I use dry shampoo only slightly less than oxygen. Anyone who knows me well (heck, even if you only know me through Snapchat) knows this – and that I love a bright, bold lippy and a good Cabernet. 😉
Because of this, I can consider myself a bit of a dry shampoo conniesseur.
But lemme back up for a hot sec.
I used to wash my hair every other day.
YUP. Every. other. day.
For anyone unfamiliar with haircare…this is bad. This is very, very bad. A cardinal sin of haircare, if you will. Overwashing is detrimental because it strips your hair of its natural oils. Because of this, your hair can actually appear oilier, as your scalp goes into overdrive trying to overcompensate for the excess cleanse.
I couldn’t for the LIFE of me figure out why my hair constantly looked oilier when I was younger. And as a total haircare newb, I had no clue that washing too MUCH was to blame. Now, I wash my hair…brace yo’self…once a week.
HOW?! DRY. SHAMPOO.
If your head has yet to be graced by the presence of dry shampoo, lemme fill ya in: a spray or powder sent straight from the heavens to soak up excess oil from second, third, fourth, (*cough* fifth *cough*) day hair, all sans water. The best dry shampoos do this without leaving weird residue, too.
They say the best time to apply dry shampoo is actually right before bed, so that it can just sit in your hair all night doin’ its thang without needing to be brushed out. Some dry shampoos, though, are super flaky and chalky and messy, and I’d prefer to not have that gunk all over my pillow come morning. So more often than not, I end up spritzing on right before styling. Sometimes, I’ll leave it in while I do something else to get ready; I then brush it out with a boars’ bristle brush! Either way, I’m obviously brunette. And I’ve had waaaaaay too many horror experiences with doing my hair in bad lighting and leaving the house with a greyish haze on my head. TBH…one time I had to photoshop my hair in blog photos because there was a giant grey section that apparently NO ONE NOTICED. Really?!?! Anyhoo…
Back in spring, I picked up about 6 or 7 bottles from CVS for testing purposes, vowing to try ’em all and rank accordingly. For weeks now, I’ve been comparing product to find the best dry shampoos, so I’ve got all of that + my years of dry shampoo addiction to provide a decently well-rounded round-up of hits and misses.
Based on the resulting notes, I broke each shampoo into 3 categories and was going to rate each category on a scale of 5, but it became too difficult and wasn’t as helpful as just describing it out in detail, since I know you guys will get me. You always do. 🙂
The categories: Application (Is it an aerosol spray or dust-on powder?), Visibility (Clear? White as snow? Dark?), and Effectiveness (Does it actually soak up oil the way it should?)
The 9 best dry shamppos (in no particular order): Matrix Miracle Extender, Aveda shampure, Herbal Essences naked, TRESemme Fresh Start Volumizing, psssst! Instant, Batiste light & breezy fresh, got2b rockin’ it 4ever StyleStay, Batiste Hint of Colour, Aussie Total Miracle 7 in 1.
MY FAVORITE 9 BEST DRY SHAMPOOS
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Applies clear and seemed to absorb oil well; it did its job. This was the only shampoo out of the bunch that I completely finished throughout the course of testing, so obviously I liked it.
Recommendation: Buy.
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Applies clear, but wet. This was a turnoff for me, because it became hard to tell what was wet from the “dry” shampoo versus wet from a dirty hair look. #attractive. A plus with this option is the fact that it is natural with 0% paraben (aka a chemical in many hair products that dries out your luscious locks)
Recommendation: Bye!
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*FAVORITE ALERT!* Upon first glance, I had ZERO clue how to use this baby. I literally went on a Snapchat rant about needing to “dump it,” and here I just needed an instructions manual. I reached out to the Aveda team for help, and they kindly told me that I’m an idiot. HA – just kidding…they’re so much nicer than that. 😉 But turns out, I was using it ENTIRELY WRONG. You don’t dump it out – you simply squeeze the bottle, puffing out the product. BOOM. Now that I know how to appropriately apply this sucker, it’s actually one of my favorites, and I would definitely put it in the “best dry shampoos” bucket. Not having an aerosol-spray means application is a bit more sparse and harder to control, but the product is so genuinely absorbing. It’s white as day, but brushes out with ease.
