Picture the scene. I’m standing in my bathroom, arm raised, aiming a tinted hair spray for hair loss at the top of my head. One second later my wall is brown. My forehead is brown. My towel is brown. My dignity is somewhere on the bathroom floor. The top of my head is… also slightly brown, which was the point, but so is everything else.
This is my review of every tinted hair spray I’ve used for hair loss and thinning. The good ones. The disastrous ones. And some things I’ve learned about applying them without turning your bathroom into a crime scene.
Why tinted hair sprays for thinning hair
Tinted hair sprays and scalp concealers sit on the hair shaft and temporarily darken it, which reduces the visible contrast between your hair and your scalp. They don’t add density. They don’t regrow hair. But they can significantly reduce the appearance of thinning on days when you’re not wearing alternative hair, or in combination with a topper to disguise the edges of the base.
They’re a faff to apply correctly. They transfer onto anything they touch. And they mostly need to be washed out at the end of the day. But they work, and sometimes that’s enough. If you’re at the stage where you’re trying to figure out whether a topper might actually be a better long-term solution than managing with fibres and sprays every day, my hair topper vs wig guide is probably worth reading – it covers exactly how to decide which direction makes sense for where you’re at with your hair loss.
Tips for applying tinted hair spray without covering your entire bathroom
Hold the can at least 30cm away from your head. This is not a guideline, this is a hard rule I learned the hard way. The closer you spray, the more concentrated the product in one spot, the darker and weirder it looks, and the higher the risk of overspray landing on your forehead, ears, neck, and everything in the vicinity.
Apply in front of a mirror with something behind you to catch overspray. Old newspaper, a towel you don’t care about, anything. Protect your surroundings first. You’ll thank yourself.
Build up in thin layers rather than one heavy application. Easier to add more than to fix too much.
More on managing thinning hair
- Androgenic Alopecia in Women: What It Is, What to Expect and What Helps – the full explainer on what’s actually happening and what the options are
- Hair Topper vs Wig: Which One Do You Actually Need? – when you’re ready to look at alternative hair
- The Hair Topper Mistakes I Made So You Don’t Have To – so your first purchase goes better than mine did
- Nobody Talks About What Hair Loss Does To Your Head (The Inside Part) – for the days when it’s not really about the products at all
