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- Best sea salt sprays: At a glance
- The best sea salt sprays to buy in 2025
- 1. Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray: Best sea salt spray overall
- 2. Alott Sea Salt Spray: Best all-natural sea salt spray
- 3. Fudge Professional Sea Salt Hair Styling Spray: Best for curls and waves
- 4. Moo & Yoo Sea Salt Spray: Best sea salt spray for hydration
- 5. Sun Bum Texturising Spray: Best sea salt spray for frizzy hair
- 6. KMS Hair Play Sea Salt Spray: Best salt spray for a matte finish
- 7. Reuzel Surf Tonic Hairspray: Best sea salt spray for boosting volume
- 8. TIGI Bed Head Salty Not Sorry: Best sea salt spray under £10
- How to choose the best sea salt spray for you
If you’ve ever wanted to create that relaxed, just-got-home-from-the-beach look your hair gets on holiday, then a salt spray might just be the thing for you. Taking inspiration from waves in the sea and great for adding a bit of texture to natural or permed waves in the hair, salt sprays contain water and natural sea salt to gently hold your style in place and give a modern, matte look to the hair.
There’s something a little retro about salt sprays, which first came to prominence around the turn of the millennium; 2020s salt sprays have added conditioning and protective ingredients to give your hair a holiday-inspired refresh.
Most salt sprays are designed to be used on damp hair, either after washing and towel-drying or plopping or to freshen up second-day hair. They’re great for adding a bit of grip to an up-do, or for scrunching into wavy hair. Even if your hair is poker-straight, a sea salt spray will add welcome volume at the roots and some beachy definition. .
Below, you’ll find our favourite salt sprays to buy in 2025, and a guide to choosing and using the right sea salt spray for you.
Best sea salt sprays: At a glance
| Best overall sea salt spray | Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray (~£28) | |
| Best all-natural sea salt spray | Alott Sea Salt Spray (~£22) | |
| Best hydrating sea salt spray | Moo & Yoo Sea Salt Spray (~£26) |
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The best sea salt sprays to buy in 2025
1. Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray: Best sea salt spray overall
Price when reviewed: £29 (125ml) | Check price at LookFantastic
Bumble and Bumble’s Surf Spray is perfectly formulated to enhance wavy hair. If you have naturally curly hair, simply spray and scrunch locks to enjoy the results; when applied to damp hair in our tests, it brought great shape to our hair as it dried, as well as creating a great texture and impressive hold.
Those with thin hair would be wise to limit the amount of product they use – one or two sprays should be plenty – since we found that too much could leave hair feeling crunchy. Elsewhere, the small bottle makes it perfect for travel, while the Curly Girl-friendly formula is free of mineral oil, phthalate and parabens. Bumble and Bumble is a cruelty-free brand, and this spray is vegan, too.
Key details – Quantity: 250ml; Key ingredients: sea salt, algae extract, kelp extract
2. Alott Sea Salt Spray: Best all-natural sea salt spray
Price when reviewed: £22 | Check price at Glow Organic
This all-vegan spray is perfect if you wash your hair multiple times a week, since its gentle concentration can be applied more liberally without leaving hair with an unpleasant texture. For the price you get a generous glass bottle of product, with refill pouches of the formula available so that you can re-use the original packaging, rather than having to purchase a new bottle.
We used Alott’s sea salt spray for a few days on the trot to test its claims of being gentler on the hair and found that it didn’t build up on the hair unpleasantly, and worked well for those with naturally wavy hair. The ingredients list is a treat, too, including Epsom salts to boost hair health, bergamot to stimulate the scalp and aloe vera to help strengthen strands.
Key details – Quantity: 250ml; Key ingredients: Halen môn sea salt, epsom salts, bergamot, aloe vera
3. Fudge Professional Sea Salt Hair Styling Spray: Best for curls and waves
Price when reviewed: £15 | Check price at Boots
I’ve been fond of haircare brand Fudge and its curl-friendly styling products since the 1990s, and this sea salt spray is an excellent addition to the product range. While the natural sea salt in the spray is authentically beachy and mattifying, hydrating glycerine and castor oil stops the salt spray from drying the hair too much and adds real bounce to my curly hair.
The spray also contains nourishing sea kelp and red algae, and UV protection – so you can wear this salt spray when you go to the actual beach. In keeping with the beachy theme, Fudge’s salt spray has a light coconut scent that’s pleasantly tropical without being overpowering.
Key details – Quantity: 150ml; Key ingredients: Natural sea salt, castor oil, giant sea kelp, red algae
4. Moo & Yoo Sea Salt Spray: Best sea salt spray for hydration
Price when reviewed: £22 | Check price at Moo & Yoo
A combination of sea salt and Icelandic moss, along with marula oil, contributes to the hydrating feel of this spray from Moo & Yoo, which is a great choice if you’re looking for a hair-care and hair-styling product in one. In use, we found it delivered great results on multiple hair types, with no sign of that crunchy feeling, even if applied to wet hair and then allowed to air-dry.
