Best and Worst Dry Shampoos
Whether you want to extend your salon blowout, revive your already styled hair, or just don’t want to wash your hair, a good dry shampoo has your back.
At its most basic, dry shampoos are designed to clean hair by soaking up excess oil and dirt without water. In my opinion, the best dry shampoos go beyond simply making your hair look clean by providing a clean feeling and smell to your hair.
Since I have tried many dry shampoos overtime, I wanted to share my thoughts about which dry shampoos are the best— and the worst.
Hask Charcoal Purifying Dry Shampoo
I regularly repurchase this Hask dry shampoo— in fact, I may or may not have done so yesterday. It’s high quality and low cost, and what is better than that? Formulated with fine starch and charcoal powder, this dry shampoo gets rid of excess oils in the hair to revive its appearance. In addition to giving the hair a clean look, this product also provides a light clean scent.
Batiste Original Clean & Classic Dry Shampoo
Batiste has one of the most popular dry shampoos at the drugstore. This popularity is for good reason; this dry shampoo does the job of making hair look clean while also being easy to use and budget friendly. While it may not have the best ingredients or leave the hair feeling the cleanest, this dry shampoo provides users with the results they desire, aka fresh, good-looking hair. Just be mindful to fully distribute the product throughout your hair, especially if you have darker hair, or there may be some chalky residue left in areas of your hair.
COLAB Original Dry Shampoo
COLAB’s dry shampoo is one of my all-time favorites! A few sprays of this dry shampoo does wonders when my hair is a few days past its prime. With a lightweight, oil absorbing formula, this dry shampoo gives my hair a fresh look, feel, and scent! Not to mention, the product has a more affordable price that just gives me another reason to love it!
Living Proof Perfect Hair Day (PhD) Dry Shampoo
Living Proof’s PhD is one of the few dry shampoos that checks all the boxes. Providing a fresh look, scent (can be strong, so user discretion advised lol), and feeling to hair, this dry shampoo is the best way to revive hair without actually washing it in the shower. Aside from its stronger scent that may turn some consumers away, this dry shampoo’s main drawback is the higher price.
IGK First Class Charcoal Dry Shampoo
While this dry shampoo is designed to heavily detox hair, it doesn’t seem to perform as intended. Using this product did not make my hair look or feel any cleaner. In fact, the product actually left an uncomfortable, heavy feeling in my hair. For a dry shampoo this expensive, I expect it to perform much better than more affordable alternatives… or just perform at all.
Drybar Detox Dry Shampoo
Having dozens of salons famous for their blowouts, it is only fitting that Drybar offers a product to make these blowouts, and any other hairstyles, last. With a focus on adding volume and removing oil, this dry shampoo keeps hair looking fresh while holding its style in place. Plus, it has the Drybar signature scent which is an absolute dream!
Not Your Mother's Clean Freak Dry Shampoo
While this dry shampoo has many fans, I don’t find it to be anything special. It slightly refreshes the look of your hair and stops there. It did, however, leave a film on my hair that felt heavy, uncomfortable, and the opposite of clean. Also, fair warning that the product has a strong, chemical-like scent; fortunately, Not Your Mother’s also carries an unscented version.
Got2bFresh it Up Dry Shampoo
If you want to hardly feel dry shampoo in your hair, you should try this lightweight formula from Got2b! Consistent with the product’s lighter, less noticeable feel, it does improve how hair looks but not to the extent of most other dry shampoos. However, this less dramatic impact may be a non-issue for those with less oily hair. On top of the nice feeling and appearance this product provides hair, it has a light fruity scent and more affordable price.
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