Lucy Abbersteen
The best dry shampoo is about as close as you can get to a hair wash day without actually getting in the shower, giving hair a nice refresh and, in some cases, a nice volume boost. Great for gym goers, hot and sweaty days or simply when you want to get an extra day longer before properly washing your hair, once you've found your perfect match you'll rarely be without it. So how do you pinpoint such a match? That's where our expertly tried-and-tested guide comes in.
Though not quite as good as the best shampoo and conditioners, dry shampoo can give you cleansed roots, add texture and even boost volume – not to mention extend the lift of an expertly-styled 'do. But how to know what makes 'the one'? According to Errol Douglas, hairdresser and Living Proof pro expert, "A good dry shampoo should soak up excess oil from the hair to leave it feeling, smelling and looking clean." However, he warns: "Unfortunately, not all options take care of cleaning the hair, many soak up oil and sweat and leave behind a powdery residue that can sometimes be hard to remove.”
Take a walk through your nearest Boots or John Lewis and you'll see there isan overwhelming number of dry shampoos on the market, from the best dry shampoo for oily hair to those formulated for specific hair colours. So, we've got our hands on a huge selection from top brands and put them to the test to narrow down which is the best dry shampoo for every hair type – here are our detailed reviews...
The best dry shampoo, tried and tested by our beauty team
RRP: £25 for 198ml | Key ingredients: Fast-absorbing powders, time-release fragrance,
A wonder product that freshens up dirty hair and gives it a generous volume boost – regardless of how clean it is. Unlike most dry shampoos, which only absorb oil, this one soaks up sweat and odour, too. The lightweight finish makes it near-impossible to create white patches as very little residue is left behind. There’s not really a downside here, except maybe its price, which is pretty steep when you consider the decent cheaper options on the market. But if you can afford it, we’d say it’s absolutely worth it.
It's similar to the snazzy new iteration, the Perfect Hair Day Advanced Clean Dry Shampoo (which also happens to be on our list), but with more volume lift. It does leave more residue behind compared to the new update, but, from a styling point of view, it's this texture that a lot of us depend on for grip and volume. Think of it as a volume booster, texturiser and dry shampoo in one.
Reasons to buy: You want a bit of volume and texturising from your shampoo, plus a great scent
Reasons to avoid: There are good cheaper alternatives available
RRP: £3.25 for 200ml | Key ingredients: Rice starch, keratin
If you’ve only ever tried one dry shampoo in your life, then it’s likely to have been this. The price is unbeatable and the amount you need to spray onto the hair to get a clean effect is minimal – it is very powdery and sits in the hair to assist with volume. This product is worth every penny (and some!) as when directed at the root, it soaks up a vast amount of oil and makes hair feel instantly fresh, even on day three, and if you’re pushing it, four.
However, with repeated use, hair does start to feel quite dense as the textured powder it leaves behind is palpable. It also leaves a fair amount of residue in the hair and overzealous spraying can lead to white patches, but we can forgive its shortcomings. Batiste also has a newer, lighter offering, which you can find a little further down on the list.
Reasons to buy: You want a reliable and affordable dry shampoo
Reasons to avoid: Can feel quite powdery in the hair
RRP: £11.50 for 50g | Key ingredients: Oat milk, ceramides
If The White Company made a dry shampoo, then we predict it would be very similar to this offering from Klorane. The minute you spray it onto the hair, you feel its luxurious, cashmere-like effects. Its gentle, oat milk-based formula was specifically formulated with sensitive skin in mind and, as such, it's been dermatologically tested. Sore scalps aside, we think it could easily be used on strands that are very prone to grease, too, as we found it particularly effective on day three of not washing our hair.
The only downside with this particular buy is its corn and rice starch-based formula, which does tend to leave white patches if we applied it too closely and quickly (something that's common with dry shampoos). But when spraying from an arm's length and brushing it through, it efficiently absorbed oil from the root without leaving an unsightly residue. We were also very impressed by the price for what feels like a high-end luxury product.
Reasons to buy: Great for sensitive scalps
Reasons to avoid: Can leave some white residue (though this can usually be brushed out)
RRP: £28 for 200ml | Key ingredients: Peptides, mandelic acid
Another quite pricey contender, but this really was one of the most impressive dry shampoos we tested. We'd question if any dry shampoo is really worth a price tag this high, but we reckon this just-about swings it. Offering a lazy route to hair hygiene, this dry shampoo left our hair fresh, volumized, and ultimately with that clean hair feeling.
Counteracting any oiliness with absolute ease, this dry shampoo got to work straight away and doesn't leave a white cast or have any chalkiness. We didn’t have to aggressively brush our hair through to get rid of any residue either and managed to last up to nearly four days without a wash after use. Safe for color-treated, Brazilian blowout-treated, and keratin-treated locks, this dry shampoo will be a godsend for just about anyone and everyone.
