20 Best Texturizing Sprays for Perfect Messy Waves
You ready for this Instagrammable, holy-wow hair?
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Listen, I’ve been trying to get I-woke-up-like-this, messy-yet-still-put-together hair for years. And nothing I’ve ever used has done the trick—until I discovered texturizing sprays. They always seemed like a messy, tangle-inducing product that had no business being in my bathroom, but a few tentative spritzes later, and I had hair that looked like Gigi Hadid’s. My only question? “Why TF didn’t I start using a texture spray earlier?”
Of course, not all texturizers are the same, and some can leave your hair feeling crunchy, sticky, and heavy. So for whatever look you want to create—whether you’re trying to pump up your flat hair or add a piecey texture to your waves—I found the 20 best texturizing sprays that’ll help you get the perfect messy hair of your dreams.
Our top picks for the best texturizing sprays:
- Best holding: Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray
- Best drugstore: Kristin Ess Hair Dry Finish Working Texture Spray
- Best for beach waves: Not Your Mother's Beach Babe Texturizing Dry Finish Spray
- Best for fine hair: Bumble and bumble Thickening Dryspun Volume Texture Spray
- Best for dry hair: Cuvée Beauty Champagne Texturizing Spray
- Best for color-treated hair: IGK Beach Club Texture Spray
What does a texturizing spray do?
If you’re behind the hair times, lemme catch you up to speed: Not only does a texturizing spray give your hair, you know, texture, but it also boosts volume, creates definition, absorbs oil, and adds grip and hold to your hair—all things that are prerequisites to excellent hair days.
A texture spray can also absorb oil and add volume without the chalkiness that some dry shampoos can leave behind (although the best dry shampoos shouldn’t!).
What should you look for when buying a texturizing spray?
“There are many different types of texturizing sprays,” says celebrity stylist Shiori Takahashi. Choosing the best texture product for you depends on a multitude of things, she explains. In order to find the correct texture spray for your needs, “You should know what type of hair you have. This includes the thickness, the condition (dry, color-treated, etc.), and what kind of hairstyle you're trying to achieve,” says Shiori.
If you have thick, coarse, or color-treated hair, you should look for a product that boosts hydration and protects your color, versus if you have fine hair, you should look for a lighter or gentler formula so your hair is not weighed down.
How do you apply a texturizing spray?
The best times to apply a texture spray are on damp hair before styling, as a finishing spray, or if your hair needs a midday pick-me-up. Shiori suggests focusing the spray on your roots before you begin working with heat. “If the texture product is a powder, use it on dry hair. If you’re going for a beachy look, apply your texture spray from root to ends on wet hair, and again when it has been dried and styled,” she says.
The best thing to keep in mind when applying texture spray is that if you’re not careful and apply too much, texture spray can sometimes make dry hair look even drier, which defeats its purpose. To avoid this problem, build the product up. That way, you can add more slowly and gradually.
So without further ado, here are the 20 best texturizing sprays on the market that’ll give you the hair of your dreams.
Not only does this cult-favorite texturizing spray hydrate and smooth your hair (shoutout to the aloe vera in the formula), but it also gives you volume that won’t fall. Thanks to a polymer blend—i.e., long molecules that form a protective shield over your hair—your waves will last all day long without frizzing or falling. Just spray it all over, scrunch up your hair to define it, and you’re good to go.
This texture spray works for virtually every hair type, and it also volumizes your hair while leaving a soft matte finish. The kicker? The formula uses a “Zip-Up” strengthening complex to smooth out damaged areas and split ends. You’ll be left with tousled, effortless, and healthy-looking hair.
Sure, the incredible smell of rich florals and white musk will get ya, but the effortless volume and look it’ll give your hair will make this one of your all-time favorite styling products. Plus, there will be no crunchy hair here with the Ouai texturizing spray.
Inspired by champagne, this texturizing spray is meant to be used to prep your hair for any occasion worth celebrating. Made of antioxidants, grape seed extract, panthenol B5, and proteins, you’ll have hydrated and shiny hair in no time.
