Trigger gun (left) and mist (right) spray bottles

When I first wrote about moisturising spray and glycerine styling spray in 2011, I used a trigger gun bottle. You will also note that now I refer to both of these as a spritz, but it is just another word for a moisturising spray.

Spritz is a noun and refers to, “an act of squirting or spraying liquid in short bursts or the liquid sprayed”. It comes from the German word for squirt, which is spritzen.

Then, in 2012, I was travelling somewhere by air and was worried about losing luggage and having stuff confiscated. I needed to be sure I had my moisturising spritz with me and so had to buy a small enough bottle to carry on the plane. I searched the supermarket until I came across a bottle of non-aerosol air freshener. I soon found that I much preferred this bottle to the spray gun for moisturising my hair. But I couldn’t put the reason into words until I read this post by Natural Nigerian a few weeks ago.

In it she explains why mist bottles have an advantage over trigger gun bottles:

The advantage of Mist Sprayers over the trigger sprays is that rather than a one directional spray, the mist sprayer gives a fine, well, mist spray. This means that one can cover more surface area than with the trigger spray. 

In this picture I have five spray bottles to choose from. From l-r – I couldn’t find  a clear one, this was some kind of sun tan spray. I use this bottle when travelling, but it will soon be retired in favour of the next three bottles once the contents are consumed. I prefer clear bottles so that I can see what is inside. The lens cleaner for my glasses is perfect handbag size. Next are hand sanitiser and a room & linen spray bottle. The air freshener bottle on the right is my current spritz.

This was a light bulb moment for me as it explained why my hair felt so much more moisturised ever since I started using a mist sprayer when spritzing my hair for moisturising, especially when in braids.

My spray bottles contain glycerine water for detangling, plain water for styling and moisturising spritz. I use different size bottles for different purposes. I have larger bottles for styling and washing my hair. Smaller bottles for my handbag and for when travelling. 

I should mention that I still use the trigger spray when styling and detangling my hair to wet it thoroughly and also in the shower when washing/conditioning my braids with diluted shampoo or conditioner.

You can find trigger gun spray bottles in any supermarket, usually near the gardening supplies
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