Every time I take a dip in the ocean, my hair feels grittier and has an ever-so-light hold to it. Even the following day, after I’ve rinsed clean, I see the salt water’s lingering impact on my volume, texture, fullness, and definition. Maybe you’ve noticed the same if you have thinning hair—as the wave spray’s effect seems to give your strands an extra boost—or if you have curly hair or wavy hair, which can seem curlier or wavier than usual straight out of the ocean. This is exactly what a salt spray hair styling product does: It imitates the seawater to give you DIY beach waves, even if you live thousands of miles away from the ocean.
Even if you have short hair or straight hair, surf spray hair products can give you some nice Bart Simpson choppiness up top. Here are the best options to add to your hair care routine to bring out your natural hair texture.
The Best Sea Salt Spray, at a Glance:
The Best Sea Salt Spray Overall: Davines This Is A Sea Salt Spray
In terms of referrals I’ve made to friends, this is the salt spray I get the most favorable feedback on—and which seems to stick the landing and convert them to “lifelong customers.” (Their words.) Honestly, I can’t mention Davines without singing a million praises about how their hair products zero in on the different variables we all have to work with (in that they have a vast range of products that can really help everyone). If what you need is lift, definition, volume, and such… et voila.
The Best Sea Salt Spray for Straight Hair: Billy Jealousy Sea Salt Spray
I found this salt spray to have the most immediate and definitive impact on my extremely straight, thick strands. I judge most salt sprays by their ability to define my partner’s thinner, curlier spirals, but this is the one I personally find transcends all rules about hair types. So, if you don’t have a lot of natural texture in the first place, and your strands are heavy, this is your choice pick. It should satisfy everyone else, too, hence its placement atop my list. (Billy Jealousy’s range of scents are really lovely too, but Devil’s Delight is my favorite.)
The Best Sea Salt Spray for Long Hair: Sachajuan Ocean Mist
The supreme Swedish salon staple Sachajuan is your pick for anything grown past your ears; for medium and long styles, and especially for buoyant curls, go with this top-shelf spray. It is one of the more nourishing products you can find in this otherwise drying category, and it gives you a really nice eye-catching natural finish, too.
The Best Volumizing Sea Salt Spray: R+CO Rockaway Salt Spray
This is great for short curly styles—for that little bit of bounce that tightens and defines your texture, especially if your strands on on the thinner side. I feel like my partner, with his Type 2C curl pattern and thin hair, is the perfect candidate here, after his hair is grown out a couple of inches.
The Best Sea Salt Spray for Short Hair: Blind Barber 40 Proof
If you want that extra bit of texture and movement in short hairstyles, then Blind Barber’s lightweight texturizing spray is perfect. It’s going to get mileage in longer styles, too, but I find it a great low-cost choice for the guy who wants to use texture spray as his sole styler, or as a texturizing alternative to dry shampoo. Its tonka bean aroma is delish, too.
The Most Hydrating Sea Salt Spray: Byrd Sea Salt Surfspray
This is the surfer-est choice on the list; for the guy who wants effortlessly tousled beach hair, even if he lives in Wichita. It’s a hydrating recipe, too, so when I had shoulder-length hair, this one gave me separation and definition throughout my mid-lengths and ends without leaving it piece-y and frizzy.
The Best Sea Salt Spray for Lightweight Hold: David Mallett Australian Salt Spray
You can’t compete with the sourcing that David Mallett puts into this salt spray: His salts are harvested and sun-dried from the Murray-Darling Basin in New South Wales, Australia. (It’s no accident that this is the land of the best surfers in the world, too.) And with salons in Paris and New York, Mallett’s products are pumped into the strands of the most photographed and envied hairstyles on planet Earth. I feel like I’m holding liquid gold when I have a bottle of this stuff—and when I’m willing to part with a few spritzes for the sake of my own volumizing benefits, my flat-prone hair looks all the more lively and animated, too.
Sea Salt Spray FAQs
How do salt sprays work in hair?
Texturizing sea salt spray works to define your natural waves by drying out your hair in essentially the opposite way that conditioners smooth strands by adding hydrating ingredients back. By stripping hair of moisture, your strands are able to have a more clearly defined curl pattern, fullness, and definition. Most of the newer hairsprays also offer ingredients such as glycerin or aloe vera that help to keep your strands hydrated while also giving them some oomph (or beachy waves if that’s what you’re going for).
Who should use sea salt sprays?
If you want more definition in your hair—to enhance natural texture or boost volume—then salt spray is for you. Maybe you have fine hair that usually requires a matte-finish pomade, or you want a texturizing alternative to dry shampoo on your second or third day post-shampoo. Sea salt sprays can create lightweight choppiness in short, straight styles, emphasizing wavy and curly hair looks.
You can even use sea salt sprays as a mid-day texturizing pick-me-up on droopy or greasy hair, spritzing and then scrunching for added texture or you can spritz sea salt sprays into your damp hair before you apply another style for added definition on the back end of the process. If you air dry, you’re set, but you can also help enhance curls or waves via a blowdryer diffuser.
As for who should avoid salt spray? People with extremely dry hair should avoid using a drying ingredient like this; it will be counterproductive to the moisturizing and smoothing ingredients you already use. And, if your hair styling efforts otherwise focus on frizz control and cuticle smoothing, you might not benefit from a salt spray like others—since your other products are countercurrent.
What ingredients are often in sea salt spray?
Often sea salt sprays are a combination of water and salt, but there are, of course, variations. Some products, like the original Bumble and bumble spray, tout that they use kelp extract (which has been shown to strengthen hair) and magnesium sulfate as its salt (which adds a bit more texture). Others tap Himalayan sea salt. Others use good old-fashioned table salt. So, it’s worth checking what yours uses if you have a specific use case you’re hoping to solve for. While many sea salt sprays utilize a preservative of some sort, the majority of those found on the market today are free of parabens. Better yet, they’re found on Amazon for next-day shipping of your beach hair dreams.
How to apply sea salt spray
I recommend applying salt sprays to damp hair that’s been towel dried. How much product you use is dependent on how much hair you have. For shorter styles, you’ll spray a few times, uniformly over your entire dome. For longer styles, it is better to target the middle and ends of the hair, where that separation and texture is most noticed. (If you want extra lift at the roots, then try a dry shampoo or defining paste.) Curlier styles will likely demand more product than straighter ones, but they’ll also see the best results from this process, too. They will also notice the results a lot more prominently than straighter hair types.
Also, know that by blow drying the salt spray, you can get slightly better hold and definition, too. (This is the case with any product that is blown dry versus air dried.)
