Should You Spray a Facial Mist on Your Hair? A Hair Formulator’s Take
I have a pet peeve.
Every so often I'll come across one of those lists of all the wonderful ways you can use a botanical hydrosol.
Mist your face. Refresh your skin. Spritz your pillow. Use it after cleansing. Keep it at your desk.
And then, almost inevitably:
Spray it on your hair.
As someone who has spent more than 20 years formulating both skincare and haircare, that's usually where they lose me.
Because water and styled hair have a complicated relationship.
That lovely botanical mist you're being told to spray through your hair? Depending on your hair type and how you've styled it, you may have just created a very expensive bottle of frizz.
Why water can undo your hairstyle
Hair responds to the moisture in its environment. That's why a hairstyle that looks perfectly smooth when you leave the house can behave very differently on a humid afternoon.
When you wet your hair, even lightly, you're giving it an opportunity to move away from the shape you styled it into and back toward its natural pattern. How noticeable that is depends on your hair, its condition and how you've styled it.
If you have naturally wavy, curly or frizz-prone hair, you probably don't need a formulator to tell you this. You've watched it happen.
So when I see a skincare company suggest spraying a water-based hydrosol through dry, styled hair simply because it's botanical and smells lovely, I think they're looking at the recommendation entirely through a skincare lens.
They're thinking about the botanical.
I'm thinking about the hair.
And those are two very different formulation questions.
So, can you use a facial mist or hydrosol on your hair?
Technically, yes. But whether you should depends on what you want your hair to do.
A hydrosol isn't a hair product just because you can spray it
There's nothing inherently wrong with putting a hydrosol on your hair. If your goal is to re-wet curls, refresh a wave pattern or dampen your hair before restyling, adding water may be exactly what you want.
But that's very different from suggesting a hydrosol as an all-purpose hair refresher.
If your goal is to preserve a blowout, keep your hair smooth or avoid frizz around your hairline, adding more water may work directly against what you're trying to accomplish.
That's why I think the better question isn't:
“Can I use this on my hair?”
It's:
“What do I want this product to do to my hair?”
That's why I formulate LavenderMint Hydrating Mist as a hair mist
LavenderMint Hydrating Mist may look deceptively simple sitting beside our skincare mists, but I think of it primarily as haircare.
I wanted a mist that could lightly refresh hair without the heaviness that comes with many leave-in conditioners and styling sprays.
Most hair mists are formulated to leave something behind. Conditioning agents, oils and styling ingredients can be wonderful on hair, but that doesn't necessarily make a product something you'd want to spray over your arms, shoulders or legs.
LavenderMint is intentionally much lighter.
That makes it an unusual little multitasker. I formulate it first with hair in mind, but it's light enough to mist over the body when you want a refreshing botanical spray without the coated feeling of a traditional hair product.
There is one place I don't recommend using it: your face.
LavenderMint contains 1% essential oils. That's appropriate for the way I've formulated and intended this product to be used, but it's more essential oil than I want in a leave-on facial product—particularly for sensitive skin.
For your face, I'd choose a product actually formulated for facial skin.
Face mist and hair mist aren't interchangeable
This is really the point behind my pet peeve.
We tend to love products that can do everything. And sometimes a well-formulated product genuinely can have several useful applications.
But “multipurpose” shouldn't mean ignoring the biology of where you're putting it.
Your facial skin has different needs than the skin on your body. Your scalp isn't exactly the same as either one. And hair fiber behaves differently from all three.
One of the advantages of formulating both skincare and haircare for as long as I have is that I can't really look at one without thinking about the other.
So yes, use that beautiful rose hydrosol on your face if it was formulated for your face.
But before you follow the advice to mist it over your finished hair, ask yourself one question:
Do I actually want to add water to my hairstyle right now?
Your hair may thank you for asking.
Which Mist Should I Choose?
Rosewater + B5 Calming Facial Tonic
Best for: Face
Formulated specifically for facial skin, with rosewater and vitamin B5 to calm and support skin. Use it as an intentional step in your facial routine rather than as a hair mist.
SHOP ROSEWATER + B5 →
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LavenderMint Hydrating Mist
Best for: Hair + Body
Formulated primarily as an exceptionally lightweight hair mist. It's also light enough to mist over your body without the heavier film many hair mists leave behind. Because it contains 1% essential oils, I don't recommend it for facial use.
Does misting your face actually hydrate your skin? I looked at evaporation, water retention and the chapped-lips analogy I use with customers in the store. Read it here.