I really don’t like washing my hair every day. It takes forever to dry my hair and I try not to use heating tools on it every day if I can avoid it. To give me hair a break and still freshen it up, I sometimes use dry shampoo between washes. It soaks up any oils that the hair follicles create at the roots, and gives it a bit of body too.
Store bought dry shampoos can be expensive, with top brands being as much as $35, but you can make it at home very easily, for less than $2 a jar!
It’s an easy way to cut back some time on your busy mornings, while still having fresh hair. There are two different recipes, one for light or one for dark hair. Both are easy to make and you can customize them with your favourite essential oils.
Dry Shampoo for Light Hair
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 5-10 drops essential oil (e.g. pink grapefruit, lavender, etc.)
Add the cornstarch and baking soda to a small bowl. Add in some drops of essential oil. I went with pink grapefruit for a fresh scent, but lavender would be nice too.
Using a fork, mix it up well.I store it in the bathroom in a small jar, with an old makeup brush to apply it. A shaker jar would work too.
Dry Shampoo for Dark Hair
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 cup cocoa
- 5-10 drops essential oil (e.g. pink grapefruit, lavender, etc.)
Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl.
I packaged it up in an old spice jar.
The holes on the top of the lid make it perfect for sprinkling onto your roots.How to Use Dry Shampoo
Dip your makeup brush into the dry shampoo.
Dab the brush along your roots, in sections. You’ll look like you have wild grey hair, but don’t worry, it will come out.
Let it sit for a couple of minutes to absorb the oil and then brush out. Style as usual. I find that it gives my roots some extra volume as well.
YES! I am definitely going to try this!
I made some for the light hair but I have dark hair! I’m going to make me a batch right now. I love the dry shampoo but not so much when It makes my hair look grey.
Try it with the cocoa powder and you won’t get the same residue. My brunette friend tried it and loves it.
unsweetened cocoa? ..because wouldn’t that ingredient make your hair a bit sticky eventually or something?
No, hence the word “unsweetened”.
Just brush it out and the Greg look goes away.
I get the most compliments when I DON’T shampoo!
Grey, not Greg!
Wow, I’d never thought of using cocoa powder! I’d tried the light hair stuff before, but it always dulled my hair. Definitely going to give this a try. Thank you for sharing, Amanda!
I’d love if you’d come join my How To Tuesday link party, too.
http://housewifehowtos.com/link-party-2/how-to-tuesday-link-party-9/
i want to make some of this, i generally use baby powder on my almost black hair but the key (i have found) is to use it at night before you go to bed and there will be no white residue in the morning. not sure how i feel about having cocoa powder in my hair.
I never thought of putting it in the night before. Great idea!
I gave my brunette friend a batch with the cocoa and she loves it. You can smell the cocoa in the bottle when you’re applying it, but once you let it sit and brush it out, you can’t really smell it.
Baby powder works great too!
My mother always used baby powder and it worked great for her. She’s blond. I, on the other hand, have dark hair and it always made my hair look gray and dark. I never thought of cocoa. Thanks Amanda!
If you exclude the essential oils, will it still work? Is the essential oil just for scent purposes?
Yes, it till still work without essential oil. The oil is really just for scent.
I love this!! I have dark hair and I usually use baby powder to save money but it leaves my hair looking a bit dull and gray. Even the dry shampoos that they sell at the store leave a bit of a gray look. Def going to try this cocoa recipe out!!
There is also a dry shampoo at Sally beauty store that you can purchase for dark hair
This really worked! I never would have believed it! I put it in my blonde hair last night & woke up today with fluffy looking hair. I will use this while traveling this summer – thank you!
I have red hair, close to this color –> (http://coolspotters.com/hair-colors/auburn-hair). Should I make light or dark or make some other adjustment? What do you all think?
My hair is also about that shade of red, I’ve thought about making the mix- with half the baking soda and half the cocoa powder… not too dark/ too light. I plan on trying this tonight about 16 hours from now, I washed my hair about 21 hours ago. I generally wash my hair every other morning. I’ll post here about my results!
Use cinnamon instead of cocoa.
you can use bronzer for red hair….works great.
Try cinnamon instead of cocoa?
So all I have is baking cocoa… Will that work??
Baking cocoa on it’s own may be too clumpy and dark…and you may smell like chocolate for awhile 🙂 Mixing it with the cornstarch helps it brush out. The essential oil is optional – really just for scent.
Does this help to volume too??
Yes, I find that it helps with volume a bit.
So is this instead of shampoo altogether or just to withhold from washing hair for longer periods of time? I’m definitely going to try this, and I can’t believe I never heard of this before!
