Hairspray that's not sticky

Sebastian Shaper Plus Hairspray has the best record for not leaving hair sticky or crunchy: 22 of 27 reviewers said it holds without the stiffness. Sexy Hair Spray & Play Volumizing Hairspray follows at 20 of 28 and Pureology Lock It Down Hairspray at 12 of 18. At the other end, Drybar Triple Sec Texturizing Spray has the weakest record here, at 9 of 29.

  • 165 store reviews counted
  • Ulta and Sephora shoppers
  • May 2016 to Sep 2026

Updated . How we count

Is it sticky? What buyers said
  1. Sebastian Shaper Plus Hairspray 27 said either way
  2. Sexy Hair Spray & Play Volumizing Hairspray 28 said either way
  3. Pureology Lock It Down Hairspray 18 said either way
  4. Kenra Professional Volume Spray 25 22 said either way
  5. Bumble and bumble Thickening Spray 27 said either way
  6. Drybar Triple Sec Texturizing Spray 29 said either way

Share of reviewers who stated an outcome for stickiness. Ranked by the lower bound of a 90% confidence interval, so a product needs both a good share and enough reports to rank high.

Sebastian Shaper Plus Hairspray Best record Sebastian Shaper Plus Hairspray 22 of 27 say it isn't sticky or crunchy See price & reviews on Amazon
What stands out

The two lowest-ranked sprays are a thickening spray and a texturizing spray, not classic hairsprays, and stickiness is their main complaint: 40% of Bumble and bumble Thickening Spray reviews and 70% of Drybar Triple Sec Texturizing Spray reviews.

The ranking, product by product

Praise and complaints are the points reviewers repeat most, shown as a share of each product's counted store reviews.

1 Sebastian Shaper Plus Hairspray

Sebastian

Shaper Plus Hairspray

Best for hold without crunch

22/27 say it isn't sticky or crunchy

76% say it isn't sticky, 38% praise the hold and 14% say it brushes out. Stickiness still comes up, with 24% of reviews saying it feels sticky or crunchy. Counted reviews are all from Ulta.

What buyers praise

  • Strong hold 38%
  • Nice scent 14%
  • Brushes out 14%
  • Holds in humidity 7%

What buyers complain about

No repeated complaints yet.

Where buyers said it
  • Ulta 22 of 27

How often it comes up: about 1 in 9 of this product's 1,641 store reviews mention stickiness.

2 Sexy Hair Spray & Play Volumizing Hairspray

Sexy Hair

Spray & Play Volumizing Hairspray

20/28 say it isn't sticky or crunchy

57% praise the hold and 21% like the scent, but 29% say it feels sticky or crunchy and 7% mention a clogging nozzle. The word sticky appears in about 1 in 13 of its reviews, for praise and complaint alike.

What buyers praise

  • Strong hold 57%
  • Nice scent 21%
  • Good value 7%

What buyers complain about

  • Strong scent 7%
  • Nozzle clogs 7%
Where buyers said it
  • Ulta 20 of 28
  • Brand site 2 of 2 shown, not counted

How often it comes up: about 1 in 13 of this product's 2,927 store reviews mention stickiness.

3 Pureology Lock It Down Hairspray

Pureology

Lock It Down Hairspray

12/18 say it isn't sticky or crunchy

Hold is the draw, praised by 53%. But 37% say it feels sticky or crunchy and 16% call it too expensive. Counted reviews are all from Ulta.

What buyers praise

  • Strong hold 53%
  • Nice scent 32%
  • Good value 16%

What buyers complain about

  • Too expensive 16%
  • Strong scent 11%
Where buyers said it
  • Ulta 12 of 18
  • Brand site 1 of 1 shown, not counted

How often it comes up: about 1 in 7 of this product's 527 store reviews mention stickiness.

4 Kenra Professional Volume Spray 25

Kenra Professional

Volume Spray 25

14/22 say it isn't sticky or crunchy

A split verdict: 40% praise the hold and 12% say it holds in humidity, but 36% say it feels sticky or crunchy and 20% say the hold gave out.

What buyers praise

  • Strong hold 40%
  • Holds in humidity 12%
  • Brushes out 8%
  • Fine mist 8%

What buyers complain about

  • Weak hold 20%
  • Strong scent 12%
Where buyers said it
  • Ulta 14 of 22
  • Brand site 0 of 1 shown, not counted

How often it comes up: about 1 in 11 of this product's 2,324 store reviews mention stickiness.

5

Bumble and bumble

Thickening Spray

16/27 say it isn't sticky or crunchy

Stickiness is the main complaint, in 40% of its reviews. 23% like the scent, and 17% praise the hold. Counted reviews are all from Sephora.

What buyers praise

  • Nice scent 23%
  • Strong hold 17%
  • Good value 7%

What buyers complain about

  • Strong scent 13%
Where buyers said it
  • Sephora 16 of 27
By skin type (Sephora reviewers)
  • Combination7 of 11
  • Dry3 of 5
By skin tone (Sephora reviewers)
  • Fair to light5 of 9
  • Light-medium to medium4 of 7

How often it comes up: about 1 in 6 of this product's 1,072 store reviews mention stickiness.

