Is baking soda in dry shampoo bad for your hair?

[SpottedBackson]

I was really excited to see that MooGoo has put out a dry shampoo because I Iove their leave-in conditioner. Upon reading the ingredients, however, I discovered that they use baking soda.

I've read that baking soda is really bad for your hair and scalp because it is abrasive and has a very high pH (while scalp and hair are happiest in an acidic environment). I've also seen someone write on the internet somewhere that these two things can ruin the di-sulphide bonds in hair over time, effectively destroying your hair.

Should baking soda in dry shampoo be avoided? It looks to be a common ingredient in dry shampoo though the LHC hair guru Nightshade has one without out it.

[Jo Ann]

I use baking soda mixed with a couple of shampoos (baby shampoo and anti-dandruff shampoo, to be precise) on my hair when I'm fading semi-permanent hair dye. I leave it on for about 30-60 minutes and do find it drying (I use a deep moisturizing treatment afterward), but I haven't noticed any damage from it. I guess you could call it an extreme clarifying treatment, at least how I use it.

People use baking soda as a clarifying agent, but in a lesser concentration and a far shorter time limit than I do. Heck, people use baking soda to clean their teeth, either alone or mixed in with their toothpaste--and baking soda has been used for cleaning teeth for decades. There's other uses, such as mixing baking soda with water to form a paste for cleaning one's skin, treating insect bites, getting rid of heartburn, treating mild burns (such as sunburn) and the like.

I think using a dry shampoo containing baking soda will be OK, but if you notice your hair is getting dry from the dry shampoo, use a moisturizing deep treatment the next time you wash your hair. I doubt you'll suffer any long-term damage from using it.

[Faraniel]

I have only used baking soda in liquid shampoo to remove hair dye and it did dry my hair A LOT.

[MusicalSpoons]

pH only applies to things in solution - i.e., liquids. So dry baking soda is not a pH problem unless you maybe get rained on and thoroughly soaked, or perhaps sweat a LOT.

That said, the abrasiveness may *possibly* be a problem, or it might not. There's really only one way to find out!

FWIW you can make your own using cornflour (cornstarch), arrowroot powder, and/or cocoa powder. Very non-abrasive! But the times I have used cornflour, it dried my hair and scalp out big time; I dare say that's a potential problem with any form of dry shampoo though.

[SpottedBackson]

pH only applies to things in solution - i.e., liquids. So dry baking soda is not a pH problem unless you maybe get rained on and thoroughly soaked, or perhaps sweat a LOT.

I thought about this but realised that it will be in solution every time I wash my hair... and I am a bit of a sweaty betty. I cycle everywhere and run/row here in Australia and there's really no avoiding that.