Reasons to buy:
Reasons to avoid: Very pricey for the size
RRP: £19.50 for 205ml | Key ingredients: Argan oil, rice starch
Anyone with dark hair who has used dry shampoo will have created a big white patch on their hairline at some point. It’s mainly an issue if your hair is very dark, thick, or textured – or all three. You may have sworn off the stuff altogether, so if that’s the case, we think that this product could change your mind.
We absolutely love this dry shampoo because made our testers' hair feel so clean while providing the right amount of texture and volume to strands. Unlike so many sprays we tried, this one kept our locks looking luminous, which is probably down to its argan oil-based formula. Granted, it does sound counter-intuitive to include oil in a product that’s trying to remove it, but the spray is amazingly light and left our tester very impressed by its touchably soft feel on the hair.
The best bit, in our opinion, is that there is absolutely no chance of creating white patches as it has a dark tint that filters seamlessly throughout your strands. But our blonde testers weren't totally left out, as the brand’s original dry shampoo is tint-free and just as excellent. If you’re reading this and you have lighter-coloured locks, we wholeheartedly recommend you give that one a try.
Reasons to buy: You want a tinted formula with no risk of white patches
Reasons to avoid: You don't have dark hair (although a non-tinted option is available
RRP: £30 for 200ml | Key ingredients: Aloe vera, chamomile, zinc, bisabolol
You know how your hair feels and smells when you leave the salon? The Philip Kingsley brand has managed to capture this in a can. The lightweight solution is brilliant at soaking up oil, with several skin-caring ingredients to counteract any potentially irritating qualities. The brand does stress that dry shampoo isn’t the best product to use if you want to know how to get rid of dandruff, but also understands that most people want to use this kind of product from time to time – which is why they’ve created a product that allows sensitive scalps the chance to use dry shampoo and not feel guilty.
As for its efficacy, even if you told us that this was a regular, non-sensitive formula, we’d still be impressed with it. It’s brilliant at tackling oily roots, there's minimal residue and we had no issues whatsoever with white patches. And as we already mentioned, we’re completely obsessed with its scent.
Reasons to buy: You want an ultra gentle formula
Reasons to avoid: You don't have an itchy/flaky scalp as you won't reap all the benefits
RRP: £27 for 198ml | Key ingredients: Powder removal system, conditioning agents
This is the other Living Proof dry shampoo: Advanced Clean. Think of it as a level-up on its predecessor in terms of cleaning abilities – if you aren't that fussed about your dry shampoo adding volume, and that you just want it to make your hair clean, this is the one of the two to go for.
It is lighter in pretty much every way, from the scent to the formula, with a pretty much undetectable residue. It helps hair retain shine and softness, and shields it from pollution (great if you're a city dweller like many of us at woman&home). Compared to the original, some of us did find that we needed to spray more of the product to achieve the same clean feeling, but it doesn't have the gritty, volume-boosting properties of the original – something those with already-voluminous and/or drier hair will appreciate. The formula also balances scalp sebum levels to keep your strands cleaner for longer. This cinched it for us as the one that gets hair as close to actually washed as possible.
Reasons to buy: You want to refresh without any texturising
Reasons to avoid: You like the lift of traditional dry shampoos
RRP: £20 for 100ml | Key ingredients: Peppermint, corn starch, Aloe vera
This foam-to-powder texture is seriously unique. Despite being formulated by a curly hair brand, this product is suitable for most hair types. After pumping the cloud-like foam into our palms and working into our scalp, we did notice a slight residue on our fingers – but that didn't translate to weighed down hair. After it dried in, the first thing that impressed us about this dry shampoo was its fragrance. The gorgeous scent of mint kept hair smelling glorious all day long and managed to fool everyone (including ourselves) that our hair was truly fresh and clean.
Not only that, but we were also impressed to see that it added natural-looking volume and body to our limp, flat hair. If you are someone that hates gunky product build-up then this dry shampoo will really work for you. Leaving no white cast at all on strands, it genuinely looked like we had just washed our hair.
Reasons to buy: You want something with no white residue and/or tailored to curly hair
Reasons to avoid: You want a traditional spray formula
RRP: £28 for 250ml | Key ingredients: Rice starch
As with all Olaplex products, the dry shampoo contains the brand's patented Bond Building Technology which helps to keep strands strong and healthy. Also featuring rice starch to absorb oil, the formula works to repel odour and pollutants without leaving any white cast. We can't vouch for how much of a difference the bond builder for hair element actually makes to hair health (we'd rely on the deep treatments for that) but it's a brilliant dry shampoo regardless. The truly invisible spray settled into our scalps and gave our hair a new lease of life. It absorbs grease quickly, isn't even the tiniest bit powdery and smells gorgeous.
