DIY HAIR PRODUCTS

Ronnie Rocker

Before you could just go out and buy decent hair spray, gels, and pastes, before Manic Panic and non-traditional hair color dyes you had to do it yourself.  Let’s face it, if you want to dye your hair blue all you need to do is pop down to the drugstore or local beauty supply shop and look around. There are a lot of option from the now traditional punk option of Manic Panic or any of the other more semi temporary options. It’s easy and it’s pretty cheap. Same goes for shit to keep your hair up. We used to use Aquanett hair spray because it worked and was the cheapest. Sometimes it wasn’t available or you were broke, so we needed to explore other options.

DYE YOUR HAIR

Ok, so you can just go buy the dye of your choice and get the job done. What if you can’t? Not available? Not enough cash in your pocket? What to do? There are probably some items in your house or apartment you can use to get the job done.

If you want to bleach your hair the best option is hydrogen peroxide. It will lighten your hair. It’s not perfect, it takes a few days to really get it light. All you have to is dump it on your hair, rum it in and wait a half hour. Then wash your hair. Sitting in the sun helps too. It will create a reaction that speeds up lightening. There are other methods that also work, again not perfect, but they work.

• Lemon Juice & Water: Mix two tablespoons of lemon juice with one cup of water in a spray bottle. Spray it on your hair and sit in the sun for a few hours to activate the citric acid and natural hydrogen peroxide release. Note: Lemon is very acidic and can dry out or damage hair over time. 

• Raw Honey & Conditioner or Olive Oil: Mix raw honey with a bit of olive oil or your regular conditioner. Honey naturally produces a tiny amount of hydrogen peroxide when diluted and damp. Apply it, cover your hair with a cap, and leave it on for a few hours or overnight.

• Chamomile Tea: Brew a strong cup of chamomile tea and let it cool. Pour or spray it onto clean hair and let it dry in the sun to bring out soft, golden highlights.

• Cinnamon & Conditioner: Mix a half-cup of cinnamon powder with a half-cup of your regular hair conditioner to form a thick paste. Apply it thoroughly and leave it on overnight under a shower cap for a gradual, warm-toned shift.

KEEP YOUR HAIR UP

Ok, yeah, there are shit ton of products available out there. Some of them are expensive, and most of the time you have to use a lot of it. Like I said, Aquanett. I used Aquanett in the 1980s, and I still do. When I had that 15-inch high mohawk, I could use a full can to keep it up. Well, that gets expensive. Then there are gels that work ok. The problem with gel is it adds weight. Yep, weight. Gels tend to add a bit of weight to your hair and you will notice your hair slowing sinking. There are non-traditional options.

In the 1970s it was said that the early punks used egg whites and sugar. What you are supposed to do is take egg whites and sugar and whisk it into a foam. Then put it in your hair and blow dry. Ok, I tried this and it works. If it gets wet, game over. It’s not going to stay up all night. The bigger issue, in the summer expect flies and bugs in your hair. That’s a fact.

A sugar and water solution also works. That’s a lot like the egg white method. Again, expect bugs and flies. Just mix sugar and water into a fin paste, apply and dry. Then there is gelatin. Had a friend who swore by this back in the day. Prepackaged gelatin gets pretty hard. You just put the packet contents in cold water for five to 10 minutes, then ad enough hot water to make a gel. Put it in your hair and dry it. It’s that simple.

What works great is school glue. There are clear gel glues out there that will make your hair hard as nails. Using Elmer’s School Glue is a classic, time-tested DIY method in the subculture for achieving gravity-defying mohawks and liberty spikes. While it is incredibly effective, cheap, and generally safe, there is a right way and a wrong way to do it to avoid ruining your hair. Elmer's Washable School Glue (the classic white liquid or clear liquid formula). It is non-toxic and water-soluble, meaning it will dissolve easily with warm water and shampoo. DO NOT USE Elmer's Glue-All or wood glue. These formulas are water-resistant. If you put Glue-All or industrial wood glue in your hair, it will not wash out easily, and you will likely have to shave your head. You can add a bit of water to the glue to thin it out, but you don’t have to. Just squeeze it out in your hand and put it in your hair. Blow dry it until it gets hard. Believe me this works and I have found it to be the best method of DIY hair spiking.

Unconventional & DIY Methods

• Elmer's Glue / Wood Glue: Clear Elmer's school glue or even wood glue are classic budget-friendly DIY hacks used in the punk scene to lock hair into extreme, rock-hard spikes that last for days.

• Whipped Egg Whites: Whipped until stiff and applied like a gel, egg whites have been used as a traditional natural stiffener.

• Sugar Water or Gelatin: Mixed into a heavy syrup consistency to coat and stiffen the hair

WHY NOT JUST USE HAIRSPRAY?

There are a few reasons why not to use hairspray. For one, you don’t have the money. Whereas you might have some of the DIY items available in your home. Things like food coloring, sugar, glue you might have hanging around. So, use them. Some more political punks have said they will not use commercial products for various reasons. Reasons are things like animal testing, anti-capitalism, just plain resourcefulness, or desire for extreme visual disruption. Using household chemicals, bleach, and fabric dye was a deliberate act of defiance against clean-cut, traditional beauty standards and consumerism. Some say that the DIY method just works better than what is commercially available.

The big reason for using household alternatives in your hair, it’s the spirit of do it yourself punk. Perhaps it is just the idea of taking something unconventional and using it to color your hair or hold it up straight. Doing it yourself is just punk rock.