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Side by side

Drybar Big Swig Thickening Spray vs Murdock London Sea Salt Spray

88% function match · 6 of the 8 functions we compared match Formula overlap 10%. Drybar Big Swig Thickening Spray and Murdock London Sea Salt Spray share 2 ingredients among each other's most prominent.

Based on your consultation

Which of these fits your hair?

We check your pattern, moisture need, scalp, fragrance tolerance, weight sensitivity and more against each formula — and say which one lines up.

Your profile at a glance

  • Your answers appear here
  • Your answers appear here
  • Your answers appear here
  • Your answers appear here

When each one is the right call

What each formula is built for, from its own ingredient list.

  • Big Swig Thickening Spray — protein-hungry hair
  • Sea Salt Spray — curl definition

Side by side

Every trait, aligned

One row per trait, read from each product’s own ingredient list and record. A dash means we have not researched that field for that product — it is not a “no”.

Trait
Drybar Big Swig Thickening Spray — 5 oz container Drybar

Big Swig Thickening Spray

  • Styler
  • Salon
  • Sulfate-free
  • Silicone-free
Murdock London Sea Salt Spray — container Murdock London

Sea Salt Spray

  • Styler
  • Salon
Price, size & price per ounce
about $30 5 oz · $6.00/oz
$27 5.1 oz · $5.29/oz
Value / price positioning
Upper-mid price for a volumizer $$$$$ Salon tier · costs more than 65% of the 64 volumizers we’ve priced
Upper-mid price for a texture spray $$$$$ Salon tier · costs more than 65% of the 58 texture sprays we’ve priced
Best for hair types
Straight–Wavy A light volumising formula — the lift it adds matters most on straighter hair. Your hair
All types Nothing in the formula or the claims narrows this to one pattern. Your hair
Moisture level Same
High Humectants near the top — water-binding is a headline mechanism here. Your hair
High Humectants near the top — water-binding is a headline mechanism here. Your hair
Hold system Same
High Synthetic hold polymers — the firmest of the hold systems. Your hair
Synthetic polymer Synthetic hold polymers — the firmest of the hold systems. Your hair
Slip / detangling Differs
Some Some slip, mostly from esters or silicones rather than conditioners. Your hair
Little Nothing here is built to reduce combing force. Your hair
Weight on hair
Light Water-first and light: unlikely to flatten fine hair. Your hair
—
Fragrance
Present Fragrance is listed; it sits below the working ingredients. Your hair
Prominent Fragrance sits in the first eight ingredients — a larger share of the formula. Your hair
Protein
Prominent Protein high in the list — a strengthening formula, not a moisture one. Your hair
—
Silicone / wax buildup Same
None Nothing here needs a detergent wash to remove. Your hair
None Nothing here needs a detergent wash to remove. Your hair
Clarifying wash needed
Low Your hair
Low Your hair
Hold (as stated)
—
Light A light hold, as stated by the brand. Your hair
Cast risk Differs
Unlikely Softening ingredients sit alongside the film formers, so a hard shell is unlikely. Your hair
Likely Film formers without much softening them — expect a cast to scrunch out. Your hair
Oil absorption Same
None No absorbent powders or starches. Your hair
None No absorbent powders or starches. Your hair
Oils and butters Same
None No oils or butters in the list. Your hair
None No oils or butters in the list. Your hair
Fast-drying alcohol
Present Fast-drying alcohol is present — it speeds drying and can read dry on the hair. Your hair
—
Formula completeness
out of 10
Complete for its job
out of 10
Covers the core
Who should choose this
  • Protein-hungry hairthat stretches and stays stretched when wet
  • Dry, thirsty hairhumectants and emollients both sit up front
  • Curly-method routinesno sulfates and no water-insoluble silicones
  • Curl definitionfilm formers hold a clump together
  • Curl definitionfilm formers hold a clump together
Why you might skip it
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
  • Protein-sensitive hairthat goes stiff or straw-like on protein
  • Very dry or damaged hairit contains fast-drying alcohol
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
  • Anyone who dislikes a castthe film formers here can set firm
  • Styles that must holdthe brand states a light hold at most
from the formula stated by the brand reported by reviewers Scale: 1 dot low · 5 dots high, within this product type.
More facts about each one
Type
Stylerspray
Stylerspray
Where to buy
Ulta
Ulta · Brand website
Free of
  • sulfate-free
  • silicone-free
  • curly-method compatible
—
Scent
Scented, not described
Scented, not described
Hold
—
lightLightweight hold
Finish
—
matte
How often
—
as needed

Facts as we recorded them. A dash means we have not researched that field for that product — it is not a "no".

The bottom line

The bottom line depends on your hair

Which of these two suits you is a question about your hair, not about them. The consultation answers it — and tells you what your routine needs around it.

Take the consultation

$49.00 once, for your consultation and hair profile. No subscription, no required purchases.

The detail behind the table

Where the readings above come from: the ingredient lists themselves, each brand’s claims checked against them, what owners report, and cost per ounce in context.

Shared and distinct ingredients

Shared and distinct ingredients

Computed from the ingredient lists as printed. "Shared" means both lists carry it; where it sits on each label is stated, because position is what tells you how much.

