These are the best volumising sprays for midlife hair

Best affordable volumising spray:

L'Oreal Paris Elvive Big Hair Day Refreshing Volume Spray, £13

This has gone viral on TikTok due to its ability to create buoyant blow-dries. What caught my attention, though, was the ingredient list. Splashed across the can are the words ‘collagen peptide’, terminology far more familiar with expensive face serums than a high-street hair buy. In skincare, collagen peptides are associated with strength and structure, and the thinking here is similar: they help support the hair fibre, so strands feel a little thicker, sturdier and less prone to flopping flat at the root. Thankfully, the result isn’t cartoonish pageant hair, but something far more wearable.

Best for second-day resurrection:

Nioxin 3D Instant Fullness Dry Shampoo, £25.25

Yes, it’s a marketed as a dry shampoo but it’s a volumising spray in disguise. Most dry shampoos fall into one of two camps: they either absorb oil brilliantly, but leave hair feeling chalky, or they add softness, while doing very little for actual freshness. This manages the balancing act surprisingly well. The powder is exceptionally fine, so instead of sitting heavily on the scalp, it disappears quickly while giving roots a mussed-up texture fine hair desperately needs. My hair looked fuller within seconds, but crucially, not stiff or overloaded with product. There’s also something slightly nostalgic about the finish — that airy, freshly blow-dried bounce you used to get from a proper salon backcombing session, minus the knotty aftermath.

Best for brushable volume:

Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Body Builder, £23

Some volumisers demand commitment. You spray, tease, set and silently accept that your fingers won’t pass through your hair again until bedtime. This is not one of them. The mist is impressively light, creating lift and fullness without the crunchy coating many root sprays leave behind. I used it after styling with a hair tong and was pleasantly surprised by how touchable my hair still felt. It’s particularly good for anyone who likes their volume polished rather than overly ‘done’; think of an expensive blow-dry with energy.

Best for effortless lift:

Hair by Sam McKnight Cool Girl Superlift Root Volumising Spray, £28

Superstar hairstylist Sam McKnight understands that modern volume should look slightly accidental. Rather than creating obvious height, this gives hair that elusive cool-girl texture; roots that feel lifted, lengths that move properly and an overall effect that suggests you simply woke up with excellent hair genetics. The nozzle delivers a very fine mist, which helps avoid that sticky, overworked feeling, and there’s a softness to the finish that makes fine hair appear naturally thicker rather than artificially puffed up. Also worth mentioning: it smells exceptionally good.

Best for damaged hair:

K18 Hair Astrolift Reparative Volume Spray, £22

True to K18’s reputation for prioritising repair, it gives my hair this airy lift while keeping it healthy and flexible. The texture is almost weightless, yet somehow it makes my fine strands look denser, both at the roots and through the mid-lengths. That’s no small feat for someone like me, whose hair usually falls flat within the hour. What I love most is that it delivers bounce without any of that crispy aftermath.

Best for soft, non-crispy volume:

Christophe Robin Instant Columising Leave-In Mist, £30

There’s something very Parisian about this mist in the way it approaches volume; understated, elegant and entirely uninterested in aggressive root lift. Instead, it creates fullness through softness and movement, making hair feel airy and lightly expanded rather than dramatically bigger. I particularly liked how it revived limp lengths without leaving them feeling coated; my hair simply looked fresher, swishier, and subtly more expensive, which is really the dream scenario.

Best for volume with hold:

Color Wow Style On Steroids Performance Enhancing Texture + Finishing Spray, £28

I’m usually wary of anything promising both texture and hold, largely because it often translates to hair that feels oddly sticky by mid-afternoon. Color Wow’s offering manages the two brilliantly. It gives that slightly tousled, fuller-looking lift without veering into helmet territory, adding enough grip to help a style actually stay put while still allowing movement. I used it on second-day hair after a loose blow-dry, and it added more body, more shape, but crucially without that overly powdered vibe that some texturising sprays lean into.

Best volume spray for colour:

Philip Kingsley Maximizer Root Boosting Spray, £21

There’s a reassuringly sensible quality to this spray that feels very on-brand for Philip Kingsley. Rather than chasing dramatic, sky-high volume, it focuses on believable fullness exactly where you want it: at the roots. I sprayed it through damp hair before blow-drying and noticed an immediate lift that made my hair look thicker without feeling overloaded with product. It’s particularly good if your hair is coloured, fine or a little fragile, as it adds body without roughing up the cuticle or leaving lengths feeling straw-like. 

Best for volume with heat protection:

Ghd Pick Me Up Root & Volume Spray, £18.95

If you regularly rely on hot tools to fix your volume, this is one for the arsenal. Part root lifter, part heat protectant, it streamlines the styling process without asking you to layer on multiple products beforehand. I used it before blow-drying and found it delivered noticeably more lift through the crown while helping my style hold its shape for longer. Unlike some heat-protect sprays that can leave fine hair feeling coated, this keeps things surprisingly lightweight.

Best for volume with shine:

Mdlondon The Two Volume and Shine Blow Out Hairspray, £15

Volume and shine can be an elusive pairing. Too often, you get one at the expense of the other; lifted roots but dull lengths, or glossy hair that falls flat within the hour. This spray strikes a pleasing middle ground. Used after styling, it gave my hair a fuller, smoother finish with a noticeable sheen that looked healthy rather than overtly polished. There’s enough hold to maintain shape, but not so much that your hair loses all sense of movement. My hair somehow looks bigger, glossier and far more cooperative than usual.

Best for humidity-proof volume:

Remi Cachet Hairarchy Blow Dry Spray, £25

This feels designed for the reality of stepping outside in rainy weather and watching any hair handiwork unravel. There’s a smoothing, almost weatherproof quality to it that helps tame frizz without flattening volume. I worked it through damp hair before blow-drying and noticed not just more lift at the roots, but a more controlled finish overall. The clever part is that it doesn’t make hair feel rough or overly textured; instead, my hair looked fuller in that glossy, freshly-styled way that suggests a good blow-dry. Better still, it held up remarkably well in real life.