Healthy and Green Living

I still remember the cloying smell of the hairspray my mother used before she went to a party—agh, the fumes! I’m sure there was a hole in the ozone layer right above our house. When I grew up, I swore I’d never use hairspray. But when I wanted a slightly spiky look, the gel I bought to achieve it smelled almost as bad. Well, there is good news for all of us who want help styling, sculpting, or otherwise holding our hair: We’ve gathered our favorite formulas to keep your tresses in place without all the plastics, solvents, propellants, artificial fragrances and other chemicals—just pure and natural kitchen cupboard ingredients that will hold your hair to perfection.

Try Annie’s lovely lemony formula.

Or this simple rosemary-based formula.

Flax seeds work, too.

And so does sugar.

You’ll never guess the secret ingredient in this super-holding formula: It will even make punk-type spikes! If I wanted to be Medusa for Halloween, I’d use this to turn my hair into snakes.

This homemade mousse formula is a winner.

Or you can use plain aloe vera gel to style or hold hair. Just add a dab to damp hair.