I tried this product several times....also in search of that "out of the sea and air-dried look" with really perfectly defined ringlets of hair. No way! The thing simply glued my hair into mini birdīs nests that I had to was twice over with a purifying shampoo. I tried many times before I completely gave up. Maybe they should revise the instructions for use?!

Yuck. I only feel compelled to give it two whole lippies 'cause there's always the possibility that I just never really figured out how to use this stuff -- but I tried harder than you can imagine... I really wanted to like it since I love the way my hair is after a dip in the ocean and drying in the sun, but this spray gave me nothing close to that effect. More like a really sticky, crunchy mess. I used it SO many times and for SO long -- I kept trying it and putting it back away, peeved that neither I nor it had changed enough to work well together -- and each time I felt like an idiot for going back and using it again...

I agree with another reviewer, who mentioned John Frieda's Ocean Waves, which, apparently, has been discontinued (...and "replaced" with that Brilliant Brunette wave spray stuff? It doesn't even come close to the old stuff they made. That was awesome -- I figured out how to use THAT one!).

My hairstylist recommended this to me, and I'm so glad she did. My hair has a natural wave that very few products could bring out in the way I wanted them to. Surf Spray is the one that gives me exactly what I want. I get that "just back from the ocean, messy but still put together" look. I've found that even though it has a matte finish, I don't need anything else. Plus the hold and scent are fantastic. Despite this being the most I have ever spent on a hair product, I will continue to repurchase. Definite HG.
P.S. If you want to see the waves it gave me, go look at my first picture.

I really appreciate the fact that this actually smells like the ocean, unlike other beach hair-type products I've tried, which tend to have coconut or suntan oil fragrances.

Generally speaking, I like this product. I have shoulder-length, layered, healthy and smooth, straight virgin hair that tends to lack volume at the roots. On good hair days my hair has texture and movement. On bad hair days, it's too silky and just lies there like a limp curtain. To ward off flat hair days, I spritz some Surf Spray into my (mostly dry) roots, sort of smoosh it around with my hands, then comb my hair to pull some product down to the ends. Then I'll stick my slightly damp hair into a messy bun and let it air dry. I take it down and the result is a good amount of texture and definition of my layers. If I want a wavier effect, I'll spritz on more all over, use my fingers to comb it through, then stick my hair up into two tight buns on either side of my head and leave 'em in until my hair is relatively dry (or blast it with a hairdryer if I'm running out of time). A quick spritz of hairspray and I get lovely, touchable waves that last all day.

Overall, I like this waaaay better than the John Frieda Ocean Waves stuff I was using before, which was too greasy and just weighed down my hair. Surf Spray will probably be drying to people with less oily roots than mine, or with more damaged or fragile hair, but it works fine for me. It's expensive and I think the bottle is a bit small for the price, but I'd repurchase. continued >>

It is difficult to turn my stick-straight Asian hair into anything but. I have more or less resigned to the fact that my hair will never look like Gisele Bundchen's, and that's okay. Nevertheless, I try. This product doesn't do a whole lot for my hair on its own; I still have to curl my hair with a flat-iron in order for the wave to hold, and scrunching my hair while drying with a diffuser just makes me look like I slept on my hair wrong. Bumble & Bumble actually recommends that you layer Surf Spray over their Grooming Creme, which I have yet to try out. I'm not holding my breath, though.

I do, however, think this product would work great on people who already have some sort of texture to their hair.

I've tried many texturizing sprays, and this one works the best since it doesn't make my hair feeling totally tacky, dry, or dirty. continued >>

On days that my wavy hair is struggling to get volume this product is awesome. One spray and a little scrunching perfect!! Although its a little salty I don't mind as I don't use it for my whole head. The only thing I don't like is the packaging. There's no lid and traveling with it is always scary.

I love this product. The only reason I gave it a 4 is the price. This adds great texture to waves--I spray it on my hair, braid it, and when I take it out of the braids, my hair has more volume and wave. This is not a curl spray, so I don't think it would work for anyone with straight hair looking for curls. What it does is add volume and texture. For me, the look is more bed head than surf, but I love the messy curls look anyway. As others said, this doesn't add shine, so don't expect it. I usually apply some biosilk first, for shine and softness.

EEK! Used this b&b product as well some years ago, when the majority of my hair products were higher-end. This stuff was awful, made my hair crunchy and dry!! I ended up returning it as well. I prefered John Frieda's Ocean Waves (now d/c'd) because it made my hair softer and piec-y looking. continued >>

Is it just the bottle I've got, or does this stuff smell really bad? Mine smells like rotting grapes. I finally bought this after I saw it on Strawberry Net cheaper than retail. I had contemplated buying it nearly 2 years ago, but stopped myself because I couldn't justify the price.

It does help give my curls a more messed up look, and the finish is matte & 'crunchy', which is what it intended to do. But the smell is horrid for me & I think I will try another brand next. continued >>

This stuff does EXACTLY what I want it to do- which is give me some volume + lift at the roots and give me beachy-wavy just- rolled-out-of-bed hair. It doesn't make it look too messy at all. Perfect sexy beach hair! It smells pretty good too. Easy spray bottle. The only gripe I have is the price, it's pretty expensive. It's a matte texture so don't be expecting any shine though! Didn't feel like I had anything in my hair either. I added some shine serum on top to make it shinier and smooth down my hair at the top a bit. If I can't find anything cheaper that works like this does- deff. HG!