My hair is at its best just out of the ocean: wavy on the verge of curly, wind-blown, wonderfully textured, but not crunchy. I’ve gone to such great lengths to achieve such hair inland that I once carted a bottle of ocean water home from Montauk to Manhattan, hoping a post-shampoo douse would do the trick. Surf sprays certainly help--I love Josie Maran’s Bohemian Waves Argan Hair Mist ($22), hairstylist Jen Atkin turned me onto Fekkai’s lightweight Tousled Wave Spray ($25), and I’ve been using Bumble and bumble’s Surf Spray ($25) since high school. The black salt-filled bottle gives off a faint ocean scent and heavy ocean texture, making their decision to launch a surf-inspired shampoo and conditioner this month long overdue.
Bumble’s forgiven; it was well worth the wait. The Surf Foam Wash Shampoo ($24) and Surf Crème Rinse Conditioner ($25)--both of which also smell of the sea--are full of both Epsom and table salts (Magnesium Sulfate and Sodium Chloride if you want to get scientific) to amp up volume and texture while softening curls into wind-blown waves. But what does it do to straighter hair? After fielding compliments for a week, I asked a few of the straight-haired girls in our office to give the shampoo and conditioner a shot and let me know if it was really working magic.
“After three days of using it, my hair definitely feels like it spent a day at the beach,” says Photo Editor Ashley Galloway, who showed up with bodacious blonde waves on Monday morning. “The fact that I can just leave it and go, score body and texture, and get a lot of compliments? I’m sold.” Danielle Nussbaum, Who What Wear’s Entertainment Director, echoed Galloway’s sentiment: “It was tackier and piecey; the combination of the shampoo and conditioner plus the Surf Spray made my hair stay beachier longer than just using the spray with regular shampoo.” As for our Editorial Director, Hillary Kerr, she says, “My fine, flat hair was significantly thicker and even a little wavy--and I didn’t have to blow-dry or curl my hair to get said volume, which makes me very happy.”
Turns out there is an easier way to achieve beachy hair than taking a dip in the ocean every morning.