The Icelandic moss acts as an anti-inflammatory agent, benefitting both hair and scalp, while marula oil – high in antioxidants – moisturises hair to boost shine.
Key details – Quantity: 250ml; Key ingredients: Salt (sodium chloride), castor oil, marula oil, Icelandic moss extract
5. Sun Bum Texturising Spray: Best sea salt spray for frizzy hair
Price when reviewed: £18 | Check price at Amazon
More widely known for its SPF lotions, Sun Bum has applied its vast knowledge of all things sun and heat related to its range of hair products, of which this sea salt spray is a part.
Applied to damp or dry hair, it forms a shield to stop the negative effects of humidity – namely, frizz. The lightweight formula tames fly-aways, too, doing so while adding texture and definition. The formula is enriched with Hawaiian black lava sea salt, kelp and – crucially – sunflower seed oil to lock in moisture and nourish hair. All in all, if you’re looking for beach-tousled hair without a hint of frizz, then this Sun Bum’s spray is worth a try.
Key details – Quantity: 177ml; Key ingredients: Epsom salt, macrocystis pyrifera (kelp) extract, charcoal powder
6. KMS Hair Play Sea Salt Spray: Best salt spray for a matte finish
Price when reviewed: £23 | Check price at LookFantastic
Stylist-led haircare brand KMS’s Hair Play range is focused on products made with directional, fashion-forward looks in mind, and this texturising salt spray adds volume and a super-matte finish. Formulated with Dead Sea minerals and vinyl polymer for a flexible hold, the salt spray gave my fine curls more bounce and helped to the baby hairs tame flyaway ends that sometimes pop up when I don’t use a styling product.
Although the finish is matte the spray didn’t feel drying or crispy in my hair – grape seed oil helps to keep in moisture and reduce dryness – and the spray has a pleasant fruity scent. A good product to add fullness to fine hair without adding weight, and great if you want a definitively beachy, sea-sprayed look.
Key details – Quantity: 200ml; Key ingredients: Natural sea salt, Epsom salts, grape seed oil
7. Reuzel Surf Tonic Hairspray: Best sea salt spray for boosting volume
Price when reviewed: £15 | Check price at Amazon
This barber shop-quality spray is incredible for adding volume to all hair types, enhancing your hair’s natural texture, without it feeling weighty. In tests, we found the fragrance-free formula, which includes nettle extract for hair health and witch hazel to soothe the scalp and mop up any excess oil, was superb at holding a style in place throughout the day.
For the price, you get a generous amount of product, which means it delivers on the value for money front, too. To create a windblown look with matte finish, what’s not to like?
Key details – Quantity: 355ml; Key ingredients: Natural sea salt, witch hazel extract, nettle extract
8. TIGI Bed Head Salty Not Sorry: Best sea salt spray under £10
Price when reviewed: £10 | Check price at Boots
This lightweight salt spray from creative styling brand TIGI has a delicious beachy scent and is added a softer, light-to-medium texture and hold to my hair. The spray is made with three (count ‘em) types of salt and hydrating castor oil to keep the hair moist and frizz-free, while adding volume. It felt slightly sticky when first applied but dried to a crunch-free finish.
I found I had to use just a little more of this product in comparison to some of the premium brands on our list; but once I’d done so it gave a good beachy, tousled look. A good buy if you’re after a lighter hold and don’t want to spend oodles.
Key details – Quantity: 100ml; Key ingredients: Salt (sodium chloride), Epsom salt, sea salt, castor oil
How to choose the best sea salt spray for you
What is a salt spray?
As the name suggests, a salt spray contains water and either natural sea salt or Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) to mimic the effects of a day by the sea. Salt sprays also often contain moisturising ingredients such as glycerin, panthenol (vitamin B5), coconut or argan oils to reduce the drying effects of the salt on hair. Finally, salt sprays often contain marine minerals or sea kelp, or other essential oils for a holiday-fresh fragrance.
How do I choose a salt spray?
Start with your natural hair type – if your hair is dry and prone to frizz, a moisturising salt spray formulation will add hydration and flatten the hair cuticle for smooth, defined results. If your hair is naturally straight and tends to fall flat or limp, a mattifying salt spray with extra hold will add volume and keep your style in place. A mattifying spray is also a godsend for oilier hair types.
How do I use a salt spray?
Salt spray is simplicity itself to use, but for the best results wash and towel-dry hair first (or dampen hair between washes) and comb through to remove tangles. To add texture and enhance waves, spray the lengths and scrunch or twist with your fingers; for volume spritz nearer the roots and tease gently. Air-dry or gently blow-dry with a diffuser to finish.
Salt spray also plays well with other hair products – add a texturising spray or mousse for extra volume and hold; or to break up any crunchiness after drying, finish with a very light serum or hair oil.
