We’ve all heard that washing your hair everyday isn’t good for it. But what are you supposed to do with that greasy, oily hair? Use dry shampoo, of course! Dry shampoo is a powder that absorbs the oils from your hair and adds texture giving limpness hair more volume. And as an added bonus, it’s super easy to make and you probably already have everything you need in your kitchen!

My No Poo Ebook

I have done a lot of research and trial & error to find what works and what doesn’t work. I have compiled all of that information together in an easy-to-follow guide that will answer all of your no poo questions. This book will empower you to find a natural hair care routine that works for you, at whatever level you want to take it. Are you ready to dive right in and ditch all your commercial hair products? This book will walk you through that process. Or do you just want to learn how to naturally nourish your hair with an occasional deep conditioner or serum? That’s here, too. Find the book here.

The Problem With Commercial Dry Shampoo

You can buy dry shampoo products at your local beauty store. But they are expensive and often full of toxic ingredients (including butane, propane, synthetic fragrances, and formaldehyde). EWG is a cosmetic database that rates the toxicity of products from 0 (nontoxic) to 10 (very toxic). Here are some popular brands (prices are at the time of publishing this article):

• Batiste Dry Shampoo: $7.48 for 6.73 oz ($1.11 / oz) with an EWG rating = 7
• Not Your Mother’s Clean Freak Dry Shampoo: $7.82 for 7 oz  ($1.11 / oz) with an EWG rating = 6
• Oscar Blandi Pronto Invisible Volumizing Dry Shampoo Spray: $15.95 for 5 oz ($3.19 / oz) with an EWG rating = 3
• Psssssst Instant Dry Shampoo Spray: $8.68 for 5.3 oz (1.63 / oz) with an EWG rating = 6
• BlowPro  Faux Dry Shampoo: $20 for 1.7 oz ($11.76 / oz) with an EWG rating = 2
• Eva NYC Freshen Up Dry Shampoo: $12 for 5.3 oz ($2.26 / oz) with an EWG rating = 8
• Got2b Powder’ful Volumizing Styling Powder: $9.22 for 0.35 oz ($26 / oz) with an EWG rating = 1
• Aveeno Pure Renewal Dry Shampoo: $10.69 for 4.8 oz ($2.23 / oz) with an EWG rating = 5
• Nexxus Youth Renewal Rejuvenating Dry Shampoo: $18.99 for 5 oz ($3.80 / oz) with an EWG rating = 7

DIY Dry Shampoo Options

• BASE
  • Arrowroot (find it here)
  • Talc Free Baby Powder (see why to avoid talc here and find it here)
  • Non-GMO Corn Starch (find it here)
  • Baking Soda (use a natural brand – find out what makes a good quality baking soda here and find it here)
  • Ground Oatmeal Powder (very finely grind rolled oats in a spice/coffee grinder or blender; find it here)
• TINT
  • Cinnamon (find it here)
  • Cocoa Powder (find it here)
  • Red Moroccan Clay (find it here)
• FRAGRANCE & MORE
  • Essential Oils (find the oils I use here)

I use the no poo method. I wash my hair with baking soda and condition with apple cider vinegar (read about the benefits of acv here). Too much baking soda can damage and dry out your hair. So I do not use baking soda for my dry shampoo. I prefer arrowroot and/or baby powder. But you do not have to use the no poo method to use this dry shampoo! I started using it years ago way before I had ever heard of no poo. I used it mainly when I was traveling to cut down on time I spent on my hair when I could be sight seeing. Now I use it a couple times a week.

Tinting Your Dry Shampoo

I have dark hair. I have used just the base powder (baby powder or arrowroot) without any tint many times. As long as you use it sparingly and do not put the powder directly on your scalp, you can use the plain white powder. If you get it on your scalp, you will see the white powder. Your hair will absorb most of the powder and a quick brush through will knock off the rest. But you have to have a light hand and use just enough or you will have powdered hair. Tinting your dry shampoo makes it much easier to apply. You can use cinnamon, red clay, and/or cocoa powder to tint your dry shampoo. Add just enough to tint the powder to match the darkness of your hair. Your hair does absorb the dry shampoo. So it doesn’t have to be spot-on, just close.

