Best Dry Shampoo: The 2024 Glam Beauty Awards
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Despite its name, dry shampoo is good for more than just cleansing your tired tresses. Adding volume, separating strands, and refreshing roots are just a few of this haircare staple's other perks. That's why so many beauty fans love the stuff — in addition to helping you skip wash day, it can also add some serious oomph to your style. Still, there's nothing worse than buying dry shampoo only to find that it's not at all compatible with your hair type. Use the wrong product, and you'll be left with locks that are limp, greasy, or stringy. In other words, a bad dry shampoo can have exactly the opposite of its intended effect.
So how do you find your way to the best dry shampoos out there? Well, not by adding another dud to the haircare graveyard — you know, that bottom shelf bucket in your bathroom where the flops go to rest. Instead, I've taken care of that tiresome process for you. While searching for dry shampoos worthy of the 2024 Glam Beauty Awards, I tested many of the top haircare products on the market. After scoring them on factors like texture, value, and "shampooing" capabilities, I was able to narrow the competition down to five winners. No matter what your budget or hair type is, you're sure to find your new favorite amongst these top scorers.
Best Overall Dry Shampoo: Eva NYC Freshen Up Invisible Dry Shampoo
Founded in 2012, Eva NYC is a sustainable haircare brand from Brooklyn, New York that offers an impressive range of products. Using eco-friendly ingredients, unique fragrances, and colorful packaging, the brand has earned a rightful place at the top of the haircare pack. In the past, I've used Eva NYC's sea-lavender-infused Lazy Jane Air Dry Collection with fantastic results — so I looked forward to seeing how this brand's dry shampoo might fare. The Freshen Up Invisible Dry Shampoo is packaged in 100% recyclable aluminum, meaning you can recycle it alongside your soda cans. It's also safe to use on processed hair, and contains natural plant extracts like rice starch and argan oil to soften your strands.
When searching for the best dry shampoo, I used several criteria to find an overall winner. In terms of everything from its value to its cleansing properties, Eva NYC completely surpassed my expectations. It quickly absorbed oil with no greasy residue, no matter how liberally I sprayed it on. After you spray it, you'll notice that Freshen Up has a very unique, powdery-sweet scent with pretty substantial staying power. According to the brand, this signature fragrance consists of plum, freesia, and Bourbon vanilla notes, just to name a few. The blend is a definite mood booster, but it's worth noting that it may clash against some perfumes or colognes.
Purchase Eva NYC Freshen Up Invisible Dry Shampoo from Ulta for $15 at the time of writing.
Best Dry Shampoo for Colored Hair: Moroccanoil Dry Shampoo
One of dry shampoo's few downsides is that it can leave a film of white dust on your scalp and roots. This may not be a problem if you're silver or platinum blonde, but the rest of us have to put in serious work to avoid looking dusty. Of course, some manufacturers have picked up on our pain and delivered customized solutions. Moroccanoil's Dry Shampoo, for example, is a product that's available in both dark and light tones to suit different sides of the color wheel. Hoping to find my dry shampoo shade match once and for all, I went with the Dark Tones option for just over $25.
Moroccanoil's Dry Shampoo did an excellent job at freshening up my tresses and managing to blend with my natural brunette hair. It has a somewhat cool, chocolate-brown color, though it isn't nearly as opaque as something like a root touch-up spray. It would be nice to see more options for redheads and other distinctive hair colors, but I think Moroccanoil knocked it out of the park with this formula. It certainly gives you that fresh-from-the-salon feeling, leaving behind a sophisticated scent and a satiny, featherweight feel.
Purchase Moroccanoil Dry Shampoo (available in Light or Dark Tones) from Sephora for $26.
