Hair and Scalp sunscreen sprays are one of the best ways to protect your hair from the sun. Sunscreen, while always important, has had a bit of a revival in the past few years with many skincare brands coming out with their own SPF protection for the face and body. What gets often overlooked is protecting your hair from the sun.

Is it necessary to use hair and scalp sunscreen sprays on your hair?

UV rays cause damage to your hair just as they do to your skin. UV rays can cause color fade, contribute to hair dryness, and potentially damage the hair follicle. 

Protecting your scalp is important too. 80% of skin cancers occur on the head and neck. The scalp is often overlooked when it comes to sun protection, so you’ll want to make sure you use SPF.

Can I spray sunscreen on my hair?

While you can use regular sunscreen on your hair and scalp, they are formulated for your skin and not for your hair. Applying skin sunscreen to your hair or scalp can make your hair greasy and heavy. 

Is hair sunscreen a thing?

Hair and scalp sunscreen sprays are a great choice for protecting your hair from the sun. They are lightweight and tend to add light moisture to your hair. They are easy to apply and often come with other features specifically for hair, like styling hold or adding texture to the hair. A good hair and scalp sunscreen can protect your hair while adding style and hydration.

How to apply hair and scalp sunscreen

You’ll want to make sure your hair is almost dry before apply hair sunscreen. Apply hair sunscreen all over your head about 6-10 inches away from your head, 15 minutes before sun exposure. Make sure to spray your strands from root to tip. Apply to the areas of your scalp that are exposed including your hair part. Make sure to reapply every 2 hours or every 1-2 hours if you’ve been swimming. 

9 Best Hair and Scalp Sunscreen Sprays

The hair and scalp sunscreen sprays are some of the best ones out there. A lot of sun protection sprays are multi-taskers, helping to tame frizz, detangle, give hair hold, or even repair hair! 

Best Drugstore: SunBum Scalp & Hair Mist PF 30

SunBum is a suncare-focused brand that has sun protection products for skin, lips, hair, and babies. They’ve come out with a line of hair products that range from shampoo and conditioner to styling cream and hair masks, but suncare is their bread and butter. Their Scalp and Hair Mist gives lightweight hydration to your hair. It is water resistant for 80 minutes and it works for all hair types. 

Best-Smelling: Oribe Invisible Defense Universal Protection Hair Spray

Oribe products have that iconic Oribe smell and this Universal Protection Hair Spray is no exception. This mist provides your hair with heat protection from hot tool and UV rays as well as pollution. It gives your hair a subtle moisture so it keeps your hair from drying out in the sun while it protects your hair color from fading. This is a great heat protection spray for any hair type and need. 

Best Organic: Coola Scalp and Hair Mist Organic Sunscreen SPF 30

Coola’s weightless sun protection spray for hair and scalp promises a non-greasy application. They recommend parting your hair into different sections while spraying to get even coverage, and massaging the product into your scalp for optimal coverage. 

Best for Texture: All-Nutrient Kiwi Freeze Hair Spray UV + Color Protection

Kiwi Freeze is an organic sun protection and flexible hold hair spray from all-Nutrient that really does double duty. It’s star ingredient is kiwi fruit which nourishes the hair follicle. This hair spray fights frizz and amps top shine while it protects hair from color fade AND gives your hair great hold. 

Best for Hair Repair: Moroccanoil Protect and Prevent Spray

This sun protection spray from Moroccanoil protects AND prevents hair damage. It uses argan oil to seal and repair the hair, but this spray also protects against breakage and frizz in addition to warding off UV ray damage and fading hair color. 

Best for All-Day Hold: Serge Normant Meta Luxe Hair Spray with UV Protection

Serge Normant is in my opinion a super underrated brand. I love his instant volumizing spray and this heat protectant + hair repairer + flexible hold hair spray feels pretty invisible. I love products aimed at caring for your hair and styling it at the same time, and this spray delivers on so many fronts. 

Best Designer: Balmain Paris Sun Protection Spray

The French design house Balmain has come out with their own “Hair Couture” line. Their sun protection spray nourishes hair with moisture, detangles, and protects colored hair from fading in the sun. It also protects hair from the sea and chlorine. 

Best for Detangling: Ceremonia Guava Rescue Hair Heat Protectant Spray

I love a multi-tasking hair product. Too many hair products can weigh down their hair and leave it feeling greasy or crunchy, so this heat protectant + detangler from Ceremonia is a lifesaver. I’m obsessed with the Ceremonia packaging and scent so call me biased, but this is amazing as a fairly cost-effective spray with a good amount of product that fights dryness, frizz, and UV damage. 

Best for Hydration: Rahua Hydration Detangler UV Barrier

This vitamin-rich detangle makes hair soft while protecting from all the elements. It protects against humidity while providing the right amount of moisture. And oh yeah, it protects against UV damage too. Spray generously on damp or dry hair and comb through for hydration and protection.

Those were the 9 best hair and scalp sunscreen sprays!