I have a confession to make: I don’t like salt spray. I know it’s one of those things I’m expected to rave about — after all, every model with artfully tousled hair I’ve ever interviewed has always waxed lyrical about the stuff, and it's the calling card of the aesthetic we know as cool-girl beauty. But for me, it’s filed away with coriander, The Beatles, and prosecco as a Thing I Just Don’t Get The Hype About. So when I heard that Kérastase was launching a "sugar spray" that had all the benefits of salt spray (added volume, loose texture, a piece-y finish) with none of the downsides (crispy lengths, tangles, flat ends), I decided to give it a whirl.
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A big part of the problem I have with salt spray is that it involves so much scrunching of the hair. I like products you can work and style through your hair in a formulaic fashion, whereas salt spray requires so much ad hoc, nonchalant styling that it makes someone as type-A as me positively twitch. But in the name of journalistic integrity, I decided to throw caution — and my hair-dryer nozzle — to the wind. I started by straightening my hair while it was dry, which isn’t how I’d usually wear it, but I didn’t want any texture in there to begin with so I could see what the spray is capable of.
I then misted my hair (with a plant-watering bottle, of course) until damp, then went to town with the sugar spray. I’d been advised to use two to four pumps on each section of hair, so I took two-inch sections and sprayed up and down the lengths. I wasn’t sure if I’d used enough, but figured I could always add more as it dried, but couldn’t really take any away. I scrunched my hair with my fingers (you can use a hairdryer, but I wanted to go as lo-fi as possible) and let it air-dry, adding more spray where I felt I needed it.
The spray activated curls I’d forgotten I even had, thanks to years of blow-drying. The nape of my neck and the mid-lengths of hair sprung into cute, mid-sized waves, but other parts of my hair stayed stubbornly straight, though the spray did give them soft texture, minus any crunchiness. I think the lack of a uniform effect is down to the hodge-podge nature of my hair (I’ve got balayage, highlights, and the remnants of a Brazilian blow-dry), rather than a lack of efficacy from the spray. I did like the soft waves and insouciant texture it created, and it was easy enough to wash out at the end of the day.
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If you like a loose wave, or desperately want to texturize super fine hair, this is a good bet, especially if you’re kind of a wash-and-go girl. Meanwhile, I’m off to collect the next stamp on my Drybar rewards card. See ya!
Kérastase Aura Botanica Eau de Vagues Sugar Spray, available at Kérastase beginning in April 2018.