The result of my *homemade* dreadlock spray expiraments!

I've been experimenting with homemade dreadlock sprays since literally the day I got them and the one I've came up with that works best in my hair (dark in color (no more purple :[ ) and "silky" textured - hard for dreading) is as follows:

A LARGE spray bottle. I think mine is 32oz.
I brew a pot of natural green tea. (Bigelow brand, but that's not important, I don't think... Just make sure it's straight tea, no added frillies. You could use black tea too, I suppose!)
While it's brewing, I juice 3-4 lemons (no fake bottle stuff, you need actual lemon juice, organic if you can. It's GREAT as a locking agent but it can lighten your hair color a tad. Beware of that.) And I cut up about10 pieces of the lemon small enough to fit in my bottle. (The lemon oil is a great moisturizer and deodorizer)
2 tablespoons of sea salt
5 teaspoons of baking soda
and a bit of tea tree oil for added conditioner. (optional)

Basically - Mix it all together, including the pieces of lemon.
Shake really well before every use! I like to leave mine sitting in a sunny window too, so that when I go to use it, it's warm. The warmth helps pull out the oil from the lemons.
And this is basically what I use as my "shampoo" I wash with soap like once a week (Mango and Lime Jamaican Tingle or something like that. I really like it!) but every day I spray my hair with the above recipe and I've had nothing but good results, dandruff has became near non-existent, no "odor", my hair just smells like hair, but I suppose adding some essential oils wouldn't hurt, as well as it moisturizes my scalp.
My grandma actually uses it on her non-dreaded hair in between washes and she likes it as well!

Any tweaks or whatnot that anyone tries would be awesome to hear - I wanna try it with black tea but I didn't think about it until after I made a fresh bottle of course...

updated by @miranda-m: 01/13/15 09:29:42PM

lremon is not a good idea at all its way worse if u ever color tratted your hair it lightens because it soaks into the inner layer of the hairs sghaft there it slowly breal[ks it down it real=ctsto heat and liggt and attacks the pigmentation but will also slowly weaken the hair ..kinda like dissolving it from the insu=ide

its also condiotioning the i=oposite ed-ffect of the sea salt\i dont know what id-=f anything the tea will doi besides darking it but the sea salt is tge only ingredient thats helpful (well teatree ..not as a conditioner irs not it is anticel]ptic kills bacteria and repells lice)

i would strongly recomend u discontinue the lemon and ise sea salt i=only

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

The lemon is acidic and, as someone who has had some training in cosmetology, I wouldn't recommend using it in excess.
The tea tree is helpful for dandruff and is probably what's really working for you in the spray. Have you tried this mixture without the lemon? Maybe add rosemary (which is also great for dandruff and itchy scalp) to it.

If you do, let me know how it works out for you.

I've noticed nothing of the sort due to the lemon, but I digress. I will try it next time with rosemary and black tea. :]

how would u notice whats happening inside the hairs shaft? at a microscopic level? its an acid leaving an acid in your hair for long periods of time will do what acids do..

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

You're hair's natural pH is around 5.5-5.6

Lemon juice is a pH of 1.5. That drops your hair and scalp's pH dramatically. To something like 5.0 or 1. Staying at a pH this low for more than seconds is terrible for organic material.

The only reason it doesn't drop the pH lower is that your enzymes act as buffers to protect you. But they only do so much. A drop of .5 pH is HUGE in organic chemistry. It will start to degrade your hair. That is why it changes colour and lightens it. It's because the integrity of your hair is not as strong as it should be. Using it multiple times and for long periods will eat away at the hair follicle and break it down so that eventually it becomes so brittle that it just snaps

1.5 is a pretty damn strong acid

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

It really is. But your body is design to stop it from effecting much. Hence the buffer system. You can out HCl in a bu7.5pH buffer and it may only go down to 7.42. Organic buffers are really effective like that

being that acidic youd think it could eventualy eat holes in your skin i mean hydrochlorics not too far from that range right (but will take a week or so to dissolve a body contrary to pop]ular belief)

so youd think citrus would eventualy burn the skin

at least in as concentrated form

its so nice having so many geniuses on here

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1