Alternative Uses For Hair Spray…..And Do They Really Work?

I grew up in Texas in the 70’s & 80’s and let me tell you, I was never without a can or six of hair spray. One in the bathroom, bedroom, car, school locker, etc. Big hair and lots of hair spray. Little did I know what else I could have been spraying….

1. Stop Static Cling – You know, I spent over a year forgetting to buy static guard and actually not wearing certain skirts with my tights because the static cling was so bad. We did have a reader write in, suggesting I try hair spray and it totally worked. (Some of my clothes had to be sprayed more than others.) Just spritz the underside of the garment with hair spray to stop it from clinging or spray on paper towel, and rub the inside of your clothes.

2. Preserve Polish – Want your shoes to shine longer? After you polish your leather shoes, spray them LIGHTLY with hair spray. *Test on a small area first. When I was researching this, I found about 90% of the information said this was a great way to preserve polish but there were other sites and information I found that said to never do this. I tried this trick on my black leather pumps I got on sale for $40 and a pair of brown leather flats I got at Goodwill and they both looked great.  But, I don’t know if I would do this on a   really expensive pair.

3. Banish Bites – I do remember doing this when we were younger but I had totally forgot about it. One shot of hair spray on a mosquito bite will make it less irritating and the stinging feeling will subside.

4. Preserve Your Bouquet – If you spray the undersides of your cut flowers (leaves and petals) with hair spray, they will last longer. I tried this on flowers I bought a week before Easter and ten days later, they still look pretty good. Stand about a foot away when you spray them for best results.

5. Remove Pet Hair – A quick way to remove pet hair from furniture is to spray a tissue with hair spray and then wipe. *I tried this and to be honest, didn’t find that it worked any better than using a damp cloth.

6. Zap Bugs – If you run out of bug spray, grab a can of hair spray and take aim. It will kill most bugs.

7. Stop Runs – Another trick I used a long time ago when I wore panty hose more often and it always worked for me. You can stop a run from spreading by spraying it with hair spray.

8. Create Wrapping Paper – If you spray a coat or two of newspaper comics with hair spray, the paper will take on a nice sheen. Then you’ll have a uniquely wrapped package and have recycled.

9. Glue Glitter – If you or the kids are in the middle of a craft involving glitter and you run out of glue, whip out the hair spray. Spray the surface that will be sprinkled and the glitter will stick.

10. Preserve Chalk Lines – For home improvements that require chalk lines (or your child’s chalk art), spray hairspray over the chalk  to keep it from smudging. Water will easily wash it all away when you want it to. This did work, I moved my hand over the unsprayed chalk and it smeared. No matter how much I rubbed at the chalk with the spray coating, it didn’t smudge.

11. Clean Polish Spills – If you spill nail polish on the carpet, clean the mess by spraying water on it and then squirting hairspray over it. After a few squirts of spray, the polish will get tacky and you can blot it off with a paper towel. My results didn’t get rid of all the polish but in the back of my mind, I knew the carpet is being replaced (which is why I didn’t mind testing on it) so I didn’t work it as much as I might have. This was after about 2 minutes of blotting.

12. Hair Dye – Love this idea! Fun for kids, Halloween, or anytime you want to add a shock of color to your hair. It’s temporary and inexpensive. Pick a powdered drink mix (like Kool-Aid) in whatever wild color you want, sprinkle it over your hair, then moisten and hold it in place with hair spray.