How to Remove Hairspray Buildup from Your Hair

Does your hair look a little bit dull lately? Do you find that even when you use a professional hair iron it’s sort of lacking? There are many reasons for which this could happen, but the most common among these is the buildup of hairspray. Let’s be honest, everyone loves hair spray to some extent. It might not be something that you use on a regular basis, but when you need it, it’s there, and that really is the best thing in the world, isn’t it? You need your hair to lay down flat, or you need it to hold a specific style.

Whatever your needs, hairspray can meet them, which is why we find ourselves reaching for it in emergencies. The problem is that it builds up in hair, leaving it looking very heavy and very dull. Don’t worry, there are a few things you can do to get rid of that buildup and get your hair back to normal so that you can once again treat it with hairspray. Most importantly, you want to get that shine back into your hair where it belongs.

When Shampoo Isn’t Enough

Here’s the problem that you’re going to be facing: shampoo alone isn’t going to be enough to get rid of hairspray buildup, and this is especially true if it’s been accumulating over a period of time. Consider the following methods:

• Regular Dish Soap – Dish soap contains detergents that can easily cut through the hairspray buildup, and will then cause it to loosen. You can use any type of regular dish soap, including heavy duty grease cutting formulas. In your everyday life, you probably go for softer formulas, but desperate times call for stronger detergents. You’re breaking out the big guns here.

• Baking Soda – This is another great method, which involves mixing a tablespoon of baking soda with your regular shampoo. We’re going to cover this one below.

• Clarifying Shampoo – If you’re using hairspray every single day, you should switch to a clarifying shampoo to replace your regular shampoo. It’s a bit of a switch, but well worth it if you want to cut down on the chance that your hair is going to turn dull at some point.

Using the Baking Soda Method

Along with your HSI hair straightener, we strongly recommend that you keep a box of baking soda in your bathroom. This might sound a bit odd, but baking soda actually helps quite a bit, and we’re going to explain how it works.

Step 1: Start with your Shampoo

Something we mentioned earlier is the use of your own shampoo, and it’s true, any you use will work for this application. So, pour two tablespoons of your own shampoo into a bowl, and then add a teaspoon of baking soda. Baking soda can break down the hairspray, at which point he shampoo will be able to do its job. Proceed to mix the shampoo and baking soda together in the bowl until they form a smooth liquid.

Step 2: Get the Comb

On a wide-tooth comb, place the mixture and then run it through dry hair. Continue doing so until your hair is covered with this mixture. Then, you will want to allow it to rest in the hair for about fifteen minutes. During this time, the baking soda will break down the hairspray, allowing you to move on to the final step.

Step 3: Rinse it Out

Now you’ll want to rinse the baking soda out of your hair, and then shampoo it afterward just to make sure that the entire mixture is gone. You can use this method as many times as you want to get the result you want. At the end of the day, even if you have the best professional flat irons and other implements, you’re going to need to make sure that you’re properly taking care of your hair. Hairspray is useful, but giving your hair the aftercare it needs, well, not enough can be said about that!