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Is Sea Salt Spray Bad For Your Hair?

Updated on December 18, 2025 | 3 min read

Jaclyn LaBadia, Davines Writer

Sea salt spray has become the go-to hair product for effortless, textured hairstyles. In addition to creating beachy waves, it can be used to add volume and style and refresh second-day hair. It holds like a hairspray and refreshes like a dry shampoo. Plus, it smells like vacation in a bottle. It’s a multitasking superhero, but is sea salt spray bad for your hair? Salt is dehydrating afterall, so is it really a good idea to be putting it in your hair? If you use sea salt spray, we’re breaking down everything you need to know about it; including the pros, the cons and the best tips for using sea salt spray effectively. Read ahead for all the sea salt spray details!

Key Takeaways

Sea salt spray can be used to create texture and add volume to your hair.
Overuse of sea salt spray can dry out the hair, counteracting its many benefits.
Using a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner can help keep your hair hydrated while using sea salt spray.
If sea salt spray is too harsh for your hair, try swapping it out for a dry shampoo or texturizing spray to get the same results.

The Benefits of Using Sea Salt Spray

Sea salt spray is one of the most versatile styling products. Below are some the benefits:

It creates beachy waves on straight or fine hair types
It enhances waves and curls in naturally curly hair
It adds texture to all hair types
It adds volume and body to all hair types
It reduces frizz
It perks up lifeless, thinning hair
It absorbs grease and refreshes oily hair
It adds grip for better hold in hairstyles like updos and braids
It tames thick hair
It can be used in place of wax or pomade for styling short hair

If You Over-Use Sea Salt Spray...

Sea salt spray is a hairspray that contains sea salt or saltwater. The salt absorbs moisture and gets trapped inside the hair cuticles. This adds volume and the texture to the hair. It also dries it. So while there's no indication or evidence suggesting that sea salt spray is bad for your hair, it can have the following negative effects if you use it too frequently:

It depletes moisture. Salt disrupts the hair’s structure by extracting its water content. Because your hair is made of mostly water (and proteins), this leads to the structural changes to the hair shaft you see as bendy, beachy waves. It also leads to fragile strands that are prone to breakage. Moisture is a must for strong, healthy hair.
It fades color. Not only is dehydrated hair rougher, less manageable and susceptible to breakage, but it also can’t hold on to color. As salt removes the hair’s natural moisture, it pulls out the pigment in the process. Salt also acts as an exfoliant, directly affecting hair color.
It disrupts the cuticle. As the salt extracts the moisture from the strand, it disrupts the cuticle in the process. This roughing up of the cuticle makes strands more vulnerable to environmental and styling damage. This leads to frizzy hair, split ends and breakage- especially in curly hair.

How to Use Sea Salt Spray Effectively

To combat the drying effect on your hair strands while you’re using a salt spray, use a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner. Swap in a clarifying shampoo weekly to prevent salt buildup on your hair and scalp. Because you’re depleting moisture, add it back in with a weekly hydrating hair mask. To enhance your natural curl and avoid drying out your strands too much (leading to breakage) follow these other tips when using sea salt spray.

Use in moderation

Because of how drying salt is, don’t overuse your sea salt spray; and use it sparingly, a little goes a long with this product!

Wet your hair

Start with freshly washed hair or re-wet second or third day hair before styling with sea salt spray. It works best on wet stands.

Remove knots and tangles

Removing knots and tangles allows the salt to enter the hair shaft easier.

Shake your sea salt spray

Sea salt sprays contain pisces of salt that can settle over time. Before you start spritzing, shake it to make sure the formula is properly mixed.

Cocktail your sea salt spray

It’s a good idea to combine your sea salt spray with a leave-in conditioner, detangler, or hair serum to avoid stripping away too much of your hair’s moisture and shine.

Hair Products for Curly Hair

When it comes to travel size curly hair products, a sulfate-free curl shampoo and conditioner are essential for bouncy, manageable curls. Styling products that enhance elasticity and volume, while ensuring well-defined, hydrated curls are also some of the best travel size hair products for curly hair.

Spray from a distance

Unlike using a dry shampoo, spraying too close to your scalp can cause residue to build up and make your strands sticky.

Don't use excessive heat

Avoid using heating tools too frequently and use a heat protectant when you do.

Try a diffuser

If you must blow-dry, use a diffuser to minimize heat damage. Tilt your head and place the diffuser on your roots, gently massaging the diffuser’s prongs on your hair.

Add coconut oil to your routine

In addition to hair masking, lather your hair in coconut oil weekly and let it sit for at least 20 minutes — or cover your hair with a shower cap and let it sit overnight.

Stay hydrated

Drinking 2-3 liters of water per day will hydrate your strands from the inside out.

Alternatives to Sea Salt Spray: Other Ways to Add Texture and Volume to Your Hair

The most optimal method for adding texture and volume to hair differs from person to person. In addition to sea salt spray, there are lots of alternatives for gettting big volume. These are a few of our favorite products and styling hacks for mimicking the effects of a sea salt styling product.

This is an Invisible Dry Shampoo

This waterless style extender absorbs oil and impurities leaving behind a soft and natural finish. It adds volume at the root and helps to prolong the duration of a hairstyle.

This is a Dry Texturizer

This styling spray gives the hair an instant full-bodied and tousled look without weighing it down. It gives a piecey, defined texture and hold.

This is a Volume Boosting Mousse

For adding airy volume to any type of hair, this mousse is perfect for giving your hair light and natural-looking body.

Hair Refresher

This dry shampoo spray refreshes and adds volume as it absorbs excess oil, immediately giving body to the hair so that it looks full and airy.

This is a Texturizing Dust

For instant, long-lasting volume and workable texture, this dust creates structured hold, fullness and refreshes day-old styles without leaving any residue.

Tease your roots

Use a teasing comb to section off the top of your hair from your temple to the back of your head. Starting in the back, take an inch-wide section and hold the comb horizontally as you lightly press the comb in from the back and push down, angling slightly. Continue the same technique throughout the hair and finish by combing the hair on top to smooth it out.

Part your hair on the opposite side

If you normally part your hair on the left side, try parting it on the right. Your hair gets used to laying the way you part it, so flipping it to the other direction will make your roots stand up.

Only apply conditioner to your ends

Too much conditioner at the roots can weigh your hair down drastically. Apply it only at the ends of your hair. Unless you have knots, in which case you can use conditioner at the roots but only if you follow up with another shampoo to remove residue.

Final thoughts on sea salt spray

Sea salt spray is a trusted styling product for beachy waves and textured hairstyles. It’s great for adding instant texture and volume to your hair, enhancing your hair's natural curl pattern, and even refreshing second and third day hairstyles. It’s one of the most versatile hair products to have in your collection, but sea salt spray can dehydrate your hair, making it dry, brittle and prone to damage. If your hair tends to be very dry, to begin with, sea salt spray may not be the best product for you. Most hair types can benefit from using sea salt spray though and in most cases the advantages far outweigh the very minor disadvantages — which can be remedied with a proper hydrating and conditioning routine. Remember to incorporate our hair tips to keep your strands moisturized and use only a high-quality sea salt spray like the one from Davines.

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