Lavenderwalls & Me...: Dry Shampoos Part I: My History with Dry Shampoos and How I Picked My Favorite

Before we close out the day and get ready for the highly anticipated Friday, I wanted to bring to you a topic that is very near and very dear to my heart, and one in which I have a pretty good history with...DRY SHAMPOOS!!!!

Yes, it's very important AND I would like to thank my super gorgeous and amazing friend, Leann, for suggesting a great category of beauty products to discuss and review!

Dry shampoos have been around for the LONGEST time...ever since I was in high school and saw in an issue of InStyle a product called "Psst..." that was (at that time) only $5 and too good to be true!!!! Heart-pumping excitement coursing through my veins is a HUGE understatement. You see, back then and up until a few years ago, I was the girl who habitually washed her hair every...single...day! My hair, in my mind, was SO greasy and god forbid I ever walk out of the house with anything but freshly washed hair. Seeing "magic" in a bottle was like the heaven's gate had parted...

However, there was a problem. "Psst..." and any other dry shampoos (if they even existed back then) was nearly impossible to get your hands on unless you were a licensed beautician or hair care specialist. If it wasn't at Target, Wal-Mart, or even Ulta, there was no way an average person could buy it straight off the shelves...and for that reason, I didn't try.

Fast forward a few years, and I am in college. The thought of dry shampoo as a relevant and necessary component to hair care had become increasingly popular with the rise in publications SCREAMING "Don't wash your hair everyday or it's going to fall off your head"...Okay, your hair won't fall out, but it won't be as healthy and strong. For those that may not have read or seen expert (not me!) advice on washing your hair, you should only do so every 2-3 days, and all for very good reasons. Here are just a few:

I won't get too much into the many benefits and studies that have been conducted on shampooing. There are so many articles out there in magazines and online and if you would like to learn more, I highly encourage you to explore that avenue...'cause it's pretty fascinating (...well, only as fascinating as it can get, right?)

Anyway, I digressed a little... So, back to a few years ago...the theory of dry shampoo was on the rise, accessibility had improved marginally with brands like Oscar Blandi and Frederic Fekkai releasing their versions at higher end retail outlets like Sephora, and also drug store brands putting their take on it not too long afterwards. But here is the issue with all of them...in the early 2000's, product development still had a very long way to go...their products just didn't get the job done.

It wasn't until the latter part of the 2000's (I'd say 2008-ish) that really quality dry shampoos started to make their break into the market and began to regain the attention of people like me...poor little kiddos with greasy, oily hair (I know...I sound like a mess!)

Needless to say, I have tried A TRUCKLOAD of different kinds and brands of dry shampoo and it has been a long and tough journey to eventually come across one that works for my hair type. By no means am I or have I ever been an expert, but I would like to share some tips I have used to discover and pick what has now become my favorite dry shampoos (which will be reviewed in the next post, Part II).

1) ALWAYS...ALWAYS...ALWAYS remember that dry shampoo will NEVER EVER make your hair or you feel at the level of cleanliness like it was just traditionally washed and shampoo. NEVER EVER...You will have to come to terms with this. You will still sense a little "heaviness" and "griminess." HOWEVER, know that dry shampoos are FANTASTIC alternatives and although not the same as washing your hair, I can attest to the fact that if you choose the right one, the difference is barely noticeable!

As an example, I have very long, thick and heavy straight hair. It is dark, but going gray. I color-treat my hair every 2-3 months and recently I have done ombre highlights, so my hair is also drier and more fragile than normal from mid-shaft to ends. I wash my hair every 2-3 days using a sulfate-free shampoo and a hair mask as my normal conditioner. After each wash, I apply a leave-in conditioner all over and hair oil at the ends to maintain the moisture and health at the ends of my hair. I never blow dry my hair (Sorry, Mom!), I rarely use heat tools to style my hair, and my day-to-day styling routine involves a hair brush and dry shampoo between washes.

3) Do your research, read reviews (COMING IN THE NEXT POST!!!), watch videos, read magazines!!! - With today's modes of communication and technology, I feel there should never be a situation where you buy a product without being able to access some sort of feedback and opinion. YouTube, blogs, online articles, friends...all great resources.

4) Don't be afraid to sample and return what doesn't work. - Sephora is FANTASTIC at setting out testers for you to try. If you are ever at the mall, stop by Sephora...apply a little dry shampoo to your roots...go shop for a little and see after an hour how your hair feels. On the other hand, if no testers are available, don't hesitate to purchase and bring back what doesn't work. I have done that numerous times at Target, Ulta, Sephora, etc. You can definitely get your money back.

5) Learn the correct way to use dry shampoo. - This is probably the biggest caveat that is rarely ever explained: Dry shampoo, whether aerosol or powder, takes time to absorb and get working. Depending on how oily your hair is that day and where you are oily affects how the product is to be applied. You want to apply (not too much!) at the roots of where you are 1) oily and 2) where you may need some extra lift. HERE'S THE IMPORTANT PART: Let it sit for AT LEAST 5-10 minutes! Again, you want to give the product time to absorb, so go make a pot of coffee, go get dressed, go put on your make-up, or go read my blog (Boo! Shameless plug!). Once you have let a little time pass, make sure you evenly massage in the product to ensure you don't have any sort of whitecast or residue left...and VOILA!!! You have been dry shampooed!

6) Pay attention to how your hair is reacting to the product throughout the day. - This is also equally important. I have come across a few situations where the dry shampoo I was trying worked well for the first couple of hours, but once the afternoon rolled around, it completely wore off...This could mean that the product is crap, or it could mean that you need to make some adjustments to how much and where you apply the product. Give it a few tries and play with it before you really decide if the dry shampoo is a "Yea" or a "Nay."

7) *LAST, BUT NOT LEAST* Make sure the scent, if any, is something you can live with all day! - I can't tell you how much a scent can overshadow the actual effectivness of a dry shampoo and ruin your impressions of it, and contrary to popular belief, there are more dry shampoos that smell horrible than there are that smell bearable. If there is anything about dry shampoos that have staying power, it is definitely the scent, so make sure you absolutely can devote spending the entire day with that smell following you everywhere you turn.

As you can see, there is a lot that can be discussed regarding dry shampoos and what I have mentioned was just scratching the surface. However, one word that I would say is the summation of what dry shampoo is and has become is NECESSITY.

Hopefully I have provided some good information that you can use when choosing what dry shampoo works for you...and PLEASE stay tuned for the Part II, the next post, for reviews on some of the ones that I have tested. I promise there will be less words, more pictures!!!