Want to get beach waves but don’t have the time (or let’s be honest, $$$) to book a vacay? This texturizing spray is the next best thing. It’ll give you perfectly undone waves without weighing down your hair. It’ll also help to keep your hair hydrated and soft—a must for shiny waves.
Sometimes, we want a little bit of glam to accompany our effortlessly gorge hair. The Trophy texture spray by R+Co will give you allllll that shine you’re looking for, thanks to the addition of sea kale, sweet almond protein, and vegetable protein.
Fashion influencer Camila Coelho came out with this incredibly lightweight and oil-absorbing texture spray. The product is safe for color-treated hair and boosts volume while protecting your hair from breakage and UV damage.
The best kind of products are ones that do good for your hair while giving you a bomb-ass style. Oils, vitamins, minerals, and flavonoids are expertly combined to create this incredibly lightweight texturizing spray that’ll give your hair that just-left-the-beach look.
The best kind of compliment you can get is when someone notices something looks different, but they can’t quite tell what it is. This texture tonic by Aveda revolves around that very concept: Enhancing your already natural hair texture, so you’re left with an effortlessly undone look.
If you have fine hair, you know that the most annoying struggle is finding products that won’t weigh your hair down. But, alas, your search ends here. This Bumble and Bumble texture spray is specially formulated for those with finer hair due to its airy texture that will provide ultimate volume.
So, you’ve finally mastered the fishtail braid, but how do you keep it from falling by lunchtime? Meet the answer to your problems—this texturizing spray. It contains zeoline, an ingredient that adds grit and hold to your style, so just spray it evenly about eight inches away from your hair before you start braiding for all-day hold.
I think it’s safe to say that sometimes we all want hair that’s big enough to reach the heavens. With an aptly-suited name, the Color Wow Style on Steriods texture spray will give you that intense volume without the stickiness or crunch.
If you have color-treated hair, this is the texturizing spray for you. It’s sulfate-free, meaning it won’t fade your hair color, no matter how much you spray on. It also contains glycerin and wheat protein to create soft, non-greasy texture that you can run your fingers through. Lift up layers of your hair and spray underneath them to get that piecey, lived-in look.
This tropical hair set by Briogeo includes everything you need to get that hair look you can only naturally achieve on the beach. The set includes Superfoods Banana + Coconut Soft Wave Texture Spray, Nourishing Shampoo, and Conditioner. Each product has the yummiest scent and is packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and Briogeo's iconic NOVA Complex that hydrates and protects the hair.
It’s time to Marie Kondo your bathroom closet, but make sure to keep this one spray—it’s all you’ll need. It works as a dry shampoo (absorbing oils without making your hair look like you just dumped powder on it), as a volumizer (adding that va-va-voom body to your hair), and as a texturizer (giving your hair some grit). Basically, it’s the ultimate multitasking texturizing spray.
Formulated for use on all hair types, the Wata Wave dry texturizing spray by Shu Uemura is a buildable formula that provides long-lasting hold and intense volume. Also, if you need a lil' hair refresh on your second (or third, or fourth) day hair, spritz a bit in, your hair will look fab once again.
Finding your waves clumping together after you use a texturizing spray? Time to switch to a new formula. This one contains polymers that keep your hair from sticking together, leaving each piece defined without looking stringy. It’ll give you the volume and hold of slightly dirty, second-day hair but the look (and smell) of just-washed waves.
Just a couple of spritzes of this texturizing spray and your fine, flat hair will ~defy gravity~. The formula contains molecules that quite literally beef up your hair strand to add natural-looking volume and texture, perfect for when you need a boost (or when you want to extend that blowout you spent way too much money on).
You don’t need a salt spray to get waves. This texturizing spray will give you the same type of body and volume you’d get from the beach without a hint of salt in the formula. Just shake the can, flip your head over, and blast your roots and ends. The result? Hair that you thought only existed on Instagram.
If I had to guess (or hope), you aren’t washing your hair every day. Which is great—you probably don’t need to be! But if you do need something to bring some life back to your day-two hair, try this texturizing spray. It’ll lift your roots and give your ends some texture without leaving it heavy or greasy.
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