How To Make Dry Shampoo – Easy 5 Minute Recipe With Safe, Natural Ingredients
You’re about to learn how to make dry shampoo powder that’s perfect for refreshing a dirty hair and scalp between washes.
I personally like to wash my hair once a week with homemade soap for sensitive skin or a shampoo bar. I’m definitely on the greasy side, so I’m oily by mid-week if not sooner.
Usually, a ponytail or bun will hide dirty hair well (dirty hair is better for any type of updo than freshly washed hair is). But using a dry shampoo is a nice way to soak up excess oil if you want cleaner, smoother looking hair prior to your next wash.
Most options for dry shampoo that you’ll find on the market are aerosols chock full of ingredients you want nowhere near your body, much less in your lungs (you breathe it in because the chemicals end up in the air all around you during use). Several large name brands have voluntarily recalled their dry shampoo sprays due the presence of benzene, which causes cells to “not work correctly,” leading to a host of pretty scary symptoms.
Here’s a MUCH safer alternative that will take you just minutes to make.
How To Make Dry Shampoo Powder – The Easiest Recipe You’ll Make All Year
TOOLS/EQUIPMENT
- Scale that has the ability to measure in grams
- Clean, dry airtight jar
- Optional: desiccant gel pack
NOTE: A desiccant gel pack will help to absorb moisture from the air, keeping your product fresher for longer. You’ll often find these in packaged foods, and they can sometimes be cleaned and reused for projects like this.
INGREDIENTS
NOTE: Some ingredients are measured in grams. For each ingredient, please see corresponding notes below.
- 3 Tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot powder
- 1 Tbsp cocoa powder
- 0.425g essential oils
SOME THOUGHTS ON SELECTING INGREDIENTS
CORNSTARCH VS ARROWROOT POWDER FOR DRY SHAMPOO
You have the option of choosing between cornstarch and arrowroot powder for this recipe. Which one should you choose, and why?
I personally prefer to use arrowroot powder because some say that cornstarch will clog pores.
Yet cornstarch is cheap and easy to find. You probably have some in your kitchen cabinet right now, which most people won’t be able to say about arrowroot powder. Arrowroot powder also happens to be more expensive.
Knowing these factors, choose what works best for you and your situation.
ADJUSTING AMOUNT OF COCOA POWDER TO MATCH YOUR HAIR COLOR
The cocoa powder in this recipe is purely here to add color.
If your hair is very very blonde, you may want to try this recipe without any cocoa powder to start, test it out on yourself, and gradually add more until you reach your desired color
If you have medium to darker colored hair, start w/ what I have, test it out on yourself, and add more if you want it darker.
You can get really flexible about the amount of cocoa powder used in this recipe.
The powder will never be a perfect match your hair color, so don’t worry about trying to achieve that. Not gonna happen.
ESSENTIAL OILS
The essential oils I listed below are safe to use neat (undiluted). This is important because essential oils are so concentrated that many of them can cause skin irritation and reactions if not diluted with a carrier oil.
Feel free to use a single essential oil or turn the oils I listed into a blend. If you’re creating a blend, ensure that you use the correct amount of the final blend (0.425g) in your dry shampoo.
- Lavender essential oil
- Tea tree essential oil
- Frankincense essential oil
INSTRUCTIONS
- If you’re using a desiccant gel pack, place it into the bottom of your airtight jar.
- Measure out your dry ingredients directly into the jar
- Add your essential oil
- Cap jar and shake well to mix
HOW TO STORE YOUR DRY SHAMPOO
Store your dry shampoo right in your mixing jar.
Cover it tightly between uses to prevent moisture from the air from reaching your product, especially if you’re storing this in your bathroom.
HOW TO USE DRY SHAMPOO
The best way to use dry shampoo is to VERY LIGHTLY dip a fluffy makeup brush into the powder. You want to pick up just the slightest amount of product because a little goes a long way.
Brush the product in your hair part and anywhere else you want to absorb excess oil.
Use the fluffy makeup brush on your fingers to work the product in until it’s no longer visible.
