DIY Dry Shampoo

My hair gets oily fast. Like within the day of washing fast. Dry shampoo keeps me from looking like a dumpster fire, but the aerosols are notoriously bad for the environment. While a growing number no longer contain CFCs (which harm the Ozone layer), the replacement gases used to pressurize the can are still pollutive. To read more about the science part, check out this article from Scientific American.

I tried other 'greener' methods, like baby-powder. Fail: I looked like a cheap founding father. After looking at dozens of DIY recipes, I realized most contained these basic ingredients:

• cornstarch (gives hair volume)
• baby-powder (absorbs oil)
• baking soda (gets rid of dirty hair smell)
• coco powder, arrowroot powder, or cinnamon (for matching color)

I cleaned out an old candle tin that had a lid for my container and use an old makeup brush to apply it to my greasy locks. I've found that the ratios really don't matter that much, but for those who hate the 'pour and guess' method, here's a guide:

2 tbs cornstrach

2 tbs baby-powder

1 tbs baking soda

1.5 tbs coco powder

These ratios reflect my personal needs: my biggest problems are how flat and oily my hair looks, so I used more cornstarch and baby-powder. The hair smell doesn't bother me that much, but I didn't love how the cornstarch and baby-powder smelled, so the baking soda is more to cancel out that. I used just enough coco powder to get the powder dark enough to not be super obvious until it soaks up the oil (when it becomes practically invisible, even when you look for it), but not so dark that it dilutes the other ingredients. 

Overall impressions: this stuff works just as well as my old Dove Dry Shampoo and I much prefer the smell. It blends in much more quickly and adds more volume than the store bought. It's also much cheaper, so I'm very happy with my DIY!

Protip: Apply your dry shampoo the night before so it is already absorbed before you even wake up! If your hair is still a little worse for the wear, you can always do a touch up.