Last summer I had a keratin treatment, so it was pretty easy to keep my hair straight, or at least frizz-free, with minimal effort. This year, I wanted to try to wear it wavy again, for a change, and also for not spending $200+. So when I got my hair cut this week, I told my hairdresser I wanted to take a break from the flat-iron and work with my natural texture for the summer.
She cut a few more layers into my hair, then while it was still wet sprayed it liberally with label.m Sea Salt Spray. She spritzed it roots to ends and made sure she got under all the layers. Then she dried my hair with a diffuser, finished cutting my hair, and sprayed me with more sea salt while doing a little bit of scrunching. Scrunching! Remember THAT?
I ended up with what she refers to as “mermaid-stripper hair,” a little heavier on the mermaid this time with all the sea salt. Though maybe a little extra stripper in there too, with all the scrunching. Either way, it was the curliest it’s been since I used to set my hair with perm rods in the 80s. (OMG. I just remembered that I used to get my hair cut at a place called “Mr. Larry’s Hair Crimpers”!!! I forgot that ever existed.)
Anyway, if my hair was 6” longer I would seriously look exactly like a mermaid. Especially if I had a tail and a pair of shells from the Mertailer! (Which I would totally get if I also had a pool and $499 to spend on a realistic latex mermaid tail.) Since my hair is not 6” longer, and since I have bangs, but mostly since I was wearing a gray sweatshirt, the effect was vaguely “Flashdance.” Then I left the salon and it started raining and my hair got puffier and curlier and it got VERY Flashdance. Without the dancing. More like Flasherrands. What a feeling!
When I woke up the next morning, I expected to look like a lion with bangs, but instead my hair looked how bed-head looks in the movies. (Sadly, my face was decidedly not camera-ready.) I had the tousled waves described on countless product bottles. The relaxed look of celebrities that are “Just Like Us.”
Still, I didn’t feel right facing the world without combing my hair. I used a wide WIDE-tooth comb to detangle, and then I added a few more spritzes of the sea salt spray and gently raked and shook my fingers through my hair to let the waves do their thing. The look was wavy and natural, but not so bed-head. The finish is matte, so it’s very, very casual. As if I had spent my day on the boardwalk or on a boat. I wouldn’t wear my hair like this to a special event, but it’s fine for pretty much everything else this summer. I’m definitely not used to having this much volume, having worn my hair stick straight for over a year, but it’s a fun change, and it should be pretty effortless to maintain.
More about the Sea Salt Spray: It neither smells, nor tastes like sea salt. (Yes, seriously, and “Yuck.”) While it doesn’t really smell beachy, the scent is does have is very light. The can it comes in is kind of funny, because it seems like an aerosol, but it doesn’t do continuous spray. It’s like the fine mist of an aerosol, but the little bursts of a pump. The way label-period-m describes itself is this: “Beachy texture meets urban chic in this professional formula that creates wearably tousled styles with an edgy matte finish.” I would have to agree, though I’m not sure what’s “urban” about it, except that you’re using a product to give you beach waves instead of actually getting them on or near the beach. They also say this will protect your hair against heat styling and UV rays, so that’s a nice bonus. It also really makes your hair look and feel thicker. Even if you were going to wear it up, this would give your hair more “grip” and also make your buns bigger. (Ha!)
If your hair is really heavy, I don’t think this product would give you waves. However, if you have some layers, and a reasonable amount of natural texture, this stuff will definitely make the most of it. You don’t need even a crazy amount of layers. My layers are really long, the shortest layer is 13”, the longest is 15”.
Going forward, I will probably not dry my hair with a diffuser, unless I’m in a hurry. Though, since I’m often in a hurry, I should probably go buy a diffuser. For the most part, I plan to skip the Flashdance phase, and go straight to the beachy waves. Then I’ll put on my aviator sunglasses and grab my giant handbag to go get an iced-coffee and fend off the paparazzi.
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