Dry Shampoo is one of those personal care products that you don’t realize how much you've needed it until you try it. When life is busy, this is one beauty hack that can save you plenty of time, helping you look fresh and put together in moments.

It’s perfect on frantic mornings when you are rushing out of the door. Because dry shampoo can be applied to dry hair, as the name implies, and doesn’t need to be washed out, it helps you go longer between washes, boosting the health of your hair and saving water too.

There are many reasons we believe dry shampoo is a necessary addition to any bathroom cabinet. Today, we’re looking at some of the benefits of dry shampoo, what ingredients to look out for, and how to use it to keep your hair looking gorgeous for longer.

What Is Dry Shampoo?

Dry Shampoo is a hair care product that you apply to dry hair to refresh it in between washes. It usually contains ingredients that absorb any grease, oil, and sweat, making it perfect for after a workout or when you don’t have time to shower or wash your hair.

You leave the dry shampoo in your hair (no need to wash it out), which is another time-saver. It is usually formulated to blend in with your roots, meaning you won’t see it.

If you have dark hair, you might need to choose a dry shampoo specific to darker hair types, as some products are lighter in color and will show up against dark strands.

What Are the Benefits of Dry Shampoo?

For those of us with busy lives, one of the main benefits of dry shampoo is how much time it saves. Most of us don’t have enough hours in the day as it is. Trying to wash and style our hair every morning can push an already packed schedule over the edge.

By absorbing grease and oil, dry shampoo helps our hair look fresher for longer. This means we can go more days between hair washes, making that morning shower much quicker.

It is also a great product to have to hand after a workout or on hot summer days. Because it absorbs sweat and excess oils, dry shampoo helps to revitalize your hair and stops it from having that damp, greasy hair look that can appear otherwise.

Saving time and helping your hair look great for longer are not the only benefits of dry shampoo Here are some of the others:

Boost Hair Health

The no-poo and low-poo movements have grown in popularity, especially among the curly hair community.

While going without regular shampoo altogether might not be the right choice for every hair type, there’s a reason that people who follow these regimes tend to find their hair is healthier and grows better.

Conventional shampoos are very good at cleaning hair. In fact, they are a bit too good. As well as removing dirt and grease, many shampoos also strip our hair of its natural oils. As a result, our scalp starts to produce more oil to restore balance, and we get stuck in a cycle of needing to wash our hair every day to stop it from looking greasy.

One solution is to switch your regular shampoo and conditioner for gentler, natural alternatives that won’t strip your hair in the same way. We explore the impact of conventional shampoos and the benefits of natural alternatives in our post on why hair needs food, not detergent.

But it is also better for our hair if we wash it a little less often. And this is where dry shampoo comes in. By helping us to extend the time between washes, it allows us to transition to a less frequent hair washing routine and restores the balance of our scalps.

Of course, some dry shampoos do more for hair health than others. While some still contain harmful and toxic ingredients, such as talc or silicones, alternatives are available. These use natural, active ingredients to absorb grease and nourish your hair.

Some beneficial ingredients include:

• Kaolin clay: absorbs grease, promotes hair growth and elasticity, and repairs damage
• Lavender oil: soothes irritated scalps, restores the natural pH of hair, and combats hair thinning
• Hibiscus extract: rich in antioxidants and boosts hair growth
• Argan kernel oil: moisturizes the scalp
• Cactus flower extract: maintains hair pH and restores scalp balance
• Jojoba seed oil: conditions and nourishes hair

Dry Shampoo that contain a combination of these ingredients (like Wellnesse Revitalizing Dry Shampoo) will nourish and protect your hair as well as helping you go longer between wash days.

Better for the Planet

Water is a precious resource. And one that is increasingly rare in some places, including parts of America. So, keeping an eye on how much we personally use is a must for anyone trying to live a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle.

Spending less time in the shower is one way we can cut down on our water usage.  By allowing us to wash our hair less often, dry shampoo can directly impact how much water we are using. Although it might not seem like much at first, over the course of a year, that saved water soon adds up.

Another way to help the planet is to choose environmentally-friendly products. Most conventional dry shampoos come packaged in aerosol cans, which are difficult to recycle and use pressurized gas as a propellant for the spray. In most cases, these gases are VOCs (volatile organic chemicals).

Don’t be fooled by the word organic here. VOCs are damaging to human health and are one of the leading causes of air pollution. Researchers have found that the emissions from personal care products in aerosol cans are comparable to rush-hour traffic.

At Wellnesse, we don’t use aerosol cans for any of our products. Our dry shampoo comes packaged in 100% recycled and recyclable cardboard, making it an eco-friendly option.  Our products and packaging are not only safe for you and your family, but safe for Mother Earth as well. 

How to Use Dry Shampoo

Dry Shampoo is best used on your roots, where it can absorb grease and sweat.

To apply it, use your fingers to rake a section of your hair back so that you can sprinkle the dry shampoo over your roots.

Blend it into your roots with your fingertips and finger comb it back through the first inch or so of your hair to loosen the roots and give your hair more volume.

You can use a small shaking motion with your hand as you move it through your hair to encourage more lift and volume.

Repeat this all over your scalp to revitalize your hair in between washes.

For those with darker hair, we’ve added some cacao powder to help the product blend more easily into your roots.

Top tip: Because our dry shampoo is made with natural ingredients, it can start to clump a little in the packaging over time, meaning less comes out of the shaker. But there’s an easy hack to get around this.

Simply remove the top part of the tube and transfer your dry shampoo into a Tupperware or other airtight container. Then, take a clean makeup brush and dab it into the dry shampoo. Use the makeup brush to apply the product directly onto your roots.

If you’re a visual learner and prefer to see how this works in practice, we have a short YouTube video demonstrating the technique.

Care for the Planet, Care for Your Hair

At Wellnesse, we’re committed to creating products that are safe, effective, and good for both your health and the planet.

A certified B Corp, we’re always striving to become more sustainable. And we’ve designed our dry shampoo with these values in mind.

Boost your hair’s health, increase volume, and go longer between hair wash days. Dry Shampoo is a handy beauty hack we wouldn’t want to be without.

Shop our hair care products now. 

Resources

Why is America running out of water? https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/partner-content-americas-looming-water-crisis

Coggon, M. M., McDonald, B. C., Vlasenko, A., Veres, P. R., Bernard, F., Koss, A. R., ... & de Gouw, J. A. (2018). Diurnal variability and emission pattern of decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5) from the application of personal care products in two North American cities. Environmental science & technology, 52(10), 5610-5618. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.8b00506