DRY SHAMPOO
We find dry shampoos a boon, not only for days when you can’t-find-time-slash-can’t-be-arsed to shampoo, condition, dry and style your hair, but also more frequently aiming a zoooosh at the root area to deliver instant volume and va-va-voom. Three notable winners, for 2022.
There have been countless new versions launched in the past couple of years – there's a bit of a gold rush going on, actually, especially at the more luxury end of the haircare market. We're delighted to point you in the direction of winning examples which really do the business, according to the 10-women tester panels who put these through their paces
GOLD AWARD and BEAUTY STEAL (JOINT) Batiste Naturally Dry Shampoo Green Tea & Chamomile
We always sneakily love it when a really affordable product romps home with a Gold Award. These guys are market leaders: for aeons, they were pretty much the only game in town, when it came to dry shampoo – and it’s good to see they’re as well-loved as ever. The range is absolutely VAST, but it was this version – with a light, fresh scent from 100% natural green tea and chamomile extracts – which wowed our testers. Shake before use, they advise, before spraying sections from a distance of 30cm. One important advance: Batiste’s new cans use 40% less packaging. Bravo for that, too, guys!
£4.25 for 200ml - click to buy
OUR TESTERS’ COMMENTS:
‘Liked this way more than I expected to. I’ve never really used dry shampoo as I thought it was for greasy hair and mine is very dry, but it’s something I’ll be investing in – it looks really natural and lasts the day’ • ‘Liked the fresh-floral fragrance, which left my hair smelling just clean’ • ‘Literally saves me so much time! I have very thick medium length hair which quite frankly is a pain to wash dry and style; dry shampoo allows me to revive my hair, removing the greasy roots and giving my hair a midweek freshen up and you wouldn’t know I’d used dry shampoo’ • ‘Handy in an emergency or when on holiday or short of time’ • ‘Whilst my hair is not oily, it does look a bit rubbish between washes as it gets somewhat frizzy and curls in all the wrong places. Once I used this product it looked so much better: smoother, less frizzy and even with a hint of a shine, which is difficult to achieve on blonde hair’ • ‘I found this a real-life saver. I have used this brand for many years and find it reliable "does what it says on the tin”’ • ‘Fragrance was pleasant and not too strong, leaving my hair shiny and less frizzy’ • ‘No white residue left in my thick (dyed) brunette hair, but more volume and definitely a reduction in oiliness’ • ‘A grease-shifting game-changer!’
£4.25 for 200ml - click to buy
SILVER AWARD and BEAUTY STEAL (JOINT) Klorane Flax Dry Shampoo
Klorane won a Gold Award in this category last year with their minty-fresh Detox Dry Shampoo, but it was another from the same range that impressed this year’s tester cohort. It combines organic flax fibre with ultra-absorbing rice powder (the powders are 100% natural), targeting anyone with fine, limp hair or who’s simply looking for added volume. It texturises, absorbs excess sebum, lift roots – and much-loved French brand Klorane promise eight-hour volume and hold, after just two minutes’ effort. Their packaging is recyclable and the flax extract at the heart of this product is grown in Klorane’s own organically certified fields.
£9.50 for 150ml - click to buy
OUR TESTERS’ COMMENTS:
‘I'm quite a fan of dry shampoo generally, but this has such a fine mist application that it's much easier to brush into hair after application than most, with no a powdery residue. It's a lifesaver on a rushed day’ • ‘Several of my colleagues complimented me on how great my hair looked, which made me very happy! The effects are quite long-lasting, too; it certainly looks good for at least 24 hours’ • ‘My hair looks healthy and refreshed – not glossy, but not dry or dull. It's quite bouncy and full, and I found it great if hair had been a bit limp’ • ‘I really like this product and will replace my normal dry shampoo with it. My favourite thing about it is very delicate scent and lack of chalky finish on my hair – plus my hair doesn't feel like I used dry shampoo; it's still soft and fresh’ • ‘This gave better results than my usual product as it gave a volume that I don’t usually get. It has a fresh pleasant fragrance and is quick and easy to use, and I was impressed that my hair continued to look fresh and clean for the next 24 hours’ • ‘I liked the fragrance as it is very subtle but very fresh. Does the job of de-greasing your hair, doesn't leave hair white, smells great, feels light, feels less chemical-like than other dry shampoos – gives body to hair! What’s not to love?’
£9.50 for 150ml - click to buy
BRONZE AWARD MONAT Studio One The One Champ Conditioning Dry Shampoo
Available direct from MONAT’s website, as well as their network of beauty consultants, this also deploys micro-fine rice starch to absorb excess oils. They promise that it’s ‘great for all hair types and textures, safe for colour-treated hair, hypoallergenic and dermatologically tested.’ It features a ‘age-defying’ ingredient called Rejuveniqe, widely used across many different categories of Monat’s ranges (for face and body, as well as hair), which they explain is ‘a proprietary blend of 13+ natural plant and essential oils.’ The scent went down a treat: a ‘sun-kissed’ fragrance on which jasmine and rose scamper over mandarin and satsuma orange notes – almost every tester used the same descriptors: ‘fresh’ and ‘clean.’
£48 for 108ml - click to buy
OUR TESTERS’ COMMENTS:
‘Divine! My hair looked like it had been washed and felt and looked clean, and it honestly only took a couple of minutes’ • ‘My dry hair and greasy roots looked clean and smelt fresh, after using this’ • ‘This was a joy to use. I waited until my hair was practically sliding off my head to really test it to its limits, and yes, it worked! The smell was expensive and uplifting too. My hair looked like it had just been washed and stayed like this all day. I also used it to create volume on freshly washed hair and it worked a treat’ • ‘A miracle in a can!’ • ‘Monat Dry Shampoo is like no other, so far as I’m concerned. Not only can I go longer in between washes and still have it looking good, but I think overall not washing and drying it so often helps with the condition of hair, and overall shine’ • ‘I have very fine, soft hair. I find this is good for making my hair look and feel fresher on Day Two; I would still tie my hair up rather than leave it down. However, no other dry shampoo has enabled me to wear it loose on Day Two, either – and this is most definitely better than the other dry shampoos I’ve bought in the past.’
£48 for 108ml - click to buy