Best Luxury Dry Shampoo: IGK First Class Charcoal Detox Dry Shampoo
You might have heard of IGK Hair through subscription services like Ipsy, or seen it on the shelves at stores like Sephora. Either way, there's something to be said for this hairstylist-founded brand's dry shampoo collection. According to many of its fans, it's the only thing that works on fine, super-greasy strands. IGK offers three types of flight-themed dry shampoos, including Jet Lag, which dries to an invisible finish, and Direct Flight, a multitasking matcha variety. Last but not least is the First Class Charcoal Detox Dry Shampoo, which I picked up for $32. The 6.3-ounce can is fairly hefty, but so is its price tag. That's right: IGK's was the most expensive dry shampoo I tested, hands-down. Thankfully, I got my money's worth with this high-flying product.
Unfortunately for wallets everywhere, the old adage that you get what you pay for is true with the First Class Charcoal Detox Dry Shampoo. I'm all for using budget buys whenever possible, but this dry shampoo mops up grease like absolute magic. On top of that, it can quickly volumize your hair without adding any weight whatsoever. In addition to purifying charcoal, the styling spray also contains white tea extract to help soothe the scalp. Ultimately, IGK's First Class Dry Shampoo formula proved to be an all-around favorite — I just wish it were a little more reasonably priced.
Purchase IGK First Class Charcoal Detox Dry Shampoo from Sephora for $32.
Best Budget Dry Shampoo: Handmade Heroes Drop Dead Gorgeous Dry Shampoo
There are many reasons to seek out non-aerosol dry shampoos, whether you're looking for something safer or you simply detest the smell of aerosol sprays. Of course, powder-based dry shampoo can be a bit trickier to dispense than its sprayable cousin. But don't let this stop you from giving it a try. With the help of Handmade Heroes, a natural beauty line founded by entrepreneur Lynsey Lim, it's easier than ever to make the switch to shakeable dry shampoo. The company's Drop Dead Gorgeous Dry Shampoo soaks up impurities with invigorating ingredients like charcoal powder and kaolin clay — plus, it perfumes your hair with natural scents that include lavender and peppermint.
Just like aerosol products, powdered dry shampoos can sometimes miss the mark. Yet Handmade Heroes did an excellent job of absorbing dirt and oil, and I loved that it came in three shade selections to suit dark, light, and blond hair colors. As a brunette who prefers non-aerosol dry shampoos, it's nice to skip all the excess brushing I normally do to avoid looking like a powdered donut. Best of all, the Drop Dead Gorgeous Dry Shampoo is super affordable at only $10 per canister. It's also easy to carry in my bag and keeps my hair fresh and clean all day with no chalky buildup or residue.
Purchase Handmade Heroes Non-Aerosol Dry Shampoo from Amazon for $10.
Best Dry Shampoo for Travel: I Dew Care Mattifying Dry Shampoo Powder
Ever since I heard about dry shampoo recalls, I've kept tabs on the best non-aerosol alternatives to use instead. There are plenty of travel-sized dry shampoos out there, but few are as well-designed and, well, adorable as I Dew Care's Tap Secret Mattifying Dry Shampoo Powder. Aside from its starry, smiling logo, there's so much to love about this pocket-sized shampoo dispenser. I Dew Care is sustainably formulated and it's also quite reasonably priced. In fact, at the time of writing, it's just over $12 per tub. To sweeten the deal, it even comes with a neat powder puff applicator, so you can say "bye-bye" to the days of dusty fingerprints while getting ready.
I adore Tap Secret's packaging, since it's the perfect size to pop into your makeup bag — and what's inside may be even better. It doesn't come in multiple shades, but this super-fine powder is virtually invisible thanks to lightweight ingredients like silica, mica, and charcoal. As a bonus, Tap Secret's formula also features revitalizing extracts, including biotin and black ginseng, to stimulate the scalp and promote healthy hair growth. And I can't stress enough how easy it is to use its powder puff — genius! All in all, this compact styling product is highly deserving of its win in the 2024 Glam Beauty Awards.
Purchase Tap Secret Mattifying Dry Shampoo Powder from I Dew Care for $12.80 at the time of writing (regularly priced at $18).