Providing a large helping of volume and keeping hair fresh for a least a couple of days, this dry shampoo was one of the most impressive we tried. It’s also worth noting that it didn’t weigh our strands down at all, keeping it feeling light as air.
Reasons to buy: You're an Olaplex fan and want a subtle "lift" from your dry shampoo
Reasons to avoid: You're working with a smaller budget
How we tested the best dry shampoos
A selection of dry shampoos tested by our beauty team
As with any of the best hair products, the right dry shampoo for you is one that suits your hair type and needs, so we used several testers to make sure each dry shampoo was trialled on the hair texture it was designed for. Our testing team consists of opinionated, experienced beauty experts who really put the products through their paces, to ensure we really narrowed down the very best products.
We applied each dry shampoo on hair that was at least one-day post-wash (sometimes more than three days) to assess its oil-absorbing powers, then inspected our strands, roots, and scalp at the end of the day for any chalkiness or residue. The options listed below were the undisputed champions of the dry shampoo world – here are the factors we judged them on.
- Packaging: As well as providing a nice aesthetic element, packaging needed to be functional and not damage easily.
- Formula: Were there any unique ingredients within the formula or innovative cleansing tech? These kinds of things scored extra points with our testers.
- Fragrance: Though scent is highly subjective, the best dry shampoo should smell generally good – it is freshening up hair, after all.
- Price: A bigger price tag doesn't necessarily mean a better product,
How often should you use dry shampoo?
This totally depends on how oily your hair gets and how quickly – but the good news is that there's no real limit to how often you use dry shampoo, though you'll need to be mindful of build-up.
"Usage will depend on your hair type and what you have planned that week," says Michael Shaun Corby, hair stylist, and Living Proof global creative director. Though it can vary massively depending on your hair type, texture and routine, "The key is to give your scalp the chance to breathe between washes, especially if the dry shampoo you’re using is predominantly powder-based and doesn’t take care of the 'cleaning.'"
Don't be afraid to reapply, too: "Once you’ve allowed the first application to settle in and do the work, you may notice your hair still feels a bit oily," Corby adds. "Use as much as is needed for your hair type and condition to achieve cleaner, healthier hair for longer."
How to apply dry shampoo like a pro
You might have tried a dry shampoo and decided the white patches weren’t for you, but that could be the way you’re applying it, according to leading hairstylist Lee Stafford. “Try spraying it a little further away, around 30cm (or about 12 inches), as this prevents you from applying excess product and avoids those blasts of powder," he advises.
"Before spritzing, section the hair into two halves. Direct the product onto the roots, pause for a minute (not seconds), and gently massage the formula in," he continues. "Waiting for longer allows the dry shampoo to saturate into the hair instead of sitting on top and creates a more natural effect.”
There's also no limit to how much dry shampoo you use in one session – again, this depends on your hair type and how oily your hair is at the time of spritzing, but you can build up to as much as you feel your hair needs.
Is dry shampoo bad for your scalp?
There’s nothing wrong with using dry shampoo. Just make sure you use the best dry shampoo for your hair type, give your scalp and hair a good clean when you do finally make it to the shower, and introduce yourself to a good scalp care regimen once a week with a scalp mask or massage.
However, while most dry shampoos won’t directly damage your strands, not washing it off properly can create a build-up of product that sits on the scalp and clogs up your pores. Anabel Kingsley, consultant trichologist and brand president at Philip Kingsley explains, “If the oils that secrete from the scalp are not properly washed away, it can provide a perfect breeding ground for dandruff to form. Good scalp hygiene is also essential to hair growth.”
If you do have a sensitive, dry or flaky scalp, proceed with caution. “Even though daily shampooing is the best remedy to relieve dandruff, I understand that people with irritated, flaky scalps are under the same time pressures as everyone else," says Kingsley. "However, these individuals need to use it sparingly and seek a formula that caters to a problematic scalp. Otherwise, it can exacerbate the issue.”
Our expert panel
Annie Milroy is the Beauty Writer for woman&home and other publications. After eight years working in the fashion & beauty industry, she's left the fashion world behind and now writes about everything from lightweight foundations, her favourite perfumes, to natural-looking fake tans.
Lucy Abbersteen is a freelance beauty editor and one of woman&home's contributing beauty editor. With close to a decade of experience in the industry – and with hair as one of her specialisms – she's tested a lot of hair tools on her curly hair during her career. As such, she's also shared her insights on some of the top-rated dryers in this guide.
Anabel Kingsley is a consultant trichologist and the brand president for hair and scalp care brand Philip Kingsley.
Michael Shaun Corby is the Global Creative Director for Living Proof.