Major clothing retailer Zara has been in the beauty game for a minute — the brand has had fragrance for nearly 20 years and introduced Zara Make-Up in 2021 — but this March marks the launch of the first full Zara Hair collection.
To lead the brand’s foray into the hair care space, Zara tapped renowned hairstylist Guido Palau to help formulate, curate, and design the line. As a legendary hairstylist who has worked with every designer you can think of (he keyed the hair looks for Miu Miu, Valentino, Loewe, and Schiaparelli just this past season), he knows hair better than anyone else. And in putting together the Zara Hair Everyday Basics collection, he created six products that he believes are the pillars of any stylist’s kit. Per Palau, the products are all supposed to be easy to use and layer to create any look you desire — whether you want to add volume, hold, curl, texture or shine.
But to find out if the collection delivers on all of its promises, they needed to be put to the test. Read on for my honest thoughts about every Zara Hair product.
Fast Facts:
- Brand: Zara Hair
- What’s in the line? Zara Hair’s core collection consists of six key styling basics, including a Hair Spray, Light Hair Balm, Dry Texturizing Spray, Volumizing Mousse, Blow Dry Spray, and Curl Activator
- Price: Each product in the collection costs $22.90
- Who is it for? The range was designed to be easily useable and accessible for every hair type and any level of hair styling ability
- Where can you buy? zara.com
This is a hair spray I think everyone could benefit from having. The mist is light, non-sticky, and smells fresh, I’m usually one to skip hairspray because I can make my hair hard to brush or restyle if needed, but this one has made me realize how much it can help keep a style in place. This helped my waves from falling limp, even after brushing them out, and didn’t make my hair feel frozen or dry. No crunchy hair here. Rating: 10/10
My favorite product in the line, the Light Hair Balm has become a go-to in my routine now. It was great on wet hair as a detangler and helped by hair feel really smooth and healthy when I blew my hair dry. But it’s also the product I’ve been reaching for the most, because it can also be used on dry hair. Whenever my hair is looking a bit dry or want to smooth some frizz or refresh my hair, one pump can do wonders. It absorbs and adds shine without making my hair feel oily or heavy. Rating: 10/10
Because I have fine hair, I love a dry texturizing spray for some fullness and oomph. I liked how the spray is entirely colorless and has non-powdery finish, so it didn’t make my hair look dull and dusty (which can be an issue with my hair color). It is gritty, which is the point, but it made it a product I liked better to zhuh up my second day hair. It also never made my hair too hard if I want a happy hour hair zhuzh. Rating: 8/10
The mousse was the product that surprised me the most and impressed me the most with the results. I like the idea of mousse more than I actually like many of the products — some make my hair feel like it’s never fully dried and leaves my roots tacky and ultimately lacking volume. I blowdryed my hair with a tennis ball-sized blob of mousse (I also used a Tangle Teezer blowdry brush to lift and add volume to my hair). My hair dried fully and was really shiny. I added some waves to my hair afterwards and I could feel the style really holding its shape. I usually can’t make a blowout last more than a day and they deflate over night, but I was shocked to find that my hair still had a lot of the shine and style the next morning. The cap of the mousse doesn’t snap on snugly, so that was bothersome, but overall something so worth it. Rating: 9/10
This is the kind of product I usually worry about knowing if I’m using the right amount or not, or applying it correctly. or would concentrate it too much in one place and not another — but I did my best and combed it through to try to feel evenly applied. I could blowout my hair to a pretty shiny result, but I think for my hair needs I would reach for the mousse over the Blow Dry Spray, but for a long, straight hair look, I think this would really be amazing. Rating: 8/10
What was most impressive was that when my hair air dried it still felt very soft. I think I could give this another try using a diffuser to try to get more curl, but I’d definitely reach for this before a salt spray which gives good texture, but leaves my hair feeling brittle. Rating: 7/10
Worth It?
At $23 for each product, its a very Goldilocks price in between the under $15 range at the drugstore and the luxury (and also hairstylist founded) brands like Oribe and R+Co Bleu whose products cost around $40. The range is similarly priced with salon brands like Wella and Redken, which feels well matched. If anything I lean towards giving the edge to the Zara Hair products because the brightly colored but minimalist packaging feels elevated and they have the Guido seal of approval.
Final Verdict:
Overall, I found that the Zara Hair products did deliver on their promises — the products seem pretty much foolproof, even for someone like me that isn’t great at doing my own hair. And they really are simple and do what they say they’re going to do. It was easy to incorporate three products in one hair style, but my hair still never felt heavy or overdone. While I don’t know if I’ll continue using every product in the collection, but I can see each one of these products being something someone would love, with the right hair type and routine combo.
I’ve found a couple of my new favorite hair care stylers in the Zara line. I will definitely be using the Light Hair Balm and Hair Spray. The other products in the line will be there for me when I need them to create a sturdy hairstyle. For the $23 price tag, it’s at least worth picking up the product you are most interested while you’re buying a new crop top and giving it a try. If you already have an elaborate hair routine, you might not find any of these products revolutionary, but if you’re looking to try out a new kind of product or style and don’t know what tools to use, this is a great place to start. Even so, you might want to buy the whole collection anyway because they look so fun and inviting on your bathroom shelf.
