Oribe’s Texturizing Spray Saved My Bad Haircut
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In January, buoyed by the optimism of a New Year, I got a haircut at a salon I’d never been to before. For nearly two years, I’d worn my hair straight, blunt, and shoulder length, dutifully trimming my bangs every six to eight weeks. But lately I’d been thinking of something a little messier; my Instagram algorithm responded in kind, showing me shots of artfully edgy shags and wolf cuts. And the salon I’d stumbled across appeared to specialize in this sort of cut; its page was filled with creative types sporting nose piercings, tattoos, and very cool hair.
At my appointment, I asked for something “trendy” and “textured” with lots of “layers” and “movement.” I did not bring a reference photo. Blame it on lingering holiday good vibes, or confidence in my stylist, who looked like they knew what they were doing, or pure hubris, but what I walked out with was less a wolf cut and more a mullet, of the Bushwick DJ variety. It was shorter than I’d imagined, and it did exactly what I feared it would after shampooing and conditioning: It turned limp and lifeless.
I have straight, fine, fairly fragile hair, which meant for years I was able to get away with spending minimal effort on styling. Most nights I’d let it air-dry, onlyblow-dryingon occasion, and I hardly ever used product in my hair. But now I was confronted with the fact that my typical routine was not going to cut it. In order for the cut to look the way it was meant to, it was going to need more texture and volume —a lotmore.
First, I used my boyfriend’s Hanz de Fuko Gravity Paste, but found it difficult to work with — the paste is thick and sticky and didn’t disperse throughout my hair very well. Then I tried a sea-salt spray, but it was causing my hair to feel dehydrated and strawlike, so I quickly stopped that. Then I tried Oribe’s Dry Texturizing Spray and found a winner.
Though it’s neither, the texturizing spray feels somewhat like a cross between hair spray and dry shampoo. It’s an aerosol and shoots out a shower of weightless mist. Just a few seconds of spraying is enough to give me oodles of grip and texture. It’s extremely easy to use, even for me, an admitted novice at hairstyling: I just give my entire head a good blasting, flip upside down and ruffle it up, and when I flip back upright I feel likeRita Hayworth inGildagoing, “Me?” In fact, I’d even venture to say my hair ends uptoopoufy and poodlelike, and I have to tame it back down with a comb or some well-placed hair clips. Afterward, my hair has a lifted, tousled, devil-may-care vibe, just like the photos I was seduced by.
I’m currently testing out a conditioner that does its job very well, which means on post-wash days my hair feels smooth, silky — and flat. A quick application of the Oribe spray, and I get instant next-day hair that lasts into theactualnext day — and sometimes even the day after that. (I usually go one to two days in between washes.) It’s not specifically formulated to clean your hair, but because it leaves a subtle matte, powdery finish, it ends up absorbing some excess oil in the same way a dry shampoo does — without the accompanying white cast or weird residue.
Turns out, a lot of celebrities use it regularly too.Aubrey Plazakeeps a travel-size bottle in her to-go bag: “I have the most boring hair, so I’m constantly flipping my hair over and spraying it with Oribe so I have something going on,” she told us.Natalie Imbrugliasays it makes her hair look “voluminous, thicker, and fantastic,” andMachine Gun Kellysays it’s the only product he uses to style his hair in the morning. “I run my hand through my hair a couple of times and let it make a formation,” he says. He also adds that it smells like “expensive shit”; the official word from the brand is that the scent is a blend of bergamot, jasmine, and sandalwood, but I concur that it is, indeed, very delicious.
It’s been a few months now since my initial cut, and I’m starting to think about whether it’s time for another trim. I’m not sure if I’ll stick with my current style or experiment with something else. But no matter which style I go with, one thing’s for sure: I’ll be keeping Oribe’s Dry Texturizing Spray around to give my hair some much-needed life and body.
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