#1: Color Wow Dream Coat Spray

This product is an all-around saint. It’s a protective coat for your hair; it protects against the dreaded humidity fuzz. It’s weightless so you can drench your hair in it and not feel a residue like you can with some products. There’s also a Dream Coat specifically for curly hair.

Styling Tips: This spray needs to be the very LAST product you use before blow-drying and will require a section-by-section blow-dry to get the best glass-like hair results from it. So, if you’re planning just a rough blast dry, maybe skip using this spray that day. It won’t do any damage; it just doesn’t get the optimum results.

#2: Kevin Murphy Powder Puff or Redken Powder Grip

I’ve put these two products together because I can’t choose between them. I swear by volume powders for the majority of styling for a whole number of reasons. They hold so well (handy, because that’s the entire point). Also, they’re reworkable. Hairs dropped? No problem, get your fingers in at the roots again and manipulate back into place! Best of all, they’re invisible; people generally want soft-looking hair that looks fabulously effortless and like it has no product in it. Redkens’ Powder Grip is the stronger out of the two and perfect for that fauxhawk style that you don’t want to fix multiple times a day. Powder Puff still has a significant amount of hold, but I find it is that little bit more pliable, so it’s one of the best styling products for short fine hair!

Styling Tips: You can overuse easily, so go steady at first; you can always add more. It comes out quite fast, so I tend to hold it upright and squeeze the bottle quickly, so it ‘puffs’ out; it just gives you a little more control. Also, make sure you put it on at the roots of your hair.

#3: Color Wow Style on Steroids Texturizing Spray

This texturizing spray is carefully formulated to keep colored hair bright, lightweight, and healthy.

Style on Steroids is great for enhancing texture without leaving the hair weighed down or crispy. It brushes out well and is buildable. It is not a hairspray, so don’t expect ultimate hold from this product, because that’s not what it does.

Styling Tips: To get that ‘pieced’ outlook, I will do just that, piece out bit by bit and spray, or spray on to my fingertips and then piece my hair out, which is transferring the spray on to the hair. There’s no real right or wrong way of doing this; just do whatever works for you!

#4: Redken Wax Blast Hairspray

This is another regular feature in my styling routine, I have been using this little “beaut” for more than ten years now, and I can’t see me giving it up any time soon either. No, it’s not the strongest holding spray wax, but I really like it. I love the buildable nature of it; it’s great for adding texture to your hair, doesn’t leave it looking greasy, and it smells like you’ve just stepped out of the salon.

Styling Tips: It’s a buildable product, so it will give you as much or as little hold/texture as you want. I tend to layer it up, leave it to settle, and then come back to it and reassess. I’ll always use this when creating my fauxhawk!

#5: TIGI Bed Hard Head Hairspray

Don’t want your hair to budge all day/night? This is the one for you! It’s been around forever and does exactly what it says on the tin! One of the best styling products for short fine hair, it’s perfect for those wild nights out or just those days where the wind is persistent.

Styling Tips: Don’t spray too close to your hair; it could end up looking a bit gluey. It’s quite a ‘wet’ spray, so wait for it to dry between layers, or else your hair could get too heavy and just collapse, losing all the volume and texture that you’ve slaved over. Also, bear in mind that this spray isn’t re-workable, so make sure you’re really happy with the style and positioning before using this to fix it into place!

#6: Color Wow Cult Favorite Hairspray

Another hairspray, I know I know, how many hairsprays could one person need? I like to have a choice, what can I say? This hairspray is far more flexible than TIGI’s Hard Head and is also buildable, so it’s great for general day-to-day use but also suitable for lasting hold. It’s a great all-around spray, really. It’s not what I would call a ‘wet’ spray either; it comes out as a fine mist, which is always welcomed!

#7: ghd Ceramic Radial Hair Brush

I love using ceramic round brushes from ghd, varying from size 1 to size 4, depending on my hair length at the time. These brushes retain their heat to allow for a faster blow-dry. Of course, there are other alternatives on the market, but all my styles are achieved using these.

Styling Tips: Working with small sections, place the brush into the root area and direct the heat from your dryer at the barrel.

#8: ghd Professional Strength Blow Dryer

This hairdryer creates a salon finish in half the time, especially with super short hair. My styling routine is so much faster since I started using this blow dryer. Also, I’ve noticed that it delivers smoother blowouts with less frizz, which is essential for my colored and over-processed hair. It features variable heat settings, two speeds for customized control, and a cool shot button to set styles in place.

Styling Tips: If you have some extra time, switch to a cooler mode because frequent heat does damage hair, even if you’re using tons of protectant sprays and fashionable hot tools.