Review: Several dry shampoos; which is the best?

Here's the thing about my hair: I have to "fix" it. I wish I had the kind of hair I could just wash and walk out the door... and I do that on occasion. But I rarely feel "put together" in that case. Before the baby, I would heat-roll my hair every other day or so. Sometimes, I'd use big chunky rollers. Sometimes I'd use the old Benders. And on occasion, I'd use a very small ceramic wand for super ringlets.

Since Mal was born, I don't use a lot of heat on it as I shampoo at night and typically wrap my hair in a headband so it's not just stick straight. I mean, I wish it were sleek and stick straight, and I'd be happy. Instead, it's knotted log made of hay straight.

Regardless, my hair needs something. But it is also, due both to processing and apparently just to my biology, very dry. If I shampooed my hair every day, it'd be adding insult to injury. Unfortunately, my scalp isn't dry at all. It tends to get oily and make me feel very ookey if I go more than one day without washing it.

A few years ago, I bought my first dry shampoo. It was Not Your Mother's Clean Freak, and there was a learning curve.

I think I was holding it too close or spraying too long or something at first. I'd follow the directions and end up smelling great but looking like I was a teenager playing an old person in a play. You know... like I'd powdered my hair? Even if I waited a few minutes. Even after I'd brushed. I still had "hot" roots.

To remedy that, I tried this: Beyond the Zone's Rock On dry shampoo for "medium to dark hair."

It didn't leave my roots gray, but I also didn't fell like it absorbed as much of the oil.

By the way, that's basically the point of dry shampoos. I mean, besides fresh smell: It contains either alcohol or a starch that absorbs oil from your scalp, making your hair look and smell cleaner than without.

For myself, a person with fine hair, it also adds a little volume, which is nice, as one of the added effects of oily hair is that it plasters itself down on my skull.

My sister experimented at one time with using straight up talcum powder and cinnamon once, and I think she was pleased enough with it. I have enough trouble spraying, so I can't imagine trying trying to sprinkle powder evenly on my head. (Also, she said that the powder absorbed and basically disappeared, but at the end of the day she still had cinnamon in her hair.)

Finally, I'd heard that Dove has a dry shampoo. It's slightly less expensive that NYM and quite a bit less expensive than BTZ.

I'm pleased to announce that it's actually my favorite! And because it's so readily available, I can get it via Instacart when I'm buying groceries... err, someone else is buying me groceries. Oh, and I need to do a post on Instacart, while I'm at it. That'll be coming soon. :)

Bottom line: Dry shampoo is great for a day or two when you either can't or don't want to dry your hair out by (ironically) shampooing it. And Dove is the least expensive and my favorite. Just hold the can 6 inches from your head, use your free hand to pull your hair away from your head to get to your scalp around your hair line especially, and try to wait more than the two minutes recommended before you brush your hair out. But don't forget to brush it before you leave the house.