than any other product containing these VOCs.
4. What are the alternatives?
Starch
Zheng and Loh (2016) have found starch to be non-toxic and that it has great holding abilities that mirror the effects of hairspray, making it a great alternative!
Starch can be used when shaken or rubbed into the roots of the hair, typically underneath other layers to avoid a white powder remaining. Starch can be used a a replacement for hairspray when trying to achieve volume. Starch will adhere to the hair fibers and hold them in place to achieve the same look that spraying hairspray on the underside of hair would do.
Natural hairsprays
Shea Moisture
“The ingredients are very simple, with coconut oil and silk protein being the main ingredients, along with organic shea butter, neem oil, and ayurvedic oil. Shea Moisture never uses synthetic fragrance, parabens, phthalates, or formaldehyde, and their products are never tested on animals” (Bailey, 2017).
· If we all started making our own hairsprays, we could be absolutely sure what the ingredients are that we are spraying into our hair and therefore the environment around us. With all natural ingredients, it is easier to feel much better about spraying this “hairspray” since even when put in a spray bottle, it is not an aerosol spray like it would be if bought at the store. Additionally, if you are going to purchase more natural hairsprays, like the one listed above, be sure that it is bottled in a pump spray bottle and not an aerosol spray can. These aerosols are what we all need to be watching out for, in addition to the actual ingredient list of our hairsprays.
Aloe Gel
As I am sure most people have experienced at one point or another, aloe is a very sticky substance. This property of aloe is imperative when discussing how it can be useful when holding hair fibers into place. When used as a gel, you can simply smooth the aloe onto the hair and then wait for it to dry the hairs in place. If you are going for more of a natural look, however, you could take the aloe and only run it through the hairs that create the thin, top layer so that they can hold down any frizz underneath.
Egg Whites
“While many people like to whip up whole eggs to use as a hydrating and rejuvenating mask on their hair, by whipping just the whites with a few other ingredients, you can easily make a mixture that doubles as a hairspray while actually improving your hair instead of damaging it. Begin with three egg whites and blend them with a splash of water, ½ cup of aloe gel, and some essential oils” (“14 Alternatives to Hairspray,” 2018).
Beeswax Pomade
Pomade, to me, seems like one of those products you might find in the cabinet of your grandparent’s home. I am aware that it is still widely used, but it is uncommon to hear or see someone, especially a young person, using or buying this product. However, beeswax pomade is an excellent alternative to hairspray because of its sticky ability to hold fibers into place.
After looking into the unknown chemicals (at least, unknown to me) that make-up hairspray, I have decided to test out and exhaust all of the alternative hair products instead of again buying the regular hairspray that I have normally purchased and used for years. Also, as I mentioned earlier in this article, I will only look to purchase hairsprays that come in a pump spray bottle as opposed to an aerosol spray bottle. I have learned to question the products that I purchase and then also to question why I purchase them and the alternatives I could potentially buy instead. Who knew one class could alter my habits and daily routine so much?
So now there are a few questions left about these hairspray alternatives. First, who should be using them? Well, this question really depends on how you want to look at it. If you want to approach this from the health and environmental aspect, I might answer by saying everyone should use these alternatives. If we want to scale it down a little more, I might suggest anyone who is interested in using more natural products that might benefit their hair’s health and ultimately save money as well, or people who are okay with their natural hair and do not really benefit from hairspray anyways. In the end, I would suggest these products to everyone to at least try out and see what works best for them, because the fewer chemicals we use on ourselves and put into the environment, the better off we will be. The second question would be what is the point of doing this and will these changes we make actually make a difference? To this question, again, I would say it depends. It depends on whether or not you are referring to right this minute, or for the future and thinking about the environment and society that future generations will have to live in. If we were to assume the latter, then I would answer with a simple yes, it does make a difference. It might take a large movement and a lot of time to see the difference we are making, but this movement cannot happen without someone taking the first step. And although it might seem pointless to be the person who takes this first step without certainty that anyone will follow behind you in your footsteps, I would say it is worth it to go ahead and try. As long as we can be the generation that has the ideas and the courage to start taking these first steps in a multitude of changes, we can rest easy knowing that the small impact we began can be followed by an even bigger impact in the future.
References
Bailey, T. Best natural hair spray. SLS Free. Retrieved from https://slsfree.net/natural-hair-spray/
Dinh, T., Kim, S., Son, Y., Choi, I., Park, S., Sunwoo, Y., & Kim, J. (2015). Emission characteristics of VOCs emitted from consumer and commercial products and their ozone formation potential. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 22(12), 9345–9355. Retrieved from https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.utexas.edu/10.1007/s11356-015-4092-8
Dylewski, A. [Reactions]. (2016 March 8). How does harispray work? [https://youtu.be/haP-EaElL-M]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haP-EaElL-M
Kawajiri, T., Nagata, N., Morimoto, Y., Ishimatsu, S., Hori, H., Tanaka, I.,…Kido, M. (2004). Pathology and mechanism of lung toxicity following inhalation of hair spray in rats. Inhalation Toxicology, 16(3), 147–153. doi:10.1080/08958370490270954
[POPxoDaily]. (2017 March 19). How to make hairspray at home — POPxo. [https://youtu.be/arq24ye8NVw]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arq24ye8NVw
Sahmel, J., Unice, K., Scott, P., Cowan, D., & Paustenbach, D. (2009). The use of multizone models to estimate an airborne chemical contaminant generation and decay profile: occupational exposures of hairdressers to vinyl chloride in hairspray in the 1960s and 1970s. Risk Analysis, 29(12), 1699–1725. Retrieved from https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.utexas.edu/10.1111/j.1539-6924.2009.01311.x
Velders, G., Andersen, S., Daniel, J., Fahey, D., & McFarland, M. (2007). The importance of the Montreal Protocol in protecting climate. PNAS, 104(12), 4814–4819. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0610328104
Zhang, Y., Leu, Y., Aitken, R., & Riediker, M. (2015). Inventory of engineered nanoparticle-containing consumer products available in the Singapore retail market and likelihood of release into the aquatic environment. International Journal of Environmental Research of Public Health, 12(8), 8717–8743.
Zheng, Y. J., and Loh, X. J. (2016). Natural rheological modifiers for personal care. Polymers Advanced Technologies, 27, 1664–1679. doi:10.1002/pat.3822
14 Alternatives to Hairspray. (2018). PopOptiq. Retrieved from https://www.popoptiq.com/hairspray-alternatives/
