Hairspray that doesn't hurt! (Aveda Witch Hazel Light Hold Hair Spray)

Member Name: i_am_joy

Product:	Aveda Witch Hazel Light Hold Hair Spray
Date:	04/02/09 (110 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Smells lovely, works well, doesn't cause any reaction in the slightest

Disadvantages: Some may not like the smell

Before Christmas I realised I had a lot of meals out and parties to attend, I am growing out my short permed hair and trying to add some length to my usually very short hair. On a day to day basis I will simply brush my hair in the morning and it will stay in the 'style' I have put into it rather well, and I use the word style rather loosely and basically mean it will usually stay where I have put it!

Over the festive period though I wanted to do something a little bit special with my hair but am a bit stumped in that hairspray has me reaching for my inhaler as soon as the choking fumes make themselves known in the air, and also my delicate skin reacts badly to something in the actual hair spray and will leave me scratching my scalp until it bleeds for days after using the stuff.

It was my hairdresser who recommended Aveda Light Hold Hairspray, telling me that it's known as a gentle alternative to aerosol hairspray. I went home and bought an unused bottle on Ebay thinking that it would either be just the thing I have been looking for, or otherwise I'd wasted a fiver and someone would get a good deal on Freecycle.

I love it though, this hairspray has the wonderfully invigorating fragrance of Witch Hazel which makes it smell slightly medicinal but this I find is much preferable compared to the chemical small of other hairsprays. It is dispensed via a pump action rather than an aerosol, which helps my chest cope with the smell and I also find this way to be easier to control the flow of the spray whereas with an aerosol spray I would often spray myself full in the face or catch an ear full of hairspray. I know this is because I am not the best hair stylist in the world but be honest, this must have happened to most of you at one time or another!

This hairspray holds my style well but doesn't make my hair stiff or sticky at all, I can still run my fingers through my hair without encountering any clumps of stuck together hair and a quick brush through before bed is all it takes to leave my hair feeling as though no product at all has been on it. There were no flakes of spray in my hair or scalp either and even when I brushed it out I was surprised to find how little dried product landed up in my brush afterwards.

The best news is that this hairspray doesn't make me itch or cough at all, well no more than usual anyway! It smells wonderful in my opinion and as I have been using it on and off for a month or two now I am feeling confident that I am unlikely to get a reaction this far down the line, although my skin is a law unto itself so it may be it will take a dislike to this hairspray next month or next year. But this isn't the fault of the product, it's my strange skin structure!

Now, looking around online to get a price for this review and I find this is very probably a product for men. There is nothing to say this on the bottle, but one of the shops this is available is at hqman.com where a 250ml bottle costs £8.05. Oh, but who cares really? This doesn't smell like I've splashed myself in Lynx and actually has a very unisex fragrance which is perhaps why it's so appealing to the male sex. My two month old bottle will last forever, especially as I use it only once or twice a week. The bottle was filled right up to the bottom of the chunky neck and now holding it up to the light I can see that there is only a centimetre gone, so this is excellent value as I can see this bottle lasting for at least a year.

Summary: The best hairspray I've come across.