Dry Shampoo Guide

There’s a percentage of people who like the idea of dry shampoo but insist that you just don’t need to buy a product and can do it yourself instead. Some are people who simply prefer natural and simple products and likely clean their homes with baking soda and vinegar instead of purchased products. Some may want to save money by using those products. And some people probably had at least one bad experience with a dry shampoo product so they assume that any alternative is better.

Despite what some claim, if you don’t have time to wash your hair but you need to pick up your tresses a bit, a purchased product is vastly superior to the homemade varieties.

An awful lot of people who seem to be anti-dry shampoo will recommend baby powder or other talc products not designed to be used to clean hair. Almost everyone has baby powder around the house, or those talcum powders scented like a favorite perfume. Please don’t put those in your hair! Not only will you most likely end up with clumps in your hair, you’ll lighten your hair by a shade or two. People with blonde hair might be able to manage with a bit of baby powder, but if you’re a brunette nothing will make you look prematurely gray quite as fast as a head full of talc. Even people with light hair might find their hair looking a bit dull. If you use too much you’ll also smell like baby powder, which you might not want.

Cornstarch works along the same principle, except it will clump and roll into balls in your hair even easier than powder. While many dry shampoos do contain cornstarch and other plant-based ingredients, they’re used in combination with other substances that contribute to the effect. You won’t get nearly the same result by just sprinkling cornstarch on your hair.

Baking soda is renowned for its ability to absorb odors. If you brush your teeth with it, it whitens and brightens. It’ll even get your clothes lighter in the wash. And if you make a paste of it with water and use that to wash your hair when you’re in the shower, it apparently can do amazing things for your scalp. But if you use it as a dry shampoo you’re going into overkill. Do you really need mighty odor-absorbing properties? And if you use a little too much, just as with the talcum powder, you’ll spend so much time with a thick brush trying to get the excess out, you might as well have taken the time to wash your hair.

One of the most important things to remember with a dry shampoo product is that less is most definitely more. You won’t get every follicle squeaky clean as if you’d scrubbed under the shower spray. But you’re absorbing the excess surface oils and leaving behind a nice, fresh scent. If you use something not designed to do that, like powder, you can actually make your hair look dirty when it’s not.

You won’t have to struggle to get cornstarch out of your hair (or worse yet talcum powder which clogs pores), if you’ll spend just a little money on the right product. You also won’t ever have to feel embarrassed that you didn’t have time to wash your hair or be late because you couldn’t face the world without washing it. Choose a dry shampoo especially designed for your hair color to be extra-pleased with the results and save even more time.