What both formulas carry

IngredientBig Swig Thickening SpraySea Salt Spray
Water
Neutral
#1Leading
#1Leading
Propanediol
Moisturizes
#3Leading
#2Leading
PVP
Holds
#8Below the 1% line
#10Below the 1% line
Fragrance
Fragrance
#13Below the 1% line
#7Below the 1% line
Polysorbate 20
Stabilizes
#17Below the 1% line
#4Supporting

What only one of them carries

Big Swig Thickening Spray

Sea Salt Spray

Full ingredient list — Big Swig Thickening Spray (23)
Full ingredient list — Sea Salt Spray (20)

Claims check

What each brand says, against what each formula shows

Claims are quoted from each brand. We only mark one supported, partly supported, or conflicting when that product’s ingredient list actually speaks to it.

VerdictsBig Swig Thickening SpraySea Salt Spray
Supported
2
0
Partly supported
1
0
Stated by brand
1
4
Potential conflict
0
0

Big Swig Thickening Spray

  • Peptide proteins thicken and plump hair strands up to 10 hours (clinically tested)Stated by brandOnly the brand’s testing shows this.
  • Bilberry extract adds fullness and body with a soft finishSupportedLeaves room for lift.
  • Rice bran protects from UVA/UVB rays that cause dryness and color fadingPartly supportedIndirect help, not a filter.
  • Free of parabens, sulfates, phthalates, keratin, gluten, nuts/nut oils, and honeySupportedGentler on colour and coils.

Sea Salt Spray

  • Instant volume and matte textureStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.
  • Thickens hairStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.
  • Shine-free finishStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.
  • Creates natural wave and textured bodyStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.

What owners say

What people report

Recurring themes our researchers wrote in their own words from sourced reviews. We do not store or scrape star ratings, and we never balance one product’s themes against another’s by inventing them.

Both praised for volume. Drybar Big Swig Thickening Spray draws complaints about residue or cast and irritation.

Big Swig Thickening Spray

One reviewer calls it 'the most amazing root lifter' and uses it daily for volume.

daily-use reviewer

Reviewers say it leaves hair feeling soft and full without stiffness or stickiness.

general reviewers

Some reviewers report scalp irritation or itchiness after use.

reviewers with sensitive scalps

Other reviewers mention sticky residue on hands and hair, and call out the high price.

general reviewers

Sea Salt Spray

Adds volume and texture while keeping hair soft and natural, without residue or dryness like other sea salt sprays; easy to use and good scent

Ulta reviewer 'William from San Francisco', 5 stars, titled 'Natural texture without the stiffness'

Price check

Cost per ounce, in context

Cost per ounce against every product of this type we have priced, each at the size it is most often sold in. Value labels are computed from that percentile and from how many products that do the same job cost less; they are comparisons, not judgements about a brand.

$5.29/oz vs $6.00/oz — within about the same cost per ounce.

Big Swig Thickening Spray

Against 64 volumizers with a computable unit price.

Sea Salt Spray

Against 58 texture sprays with a computable unit price.

Value readBig Swig Thickening SpraySea Salt Spray
Label
Upper-mid price for a volumizerSits in the middle of the range for volumizers per ounce.
Upper-mid price for a texture spraySits in the middle of the range for texture sprays per ounce.

Computed from cost per ounce against every product of this type we have priced, and from how many products that do the same job cost less. It is a comparison, not a judgement about the brand.

Compare with something else

Close formulas to each of these, as their own comparison pages.

Big Swig Thickening Spray vs BOOSTA Volumizing SprayUNITE Hair · 93% function matchSea Salt Spray vs MITCH Steady Grip Styling GelPaul Mitchell · 99% function matchBig Swig Thickening Spray vs Liquid WaxAmerican Crew · 89% function matchSea Salt Spray vs 40 Proof Sea Salt Textured Hold SprayBlind Barber · 99% function matchBig Swig Thickening Spray vs Texturing Hair Styling Spray Gel for Wavy HairHerbal Essences · 88% function matchSea Salt Spray vs Jelly Soft Curls - Curl JellyMiss Jessie's · 99% function matchBig Swig Thickening Spray vs Guava Beach Waves Texturizing SprayCeremonia · 88% function matchSea Salt Spray vs Texturizing Sea Salt Spray for Tousled StylesOdele · 99% function match

Big Swig Thickening Spray · Sea Salt Spray · All volumizers in the library

How this page was made

  • This page is assembled from the same researched records the individual product pages render: identity, each ingredient list as printed, each brand's own claims, dated price observations, and review themes written in our researchers' own words. Nothing on it is written per comparison.
  • We do not rank these against each other. Which of them suits you depends on your hair, and that is what the consultation works out.
  • The formula similarity percentage is a stored, precomputed number: position-weighted overlap of the two ingredient lists blended with agreement on the attributes we derive. It measures how alike two formulas are, not how well either works.
  • The value band is a fixed label over two stored numbers: this product’s cost per ounce as a percentile of every product of this type we have priced, each at the size it is most often sold in, and how many products we score as doing the same job cost at least a quarter less per ounce.
  • The "Is this right for you?" panel reads only your own consultation answers, and it applies exactly the filters our recommendation engine applies. It is computed when you load the page and is never stored on it.
  • 4 sources were consulted across the products on this page.
  • Ingredient order tells you relative amount only above roughly 1%. Prices are observations on the dates shown and change without notice. We do not sell these products and take no placement fees.
  • This is cosmetic information, not medical advice, and nothing here diagnoses or treats a health condition.

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