Mixology isn’t just for happy hour—knowing how to craft the perfect cocktail is equally invaluable when it comes to styling surfer-worthy beach waves or a polished, bouncy blowout. Not sure how to combine shine sprays, volumizing mousses, moisturizing creams, and sculpting pomades to create a customized effect? Master the art of mixing and matching—aka “cocktailing”—your hair products with this easy to use guide.
To Activate Your Natural Waves
Sea salt spray + styling cream
Run a lightweight styling cream like Living Proof’s Perfect hair Day™ (PhD) 5-in-1 Styling Treatment through damp hair to prevent hair from frizzing as it air dries. Spritz on a sea salt spray—we love texture-boosting Sachajuan Ocean Mist—and scrunch to bring out your natural waves. Once your hair is dry, add a few more pumps of salt spray for mermaid-worthy ripples that last all day.
To Boost Your Blowout’s Volume
Mousse + volumizing spray
Supersize your hair with this recipe for serious volume: Mist your damp hair with Bumble and bumble. Thickening Hairspray, which helps plump strands and creates a foundation for your style. Add Bumble’s Thickening Full Form Mousse to the roots for lift and through the lengths for hold, then blow dry with a round brush.
To Resuscitate Dirty Hair
Dry shampoo + gloss
If your second day hair has a split personality, two products are better than one. Degrease your roots with a few blasts of dry shampoo (we’re addicted to Klorane Gentle Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk), then polish frizzed out ends with a glossing cream. SHU UEMURA Art of Hair Touch of Gloss smooths flyaways and seals hair’s cuticle with shine to spare.
To Defuzz and Define Curls
Leave-in conditioner + gel
Curl patterns are like fingerprints: No two are the same. That’s why curly girls are pros at creating custom product cocktails. One combo that works well for a wide range of textures? Leave-in conditioner for moisture, combined with gel to help ringlets hold their shape. Ouidad Moisture Lock™ Leave-in Conditioner hydrates curls for softness and shine, while DevaCurl’s Light Defining Gel shapes droop-proof spirals and keeps frizz at bay.
To Go Sleek, Straight, and Shiny
Heat protectant + oil
If you’re heat styling your hair into submission, you need a duo that protects against damage and adds major shine. Prep damp hair with a heat protectant like PARLOR by Jeff Chastain Smoothing Blowout Spray, which adds luster and volume as it defends against your dryer’s heat. Before you fire up your flat iron, smooth a few drops of Ojon rare blend™ oil Total Hair Therapy through your ends for strands that gleam.
For Perfectly Piece-y Short Hair
Pomade + hairspray
Short-haired girls can benefit from layering products, too. Use your fingertips to apply a wax-based styler like Bumble and bumble. Sumotech to tousle your ends. Finish off with a non-crunchy setting spray like amika’s Touchable Hairspray to keep your pieces in place and to protect from pouf-inducing humidity.