I’ve tried the best non toxic hairsprays made with clean ingredients over the years, and I’m sharing my honest thoughts. The best clean hairspray is made without the use of questionable or harmful ingredients and is full of plant goodness that can hold a style .

Why is hairspray toxic?

While there’s a lot of debate over how much skin actually absorbs, you are literally breathing in what comes out of a hairspray. There’s four main components to a conventional hairspray that can be full of toxins:

1. Holding Agents The core of any hairspray are polymers that form a film over the hair shaft to lock your style in place. The most common are:

• PVP (polyvinylpyrrolidone): the most widely used
• PVPVA: PVP mixed with vinyl acetate for stronger hold in humidity
• Acrylates: synthetic film formers used in stronger hold formulas

2. Solvent The liquid base that carries everything and evaporates after application allowing the polymers to set. Ethanol (alcohol) is the most common.

3. Propellant (aerosol only) What physically pushes the product out of the can and creates the mist. Common propellants include Isobutane, Butane, Propane and Dimethyl ether.

4. Additives: all the extra fluff like fragrance, silicones, conditioning agents, and plasticizers.

These components are harmful because they can contain:

• Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs): released into the air as you spray and inhaled directly into the lung.
• Phthalates: often hidden inside “fragrance”
• Synthetic fragrance: a catch-all term that can contain dozens of undisclosed toxic chemicals
• Benzene: a contaminant in many aerosol products
• Formaldehyde-releasing preservatives: irritating and harmful

A Note on 100% Natural Hairspray

An all natural hairspray won’t give you the crunchy gravity-defying hold that conventional hairsprays do. In comparison, it will feel like a gentle hold – a small compromise to avoid breathing in harmful particles. As an alternative, natural hair paste can give a stronger hold but don’t offer the convenience of coming in spray format.

I tried Josh Rosebrook Hair Spray

There’s just not that many natural hairsprays that actually work at holding hair in place and Josh Rosebrook is the exception. He makes one of the best, if not THE best, hairspray that’s completely non toxic and clean with certified organic Brown Rice Extract, organic yucca starch and a bioactive herbal infusion of botanical extracts. The hardest thing to find in a natural hairspray is the ability to actually give hold to a style. Josh Rosebrook ticks all the boxes and smells amazing to boot. My only complaint is that it comes in a smaller bottle and runs out faster than other clean hairsprays. It has an elongated nozzle but still comes out as a fine spray.

Price: $20 for 4oz
Hold strength: medium hold
Key ingredients: certified organic Brown Rice Extract and yucca starch
✔️ 100% natural ✔️ organic ingredients ✔️ color safe ✔️ vegan

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I tried Rahua Defining Hairspray

Another natural hair spray that actually works is Rahua’s Defining Hairspray. Rahua was one of the first nontoxic hairsprays I tried ten years ago, and the fact that it’s still around means it’s a solid product. This gives a noticeable light hold and comes in a generously sized bottle. I have frizzy hair with a lot of breakage at the top and flyways, and this spray really does improve how my hair looks. They use a special oil from the Amazon called rahua oil that helps strengthen hair strands, improve scalp health and even lock in color. It’s got a wonderful grounding palo Santo smell to it that isn’t too strong.

Price: $45 for 6.5 oz
Hold strength: medium hold
Key ingredients: Rahua oil, sugarcane, green tea extract
✔️ 100% natural ✔️ organic ingredients ✔️ color safe ✔️ vegan

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I tried Innersense I Create Finish

Innersense’s hairspray is surprisingly the best value for money if you want a truly clean 100% natural formula. This huge 10oz bottle has lasted me forever and cost me under $30. I like to think of theirs as setting spray for my hair just to tame some flyaways and give it some antioxidant-rich nourishment. Maybe it’s because I went in with very low expectations, but I was actually pleasantly surprised. It does give a very very gentle, flexible hold and I could feel that it stiffened my hair just ever so slightly. It has a very subtle herbal scent that’s uplifting. Compared to Josh Rosebrook and Rahua the hold isn’t as strong. I love that I can always trust this brand to commit to 100% safe and natural ingredients that are often certified organic.

Price: $28 for 10 oz
Hold strength: soft hold
Key ingredients: Organic Rice Protein, Rooibos Tea, Certified Organic Honey
✔️ 100% natural ✔️ organic ingredients ✔️ color safe

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I tried Pacifica Soft Hold + Volume Hairspray (budget!)

Pacifica’s Soft Hold + Volume Hair spray comes out as a continuous spray and provides a super soft hold that’s good for flyaways and light styling. I love that it’s vegan, cruelty free and contains real sea salt and coconut fruit extract. If my hair is looking frizzy I just use a quick spray of this to instantly smooth down my hair without weighing it down. At under $15 Pacifica’s is a great cleaner than conventional option that’s insanely affordable if you’re looking for a very gentle hair spray. There’s zero crunchiness or flakes and hardly any residue buildup. The coconut scent is natural from essential oils, not too overpowering and is perfect for summer.

Price: $14 for 6oz
Hold strength: soft
Key ingredients: sea salt and coconut fruit extract
✔️ color safe ✔️ vegan

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I tried ROZ Wave Texturizing Mist

ROZ’s new Wave Texturizing Mist is a finishing sea salt spray that gives my hair the grippy texture of Day 2 hair. It’s got Red Microalgae, Sea Salt, and Sea Water to hydrate hair and gives strands that defined tousled look with a matte finish. It feels super lightweight and doesn’t weigh down my hair at all. I can definitely notice the difference between using this spray and a typical water mixed with sea salt natural hair spray. It smells very fresh and green and has notes of bergamot, neroli, fig and vetiver. I’d say it’s on the subtle side compared to how strong ROZ’s shampoo and conditioner smells to me. It can be used on wet or dry hair. If you’re looking for higher performance with formulas that are better than conventional products, ROZ is one to look into.

Price: $35 for 3.4 oz
Key ingredients: Red Microalgae, Sea Salt, and Sea Water
✔️ color safe ✔️ vegan

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use OBL15 for -15%

I tried ROZ Thickening Spray (versatile!)

ROZ’s Thickening Spray is do-it-all versatile hair spray that works as a gentle hold hairspray, volumizing spray AND heat protectant spray. I love to use this to create steady lift at the roots and hold soft waves. It’s perfect for thin hair and doesn’t feel heavy or icky at all. The scent is green, fresh and very subtle. ROZ’s hair spray is fire of silicones, BHT, sulfates, PEGs, and parabens and has hair-nourishing actives like rice protein and mushroom extract. This is also an option that’s better than conventional but not totally pure.

Price: $39 for 5oz
Key ingredients:  Mushroom Root Extract, Rice Protein, and Radish Root
✔️ color safe ✔️ vegan