This Wave Spray Gives Me the Beachy Hair of My Dreams (Without Feeling Crunchy)

Over many years of testing various sprays of this nature (i.e. beach, wave, texturizing), I pretty much wrote them off because they always left me with gritty, flat waves that lacked definition and felt kind of dirty. But there was something about the bright pink bottle of the Andrew Fitzsimons Model Volume Boosting Wave Spray from the celeb hairstylist’s newly launched line that intrigued me. I figured if anyone was going to try and get a beachy wave spray right, it would be the person who has spent decades creating such looks on the likes of J.Lo, Megan Fox and the Kardashian-Jenner clan.

As Fitzsimons tells me, “The Model Wave Spray is one of my favorite products in the line because it adds effortless texture and defined curls without the crunch. It accentuates the natural curves of your locks, while amplifying volume.”

And so, with mild expectations I decided to give it a try. After showering and blotting my wet hair with my trusty microfiber towel, I spritzed the wave spray all over, scrunching and twisting smaller sections as I moved around my head. Note: Timing is key when it comes to using styling products—wave sprays and otherwise. You want to apply them while your hair is still damp from the shower, so it’s better distributed throughout and not just sitting on the top section.

After spraying and scrunching, I tried my best to keep my hands off the hair as it dried. After about an hour of putzing around my apartment, I went over to the bathroom mirror to check how my hair was doing and what do you know? I had soft, bendy waves that still felt clean and not at all sticky or stiff.

Could this be attributed to the spray’s salt-free formula? I did some further digging into the ingredients and it seems to rely, instead of salt, on PVP (or polyvinylpyrrolidone), which is a water-soluble polymer that’s commonly used in hair products like gel or hairspray to give them holding power. Also on the list is maltodextrin, which forms a thin coating on hair to increase the diameter of each strand (translation: it boosts volume). This explains the nice lift I had at my roots.

A couple weeks later, I’m still enjoying the wave spray. I use it on its own when I’m going for a softer bend, as shown above. When I want a bit more definition around day two or three, I’ll curl a few sections using a 1.25-inch iron. Either way, I’ve found that the wave spray sets a nice foundation for my strands and leaves them smelling like I just stepped out of a fancy salon.