Save Some Water with a Dry Shampoo

14 by Becky Striepe on March 23, 2009

A girlfriend was showing me this Fekkai Au Naturel Dry Shampoo from Sephora. You can fight greasy hair without washing it, and that means without water! The dry shampoo is free of parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrances and dyes, petro-chemicals, and phthalates. It does still have a few unpronounceable ingredients, though. It also costs $23.

Of course, my first instinct was to make my own!

It turns out that this is pretty much a snap, and you can pull it off for way less than the $23 pricetag. There are a few different ways to make a dry shampoo:

Cornmeal - Yep, just cornmeal! Just massage a couple of tablespoons of cornmeal into your hair, brush it out, and you're ready to head out the door!
Corn Starch - You use it the same way as the cornmeal. It seems like personal preference as far as which one is better. Cornmeal is easier to brush out because the grains are larger, but corn starch is more absorbent. More on that below.
Cornmeal + Corn Starch - Some folks like to have the best of both worlds and combine a tablespoon of each. Again, it's really up to your preference.
Slightly fancy - Mix a few drops of your favorite essential oil with one tablespoon of corn starch, then mix in the cornmeal and go to town to fight grease and give your hair a nice scent at the same time!
UPDATE: Thanks to commenter leisa for this great dry shampoo tip: "nothing goes past baby powder to keep my hair clean and oil free. In fact, I’m now showering at night and putting the powder in in the morning, and its working better than showering that morning in keeping my hair free from oil."

No matter what method you choose, you'll want to do this over the tub, since it's a little bit of a messy process. You can try some other methods, like flour or sea salt, applied just like corn starch or cornmeal.

Another friend has been using this process for a while and had a couple of additional tips. First, she said that this can leave your hair a little staticky, especially in winter. If you're prone to static, you might want to make yourself a conditioner spray to apply after a dry shampoo. She also says that corn starch can make your roots look lighter, if you have dark hair. I did a little research, and it sounds like cornmeal doesn't have this effect, so you might stick to straight cornmeal if you have darker hair.

[Product Photo via Sephora]

http://mygreenside.wordpress.com Wendy

I have always been skeptical of dry shampoo but to save water, I am willing to give it a try!

Great post!
http://knitnicoleknit.blogspot.com nicole

Dry shampoo is ok, but you will need to use a “normal” shampoo, or at least a wet rinse once in a while. otherwise, the powder will build up on your scalp and could cause your hair to feel much greasier
http://gardeninginheels.wordpress.com leisa

I’ve got very oily hair, and have used dry shampoo in the past, but nothing goes past baby powder to keep my hair clean and oil free. In fact, I’m now showering at night and putting the powder in in the morning, and its working better than showering that morning in keeping my hair free from oil…
I don’t really even comb it out, just place it on my hair and shake it through with my hand.. give it a go!
http://greenupgrader.com/author/becky/ Becky Striepe

Thanks for the great comments, guys! Leisa – I’ve updated the list to include baby powder. What a great addition!
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Kandy

I use a little coca powder in my dry shampoo; it helps with dark hair…
Antonia

Love this post!! I have always used baby powder because my hair gets greasy very quickly. But, how do you use baby powder without making your hair look white? I am a brunette. Cocoa powder sounds intriguing….any tips?

http://glueandglitter.com/ Becky Striepe

You might try cornmeal…it would be easier to get out with a fine comb. If you give cocoa powder a shot, I’d love to hear how it goes! I bet it smells delightful if nothing else!

Morgan

I prefer dry shampoo spray like (oscar balndi 21 for sephora) or even PSST (which is only 4bucks at drug stores) it way less messy and you can even do it in the car after you have hit the gym or something!
alley

I’ve had oily hair since I was in Middle School/Junior High. For 20+ years, I used the same over-the-counter oily hair formula shampoo. Then, about 2 years ago, I tried using a variety of regular shampoos, but my hair would get oily and stringy by the end of the day. I had to wash my hair every day.

Then, my hair-stylist suggested the Tea + Protein Shampoo from the Made from Earth line. I was hesitant at first because I didnt think organic shampoos were anything special, but I decided to try it.

It took a few tries, but now I only have to wash my hair every other day! Hooray! Its a thick shampoos so it doesnt run through my fingers and down the drain before I can even get it onto my hair!

I saw a HUGE improvement on my oily hair – highly recommended if you are trying to have normal hair. To avoid overdrying, I use their conditioner also.
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http://www.kaltechsolutions.com Kaltech

In India, we use Shikakai Powder (Acacia concinna). It is very effective in removing oil and dirt from hair. Anyway I will try your cornmeal powder. Good post.
Borut Pecar

Recipe for dark or black hair:

corn starch
baking soda
drawing charcoal (for turning dry shampoo black, so there will be no white residues on your dark hair!!!)
Grind drawing charcoal (buy at artist shop, perhaps also activated charcoal powder would work) with spoon on the shallow plate.
mix cca 1 part of the grinded charcoal with 2 parts of corn starch (it absorbs grease) and 1 part of baking soda (it absorbs odour). You shoud experiment with the quantity of charcoal, the more you add, darker dry shampoo you wil get.
If you have brown hair (brunette), you can add grinded brown sidewalk chalk, for bluenettes blue sidewalk chalk, for lightbrown hair add yellow or light brown sidewalk chalk etc…
apply the mixture in your hair, wait 5 minutes and rubb it off with a towel. You dont have to rubb off all of the powder, becouse it has the same color as your hair.
Dry shampoo is a great solution for dyed hairs becouse it reduces the need for hair washing and therefore preserve the color and prevent its fading. It works great for my hair dyed with natural indigo (indigofera tinctoria mixed with hot water 65°C and 1/4 tbs of non iodic salt left immediately after mixing for 30 minutes on extra clean hair washed with dishsoap).