Talk to me about your dry shampoo!

January 21, 2023 8:39 AM

Do you have fine, shoulder length hair? Do you use dry shampoo between washes? Do you love it? Does it NOT feel like there’s a weird-feeling film on your hair? Does it NOT weigh your hair down? Please tell me about what dry shampoo you use for your fine hair and how you use it!
posted by bookmammal to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (17 answers total)

I have thick wavy hair but …Cornstarch.

You can get a powder puffer bottle or dust it on with a make up brush. Just cornstarch. Lift up the hair a bit so you don’t get as dusty of roots. Make sure you start with a small amount and rub it in enough. It can also work best to use the night before.

ETA: I have dyed black hair and if done right there is no white cast. YMMV.

Alternatively, if you want some style and hold I’ve found this matte pomade to have a drying effect but it could be too much. (I’m sure other matte products may be similar.) I find matte products have more lift and less film. But I mostly notice it when I use it when I’m first styling my hair and that it seems less oily as I go on but haven’t specifically tested as a way to reduce oiliness after the fact.
posted by Crystalinne at 8:45 AM on January 21, 2023 [1 favorite]

Loma dry shampoo works great for my dark, fine, shoulder length, wavy hair. I spray it in at the roots, massage it in, let it sit a couple min and brush through. I use my hair to stim (hair twisting etc) and can't stand any weird feelings in it. Loma feels great, and doesn't leave any white cast in my nearly black hair. It leaves a nice sheen as well, not too oily or shiny, but also not dry looking either. It also gives me a tiny bit of volume.
posted by CleverClover at 9:03 AM on January 21, 2023

I use Batiste and I like it. If it still feels kind of filmy after brushing it out, I use a dry towel to rub my hair a bit and that fixes it.
posted by CompanionCube at 9:05 AM on January 21, 2023 [7 favorites]

Seconding cornstarch. Nothing else has worked for me without being weird.
posted by goodbyewaffles at 9:13 AM on January 21, 2023

My hair is shorter now but extremely fine and lately I’ve been using the Billie dry shampoo (which i also used with longer hair). It is basically the corn starch suggestion but a little more complicated. I just poof a generous amount into my hands and rub it into my hair, focusing on the scalp. I also like the r+co badlands paste but i do feel like it adds a lot more texture than the Billie powder so that is why I am suggesting that one to you.
posted by jeweled accumulation at 9:28 AM on January 21, 2023

Best answer: Livingproof’s Advance Clean Perfect Hair Day dry shampoo is the best I’ve found. I spray it in at the roots/parting and over the top of my hair, let it sit for 30 seconds to a minute, then massage it in with my fingers until no light coloured spray is visible.
posted by ellieBOA at 9:34 AM on January 21, 2023 [3 favorites]

i use baking powder- just a sprinkle on the brush, tap off any extra, can always do another. brush through if needed.
gonna have to try corn starch now!
have tried a number of commercial powders and sprays but always end up coming back to baking powder, sprinkled on the brush and brushed through from the roots.
i have fine, straight hair.
posted by wowenthusiast at 9:51 AM on January 21, 2023

Best answer: Came here to say what EllieBOA said — the Livingproof dry shampoo is flat out great. It doesn’t leave powdery stuff on your scalp, which cornstarch does for me no matter how much I shake it out, and it makes my hair look genuinely clean. My hair is fine and slightly more than shoulder length.
posted by holborne at 9:54 AM on January 21, 2023 [1 favorite]

I use arrowroot start with some cocoa powder added to make it brown. I’ve also used Acure dry shampoo, which has those two ingredients and a couple other things. I find the key to application is smoothing it into my hands and then running through my hair from underneath. If I put it on top of my roots, it will just sit there looking like I’m planning a old person in a school play.
posted by Comet Bug at 11:07 AM on January 21, 2023

Most dry shampoo (and plain talc and cornstarch which I have also tried at various points) feels weird and build up-y to me except the Living Proof brand already mentioned and this Amika dry shampoo. I usually just buy either based on when they go on sale and use them interchangeably, since they both work so well.
posted by superfluousm at 11:49 AM on January 21, 2023 [1 favorite]

Super fine, straight, thin hair. I use Johnson's lavender baby powder - which is made with corn starch. I shake it into the palm of my hand, rub it into the roots of my hair with the fingertips of my other hand. The trick for me is to do it before I go to sleep at night. I have had absolutely zero luck using dry shampoo on days when I wake up regretting not leaving time to shower - so now, if I think I'll wake up greasy without time to shower, I use the powder at night.
posted by VioletU at 12:15 PM on January 21, 2023 [1 favorite]

I get good results with Batiste dry shampoo, in a dark brown color - it leaves my hair very shiny, and stops it from drooping with the need for a wet shampooing - but I can't recommend it or other dry shampoos because of the recent discovery that many/most of them contain benzene, which when used in an enclosed indoor space like a bathroom is going to slightly increase your risk of leukemia. Apparently it's a problem with almost any kind of aerosol product.
posted by metonym at 12:32 PM on January 21, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Definitely apply any dry shampoo at night and then brush through in the morning.
posted by kinddieserzeit at 1:17 PM on January 21, 2023 [3 favorites]

my fine hair dislikes batiste, and has found acure brunette to be better, or bumble and bumble pret a powder even better. both of these are powder dry shampoo, not spray, and this has been a better application technology for my hair type…however, i might just try cornstarch next based on thread above!

ditto everyone who shared wisdom to apply at night. i’ll share one more tip: run your hair dryer over it for quicker absorption. as Comet Bug identified above, the “old person in a school play” look can be mitigated by running the hair dryer on warm over freshly poofed dry shampoo.
posted by tamarack at 9:33 PM on January 21, 2023 [2 favorites]

The absolute best dry shampoo I've ever used for my thin, fine, naturally blonde hair is unfortunately TIGI Rockaholic Dirty Secret. Literally nothing else I've ever used compares to how perfect it is. Light texture, no powdery residue, light citrusy scent that fades really quickly, adds volume.
posted by erst at 12:22 PM on January 22, 2023

Does it have to be literally dry? Because I swear by Aveda's Rinseless Refresh to the extent that I always buy extra because I am anxious it will eventually be discontinued, but it is a liquid spray.

I have fine, shoulder-length hair that is brown and purple, and I wash my hair every other day or sometimes let it go for a 3rd day if I'm not going anywhere. I use it on the between-washings days when I have to go into the office or otherwise be presentable. I don't use enough to make my hair feel wet and I don't have to blowdry it, just let it air dry for a short time then brush it out a bit. I even find that I can cheat a little styling by twisting my hair back in a clip after I apply it, and leaving it up like that while I go about the rest of getting ready, then taking it down and brushing it out. I end up with a little bit of wave that way.

It does not weigh my hair down or make it look flat/greasy. It does give my hair a slightly different texture, but it's not sticky or weird to me. It has a very light scent that dissipates quickly. (YMMV, of course, but I am pretty sensitive to both scent and weird textures and it doesn't bother me.)

I've also used Bumble and Bumble's Pret-a-Powder, both the powder and liquid spray forms, and they make my hair look nice without a weird texture, but I can't handle the scent. And I just prefer not to mess with powder in general.

Many of my friends swear by the Livingproof dry shampoo, but the scent is overpoweringly perfume-y to me.
posted by rhiannonstone at 3:40 PM on January 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

I like Not Your Mother's Clean Freak dry shampoo. The fragrance is pretty light but there's also an unscented version.
posted by neushoorn at 7:11 AM on January 23, 2023