Dry shampoo, damaging? Advice please

**cdonald2** · August 3rd, 2014, 11:56 AM

Today i used some dry shampoo on my hair. It was Pantene, i was wondering, does anyone know if dry shampoo damage your hair? I almost prefer it to cleansers but i dont want to keep using it if it is damaging. Any advice?

**longhairvixen** · August 3rd, 2014, 12:35 PM

i think that is damaging. it has alcohol that dries out your hair you should make homemade dry shampoo. just take cornstarch and powder your hair so it absorbs the oils then brush it out. if you have dark hair mix it with unsweetened cocoa powder. here is a recipe

http://www.instructables.com/id/homemade-dry-shampoo/

**kitana97** · August 3rd, 2014, 01:08 PM

Check out NightBloomings dry shampoo https://www.etsy.com/listing/1215062...ref=listing-10. I can't recommend it enough - it's the best dry shampoo I've ever used and it gets bonus points in my book for being all natural. It helps me stretch my washes by a few days.

**Caldonia Sun** · August 3rd, 2014, 01:28 PM

I second kitana97's endorsement of NightBlooming's dry shampoo. Very nice product and I don't think it's damaging unless you brush it out of your hair too carelessly.

**Firefox7275** · August 3rd, 2014, 01:30 PM

If you spray from a distance the alcohol evaporates quickly, I would have thought the sebum confers some sort of protection. A microscope experiment on the Sciencey Hairblog found that alcohol caused visible damage only when the hair was wetted with it IIRC. I find Batiste wiped off with a soft microfibre towel leaves me with glossy roots, and stretching washes must reduce hygral fatige (water damage) to older porous ends.

**torrilin** · August 3rd, 2014, 05:30 PM

I've never used a hairspray style dry shampoo product, so I can't speak to how drying they are. The issue with alcohol in hair products is not just for damaging the hair. Alcohol can be drying for your skin as well, and scalps are covered in skin. Some people have a lot of trouble with this, others have much less. For me, the alcohol would probably aggravate my dry skin, so it wouldn't be a good idea. For some hair types, brushing heavily to get all the residue out can be a problem too.

As a teen, I'd use baby powder and brush it out. It works fine, tho the white powder was visible on my dark hair if I wasn't careful. Other posters have recommended cocoa powder as an alternative that works better for dark hair. You can also find recipes online (here and in various online archives) for "airing powder", which is probably what my great grandmother would have called dry shampoo. She was born in the late 1880s or 1890s, so late Victorian and Edwardian beauty books would have been what she grew up with.

I'd class dry shampoo as being reasonably non damaging.

**sarahthegemini** · August 4th, 2014, 03:07 PM

Unless you're spraying your entire head of hair with a can of dry shampoo each time, I can't see how it would be damaging - just make sure when you do.wash, you wash your hair thoroughly.

Eta: Oh and don't mercilessly comb/brush it out. Use a soft towel to wipe away the excess (tip from Firefox)

**sarahthegemini** · August 4th, 2014, 03:12 PM

Originally Posted by Firefox7275

If you spray from a distance the alcohol evaporates quickly, I would have thought the sebum confers some sort of protection. A microscope experiment on the Sciencey Hairblog found that alcohol caused visible damage only when the hair was wetted with it IIRC. I find Batiste wiped off with a soft microfibre towel leaves me with glossy roots, and stretching washes must reduce hygral fatige (water damage) to older porous ends.

So the alcohol doesn't actually reach the hair?

**cdonald2** · August 4th, 2014, 04:25 PM

wow

thanks for all the info. I ordered some of the dry shampoo and im hoping it will work out well

**meteor** · August 4th, 2014, 05:11 PM

Originally Posted by Firefox7275

If you spray from a distance the alcohol evaporates quickly, I would have thought the sebum confers some sort of protection. A microscope experiment on the Sciencey Hairblog found that alcohol caused visible damage only when the hair was wetted with it IIRC. I find Batiste wiped off with a soft microfibre towel leaves me with glossy roots, and stretching washes must reduce hygral fatige (water damage) to older porous ends.

I'm super-curious about this, Firefox! I seem to remember something like this: if you soak hair in something containing alcohol it's damaging, but if you let it evaporate quickly, it's fine. Is that correct?
Or, if you re-wet your hair later (high humidity, rain, misting hair), will it be damaging or should we assume that all alcohol has evaporated at that point? I only have these doubts because I know that hair always has some water in it, so it might hold on to some alcohol...