I have heard of using baby powder to soak up excess oil from the scalp to avoid a few days of washing.
Great post! Thanks =)
Also wondering if this would help with volume too? I use “Powder Play” from “Big Sexy Hair” and it’s quite expensive.
Yes, I find that it helps with volume a bit, but maybe not as much as a store bought product. I’ve never tried those so I’m note sure how it would compare to this.
Powder play has a bit of a tacky-ness to it that this won’t. It will still plump up your hair but not give you as much grip for back combing or hold, which you could use hairspray for.
What does the essential oil do besides for scent? Is it really necessary?
It really is just for scent. It makes the shampoo (and your hair) smell fresh.
I have a cat who hates water and hates the spray sound of an aerosol can. Well, actually it is not really my cat, he is a street cat that comes to my house at about 2am and demands to be fed in a very loud voice. I don’t really mind since I am up at that time anyway, and he is very skinny. I give him some of my spayed house cat’s food, which she is gracious enough to share with him. The thing is that after he eats, he lays all over my furniture with dirty fur. I would love to get him cleaner, but I don’t want to buy expensive dry cat shampoo. I am wondering if this would work on him, or if I would have to change anything.
I just read where essential oils are toxic to cats, so maybe you could use the ingredients minus the essential oil. 🙂
I’m not familiar with how cat dry shampoo works. This basically absorbs the oil and you brush it out. I don’t know if it would deodorize the cat enough or if it would help remove the dirt. You would still need to brush it out of his fur.
If you do try it, please let me know if it works!
Thanks for the info. Just the baking powder might be enough to deodorize him. He doesn’t smell bad. He is white with light yellow, so he probably looks dirtier than other cats. I will come back and post after I do it.
Leave the cat outside to eat! Problem solved! 🙂
Definitely don’t use the cocoa on a kitty, it’s toxic to them.
At walmart they have shampoo spray that u sont have to wash out for cats they also have wipes u can use on them! I use it on my cat and he smells good!
I don’t know that the baking soda or cornstarch since cats groom themselves, it may not be good for them to ingest the amount that would end up left in the hair on the skin. If it were me, I would probably use a damp washcloth with a bit of shampoo, human or cat, if you have it, and just start gently wipe him down, then follow with a plain water cloth to rinse off the small amount of shampoo that would remain.
you can use wheatgrem to clean and deoderise your cat. Make a ball of it in pantyhose and rub him all over. I actually would see an issue with just rubbing it straight into his fur. Corn stach will definitely “bung him up” in the bowel department 🙁 I think wheatgrem would be ok to ingest.
i *WOULDNT* see an issue…….
When the wind blows my cat gets a bit dirtier than she can handle to clean herself. I give her a quick wipe down with baby wipes. Works quick and nothing toxic for her to lick up.
Hey! I’ve recently died my hair a reddish orange from some henna, What would you recommend the light or dark or a combination of both? This sounds like a great idea, if i don’t wash my hair daily it looks like i haven’t washed it for a week I’ve tried to stop this habit so this sounds like a good thing to do every second day as the in between. Thanks!
I would try using the darker version. The lighter one may make it look chaulky.
This is a great way to make your wash last another day. I find that I wash my hair every other day and use a little of this in my hair on the days in between.
try using it with bronzer
Try breaking up an old bit of blush for the ruddy tint instead.
This is amazing, definitely going to make this for myself, why pay more for the shop dry shampoo if you can make it yourself!
I have dark hair so I used the dark shampoo version. I did not add the essential oil to it as I like the cocoa scent. I also used a sifter on mine to make sure it was very smooth.
I loved it! It works better than all the other brands I’ve tried from Bumble and Bumble to drug store brands. It beat them hands down and was much cheaper.
I followed with Got2be Dazzling shine spray to get rid of the overly matte look.
I’m glad that it worked well for you. Great idea ading the shine spray afterwards!
CAn I use baking powder instead of baking soda? gonna try it for the summer break. Hope it works. Thanks x
Baking powder and baking soda have different properties. Baking soda is a known deodorizer, neutralizer and absorbs oil, which is what helps with this dry shampoo. I don’t know if baking powder would have those same properties.
Baking powder is a mixture of baking soda, starch, and cream of tartar. The results in this application should be the same.
This was awesome! I followed the brunette recipe and it worked wonders. I would recommend putting it on the night before as it did make my scalp a little darker, but seeing as this was my first time applying it, I’m sure I could have applied it better.
Read 10 interesting things you probably don’t know about the hair http://www.the-healthiest.com/archives/442
I just use baby powder and it smells good and works awesome!
