13 Uses for Dry Shampoo You Probably Didn’t Know About

Most women try to keep dry shampoo on hand all the time, and with good reason. For the most part, we only think of using dry shampoo if our hair starts to look a bit oily between washes, or if we don’t have time for a proper shampoo. But there are many other ways we can use this product. It turns out that dry shampoo has a surprising number of other uses. You can use it as a styling product, to tone down your roots, or even use it around the house. We came up with 13 surprising uses for dry shampoo, but there are probably even more out there…

1. Add traction to hair clips and bobby pins

When you wear your hair in an elegant up-do, do the pins start to slide around? Just spray a little dry shampoo on to bobby pins and hair clips before you use them to secure your hair in place.

2. Unstick your bangs from your forehead

Have you always envied Zooey Deschanel’s iconic bangs? There’s an easy way to get this effect: apply dry shampoo to the underside of your bangs. They won’t separate, stick to your skin or get greasy.

3. Use it as an emergency deodorant

Just as it does with hair, dry shampoo will keep skin dry and fresh. Just spray it on the places where you would normally wear deodorant. Note that this is only something you should do in a pinch, because the dry shampoo can leave a messy residue behind on your clothing.

4. Deodorize smelly shoes

Are your favorite boots or shoes starting to get a little odorous? Spray dry shampoo on the insides and leave it there for about 20 minutes or so.

5. Volumize your eyebrows

Bushy brows are in at the moment, but what if your brows don’t have much in the way of volume? Apply dry shampoo to your fingertips and rub it directly into your eyebrows to thicken and tame them.

6. Hide your roots

Are you a bit behind schedule for getting your roots touched up? You can disguise dark roots with white dry shampoo and procrastinate a little longer.

7. Remove oil stains

When you spill something oily on your rug or your clothing, try spraying dry shampoo on top of the stain. If the stain is on a rug, vacuum after the dry shampoo has been sitting on the stain for about 20 minutes. If the stain is on clothing, use water and soap after treating with dry shampoo. It should help absorb the oil.

8. Avoid sweaty handshakes

If you have hands that tend to get clammy, try applying dry shampoo to your palms. They will stay dry and cool for the whole day.

9. Give your hands more traction

If you’re into rock climbing, cycling or yoga, you know the value of having a good grip. Apply a little dry shampoo before exercising to your hands, and you will be able to grip better.

10. Separate and define your curls

If you curl your hair, you may be frustrated by the hair clumping together. A quick spray of dry shampoo after curling will give you natural-looking defined curls.

11. Add dimension to your color

If a dry shampoo is tinted, you can use it to apply a very subtle lowlight or highlight effect to your hair. Spray it on to the part of your hair that you want to lighten. Untinted dry shampoo can even be used like this on dark hair.

12. Lock teasing into place

If you use backcombing or teasing in your style, try dry shampoo as an alternative to hairspray to hold your style in place. It’s easier to brush through later, and it’s not as harsh on your hair.

13. Hit rewind so you can start again

If you’ve ever had the experience of getting halfway through styling your hair when you realize you can’t finish it in time, you know what it means to wish you could hit rewind. Just apply dry shampoo to the places you’ve already curled, and blow-dry it out while brushing. Now your hair is back in its natural state again.