These Hairsprays Will Hold Your Style Without Making Your Hair Feel Crunchy
Considering all the effort we put into styling our hair, it makes sense that we want to do all we can to keep those locks looking as fresh as possible for as long as possible. Unfortunately, frizz, flyaways, humidity, and the natural texture of your hair may have other plans.
While hairspray can protect against all of these variables and more, many shy away from the stuff thinking that it will result in stiff, crunchy strands. Nowadays though, hairspray comes in a wide variety of holds and finishes to suit every type of hair texture and hairstyle. For a slicked-back low pony, a strong hold hairspray may be the move, but for tousled beach waves, you'll likely want something with a flexible hold so that the hair moves naturally and still feels soft to the touch.
Looking to stock up on one (or a few) hairsprays that'll help preserve your go-to look? We've rounded up the 15 best hairsprays for every hair type and hairstyle below.
1. Best Volumizing Hairspray:
SEXYHAIR BIG Spray & Play Volumizing Hairspray
Looking for a hairspray that will help you achieve sky-high volume? Well, you've met your match. This formula holds for 120 hours (!!) and can provide up to six times the volume and lift. Designed to work well on fine, medium, or coarse hair, it's the perfect go-to for all hair types whenever you want a workable finish and a mega root boost.
2. Best for Curly Hair:
MOROCCANOIL Luminous Hairspray
Like all great hair products for curly hair, this spray puts an extra emphasis on keeping the hair healthy and hydrated. The formula features argan oil as a hero ingredient, a natural oil that's rich in vitamin E, essential fatty acids, and antioxidants. While this medium hold hairspray nourishes and protects against frizz, humidity, and flyaways, it also creates a soft sheen for luminous, shiny ringlets.
3. Best Hairspray to Use on Damp Hair:
LIVING PROOF Style Lab® Flex Hairspray
In most cases, hairspray is the grand finale in a hairstyling routine. But this formula is a little bit different in that it can be used before or after styling. Spritz it on damp hair for heat protection and strands that can be more easily manipulated. Or spritz it on after you've styled for medium hold and hair that is brushable, layerable, and reworkable.
4. The Best Strong Hold Hairspray:
R+CO VICIOUS Strong Hold Flexible Hairspray
This strong hold hairspray is almost too good to be true. Part volumizing hairspray, part texturizing spray, this hair product work for everything from a polished, put-together updo to textured, beachy waves. It's also brushable and lightweight enough to use for re-styling, and you don't have to worry about it cracking or flaking. We love using it as a texture spray on second or third-day hair—simply pair it with some dry shampoo to make a blowout look brand-new.
5. The Best Strong Hold Hairspray for All Hair Types:
BUMBLE AND BUMBLE Holding Spray
This fast-drying, brushable hold hairspray is a hairstylist fave because of its firm hold but lightweight formula that works on all hair types. From straight and fine hair to thick and curly hair (or any combination in between), this hairspray will hold your style in place without crispiness, crunching, or caking. Your hairstyle will remain bouncy, soft, and frizz-free, no matter how humid it gets.
6. Best for Longwear Hairstyles:
KENRA Volume Spray 25
If you're planning on creating some major volume, it's hard to beat the performance of this iconic formula. While it leaves the hair looking natural and shiny, it also powerfully lifts the root for mega volume. And this is a hairspray you can expect to last. It's wind-resistant up to 25 MPH, humidity resistant for up to 24 hours, and can hold for an impressive 120 hours (AKA 5 days!).
7. The Best Light Hold Hairspray:
CLINIQUE Non-Aerosol Hairspray
This clear, fine mist gives your hair some body and movement without any added stiffness or build-up. It’s humidity-resistant and perfect for flexible styles that could benefit from a little extra control. And speaking of natural hold, this hairspray is also unscented and made without aerosol, so you can get to styling without worrying about inhaling potentially damaging ingredients. Just spritz it wherever you need a touch of extra hold.
8. Best for Fine Hair:
L'OREAL Elnett Satin Hairspray
This affordable drugstore buy has been a stylist favorite for decades thanks to its micro-mist that disperses a spray super finely for even, strand-by-strand hold. While it's strong enough to withstand humidity and create big-time volume, the mist is so light that it disappears at the stroke of a brush, making it ideal for fine hair that may tend to get weighed down by some other hairspray formulas.
9. Best Texturizing Hairspray:
OUAI Texturizing Hair Spray
Looking to master that perfectly "undone" type of look? Whether you're going for a tousled blowout or messy waves, this ultra-lightweight spray holds your chosen style while also adding a dose of texture to any look. With a dry finish and a soft touchable feel, this spray also strengthens with panthenol and fruit extracts.
10. Best for Extra Strong Hold:
AMIKA Headstrong Intense Hold Hairspray
Sometimes you're looking for a soft, touchable feel and sometimes you're creating something like a sleek top knot or a brushed low ponytail and you want all those strands to stay firmly in place. When you're looking for the latter, try a few spritzes of this extra strong hold hairspray. While it preserves artfully crafted hairstyles and manipulates super stubborn hair, it also infuses strands with conditioning provitamin B5 and fatty acid-rich sea buckthorn.
11. Best Smelling Hairspray:
ORIBE Superfine Hairspray
Finish off your go-to look with a little bit of luxury whenever you use this superfine hairspray from cult-favorite hair care brand ORIBE. The sheer spray offers a flexible, medium hold that won't dampen or dull your freshly perfected style. It even smells divine (like all ORIBE elegantly perfumed products) and it has shine-boosting benefits, adding a subtle silky sheen to those styled strands.
12. Best for Touch Ups:
TRESEMME Hair Spray Touch-Up Pen
If you're heading out into a particularly humid day or you're planning to be driving with the windows down, you may find yourself in need of a quick flyaway touch-up after a few hours, but a giant can of hairspray isn't exactly the most convenient item to throw in your bag. Instead, try this convenient touch-up pen—well, it looks like a pen, but when you remove the cap it's actually a tiny aerosol bottle. Spritz it directly on flyaways to easily touch up your style and get back to your day.
13. Best for Blowouts:
BUMBLE AND BUMBLE Does It All Light Hold Hairspray
After you've taken the time to create a bombshell blowout, you may be hit with a styling conundrum: you want to make sure you preserve your style but you also don't want to sacrifice the feel of those silky strands. Enter, this light hold hairspray. With a brushable, touchable finish, it's ideal for soft, airy styles.
14. Best for Damaged Hair:
IT'S A 10 Miracle Finishing Spray Plus Keratin
If you're suffering from hair damage or you have color-treated hair, you'll want to be careful about which hair care products you use—hopefully choosing formulas that aim to strengthen and repair the health of your strands. This finishing hair spray makes a great pick for this hair concern as it's infused with keratin, an essential protein building block that helps make hair stronger overall. With this, it only takes a quick spritz to preserve your look and restrengthen strands.
15. Best Shine-Boosting Hairspray:
IGK 1-800-Hold Me No-Crunch Flexible Hold Hairspray
This unique hairspray is inspired by makeup setting spray that give skin a dewy glow. To translate that effect to the hair, the formula is infused with high-shine micro-light reflectors that give the hair a noticeable boost of sheen for that shampoo commercial type of shine IRL. Plus, with medium hold and a soft-to-the-touch finish, it can work flawlessly for all different types of hairstyles.
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