DIY Dry Shampoo

I want to share what I do for dry shampoo. We were on a boil water notice here in Austin last week until yesterday so I was relying heavily on my dry shampoo with all the winter head gear. I get major oily hat hair with anything I put on my head which is why you won’t see me in hats often.

There are lots of recipes you can try for DIY dry shampoo. The internet is full of them. Any baking soda based recipe is too drying for my scalp so I use cornstarch, and since I have light brown hair I add cocoa for color. If I don’t add cocoa I get a dusty gray look.

If you are blond you may be okay with just cornstarch or baking soda. Redheads can add cinnamon instead of cocoa for color, that’s a tip I picked up from Bea Johnson of Zero Waste Home. Cocoa or cinnamon by itself felt sticky to me so definitely start with the cornstarch and add color. Some recipes also use clay. I don’t have any in the house so I haven’t tried it but it bloggers seem to like it for longer hair. Bring your own container for cornstarch, baking soda, cocoa, cinnamon and clay if you can to a bulk section, or look for more recyclable containers made of cardboard or plastic. Some cocoa and cornstarch canisters can look like paper but can be plastic and metal-coated paper (the shiny gold or silver inside) so keep that in mind when shopping. Clay in bulk may be located over with the bulk beauty supplies like shampoo and soap.

I don’t measure, I just add the two ingredients until I like the consistency and color, but you could start out with equal parts in a small amount. Don’t make too much or get too much at a time as a little goes a long way. I dab my fingers in the jar and rub it through my roots. I recommend bending over the sink or standing in the shower because the powder can trickle down. My PJs usually end up with a bit on them so don’t do this in your work outfit. If it’s last minute, wrap a bath towel around your shoulders to protect your clothes. A lot of people like to use a salt or pepper shaker, or cheese shaker to apply. I don’t have one and haven’t found one when out and about (and I’m not going to buy one) so I’m good with dabbing for now. Just try out different methods to see what works for you. Combing and brushing it in never worked for me and I always felt like it wasted so much of the dry shampoo.

This method, in addition being more zero waste and giving you control of the color and consistency of the product, costs sooo much less than prepared dry shampoo. Dry shampoo in general is quite expensive for what it is and I’m usually allergic or sensitive to something in the ingredient list. Additionally, my family is very sensitive to fragrance so using simple cooking ingredients we know are safe is such a win for us here. Let me know how this goes for you!

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