DIY Dry Shampoo For Healthy Hair

Ever had a bad hair day? Your shampoo/conditioner set may be the culprit. A common complaint of store bought shampoos is they contain harmful chemicals that can harm your hair and weigh it down. Over time, it can contribute to those dreaded bad hair days. A remedy to this can by dry shampoo. A friend of mine who owns a hair salon swears by using dry shampoos. She says it pumps up the volume, adds lift and absorbs excess oil. She also mentioned that using dry shampoo on only your bangs will allow you to go longer without shampooing. This, in turn keeps your hair healthier.

Dry shampoos are available at stores, but are a snap to make at home and would be a great product to know how to make in case your water sources are scarce or contaminated from a disaster. There are a few different commonly found household items that can be used as the base ingredient for absorbing the oils in hair. Some popular items used are: arrowroot powder (aka arrowroot starch or arrowroot flour), baking soda, baby powder, foot powder, cocoa powder and cornstarch. Those with lighter colored hair should use bases that are light, and those with darker colored hair can use darker bases such as cocoa powder.

The directions below call for arrowroot powder, but you can use any of the listed base ingredients.

In a bowl, simply add all dry ingredients and mix to combine. Then, add 5 drops of your favorite essential oil (some of my favorites are lavender and peppermint). Using a funnel, add mixture to an empty loose powder container or an empty salt shaker. The salt shaker will help you disperse the dry shampoo minimally onto the hair. Remember, if you have dark hair and don’t want to have a grey halo on your head, add cocoa powder to replace any of the white powder bases mentioned in the recipe above with cocoa powder. If you want to add more fragrance to your dry shampoo, you can add dried flowers such as lavender or rose petals to the mixture. Then add the mixture to an empty jar with a tight lid. Keep the jar in a dry, cool and dark place for 2 to 4 weeks.

How To Use It

1. Apply a small amount of dry shampoo with a large makeup brush or using your hands and lightly powder scalp. Keep in mind that a little goes a long way, so work it in with your fingers.
2. Leave the shampoo on your hair for a few minutes to activate. If you see small greyish/white balls in your hair, then the dry shampoo is working. It is connecting to the oil on the hair follicles.
3. Use a fine tooth brush and brush your hair to remove the shampoo.

Whether you need a quick fix for a camping trip or want to stock up for a time where your water supply could be turned off, the diy dry shampoo mix is great, natural and makes your hair feel and smell great.

Tess Pennington is the editor for ReadyNutrition.com. After joining the Dallas chapter of the American Red Cross in 1999, Tess worked as an Armed Forces Emergency Services Center specialist and is well versed in emergency and disaster management and response. Tess is the author of The Prepper’s Cookbook: 300 Recipes to Turn Your Emergency Food into Nutritious, Delicious, Life-Saving Meals. When a catastrophic collapse cripples society, grocery store shelves will empty within days. But by following Tess’s tips for stocking, organizing, and maintaining a proper emergency food supply, your family will have plenty to eat for weeks, months, or even years.