• For light hair: You can omit tinting the powder completely if your hair is very blonde. If your hair is dirty blonde or highlighted, you can add 1 teaspoon or more of tint per 1/4 cup of powder
• For red hair: You can use cinnamon and/or red clay. About 1 teaspoon of cinnamon per 1/4 cup of powder (too much will irritate your scalp). You can use up to a 50/50 mix of base powder and red clay. The red clay also acts like the base powders and helps absorbs moisture & oil.
• For dark hair: You can use cinnamon and/or cocoa powder. About 1 teaspoon of cinnamon per 1/4 cup of powder (too much will irritate your scalp). You can use up to a 50/50 mix of base powder and cocoa powder.

Fragrance

I add essential oils for fragrance. Here is a list of essential oils that not only smell good, but are also good for your hair.

• Lavender
• Cedarwood (dry scalp and dandruff)
• Peppermint (oily scalp and hair loss)
• Rosemary (dandruff and hair loss)
• Clary Sage
• Sage
• Basil
• Juniper
• Ylang ylang
• Sandalwood (hair loss)
• Lemon
• Cypress
• Rosewood
• Melrose
• Purification
• Melaleuca (dandruff)

My personal favorites are rosemary and ylang ylang. You can add about 5 drops of essential oils per 1/4 cup of powder.

My Dry Shampoo Recipe

You can use any combination of the ingredients listed above. Here is my preferred recipe.

DIY Dry Shampoo

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Ingredients

• 1/2 cup arrowroot
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 5 drops rosemary essential oil
• 5 drops ylang ylang essential oil

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Instructions

1. Mix ingredients
2. Store in a shaker jar

Cost Breakdown

• Arrowroot is $0.54 / oz I used about 2 oz for a total of $1.08.
• Cocoa powder is $0.66 / oz I used about 1 oz for a total of  $0.66
• Rosemary essential oil is $29.50 / oz or about $0.04 / drop. I used 5 drops for a total of $0.20.
• Ylang Ylang essential oil is $81.50 / oz or about $0.27 / drop. I used 5 drops for a total of $1.36.

Total cost: $3.30 for about 3 ounces! That’s $1.10 /oz. If I had not used essential oils, it would’ve been $0.58 / oz!! Not bad for an all natural, nontoxic dry shampoo! I used non-GMO arrowroot, organic cocoa powder, and therapeutic grade essential oils.

How To Apply Dry Shampoo

There are several ways to apply your dry shampoo.

• My preferred method is using a shaker like these. Part your hair, shake, repeat with different hair parts.
• Or you can use a powder makeup brush.
• Or you can put a small amount of the dry shampoo on your palm, rub your hands together, then run your hands through your hair. Repeat several times.

For each method, concentrate the dry shampoo towards your roots. But you don’t want much product on your scalp. Let the dry shampoo sit on your hair for a few minutes to absorb oils before brushing. And remember less is more. You can always add more product, but it’s difficult to remove what your hair doesn’t absorb. 3-4 shakes usually works for me. You can use as often as needed. I wash my hair about once a week. I use dry shampoo about 2 times in between washes.

Before and After Pictures

I washed my hair (using the no poo method) on Wednesday. It is now Sunday. So it’s been 4 days since I last washed my hair. Since I last washed it, I have not used any products on my hair. Here it is this morning after I brushed it:  

I sprinkled several shakes of the dry shampoo on my hair, concentrating on the roots since that’s where it is the oiliest.  

I let the dry shampoo sit for 2-3 minutes to soak up the oils. Then I brushed through my hair. The dry shampoo disappeared.  

Then I fixed my hair as usual.

Check out my no poo website!