Does Hairspray Have Alcohol In It? | The Pixie Garden Hair Podcast Ep. 25

Yes, most of it does, and that is exactly why the hair finishing stick exists in my chair.

Almost every aerosol hairspray on the shelf uses alcohol as the carrier.

It is usually the second ingredient after the propellant.

It is there on purpose because alcohol evaporates fast, and fast evaporation is what makes the spray dry on contact instead of dripping down your neck.

So it's not a filler.

It's doing a job.

It is doing a real job.

The hold in a hairspray comes from polymers, little film-forming resins.

The alcohol dissolves those polymers so they can be sprayed, and then it flashes off and leaves the polymer film behind on the hair.

Water would do the same thing, but it takes minutes to dry instead of seconds.

So the alcohol is the trade-off the industry made for speed.

And what is that trade-off costing my hair?

Moisture over time.

Alcohol evaporating off the hair takes water with it.

One spray on one night, nothing.

Daily for years, especially on hair that is already fine, dry, color treated, or curly, it adds up.

What I see in my chair is a specific pattern.

Ends that feel crunchy and brittle, a dull look, and hair that snaps when you brush through it in the morning.

People blame their shampoo.

It is the hairspray they have been using every single day for a decade.