Dry Shampoo Alternatives That Actually Work

There's nothing worse than sleeping through your alarm, and since you might not be shampooing daily anyway, you might need a quick fix in the hair department. If you're lucky, you'll have some dry shampoo on your bathroom shelf and can make it to work in time, but if you're out of luck (or out of dry shampoo), you're probably wondering what dry shampoo alternatives exist and whether you have any stashed away somewhere inside your house. Believe it or not, if you're a fan of baking, you probably have the ingredients for the easiest DIY dry shampoo alternative sitting in your kitchen cupboard.

According to Cosmopolitan, dry shampoo can be made at home with rye flour. Depending on your hair color, you may need to add some cacao powder — otherwise, all you need to do is sift it into a bowl, mix, and sprinkle on your hair, focusing on the roots. Be careful not to put too much in your hair as you want to avoid build-up, and just as you would with traditional dry shampoo, use your fingers to rub into your scalp before brushing through with a hairbrush. 

If you don't have rye flour in your cupboard, Well+Good suggests swapping it out for arrowroot powder. Basically, you want a product that soaks up the oil and grease (just like dry shampoo does) and doesn't irritate your skin.

The best part? DIY dry shampoo alternatives are generally more safe for use than any spray you can pick up at your local drug store. As dermatologist Dr. Libby Rhee told Well+Good, "Since most people use dry shampoo as a means to extend their blowouts or decrease washing and subsequent heat styling — not the sole means to cleanse their hair and scalp — this intermittent use of natural dry shampoo ingredients is a great choice." 

However, whether you're using traditional dry shampoo or a more natural DIY alternative, it's important to remember not to overdo it, no matter how well it's working. "After you've used it three times, it's probably time to really wash your hair," Dr. Carolyn Goh, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, told Today.