Whether you're looking to give flat hair movement, make coarse or tangly hair feel buttery-soft, or provide hair that's looking faded or dull with a light-reflecting sheen, shine sprays can help accomplish all of those things and more. The best shine sprays, though, are enriched with vitamins, minerals, and moisturizing oils and butters (rather than added shimmer or glitter), so they have some long-lasting strengthening and hydrating benefits, too.
There are tons of shine-enhancing sprays on the market, all of which do slightly different things, so the right one for you will come down to your hair type and preferred finish. If your hair is on the thinner side, look for an ultra-fine mist that evenly coats your hair and won’t weigh it down with a sticky residue. If your hair is thick, coarse, or dry, it can handle a formula infused with richer ingredients, like coconut oil and shea butter. Dry hair should also avoid sprays that contain drying alcohols — but if it’s texture you’re after, then alcohols can actually help you achieve a piece-y look.
No matter which one you choose, the six best shine sprays listed ahead will help add dimension to flat hair, boost your color’s vividness, and give you the vibrant, radiant hair of your Technicolor dreams.
We only recommend products we love and that we think you will, too. We may receive a portion of sales from products purchased from this article, which was written by our Commerce team.
With over 1,600 five-star ratings, this shine spray from Moroccanoil is an absolute favorite among Amazon reviewers. This lightweight mist offers even the dullest, driest hair a light-reflecting sheen, and it won’t weigh down fine or oily hair. A power-packed formula of argan oil, panthenol, and wheat germ oil enriches your hair with antioxidants and vitamins, and helps promote moisture retention — a key element of long-lasting shine. Plus, the musky-sweet scent can double as a hair perfume. This works best as a finishing spray on dry hair.
Relevant review: “OH MY GODS MY HAIR HAS CELEBRITY STATUS. It's important to follow the instructions and spray 10 inches away from your hair so it goes on lightly and evenly, and let it set for a minute or so before you smooth your hands/brush over it. A little goes a long way. My hair now gives off a damn reflection. It's so silky soft and smooth. It smells fantastic!”
This R+Co Trophy Shine + Texture Spray gives you the tousled, bedhead-like texture and light hold of a flexible hairspray, but without the matte finish — the perfect middle ground between dirty-looking-as-an-aesthetic-choice and catalogue-model shine. This contains sea kale and sweet almond oil for moisture and shine, though some alcohols in the formula help create a cool, textured finish. Spritz it on damp hair, then style it (or don't) however you wish.
Relevant review: “This hairspray gives so much more than just hold. It makes your hair super shiny, leaves your style in place BUT the best part is that it looks natural, not sticky or super hard. The next day, it's like you never put hairspray on your hair."
Here’s another genius hybrid, this time between a shine spray and a salt spray: Mist it on damp hair, let it air dry, and revel in your perfectly-imperfect tousled waves (without the stickiness or stiffness of a salt spray, plus a subtly radiant finish). It even helps work straight, flat hair into piece-y waves. This is much more moisturizing than a traditional salt spray, too, and the formula is packed with good-for-hair ingredients — like hydrolyzed wheat protein, panthenol, and antioxidants that help protect your hair from environmental aggressors. So like all Oribe products, it's a massive overachiever (and worth every cent of that $44 price tag).
Relevant review: “This adds beautiful shine and instantly defines waves without being stiff or feeling tangled with the salty texture some products have."
This Cantu shine spray is absolutely stacked with the moisturizing oils and butters that curls crave — like coconut oil, shea butter, sweet almond oil, avocado oil, olive oil, and mango butter, to name just a few. That rich elixir also imparts a natural-looking gloss, smooths unwanted flyaways and frizz, and revives tired curls to their peak springy, bouncy glory. This also gives waves and curls some hold, without the addition of drying alcohols.
Relevant review: “It moisturizes wonderfully, has no crunch, a little bit goes a long way, and it doesn't weigh the hair down. I spritz it on, work it through my hair, and then add Cantu’s curl cream. I immediately feel a slip and my curls/coils begin to pop. My hair has a beautiful sheen and stays moisturized all day long.”
Color Wow's Extra Mist-ical Shine Spray makes your hair look ultra glossy post-blow dry, and helps protect it from heat damage as well. The headlining ingredient in here is mullein plant extract, which the brand says can attract UV light and transform it into visible light, whatever that means. Whether due to that magical plant or not, Amazon reviewers rave about this mist’s light-reflecting powers, and how soft and touchable it makes their hair feel.
Relevant review: “I am amazed at the glistening shine this product provides! I have really dry, dull, long hair and I almost always wear it completely straight. This COLOR WOW Mist-ical Shine Spray keeps my hair shiny throughout the entire day — radiant flecks of light for hours!”
This Matrix Biolage Smooth Shine Milk is less “shine spray” than it is “leave-in conditioner that happens to make your hair look super-glossy,” but people use it for both purposes. This mist melts through even the most stubborn knots, leaves hair feeling buttery-smooth, and even provides some gentle hold, so you can use it as a styling product in a pinch. Amazon reviewers report that it works on all hair types, including oily, fine, coarse, and dry, thanks to its ideal balance between being moisturizing and lightweight.
Relevant review: “This stuff is amazing! I have very tangly hair, especially when my hair is wet, but a few sprays of this and my hair is much more manageable and easily combed. It’s also great for taming flyaways when my hair is dry. Has a nice, light scent.”