Where can I find essential oils? Pink grapefruit sounds awesome. But I do have a question; I received a tiny bottle of argon oil with a straightener I bought. Would that work instead of essential oil?
Can I use a corn flour?
no. corn starch is a light powder. corn flour is not as fine
you could try to use regular white flour, i find that works well as long as you blend it in.
Hah! I use the exact same recipe for the dark dry shampoo in the exact same spice bottle. It works fantastically but can get a bit itchy if you apply too much.
I find that applying it with the brush makes it easier to control where it goes. You can keep it on the roots and off your scalp, preventing it from getting itchy.
What a great idea! Pinterest always has some of the greatest projects. I am a use fan of Osis Dry Shampoo, but I’m not a fan of paying $20 for a small bottle. Thanks for the tip!
I am so glad I found this! My fine oily hair thanks you! A little of this applied in the morning and I can finally stop stressing over the greasy look of my hair just a few hour after washing it!
We used to use baby powder and that worked fairly well. But I am going to try this for sure. thank you. I have dark hair, so it will be interesting using the cocoa powder. 🙂
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I’ve tried several different brands of the store bought dry shampoos (even mild Klorane)and I’ve reacted to all of them in burn like patches around my hair line which itch and scale and are unsightly – probably due too many toxic chemicals. Hope this works!!
Cheers,
Christina
I have dark hair and I use a dark shade of face powder or bronzer and it works great too. Any kind of powder will soak up the oils.
Ok im a redhead and i use baby powder but it seems to make my hair white as well. Do you think the cocoa would work for me too or would it be too dark
Depending on the shade of red, you could try the cocoa. Because it is mixed with the cornstarch, it comes out as a light brown and it isn’t noticeable on your roots.
I am a strawberry blonde with some brunette. Recently my hair has been getting lighter, but I used the cocoa recipe without the oils and it made my rich red/brown colors come out! Love this idea because my hair is usually frizzy and dry but starts to get greasy in patches…this works!
I’m glad that you liked it and that it was able to work with your hair colour!
I’m just curious about results for hair that gets extremely oily without washing it every day. I’ve tried dry shampoos before and they make my hair look and feel awful. I have to use it several times a day to get it to look even halfway decent. Is this something I’ll have to use more than once a day?
I don’t think it would hurt to use it more than once a day. I’ve never had to do that myself, but my hair doesn’t get oily until the 3rd day after I’ve washed it.
And for the thick, curly heads do you recommend the same?
I have thick straight hair and it works, but I don’t know how it would be with curly hair. I would suggest making a small test batch and try it once to see how it works.
Can i use this if i have dreadlocks?
I don’t know if you could. It might get quite itchy. It is best to brush it out after you’ve applied it and you can’t brush out dreadlocks.
What kind of cocoa do you use if not baking cocoa? Thanks
You can use “unsweetened” baking cocoa powder.
You can use “unsweetened” baking cocoa. When you mix it w/ a fork it breaks up all the little clumps. I have thick curly hair & I use this. I love the smell of the cocoa powder & lavender oil (5 drops).
This sounds great, but a question for the curlies out there. I’ve never tried dry shampoo because you cannot brush curly hair and expect it to look presentable. How else do you get it out?
You could also try to shake it out of your hair a bit with your hands, or use less of the shampoo, so that it doesn’t create build up on your roots that you can’t brush out.
Just saw this – thanks!
Great article! I made some of the dark hair version, and it worked wonders!!! Better than my more expensive brands!!! Thanks for sharing!
and no one’s gonna try and eat our hair, right?
I love this! My daughter bought some dry shampoo, which I started using and then I read the ingredients – I was shocked. Butane is one of the ingredients…who wants that in their house or in their hair!? Anyway, I like that this recipe has nothing toxic in it for human use. And the cost is pretty awesome, too. Thanks!
I made this this morning as I didn’t feel like I had time to shower. Luckily it is so easy and I already had everything on hand (including cocoa powder that is expired so it’s perfect to put on my hair rather than cook with!). It worked well for a quick fix and was faster to make and use this morning than a shower. I am planning to make a few homemade personal products as stocking stuffers and this just solved what to make for my mom who doesn’t really take time to pamper herself. This time saver is perfect for her! I am thinking of adding rosemary in, as I have to get that anyway for some of the other homemades and my mom and I both LOVE the smell of rosemary. Any thoughts on if rosemary would be weird?
I used it and brushed it out and there is still some in my hair, is that normal or do I keep brushing?
What kind of brush are you using? I find that if I use a wide tooth comb or brush it doesn’t blend in with my hair. I like to use a large paddle brush or scalp brush. Let me know if that helps!
