Dry shampoo is an oily-haired girl’s best friend. It gets rid of greasy “second day” hair, making your locks look clean and ready to be styled without the need to use water. But dry shampoo isn’t only a quick fix for days when you don’t have the time to wash your hair. It can add volume to fine and thin hair too. I honestly wouldn’t know what to do without it.
If you’re never tried dry shampoo, or if you have but couldn’t get what the hype is about, here are a few tips to help you use it properly and make the most out of it:
1. Choose the right shade
A lot of people with dark hair tend to shy away from dry shampoos thinking the white powder will only make them look like they have dandruff. While this can be true, these days lots of brands have come up with coloured dry shampoos, so you can easily pick one that matches your hair colour, avoiding the ugly dandruff look. Batiste Hint Of Colour Dry Shampoo, for instance, is available in Light & Blonde, and Dark & Deep Brown, while Oscar Blandi Pronto Invisible Volumizing Dry Shampoo Spray goes on clear, and is thus ideal for every hair colour.
2. Spray it on the roots and brush it through
Only spray the shampoo onto your roots and hairline and massage it through your scalp. Wait a couple of minutes to allow it to absorb the excess oil. Then, brush the shampoo through the length of your hair until the powder is completely dissolved.
3. Little by little
Start by applying only a small amount. If it’s not enough and you feel your roots are still quite oily, you can always add more. But if you overdo it and apply too much powder, the mistake will be harder to fix.
4. Don’t use it on wet hair
There is a reason why it’s called dry shampoo. It should never be used on wet or damp hair or you won’t be able to brush it out properly.
Do you use dry shampoo? Do you have any tips to share?
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Colored dry shampoos? I had no idea! Now that’s awesome, what with my black hair and all.
Trisha´s last [type] ..Let’s Meet the MAKE Cosmetics Line from the We See Beauty Foundation
Trisha, I discovered them only recently too and I’m in love. Aren’t they wonderful?
I LOVE dry shampoo and it’s a part of my hair life. :] If I just used lotion on my hand or applied moisturizer on my face and I am rushing to do my hair, I’ll put a bit of dry shampoo (I use the powdered kind, not spray) and dust it onto my fingers and that prevents having oily hair when I style it.
I found out DermStore carries Cake Beauty dry shampoo which is the best I’ve tried so far. I bought the blonde color (because that was the only one left in stock at the time) and it works wonderfully even though I have hair so black I’ve been asked if it’s been dyed black. I use a very tiny amount, put it on my finger/ finger tips and run it through my hair from scalp to the end, focusing mainly at the roots. I usually just use it at the crown of my hair, sometimes hair where sideburns would be haha. I like to pull out a small piece of hair out by the front of my ear when I style it up so I like to keep the hair strands dry and not sleek/oily-looking
I’ve accidentally dumped too much dry shampoo powder on my hair and it left me with slightly greyed hair haha. When I run out, I’m going to get the brunette color.
Less is better!
Janessa, dry shampoo is wonderful and so useful, isn’t it? I do agree that less is more. It’s so hard to remove excess dry shampoo and you’re just left with awful greyish hair.
The Cake Beauty dry shampoo sounds great. I usually stick to Batiste, but I’ll have to see if this one is available here.
I’ll have to try that one, thanks for telling me about it
. Cake Beauty’s dry shampoo is called Satin Sugar and it smells yummy, slightly sweet.
You’re welcome and that sounds delicious!
By the way, I’ve curled my lashes today and it makes a great difference. The mascara still doesn’t provide much volume, but I loved how long it made my lashes look. I think it is a lovely daytime mascara. Thanks for the tip and for giving me the opportunity to try it.
From my experience, baby powder doesn’t work as well as dry shampoo. Dry shampoos (at least the ones I’ve used), have more finely-milled powder that makes hair voluminous after application. Baby powder weighs it down and doesn’t really sink in my hair and just leaves my black hair with white particles that makes it look worse than not putting any in at all.
Janessa, I’ve heard a lot of mixed opinions about baby powder. I think it can work for some people but, unless you’re in a pinch and there’s nothing else to use, dry shampoo is best.
Oh yes! I got a tiny travel size can from Boots that is designed to be used for darker hair. I tend to use it only in those cases where I only need to re-freshen my hair for the day before washing it in the morning (I can’t wash at any other time
). I would never use it instead of washing of course.
For me it has a great other beneficial function as well. I’ve been going grey from my early twenties, and when I see a very visible grey hair when I hadn’t time to dye, I just spray the tinies amount on the area – bingo!
It really adds to feeling comfortable having it in one’s arsenal, even if I might only use it two-three times a month.
Beate, it’s a very versatile and handy-to-have-around product, isn’t it? I agree that it shouldn’t be used in place of washing, but when you can’t do that, or need some volume, or to hide some grey hair (an use I actually hadn’t heard of before
), dry shampoo is perfect.