Confession time. When it comes to hair, I am super, uber lazy. Whether or not the hair Gods blessed me with easy hair because I'm lazy, or I'm able to get away with being lazy because I have easy hair may never be determined. The simple truth is that for all of my love of primping and dolling myself up, it's hair is the one place where I'm pretty low maintenance. My typical routine is shampoo, condition, comb with wet brush, spritz in sea salt spray or other volumizing agent, air dry. Occassionally I'll bust out the hair dryer and do the whole upside down blowout thing, and once in a blue moon I'll court my curling iron (usually with futile results), but for the most part I just let mother nature take over. The reason I can get away with doing the bare minimum is that my hair is straight. Like...straight as a dang stick straight. It's relatively fine in texture, but I've got a lot of it, and it basically laughs in the face of curls.
While having fine, silky straight hair definitely has its perks (especially for the time crunched) it also has one notable downfall - it usually lacks in volume and movement. Which brings us to today's topic of conversation. The glorious, immediate revive-r of hair - texturizing spray. These lightweight aerosol sprays have quickly become an absolute godsend in my day to day life. By adding instant lift and texture they can take your do from flat to fabulous in literally less than 30 seconds.
Until I recently chopped my hair off, I think I appreciated texturizing spray more in theory than in practice. When your hair is incredibly long, it weights itself down so heavily that no amount of product can ever really save it. Now that I've got a shorter 'do I can fully appreciate all of the volumizing, tousiling products in my collection to their fullest potential.
So how does one go about using a texturizing spray, exactly? It's really pretty simple. All you need to do is lift sections of dry hair and mist into the roots. Then I usually work the product into my hair a bit and fluff it up to give it a slightly more messy, imperfect look. There are two big things that you'll get out of this type of product. The first is volume. Your hair will immediately look fuller and bouncier. When I'm transitioning from work to going out for the evening, I find a few spritzes of texturizing spray will really revive my look as by that point my hair is falling pretty flat.
The second thing you'll get is texture. When your hair is really silky and fine, it often doesn't have enough "grip" to build on itself and give you that tousled, undone kind of look. Texturizing spray doesn't make your hair feel dirty persay, but it does give it that extra bit of manageability you get with second day hair. This is especially helpful if your hair is freshly washed and you'd like to tackle any kind of braid or updo. A few spritzes of texturizing spray can help to keep your hair from being too slippery and soft and make it much more bobby pin friendly.
If you've had any of these struggles and are thinking to yourself "I NEED THIS IN MY LIFE", you're in luck, because I've got quite a few recommendations of great sprays to try. The price ranges are quite varied, so whether you're looking to splurge or save there's a little something for everyone. I've also included the price per ounce for each product, which I thought was actually really illuminating. Even if you're spending less per can, that doesn't necessarily make it the best value.
Bigger, better, full-on glamorous hair. This invisible dry hair spray builds in incredible volume and sexy texture. Patented polymers absorb oil at the roots, leaving you with just-styled hair for days (and nights).
8.5 oz, $42 ($4.95 per oz)
So of course I have to open with the product that started it all for me. The Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray is a cult classic in the beauty world, known for being essentially liquid gold in a spray can with a price tag to match. This lightweight spray really is as incredible as everyone says that it is. It soaks up excess oil much like a dry shampoo, making your hair look extra fresh. It adds a ton of volume and texture while managing to keep your hair feeling very soft and touchable, and it smells FANTASTIC.
We’re going to go ahead and say it: the secret to making people look twice is a product to give your hair texture, shape, body and volume without a wet, sticky mess. Hunny, just put Double Take in your cart and you can thank us later (*wink*). This distinctive finishing spray, infused with quinoa, keratin, silk and aloe leaf juice, will give your hair a unique grip so you can create instant fullness while still keeping the natural movement of your hair. Did they do a double take? Ha! Try triple take!
6 oz, $7 ($1.16 per oz)
If you're looking for a more budget-friendly option, this one from NYM is a pretty solid choice. It's a little on the grittier side, so it will definitely give your hair that perfectly imperfect kind of finish, and it adds loads of volume. It also smells great, which is always a bonus in my book!
It's life's biggest oxymoron. Spending time to look like you spent no time at all. Enter amika's Un.Done Texture Spray. For that finished, but not quite, look that might make no sense, but you know it looks good.
5.3 oz, $24 ($4.53 per oz)
This is probably the lightest spray of the bunch, so if you'd prefer to ease your way into the whole texture thing, this would be a great place to start. It adds soft, touchable volume and texture that isn't sticky or stiff. As with all Amika products, it smells ridiculously good - fruity and creamy and generally delicious, and is pretty much identical scent-wise to their dry shampoo. Speaking of which, I do need to confess that if I have to choose between the two, I would probably pick the dry shampoo over this product. It also provides volume, but has the added benefit of soaking up grease at your roots without leaving any white residue behind.
Great style starts with a great cut. But it needs a texturing hairspray to show off its killer shape. Like an instant volumizer, it injects fullness and natural movement with a few quick bursts. Spray, sway and stun. That’s how RUSK® Texture Spray rolls.
8 oz, $18 ($2.25 per oz)
On the flip side, this RUSK spray offers the most in the way of gritty texture. I would say this is more of a hairspray than a texturizing spray, and although it gives it a lot of hold it's definitely still flexible. This is my favorite spray to use pre-updo. It adds just the right amount of grip to my hair so that braids and twists don't slip out of place, while still making my hair look soft and natural.
This Instant Volumizing Spray is a dual-benefit aerosol spray that volumizes and strengthens hair. It is a dry, clear spray formulated with ultra-light polymers and protein for weightless, all-over, undone volume with touchable texture.
4.5 oz, $24 ($5.33 per oz)
This last option is a luxe one, and is actually the priciest formula per ounce (even more than my beloved Oribe). This lightweight spray is more about adding volume than texture and is perfect for a midday pick-me-up. It gives hair lift and bounce without any added stiffness or stickiness.
So, even for the laziest of hair stylers like myself, texturizing sprays are a quick and easy way to refresh or oomph up your look. If you've tried one before, I'd love to hear your thoughts and recommendations. Post a comment and let me know!
What's your favorite hair styling product?
