Dry Shampoo Breakdown
With the onslaught of dry shampoos on the market, I thought that it may be worth while to examine the ingredients and break them down one by one. Dry shampoos have been around for a while but the primary use was for bedridden people for whom traditional methods of washing the hair was an impossible task. A few crafty hair stylists then started using the products while on photo shoots and movie sets to quickly revitalize hair in between takes. Now they are marketed as the ideal shampoo for “people on the go” as well as those who don’t want to wash their hair on a daily basis.
Dry shampoos are basically oil absorbing powders, typically corn or rice starch, with other ingredients included for clever marketing claims. Once the dry shampoo is applied, you have to let it sit for several minutes to absorb the excess oil and then brush it out. Let’s break it down to see what’s doing what!
Laboratoires Klorane Gentle Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk-
Ingredients:
Oryza Sativa (Rice) Starch- natural powder with high oil and fat absorption capacity
Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate- natural polymer that can absorb excess oil without caking
Hectorite- oil absorbing clay
Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Flour- soothing (just in case your hair feels a bit irritated???)
Kaolin- according to the legend, I mean literature, the numerous minerals can gently absorb impurities without removing natural oils
Silica- powder that absorbs oil and reduces “settling” of other powders
Cyclodextrin- ring shaped molecules that can trap and release other molecules. Empty cyclodextrins can trap nasty odors while others can be filled with a fragrance to release a pleasant odor.
Fragrance- self explanatory
This dry shampoo used a combination of oil absorbers to keep the product feeling light and more importantly to increase the efficacy without having the dry shampoo cake up in your hair. As a woman who sometimes wears a natural ‘fro, I’m not too anxious to use a product like this, however it could be useful when I’m wearing a straight ‘do and can easily get a brush through my hair. I’m almost always willing to give a product a fair try!
Later B. spot!
Ni’Kita