My relationship with hairspray has been a fickle affair. In my youth, my beautician used to always finish my press and curl with hairspray and oil sheen. I must admit my hair always looked polished. I cannot recall my hair ever being stiff. In fact, it was quite the contrary. My hair was bouncy and shined.

I Avoided Hairsprays

When I started taking care of my own hair in my early adulthood, I avoided hairsprays like the plague. Some hairsprays contain (ethanol) alcohol, which can cause dryness. My hair is naturally dry so I need products to add moisture not strip it. Just the thought of my hair looking like helmet hair is unappealing. Not to mention, in my early adulthood, I wore my natural curls so humidity only made my hair look more voluminous and awesome.

Present Day

Fast forward to the present day. My needs have changed. After 11 years of not using hairspray, I decided to take the plunge and try it out again. Lately, I have been wearing loose curls not my natural curls. After noticing flat, frizzy hair at the end of several workdays, I realized the humidity was ruining my curls. So my search for a humidity-blocking hairspray commenced.

The Experiment

My search for a hairspray was not well planned. I just quickly decided on the Tresemme brand since I like their conditioners. I opted on Tresemme’s Tres Two Spray Extra Hold. It costed about $5 USD at a local big box store.

The first time I used it, I focused on my ends since that is where my curls were. After spraying, I noticed my hair did not have any crunch, which I feared. Instead it was still relatively soft and my curls lasted all day. So theoretically it worked. I wish I could end this post by still singing praises, but I must admit how I experienced dryness after I sprayed my hair consecutively for a few more days.

Now my hair has old permanent hair dye on the ends. That in itself can be drying, but coupled with multiple days of hairspray wasn’t a good idea. I did notice breakage and that alarmed me so I halted my usage of hairspray and intensified my deep conditioning treatments.

Are Hairsprays Bad?

Did my experiment end in failure? Are hairsprays bad for the hair? I wouldn’t say yes. After all, I only tried one. This specific hairspray may have just not worked with my hair type. I may require less hold. The truth is hairsprays are useful here and there, especially for big occasions like a wedding or graduation. There are many on the market and my pursuit to finding one that works with my hair will continue. The next hairspray I plan on trying is the Moroccanoil Luminous hairspray.

How do you feel about hairsprays? Let us know in the comments.