Favorite things: Dry Shampoo!

My handle on Twitter and Instagram is @HairflipMeghan. This tends to be a little bit of a tipoff that I have big hair. Not crazy out-of-control big. Not even curly afro big. Just voluminous. I also have a tendency to play with my hair in public. I guess it's a bit of a nervous habit. I started doing it in the forth grade and have kept it up consistently since then: running my fingers through it, twisting it around my fingers, moving it from one shoulder to the other, etc. etc.
I love my hair. I also do very little to it besides the flipping and the fiddling. It's awfully hard to do a "Notice Me" hair toss worthy of shampoo commercial status when it's tightly pulled into a braid or bun. Because of this, I leave my hair down 90% of the time. (It's also possible that I do this because my styling skills are amateur, at best.)

Lately, my saving grace hair-wise has been dry shampoo. I'm obsessed. It's basically this powder that comes in an aerosol can that you spray into your scalp. It absorbs excess oil so your hair looks fresher longer. As someone who tries to wash her hair as infrequently as I can get away with, dry shampoo is my absolute favorite and something I try to always have in my purse. Greasy hair is gross and regardless of where you actually ended up the night before, no one want to look like they woke up in a dumpster in Connecticut. Basically, dry shampoo is the most important thing I keep on my bathroom counter. However, a lot of dry shampoos are ridiculously expensive and when you use a product multiple times of day, you've kinda gotta make sure you can afford it.

Here are my favorites!

1. Suave Professionals
I purchase this in bulk. They sell it in almost any drug store and always have it in stock at Target. I love this one because it's so freaking cheap and works like a charm. Admittedly, You have to use quite a bit of it (which is also probably why I buy four or five bottles at a time.) However, when it costs under $3, you can't really get too upset. Plus, the scent is totally fantastic: unique but not overwhelming and vaguely citrus. This is definitely my go-to.

2. Another brand that does dry shampoo well is Dove.
I am already a huge junkie for Dove products. I use their body wash, deodorant, and conditioner, so adding their dry shampoo into the mix was a natural choice. I feel like Dove always cranks out consistent quality and this is no exception. More expensive than the suave version, but each can lasts longer because you don't need nearly as much spray to absorb the same amount of oil. My only beef with this one is the smell. Its a little too "clean" for me and smells like baby powder. Not terribly sexy. However, scent preferences vary pretty drastically from person to person so I'm sure lots of people love the smell. I've also found that this leaves the most white residue which is a problem since my hair is fairly dark.

3. Just recently, I tried the "Not Your Mother's.." version and really like this one too. It goes on light and airy, and absorbs oils without adding too much heft or weight. Even the scent is miraculously absent. This one is a little bit more expensive and a little bit less exciting than the other two but is totally effective. I've only used it a couple times so far but I will definitely be trying this one again.


A couple of bonus tips:

• For the most dramatic volume, shake your head upside down afterwards while rubbing the powder into your scalp with your hands. Don't brush through your hair with a comb afterwards like it says on the bottle because you will lose most of the bounce and end up with sad limp hair. Totally oil-free but still sad and limp.  
• Also, if you have dark hair like me, make sure to check for white residue before you leave the house. 
• Lastly, always wash your hands after rubbing the dry shampoo into your scalp. The powdery texture feels great in your hair but super weird when touching anything else. 

Happy Hairflipping!