If your hair is oily or needs refreshing in the middle of the day or you just don't have time for a shower, try this great recipe for homemade dry shampoo.
What Dry Shampoo Does
Ingredients
As I said earlier, there are several ingredients you can use to make a dry shampoo. While they all work well, some are better than others. For instance, orrisroot powder, a popular fragrance preservative, is effective but has such a fine consistency that many people have trouble removing it from the hair completely. Another example is large grain salt. Again, it will do an adequate job but tends to cling to very oily hair. Instead of these, I would suggest trying ground grains. Considered the ultimate dry shampoo, corn meal does is superior at grabbing dirt. Its consistency makes it fairly simple to brush out of the hair, and many of its users say it makes the hair glossier. Other ingredients you can experiment with include ground oatmeal, semolina flour, talcum powder and cornstarch.
Recipe and Alterations
The basic recipe for dry shampoo simply calls for two tablespoons of your chosen ingredient. If you have long hair, you may need up to double this quantity to get the best results, whereas people with very short hair may only need half a serving. Some people enjoy combining two types of ingredients to make their shampoo, one being a larger grain and the other being a fine powder. In this way, they maximize the mixture's abilities to absorb oil and grab dirt. One example of this would be to use one tablespoon of corn meal and one tablespoon of cornstarch. You might also like to add hair-nourishing additives to the basic dry shampoo recipe. For this purpose, the best choices are essential oils. Some of these concentrated herbal extracts are believed to strengthen, add shine, and enhance hair growth. To incorporate them into your recipe, start with the basic two-ingredient formula. Put the finer ingredient in a dish, add three to four drops of your chosen oil, and blend the mixture until the oil is evenly distributed. Next, stir in the coarser ingredient and store the blend in an airtight jar.
How to Use It
Once you have made your dry shampoo, you can get to the fun of using it. Let me first caution you that these powdery cleansers can get messy, so either apply it over the sink or be prepared to sweep up afterwards. Begin by pouring one serving of shampoo to the top of your head. Rub it into your scalp for a few seconds. Then, use a brush to move it through the length of your hair. If you like, you can put a piece of cotton or gauze on your brush to catch more of the powder. Once your hair is completely powdered, let the shampoo sit for five to ten minutes. Flip your head over the sink and brush from roots to tips until all of the powder is removed. Your hair will look clean and healthy instantly.
Even if you do not fit the usual criteria for a dry shampoo user, you can still have fun with this recipe. It is great for those lazy Saturdays when you just don't feel like taking a shower. It is also good for people with dry hair since it decreases how often you are exposed to drying water. The only unpleasant side effects of dry shampooing are the mess and the potential for frizzy hair. If you have this problem, you can tame it by spraying your hair with water or running a wet comb through it after cleansing. Make some to take on the road or keep a jar of it in your purse. After all, you never know when you might need dry shampoo to save you from a bad hair day.
