Dry Shampoo: Benefits & Brands

One of my absolute favorite hair care products is dry shampoo. Basically, its a powdery like shampoo that sprays on your hair like an aerosol hairspray would. The powder soaks up any oil on your hair, leaving it cleaner looking and feeling.

Have you ever tried it? If you haven't here are some great reasons why you should:

• Dry shampoo saves you time. All you do is spray it on and cover your hair with a plastic cap before hopping in the shower, then brush it out after your shower, and you're ready to go.
• Dry shampoo helps keep your hair healthy. You're not supposed to wash your hair every day anyway, plus your hair isn't being subjected to heat from your hair dryer and styling tools.
• Dry shampoo saves you money. You won't be using your more expensive shampoo, conditioner and styling products every day if you are using dry shampoo in between washes. Dry shampoo can also help you extend the life of a professional blow-out.

Brands
So, now that I have made the case for using dry shampoo, what kind should you use? I've tried out five different brands for you! Since I have fine, curly, shoulder length hair, I thought it would also be beneficial to get feedback from someone with a different type of hair. My friend Brandi, who has thick, straight, very long hair, volunteered to give her input. We both describe our hair as normal-to-oily. here's what we thought of:

TRESemme Fresh Start Dry Shampoo for Oily/Straight to Normal Hair ($5.99 at CVS)
This was the least favorite for both Brandi & I. I felt like the dry shampoo actually feels wet when I sprayed it on my hair, and my hair never felt less oily or cleaner after I used it. I felt that, if anything, my hair looked dirtier.

Brandi had the same input, but added that she could see clay flakes in her hair after spraying it on. Brandi has blonde hair, which may be why these showed up in her hair. Up til now, this has actually been the brand that Brandi used on a regular basis.

Suave Dry Shampoo Spray ($3.49 at CVS)
We both liked this brand. It sprays on dry, and left very little powdery residue in my hair, which as a brunette, I appreciated. It also had a very nice scent. However, I did feel that I had to spray my hair with this again mid-day to keep the clean look going.

This was Brandi's favorite, and the one that she said she'll be using from now on. She really liked how it smelled and made her hair feel, and it lasted all day for her. You can't beat the price!

Batiste Original Dry Shampoo ($6.99 at Sally's Beauty Supply)
This is the dry shampoo that I've used for 2 years. I like this one because it does a great job of freshening up my hair for the entire day, and at $7, it is a reasonable price. I should note for all you brunettes out there that this does leave a lot of powder residue on your hair, but I believe that's why it works so well on my oily roots. I let it sit on my hair during my shower, and when I take my shower cap off and let my hair down, I massage it into my scalp. If my hair looks grayish anywhere, I brush through it or I may even put a little water on it to get rid of the grayish hue. You may not like having to do all this, so if not, the Suave Dry Shampoo is probably a better choice for you.

Brandi liked this brand the least. She said that it didn't work on her hair and she hated the scent.

Batiste Blush Dry Shampoo ($6.99 at Sally's Beauty Supply)
I added this one because of Brandi's feedback on the smell. The only difference between Batiste original and blush is the scent. It works exactly the same, but has a nicer scent.

Brandi tried this one at my request, and she did like it better, but still prefers the Suave. I now prefer Batiste Blush.






Oscar Blandi ($28 at Sephora) (Not pictured)
I have also tried Oscar Blandi dry shampoo, and I felt that it worked the same as Batiste. However, I don't think that the price is worth it. The only reason I ever spent this much on Blandi dry shampoo was because I had just learned about dry shampoo in my Glamour magazine, and this was the brand that was mentioned. I was traveling on business to Las Vegas, and there was a Sephora right next to the Venetian where I was staying, so I popped in to buy a can. It worked great, but as I said, why spend $28 when you can spend $7 or less and still get great results?

I hope you'll try a dry shampoo this week and see what a great time saver it is! If you do, please let me know by posting a comment to this blog!

Until next week, wishing you great hair days!
Bethany