How Big Sexy Hair Powder Play Gives My Flat Hair Volume and Texture

I’ll get right to it: My hair is generally flat and limp and thin and lifeless and terrible. It air-dries into a stringy, straight-over-here-but-wavy-other-there mess that no cream or balm or low chignon can fix, and when left to its own devices, it’ll mat itself to the crown of my head and cowlick toward the front. Fun!

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Adding to the terribleness of it all is the fact that I have a long face: If my hair falls apathetically alongside it, it looks almost comically long. If that sounds like a first-world problem, it’s because it is—but it’s enough to make me invest half my annual salary in volumizing shampoos, teaser combs, and thickening sprays.

But there’s one product—my desert island product, if you will—that I’m literally never without. I carry it in my purse alongside my wallet and keys, and it travels with my next to my sunscreen and mascara when I’m going out of town: Big Sexy Hair’s Powder Play. Anyone that knows me probably associates me with the tiny red bottle, if only because I recommend it to anyone who’ll listen. STYLECASTER’s beauty editor Chloe once described my obsession with it as something she “genuinely believes [I] would run into a burning building filled with sharks to save”—and it’s true.

Photo: Imaxtree

In short, Powder Play is a texturizing powder that lends natural-looking grit and volume to your hair. Once my hair’s dry, I like to sprinkle some into the palm of my hand, flip my head over, zhoozh it into the crowd of head, and flip back over to see noticeably thicker, sexier hair. If I’m putting a curl in my hair, I’ll run a little bit through my mid-lengths too—it gives my limp strands enough grip to hold onto the curl without the crunch that a hairspray or beach spray might leave behind. It leaves my hair more matte than shiny—but that’s my personal preference.

For anyone that prefers a less gritty texture, the brand just came out with a new iteration called Powder Play Lite, which diffuses into a cloud-like puff from a pump rather than a shaker. It still relies on silica silyate for volume, but it also has acai berry pulp oil and passion fruit seed for a slightly softer, more touchable finish. It’s similarly priced, and is great for someone that wants the hold but can’t rule out the possibility of someone running their hands through their hair. (My boyfriend wouldn’t dare.)

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