Share of 30 store reviews that mention each point. A full bar is 50%.

6

Drybar

Triple Sec Texturizing Spray

9/29 say it isn't sticky or crunchy

Weakest record here, at 31%. 70% say it feels sticky or crunchy, and 30% like the scent. It is a texturizing finishing spray rather than a hold spray. Counted reviews are all from Sephora.

What buyers praise

  • Nice scent 30%
  • Strong hold 7%

What buyers complain about

  • Strong scent 20%
  • Too expensive 7%
Where buyers said it
  • Sephora 9 of 29
By skin type (Sephora reviewers)
  • Combination6 of 18
  • Dry1 of 5
  • Oily1 of 3
  • Normal1 of 3
By skin tone (Sephora reviewers)
  • Fair to light7 of 17
  • Light-medium to medium1 of 6
  • Medium-tan to tan1 of 4

How often it comes up: about 1 in 12 of this product's 1,161 store reviews mention stickiness.

Share of 30 store reviews that mention each point. A full bar is 50%.

Where these numbers come from

The 6 products ranked here carry 9,652 reviews at Ulta and Sephora. We searched them for stickiness and read the newest matching reviews, up to 30 per product and store, posted between May 2016 and Sep 2026.

A review counts only when the reviewer used the product themselves. We drop reviews written in exchange for a free product or a sweepstakes entry (0 on this page), and products that are no longer sold.

Ulta also shows reviews first posted on brands' own websites. They run much more positive than store reviews of the same products (across 19 products with both, 76% of brand-site reviewers said the product solved the problem, against 55% of Ulta shoppers), so we show them on product cards but never count them.

Because we searched for the problem, people who had it are overrepresented. Compare products with each other rather than reading a share as your own odds.

Skin type, skin tone and age splits use what reviewers chose on Sephora's review form (and age on Ulta's when given). We only show a split when enough reviewers fall on each side.

Amazon buttons appear only on products that most reviewers here say fix the problem (at least 60%, with enough reviews to trust it). Everything else gets no buy link.

An AI model labels each review against a fixed list of points, and we spot-check the labels before publishing. We publish counts, never the reviews themselves.

Read the full method

Product pages we read

  1. Sebastian Shaper Plus Hairspray Ulta (29 reviews counted)
  2. Sexy Hair Spray & Play Volumizing Hairspray Ulta (28 reviews counted)
  3. Pureology Lock It Down Hairspray Ulta (19 reviews counted)
  4. Kenra Professional Volume Spray 25 Ulta (25 reviews counted)
  5. Bumble and bumble Thickening Spray Sephora (30 reviews counted)
  6. Drybar Triple Sec Texturizing Spray Sephora (30 reviews counted)

People asking about it on Reddit

  1. is there any hair spray that doesnt leave your hair crunchier than a potato chip? r/beauty, Nov 2024, 30 comments

Questions buyers ask

Which hairspray doesn't feel sticky or crunchy?

In these reviews, Sebastian Shaper Plus Hairspray comes first at 22 of 27, followed by Sexy Hair Spray & Play Volumizing Hairspray at 20 of 28 and Pureology Lock It Down Hairspray at 12 of 18.

Does Drybar Triple Sec Texturizing Spray leave hair sticky?

Often, by these reviews: 20 of 29 reviewers who brought up stickiness said it left their hair sticky, crunchy or stiff. That is the weakest record here, at 31%.

How common are sticky complaints with hairspray?

It comes up a lot. The word sticky appears in about 1 in 9 reviews of Sebastian Shaper Plus Hairspray, about 1 in 13 reviews of Sexy Hair Spray & Play Volumizing Hairspray and about 1 in 12 reviews of Drybar Triple Sec Texturizing Spray, and it can be praise or complaint. We count what each reviewer said happened to their hair.

Which not-sticky hairspray is sold on Amazon?

The best pick sold on Amazon is Sebastian Shaper Plus Hairspray, at 22 of 27. Sexy Hair Spray & Play Volumizing Hairspray, Pureology Lock It Down Hairspray and Kenra Professional Volume Spray 25 are also sold there through the brand.

Related problems

Hairspray Hairspray that holds all day Top pick: Sexy Hair Spray & Play Volumizing Hairspray 193 buyer reports Curl cream Curl cream that defines curls without crunch Top pick: Fenty Beauty Homecurl Curl-Defining Cream 146 buyer reports Hair oil Hair oil that's not greasy Top pick: Olaplex No.7 Bonding Hair Oil 154 buyer reports Dry shampoo Dry shampoo with no white residue Top pick: Olaplex No. 4D Detox Dry Shampoo 301 buyer reports

HiveTried earns a commission when you buy through the "See price & reviews on Amazon" buttons. It never changes the ranking: the order comes from buyer reports only, and a product gets an Amazon button only when buyers here say it works.