When you’re in-between shampoos and need to freshen up, a DIY hair perfume mist made with your favorite essential oils is the perfect, natural solution. This DIY beauty product has turned out to be one of my most used DIYs not to mention, it’s extremely versatile. It can also be used as a linen spray, yoga mat freshener, body spray or even a spray deodorant! Talk about bang for your buck! This is a super simple recipe made with only natural ingredients!
The summer sun and heat has resulted in dry hair for me. It’s so incredibly hot lately that a shower seems to do no good when it comes for feeling and smelling fresh! Plus, wearing hats to protect from the UV rays doesn’t help either! I decided to whip up DIY hair perfume that will not only hydrate hair but also freshen up the scalp.
This is a very simple DIY but it has definitely come in handy lately and I’m already on my second batch! Plus, this DIY hair mist will not only be useful in the summer months, I see it being great all year to freshen hair when in-between shampoos. And with most DIY sprays, it’s multi-purpose.
Depending on the ingredients you choose, it can double as an under arm refresher or even a room spray!
Plus, I figured a multi-purpose DIY deserved a cute label!
Why Make DIY Hair Perfume?
Hair perfume was not a thing in my beauty routine until recently. When I discovered that it existed, I realized I have been missing out! Hair is a natural carrier of smells. Think about when you cook bacon or onions and garlic-sometimes only a shampoo will get that smell out of your hair!
Many of us are in the same boat when it comes to not wanting to shampoo daily so freshening up in between washes is extremely helpful.
Traditional perfumes are probably the most toxic product women use on a day to day basis. Fragrance is highly detrimental to your endocrine system. Plus the ingredient “fragrance” can contain extremely harmful chemicals and undisclosed chemical ingredients.
The problem with spraying regular perfume in your hair is that it contains A LOT of alcohol which can really dry the hair. My homemade hair perfume recipe calls for vodka but I keep it to a bare minimum and there are other options if your hair is dry and you prefer to avoid it.
Related Post: DIY Dry Shampoo
What You’ll Need to Make DIY Hair Perfume
- 40 drops of essential oils (find them HERE)
- 1 tsp vodka
- 4 tbsp. hydrosol (find it HERE)
- 2 oz. glass spray bottle (find it HERE)
- Small Funnel (find it HERE)
DIY Hair Perfume Mist
When you're in-between shampoos and need to freshen up, a DIY hair perfume mist made with your favorite essential oils is the perfect, natural solution. This DIY beauty product has turned out to be one of my most used DIYs not to mention, it's extremely versatile. It can also be used as a linen spray, yoga mat freshener, body spray or even a spray deodorant! Talk about bang for your buck! This is a super simple recipe made with only natural ingredients!
Materials
- 40 drops of essential oils
- 1 tsp vodka
- 4 tbsp. hydrosol
Tools
- 2 ounce glass spray bottle
- Small Funnel
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together into the 2 ounce spray bottle.
- Replace sprayer and shake!
Notes
If you'd like to properly "age" your perfume, add the oils to a dark glass bottle and store in a dark cabinet for 6 weeks. After 6 weeks, add hydrosol and vodka and use! This is not necessary but it does take time for scents to reach maturity when mixed together but if you choose to use immediatly, you will still have a beautiful scent.
Ingredient Substitutions:
Vodka is used to help emulsify the essential oils with the hydrosol. It also helps dry the hair mist more quickly once it hits your hair. Be aware, alcohol is drying and if you have dry, damaged hair, a better option is witch hazel. Thayers has witch hazel in all different scents so that would be a great contributor to your overall scent!
Aloe vera gel can act as a emulsifier as well but I have not tried it in this recipe. It would be a good option for dry hair. I use it in my DIY hair detangler and it works great! Aloe is protective and hydrating and would be a great addition to this recipe.
If you choose to go with vodka-be aware that the higher the quality, the less smell you’ll have contributing to your final scent.
Hydrosol is simply a water infused with flower petals or herbs. You can use distilled water instead.
You might recall I posted an DIY essential oil perfume recipe a LONG time ago. Just to refresh that information, I’ve copied and pasted info. below that will be useful when it comes to determining which essential oils you choose.
Top notes
Top notes tend to evaporate very fast and normally have anti-viral properties.
They tend to be light, fresh and uplifting. Top notes give the first impression of a perfume but usually don’t last long.