Recommendation: BUY!!!
Bonus: There are refill options for this one that are less expensive to just refill your original bottle.
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This one might’ve been my least favorite of ALL. 7-in-1? Um, no. I seriously think they made up whatever sounded good for the back of the bottle on this one. It claims to “do it all” with a “first day clean look, freshness boost, lightweight fullness, color protection, refreshed feel, matte finish, and aussome scent!” I’ll say this. The product does NOT brush out well. It feels chalked and smells exactly like Aussie hairsprays, which may or may not be good, depending on your preference. Color protection? HOW? And a matte finish? I’m sorry, but the only thing I want a matte finish on is my lipstick. As for my hair, I fully expect lustrous, shiny, healthy locks – not lackluster matteness thankyoukindly. And unless a “first day clean look” is powdery white, I think it misses the mark.
Recommendation: BYE.
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This stuff is intense. It’s MEGA white and has a lot of fall out, so seriously brace yo’self. If you spray it on and shake your head, it’s like the middle of a January snowfall in the Northeast. BUT, it smells great and DOES get out oil, so A+ on effectiveness. I dislike the flaky application, but since it does the job I can’t really complain.
Recommendation: Probably buy.
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Finally, she thought, A dry shampoo made for her hair color! Eh, wrong. I was hyped enough to buy this on Amazon and have it shipped to my house (because apparently not even dark hair people exist to have it in local stores?), and it ended up being so disappointing to me. I was unhappy with one thing primarily: the dark dust that ended up on EVERYTHING I TOUCHED. Even after brushing out, I felt like I couldn’t touch my head for the rest of the day…or have my hair touch any light clothing. Dark brown dirt was on everything, and I felt like I was in a scene of Annie or Cinderella with smudges of soot on my face and hands.
Recommendation. Bye!
Can we talk about the name of this product for a hot sec??? I’m sorry, but what? The branding gal in me would love to just go HAM on the got2b brand. As much as I love the 90’s, we need a little less Hollaback Girl on this bottle. Other than that, I’m surprisingly impressed with this product. It goes on very white and a bit chalkier, but it absorbs, and brushes out easily, too.
Recommendation: Buy!
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I’ve bought this one twice now, so I guess I like it! It smells amazing. The Fresh Start dry shampoo goes on more clear, but is still noticeable enough on to brush out effectively, and the smell lingers. While I’m not sure how effective it would be on really really really dirty hair (we’re talkin’ 5-6 days in), it’s definitely perfect for the first day or two after washing when you want a quick pickmeup before stlil wearing your hair down.
Recommendation: Buy!
I’m confused here. It doesn’t come out white…but it’s hard to tell what’s it doing, point blank period. It honestly feels like a cheaper, crappier version of other drugstore options at *similar* price points that do a much better job.
Recommendation: Bye.
Disclaimer: Some brands are missing, obviously. Unfortunately, I couldn’t test out every dry shampoo on the planet. Believe me, I would. But after buying every drugstore option in sight, I couldn’t bring myself to also buy the $40+ bottles, because ain’t nobody got time (or money) for that. That being said, The Morrocanoil dry shampoo, the It’s a 10 Miracle Dry Shampoo + Conditioner, and the Living Proof Dry shampoo are on my list to invest in soon, so if you HAVE tried either (or have any other favorite), pleasepleaseplease feel free to leave a comment below with your own thoughts!
What are the best dry shampoos you’ve tried? Do you have any holy grail options?
I’m not kidding when I say I use dry shampoo slightly less than oxygen, so I’d lovelovelove to hear your own recommendations or thoughts on buys and byes and all that good rosy stuff in the best dry shampoos category. Drop a comment below if you’ve got any go-to’s!
