All About Dry Shampoo + A How To Guide From a Professional

After talking to a fellow blogger friend  over Facetime trying to explain the wonderful world of dry shampoo I came to the realization that just like her a lot of bloggers have been struggling with the same issue of not being able to successfully utilize dry shampoo (thanks to Twitter, I found out this is actually a very common issue). I was puzzled by this, that so many women were trying and failing to use this product. A part of me made me so sad, sad because most stylists “should” be teaching their clients these things…because dry shampoo is a GAME CHANGER! And a part of me was happy, to know I could use my background in Cosmetology to teach, coach and help you all with this.

What I’m about to tell you all… may blow your minds, but please refrain from casting any judgement…

How I do that is putting myself on a wash schedule HOWEVER, that doesn’t mean I do not wash my body, I still shower but I just do not wash my hair more than twice a week. It does take time to adjust to that schedule but once you master it, using dry shampo will make your life so much easier.

Working in the hair/beauty industry, I learned so much about how to use products, when to use products, and when not to use products. If you’re someone who works 40 hours a week or  a stay-at-home mom, or just anyone who wants to not wash their hair as frequently-dry shampoo would be amazing for you to utilize on a weekly basis. Dry Shampoo is a time-saver, and truly refreshes, and revives the hair. I’m a huge advocate of dry shampoo, because it keeps my color looking fresh, and saves me a ton of time in the morning.

A Lesson On Hair 101

Think of your hair and your scalp as the skin on your face. You do not want to wash your skin more than twice a day because if you do, you will put your skin into hyperdrive and it will start to overproduce oil. Your skin, along with your scalp, will become shiny, and fairly oily. The same thing applies with your hair, if you wash your hair every single day you will have an overproduction of oil and you will be forced to wash your hair daily, because it will naturally get oily, and that it’s a simple reason why you do not want to wash your hair every day. Now if you have color treated hair it’s even more essential to not wash as much, especially for blondes as well as redheads, you do not want to strip your color faster.

The Types of Dry Shampoo

• Spray – A spray can be tricky, but once mastered it’s a walk in the park. Sprays come in a variety of sizes, but the majority contain almost the exact same ingredients.
• Powder  – For first time users, a powder is the easier way to go for sure. Powder tends to last much longer as you are using far less product then you would a spray.
• Foam – This is one of the NEWEST types on the market, I personally have only tried the Ouai foam, but it’s still nerve wracking, putting something wet into your hair, however: it works!

Applying dry shampoo successfully is not as simple as following the back of the directions on the can…. is much more harder than you would think because they don’t have details you truly need. Also one of the most important things to remember here is you do not need the most expensive dry shampoo out on the market. Regardless of the price, if you do not know how to use it correctly, you’ll just be wasting your time, and hard earned money. If you are hard for money, or want to cut an even bigger corner, you can even utilize pure baby powder for dry shampoo. If you look in any dry shampoo, you will find “cornstarch” on the label, which is also found in baby powder. If you begin to doubt that “baby powder” could be used in your hair, think about what you put on your face. Any type of powder, like a setting powder on your face will absorb oil. Now I know this sounds absolutely crazy but trust me I’m a licensed professional, and I’ve had times where I had to use baby powder in a pinch, and it works wonders!

How to Use Dry Shampoo

1. Part your hair however you usually do, or wherever you’re styling it that day. Wherever you see the most oil,  is where you want to apply dry shampoo. Dry Shampoo is not a product that is used all over the hair, only on the front/top and sides of the hair at most.
2. I recommend holding the spray closer to your roots for your first try … Hold can, about 5 inches away from area (recommended is 10-12 inches) but until you master the application, you need to hold it closer.
3. Spray directly on roots, in long, up and down motions across the hairline. You MAY see a white residue on your roots depending on your hair color… that simply means you held the spray a little too close-and that’s OKAY for your first time, because we’re learning!
4. Let the spray sit on your hair for thirty seconds to a minute-no touching, your hair will be “cold” and wet to the touch.
5. Gently use the pads of your finger tips to MASSAGE the dry shampoo on your roots. Massage until product is distributed throughout hair. This should take thirty seconds at most!
6. Using a hair brush- use that same massaging circular motion on your hair with your hairbrush and then brush through as normal. Hair should be voluminous and appearing more “clean” looking.
7. (Optional) Throw your hair up in a high messy bun to achieve optimal volume.

Tips + tricks 

• Spray dry shampoo before you go to bed before gym session or even after I work out to soak up excess oil. If you’re going to utilize dry shampoo before bedtime I highly suggest using a powder.
• If you are a first time user, or can’t seem to get the hang of dry shampoo…simply begin by using a powder dry shampoo.
• when utilizing a dry shampoo I highly recommend using a serum on the ends of you’re hair to keep your hair looking clean, fresh and a little more polished.

Did this guide help you in successfully being able to use Dry Shampoo? I want to hear ALL of your struggles, if there are any questions-whatsoever drop them in the comments below!!