- Basil
- Bergamot
- Cinnamon
- Clary Sage
- Coriander
- Eucalyptus
- Grapefruit
- Lemon
- Lemongrass
- Lime
- Orange
- Peppermint
- Spearmint
- Tea Tree
- Thyme
Middle notes
Middle notes typically have a balancing effect on the perfume. They are the body of the scent.
The smells of middle notes are not always immediately evident and may take a couple of minutes to come into their own right. They are normally warm and soft fragrances.
- Black Pepper
- Cardamom
- Chamomile
- Cypress
- Fennel
- Geranium
- Juniper
- Lavender
- Marjoram
- Melissa
- Myrtle
- Nutmeg
- Palma Rosa
- Pine
- Rosemary
Base notes
The base notes tend to be heavy. They will evolve over time and will slow down the evaporation of the top notes. They are rich and relaxing and anchor the perfume while their scent lingers.
- Cassia
- Cedarwood
- Cinnamon
- Clove
- Frankincense
- Ginger
- Jasmine
- Myrrh
- Patchouli
- Rose
- Rosewood
- Sandalwood
- Vanilla
- Vetiver
- Ylang Ylang
FYI:When making DIY perfumes, the scents do take 6 weeks to fully mature. I mixed mine up and used mine immediately but if you want to make a legit perfume, mix your base, then middle and lastly top note. Then add your carrier. Store in a dark spray bottle in a dark place away from direct sunlight and leave it alone for 6 weeks. After 6 weeks, add your hydrosol and spritz away!
Related Post: Body Splash recipe
Choosing A Hydrosol
A trick to this recipe is choosing the scent of your hydrosol. There are so many to choose from including rose, lavender, helichrysum, calendula, tea tree, peppermint, rosemary and Roman chamomile!
I personally chose rose because I love the scent and the essential oil is incredibly expensive. Using rose hydrosol gives my hair perfume a strong scent of rose.
Essential Oil Suggestions
My personal favorite combination is 20 drops of lavender for my middle note and a mix of lime, lemon and bergamot for my top note (about 8 drops of each).
Another option is using lavender hydrosol as the middle note with vanilla essential oil as the base note and orange essential oil as the top note.
Don’t forget rosemary and cedarwood essential oil for thinning hair! Plus, check out my hair growth spritzer recipe! This is a great way to use these oils for hair loss without making your scalp greasy!
Where to Find Essential Oils:
I get my essential oils from Plant Therapy. They have a large selection of hydrosols and essential oils. I love that they are super affordable without sacrificing quality. They could not be more transparent and post each oil’s 3rd party testing results. They offer free shipping on all orders too! Plus, you can use my code JENNIRAINCLOUD for 10% off your order!
Ways to Use DIY Hair Perfume
- Hat freshener
- Spray deodorant
- Yoga mat spray
- Body perfume
- Stinky foot/shoe spray
Don’t rule men out of this DIY hair perfume recipe! Using essential oils like cedarwood, sandalwood, scotch pine, vetiver and clove, you can easily make a DIY cologne that any man can use!
I love this natural hair perfume recipe. I’m not kidding when I say, it has been my most used DIY for the last 2 summers. I have made more than one batch and even carry it in my bag for a quick refresh. I quit using synthetic perfumes years ago so any way I can smell lovely, naturally I’m down for. Plus, it is really fun to get creative and find your own scent that represents you!
xx, Jenni
You can save this image and have Sticker You make waterproof/restickable labels or just print yourself by using THESE labels and uploading the picture to the Avery website! Learn more about Sticker You plus get loads more label designs HERE. OR-You can simply download this label by saving it to your computer, print it and adhere it to your spray bottle with clear packing tape!
PIN IT!!!
Thank yօu a lot for tһis post! It is a very relevant information!
Hi. Great article. Question : can I also use top, middle and base note. And still add hydrosol as well? Looking for bergamot, lemon, myrhh abd neroli combined with witch hazel. Can I add neroli hydrosol to this recipe? Or should I replace neroli oil with hudrosol?
RD-Absolutely! Honestly-I really don’t believe in rules when it comes to creating scents!
Oh my! This is the best idea! I have long hair and when I work in the garden in a hat, I sweat. I love the hair perfume I made with vanilla, palma rosa, frankincense, orange, myrtle, and cedar wood. It smells fresh, healthy , and not overpowering. Thank you for such a wonderful solution!
Kristin-Thank you! I find it helpful with long hair too! Shampooing daily is just not an option! I love your scent combo-I’m going to have to use that one too!
What is the shelf life of this hair perfume without alcohol?
Judy-I would say maybe 1-2 months.