I find that a large tooth comb may not get it all out because it doesn’t get down to the roots. A large paddle brush is good because it gets right to the roots and makes it easier to brush out the dry shampoo. Hope that helps!
You’ll still feel a bit of the powder in your hair and possible at your roots, but for the most part it comes out with regular brushing. I find that a large paddle brush works best.
Another great way to apply it is to put some in your hand and rub in between both palms, then tip your head upside down and rub it in all over. This helps you avoid the grey roots and spreads it out well. I have been making this stuff for a couple of years and just love it!
cant wait to try this
wo
About the one for light hair: I have naturally platinum blonde hair and I have been using this for a really long time. Even if you have extremely light hair, like me, you must mix a teensy bit of cocoa in to give it a little color. If you don’t, your scalp will literally be white.
Great suggestion, Elizabeth! Thanks for sharing. I’ll have to add some cocoa to my next blonde batch and give it a try. I tend to sprinkle it farther from my roots to prevent the white root line, but it isn’t always easy.
This is really awesome. I’d never heard of this before and have shared it out on my social!
x
EWE….NASTY!!
hmmm is it possible to buy cocoa with no scent at all?
or what could I use to substitute it? I relaly don´t like the idea of my hair smelling like chocolate :/
I’ve been using dry shampoo that I bought from the drug store, but I stopped when I noticed the ingredients…propane and butane?! Eeks why would you want to have that on your hair and scalp?! So I started researching organic dry shampoos but didn’t find any that I was satisfied with, I then switched to looking for homemade recipes and came across this one and it looked easy enough. I tried it this morning and I love it! I used peppermint oil for my scent and my hair smells really fresh. I think i’ll try the coco powder in the next batch I make since I’m an auburn/redhead and the light haired recipe does dull my hair a little bit. However it’s not too bad since I’ve discovered that if I let it sit on my hair for 10-15 mins, then massage it into my hair, then brush it out with a boar bristle brush, it brings most of the shine back and my hair looks refreshed! 🙂
Oh, and one more step that I’ve found that helps, that I forgot to mention, is that I use a blow dryer to blow off any excess powder that may still be left on my scalp.
Great idea! I’d never thought of that. I’ll have to try that next time. Thanks for sharing.
Where do I buy essential oil at?
I found it in the health food section of my grocery store. They are also at most health food stores.
Would love to use this but I use hair spray in my hair. This would not remove the spray. It would be nice not having to to wash my hair every day.
If you had black hair could you use charcoal?
I did the brunette version added 6 drops of grapefruit and 1 drop geranium I smell yummy. AND it’s awesome no more gray hair 3/14/14
I love using dry shampoo, the cocoa powder helps a lot. I have added a pinch of turmeric for golden edge , and ground mica for a little glisten, which you could also get from those fine-ground skin- brightening shimmers. Arrowroot powder is awesome as a base , too.
BTW, you can get essential oils at a candy-making place, too, I have used baking flavorings too.
Or you could just spend 5$ on some canned dry shampoo….
Thank you! I can’t wait to try this!
I have chestnut brown hair and have used baby powder since I was 13yrs turning 45yrs in Sept.
tricks I have learned…..
use at night, wont have white spots or grey looking hair.
Sprinkle than blow dry your hair while using fingers to rub out the powder.
use hair perfume or body spray (NO oil perfume) for scent and helps remove white in dark hair.
on down days make sure to use coconut oil, Argan Oil Refined Moroccan any oils to keep healthy hair and scalp..powders dry your scalp..
after 32yrs of using baby powder I still love my baby powder!!
just be smart little goes a long way and always moisturize your scalp.
Is there a recipe for dry shampoo for curly hair?
i cant brush my hair (except before/right after showers) otherwise all the curls open up and my hair is a huge frizzy mess *~*
This is very cool. I have dry scalp though so I’m afraid this will make it worse.
Pߋste très attrayant !!!
What would you say to do if you have blue hair?
Blue hair sounds like fun! I don’t know what you’d use then. I’d be fearful of going with something like koolaid because it could actually change the pigment of the hair or your clothes.
I am so trying this. Small question, do you lose anything by substituting the baking soda for cocoa powder for dark hair? What it is baking soda for?
Could you use arrowroot powder/starch in place of cornstarch?
Wow, I have never used dry shampoo, but it seems it would be perfect for my dark hair. It’s really easy to make, so I will try it out tonight. 🙂 Thanks for the post!
Kindly tell me whether we have to wash our hairs after applying or not?
And if we have to wash it then after how many hours or minutes?