I Tried Over 25 Volumizing Hair Products—These Are the Only Ones Worth Buying

This mousse by Kerastase is specially formulated to add thickness and volume to your hair without weighing it down. Its main ingredient is hyaluronic acid which helps hair retain moisture—leaving you with plumper strands. Each time I used this mousse, I let my hair towel dry for about 20 minutes before using the product. After applying it, I would blow-dry my hair with a round brush to really amplify the volume.

Along with boosting my hair’s volume, the product left my locks looking smooth, shiny, and frizz-free. While the mousse is the most expensive product on this list, a little of the mousse went a long way, making it well worth the price. The brand recommends using an orange-sized amount of product each time, but I found you only need half that to see amazing results.

To buy: $37; sephora.com.

If you are looking for a hair product that will provide instant volume as well as long-term growth benefits, check out this shampoo by Briogeo. The sulfate-free shampoo is infused with biotin, which helps your hair grow, vitamin B5, which works to strengthen individual strands, and maltodextrin, which thickens hair and leaves it looking more voluminous.

Along with being gluten and silicone-free, the shampoo is also vegan-friendly and cruelty-free, which was an added selling point for me. After the first use, I noticed my hair had more volume to it, and the shampoo also made my hair look and feel cleaner for longer than most other options I’ve tried in the past. Plus, it smelled amazing and made showering a more enjoyable experience.

To buy: $24; sephora.com.

Unlike other conditioners that can weigh your hair down and leave it looking limp, this option from Biolage is formulated to provide weightless hydration. The paraben-free product is specially formulated to add thickness and volume to all hair types, including color-treated hair.

Besides seeing more lift at my roots after blow-drying my hair, I also noticed my hair felt softer immediately after rinsing out the product, and it looked much shinier once it was dry. All in all, I loved this lightweight volumizing conditioner and continue to use it every time I shower.

To buy: $32; ulta.com.

This multifaceted product from Color Wow not only adds lift and volume to your locks, it also boasts a UV filter to protect your hair from the sun’s harmful rays. Additionally, the innovative product is specially formulated to preserve your hair’s color and is safe to use on dyed or treated hair.

The spray can be used on both damp and dry hair, and I tested it both ways. I found my hair had more long-lasting volume when I applied it prior to blow drying my hair. The spray lifted my roots and made my hair super bouncy for days at a time. When I applied the product to dried hair, it did add an instant boost of volume but I had to reapply it again the next day.

To buy: $24;dermstore.com.

Volumizing powders are usually my go-to products for instant root lift, but a lot of times they are messy and hard to apply, which is why I loved this mist by Design.ME so much. The handy product works just like your favorite volumizing powder but comes in an easy-to-use spray canister that helps you mist the product exactly where you want it.

I will say that the product did leave my hair feeling a bit tackier than the other products on this list but not as much as some products I’ve tried in the past. Plus, the product gave my roots the biggest lift of any I tried, so I felt the slightly dirty feeling was worth dealing with. For a less sticky feel, I also found you can apply the product to your hands and rub it in instead of applying directly at your roots.

To buy: $12 (Originally $24);walmart.com.

If you’ve already perfected your blow-drying techniques and are just looking for a product to lock in and enhance your hair’s volume, check out this finishing spray from Joico. The fast-acting product adds body and texture to your hair while absorbing oil at the same time—leaving you with bouncy, shiny hair every time you use it.

I used the product on dry hair just like I would a hairspray and then tousled my locks a bit with my hands to activate the product. It gave my strands an instant boost of volume that lasted the entire day. I loved that the product was super easy to apply and didn’t leave my hair stiff or crunchy as most sprays do. It also smelled great.

To buy: $20; ulta.com.

With a 4.4star rating and nearly 1,000 customer reviews at Ulta, this Sexy Hair powder is one of the most popular volumizing hair products around—and after testing it, I can definitely see why. The odorless powder is translucent so it won’t leave your hair looking like a powdery mess and it works on all hair lengths and textures.

Like most volumizing powders, this one will leave your hair feeling slightly tacky, but the product helped keep my roots lifted for three full days until I washed it out. It also came out very easily in the shower, which was an added bonus because other powders I’ve tested have taken two to three washes to get rid of all the product build up.

To buy: $19; ulta.com.

This hair spray from Living Proof comes with an adjustable nozzle that allows you to decide how much product you want to apply at a time. For a normal amount, choose the lowest level, “Less Body,” and if you really want to pump up the volume, turn it all the way up and opt for “More Body.”

Along with adding lift and body, the cruelty-free spray made my hair look super shiny. The handy spray added volume at my roots and actually helped my hair hold curls for longer than a few hours. I found that, for the best results, you should apply the spray at the highest setting right after you style your hair and use the “Less Body” setting to refresh your hairstyle in the subsequent days.

To buy: $29; sephora.com.