If your hair is prone to oiliness, you may feel that you need to shampoo it every day, and that dry shampoo really won’t make a difference. Maybe you picked up one of dry shampoos on the recommendation of a friend, but you’re not sure what to do with it.
Don’t worry: by following a few simple rules, you can learn to make dry shampoo a useful tool in your battle against oily hair.
1. The Key Word is “Dry” – There are lots of products that you can apply whether your hair is dry or damp. Dry shampoo must be used only when your hair is completely dry. Dry shampoo absorbs the oil produced by your scalp, and it cannot do its job if there is any water in your hair.
2. The Night Before – The best time to use dry shampoo is before bedtime. If you’re not planning to shampoo in the morning, apply your dry shampoo the night before. It will absorb the oil in your hair while you are sleeping, and in the morning you will only have to do touch-ups and your regular styling. Who doesn’t love having more time in the morning before work?
3. Don’t Go Overboard – A little goes a long way. First of all, it’s important to apply the product only to your scalp and roots, not through the whole length of your hair. Just shake or spray (depending on what type of product you are using) onto small sections of your roots, paying more attention to the back and the top of your scalp, where most of the oil comes from.
Applying the product to your roots only will also have a great volumizing effect on your hair.
4. A Good Primer – Dry shampoo has another use besides absorbing oil: it can also be used to prime your hair before styling. Above we talked about the volumizing effect of dry shampoo; just by adding a shine or smoothing product to the tips, or even just a spritz of hair spray after your usual styling regime will complete the look.
You may have noticed that when your hair is squeaky clean, it is too silky and slippery to hold an elaborate style like an up-do. But you may also want to have really clean hair on an important day like your wedding or prom day. Dry shampoo applied to clean hair adds enough texture to help your hair hold onto an up-do without having to use an excessive amount of hairspray.
5. For Emergencies – Lastly, dry shampoo can rescue your hair in an emergency. If you come back from a lunch-hour workout or even just a walk on a very hot humid day, your hair may be looking a bit too oily. Carrying some dry shampoo with you can save you a lot of embarrassment.
If you wear bangs, you may notice that the part of your hair that rests on your forehead picks up a lot of oil from your skin. Once again, dry shampoo can rescue you. Applying a little to your bangs (roots only!) will get rid of the extra oil and get your bangs through even the hottest day.
Now that you’ve got some guidelines to follow, hopefully you’ll be enthusiastic about experimenting with your new dry shampoo, and seeing for yourself how it can make your hair care easier and faster.
Soon you’ll be thanking your dry shampoo for getting you out of some sticky (or oily) situations!