B737-800
Flight Attendant Current
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Hazardous Material Violation; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor
Aircraft Equipment Problem Dissipated; Flight Crew Overcame Equipment Problem
Human Factors
I take what happened seriously and will see that it does not occur ever again in the future; but please bear with me as I explain what led up to the event with a backstory. I have recently started letting my hair grow out and - up until recently - had not needed the use of hair spray. On the flight from ZZZ to ZZZ1 I stepped into the forward lavatory and saw that it needed grooming.  For the first time ever; after never having to use hairspray while on the airplane in my 32-plus years of flying; I retrieved my hairspray and returned to the lavatory. As I began grooming my hair with the hair spray I do not know if I had failed to recall or was simply unaware that there was the potential for that type of product to set off a lavatory smoke detector. Within a couple of seconds the alarm activated and it was then that I immediately recognized my mistake. I stepped out of the lavatory and quickly called the Captain who was also calling me. He told me the smoke alarm indicator lit up and I explained the situation to his satisfaction. I then pressed the reset button and the alarm ceased. Again; this was a first and one time incident and I will be more attentive and aware of my actions and conduct in the future so as to avoid repeating this mistake. I will review the section on hazardous materials in my Inflight Manual and; if necessary; add this event to my briefings to illustrate what can happen when one is not continuously vigilant of proper conduct on the aircraft.
B737-800 Flight Attendant reported inadvertently activated lavatory smoke detector during flight by utilizing a non-approved [Hazmat] hair spray