I Love Texture In My Hair. These Are The Products That Last All Day (And Night)
Melissa Mason is an Australian writer and podcast host. She has also been a beauty journalist for over 10 years. She’s obsessed with the ‘70s (and forever switching between her natural curls and a wavy shag), has a co-dependent relationship with her pinky-nude lipstick collection and is currently living in the Aussie outback battling flies and red dust on the daily. You can find her on socials @melissamason_
Some people love glossy, sleek strands.
Me? I’m all about hair texture. Whether it’s texturising powders, texture spray or just good, old-fashioned dry shampoo and scrunching from the roots, I hoard texturising products like no one’s business.
Let’s chalk it up to my obsession with the 1970s and that just-got-out-of-bed, gorgeous undone look.
I want my hair to seem effortless, and while it takes a little more effort than rolling out of bed to get the look I desire, hair texture is pretty easy to achieve in the scheme of things.
The thing is, some products give you the grit you need for this look, and then there are products that (literally) fall flat.
After years as a Beauty Editor and now as co-host of Adore Beauty’s podcast, Beauty IQ: Uncensored, I’ve tried my fair share and can tell you exactly what works for my hair.
If these products work for me, they’ll probably work for you.
I have used these on freshly washed strands (the worst type for playing around with texture) and have seen results. I’m talking long nights on the dance floor, 12-hour-day results!
Oribe Dry Texturising Spray.
Hold Level: Light-Medium.
This is my everyday go-to.
It’s expensive, yes. But the mist is so fine and covers all of my (long, thick) hair quickly and gives a little grit that’s easy to brush out when the day is done.
If you’re looking for something that will give you a little bit of hair texture but won’t make your hair feel sticky within days, this is a must-have.
I mist it all over once I’ve finished styling and then scrunch my roots and mid-lengths a little to create some flyaways.
AVEDA Texture Tonic.
Sea salt sprays have long been the go-to for creating hair texture, and I do like a few, but for texturising hair products you use on damp hair, I always reach for Aveda Texture Tonic.
I suppose it’s technically a sea salt spray – it uses cane sugar and salt as active ingredients.
But it smells herbal (like all Aveda products) which I prefer for day-to-day use.
It’s also really good. You spritz some on damp hair and style as usual – I like to use this for air drying my hair and giving my curls a bit more grit and spiral, but it is light enough that you can blow dry your hair, too.
evo haze styling powder pump.
Recently I attended Adore Beauty’s first IRL store opening at Southland Shopping Centre.
My co-host Hannah and I played a game where we raced around the store to fill our baskets with $150 worth of product in under two minutes, and we both wound up with this in our stash.
With good reason! It’s the best texturising powder I’ve used in years (it's so popular it's currently sold out, but will be back soon, so I'd check back in!).
It pumps easily with a nozzle you can fit around your roots, it’s invisible on dark hair, and it doesn’t overload your strands if you’re careful with how much you apply.
My tip? Go really light-on with the pumps at first and scrunch/shake your hair to get the texture you want, then if you need more, go back in.
ELEVEN Australia I Want Body Volume Powder.
This is another great volume powder for texture.
I would say this leaves hair with more grit than the evo product above, but that’s sometimes what you want when you’re doing hair texture for an event.
I throw this one into my bag when I’m going out for touch-ups, and I’ll use it on my roots when I’m wearing my hair curly for extra volume to prevent my curls from going limp.
R+Co BALLOON Dry Volume Spray.
If you’re after airy root volume to create texture, this is a product I’d recommend.
It’s probably the lightest on hair in my stash, and because my hair is pretty long now, I don’t reach for it as much.
When I had shoulder-length hair, however, it was fantastic for creating extra volume with a little grit while never weighing my strands down. I’d mist it at my roots and also a bit through the top layer’s mid-lengths for breezy flyaways.
How to Get Texture in Your Hair.
A few tips I’ll leave you with for achieving hair texture!
You’ll get the best results if your hair isn’t freshly washed, but if it is, add a salt spray-style product to damp hair to give it some grit.
I find that creating texture is a lot easier on air-dried hair, or after I’ve added some waves/curls with my hair straightener – it gives something for the texturising products to work with, and leans into that woke-up-like-this look.
Finally, less is always more to start with – texturising products can weigh down strands or feel sticky if you play with them too hard, so (especially if you have fine hair) apply sparingly and add more if you need to, even if this means taking a travel sized product out with you to apply through the day.
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