The Truth About Dry Shampoo…

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Let me preface this by saying I LOVE dry shampoo. It has completely changed the way I do my hair. I can go longer between washes, it gives my super fine hair some much needed texture, it refreshes my hair and makes it smell amazing and is one of the best hair products out there. All of that being said, today I am here to tell you the truth about dry shampoo. My truth anyway. Let’s get started shall we?

Way back when I was in high school and college I was an everyday hair washer. I straightened my lions mane every day with my Chi flat iron and never used a heat protectant…in my defense no one used heat protectant back then. Fast forward to respiratory therapy school and starting clinical and I was stressed to the MAX. Getting up early to wash and style my hair every day was not on my agenda so I started washing every other day. I continued to be an every other day washer until a few years ago when I discovered that magical stuff called dry shampoo!!

OGX argan oil of morocco dry shampoo | OGX coconut miracle oil dry shampoo
OGX biotin & collagen dry shampoo | OGX teatree & mint dry shampoo

Dry shampoo literally changed my life. I can now go daaaaaays between washings and my hair still looks good! Now I only wash it twice a week, at the most (gross, but true!). I love love love me some dry shampoo. I have blogged about it several times and in fact this post on the difference between dry shampoo and texturizing spray is one of my most popular posts to date. You can also check out my posts on how I use it for curly hair, as a part of my super fine hair must haves, in my how to fake a blowout at home post and of course in a post all about my favorite dry shampoos. I told you I loved me some dry shampoo! HA!!

living proof perfect hair day dry shampoo | redken pillow proof two day extender
drybar detox dry shampoo | big sexy hair dry shampoo

All of that being said my hair has been feeling “off” for the past couple of weeks and I read an article somewhere online that talked about the overuse of products like dry shampoo and texturizing spray and how they were damaging to hair. At first I blew it off thinking they just wanted to sell me on whatever fancy shampoo/conditioner/hair treatment they were pimping but the more I thought about it, the more sense it made.

Essentially the more crap you spray on your hair…hair spray, dry shampoo, texturizing spray, etc…and the less often you wash it the more all of that junk builds up. Makes sense, right? So for fun I tried washing my hair every other day for a few days and then every three days since then and it is amazing how much better my hair feels. My scalp doesn’t feel so wonky and my hair seems like it’s much more manageable. Now my hair always looked really good no matter how long I went without washing it but my scalp didn’t like it and now that I’m back to washing it semi-more frequently it feels better.

I know some of you are thinking “gah lady, it’s not rocket science, it’s hair. of course it feels better when it’s clean.” I know, I know. I feel silly even writing this post but I feel like I needed to get it out there.

I fully believe that washing every day is bad for hair because it strips away all the natural oils on your scalp. But I also believe that going too long between washes and relying solely on dry shampoo to get you through can be just as bad with all of the product buildup and causes a dry, itchy scalp (aka DANDRUFF).

So what to do? Start by trying to only go three days between washes. That’s what I did and it worked great! You should also invest in a good, clarifying shampoo and conditioner that really gets to the root of the problem (pun intended), removes all of the product build up and gets that scalp CLEAN. Some of my favorite products for that are this set from drybar, On The Rocks Clarifying Charcoal Shampoo and On the Rocks Lightweight Replenishing Conditioner.

And when I’m going more budget friendly I like this Hask set…Charcoal with Citrus Oil Purifying Shampoo and Charcoal with Citrus Oil Purifying Conditioner.

Basically I like anything with charcoal to really get my scalp clean. LOL!!

So if you are like me and your scalp is feeling a bit wonky/off then my suggestion to you is to get some good clarifying/purifying shampoo and conditioner and wash your hair a tad more frequently. It really works y’all!!

Now will I always wash my hair every three days? No. I will wash it when it starts to feel off but I like the schedule that I’m on right now. So we shall see!!

Do you use dry shampoo??