I have been using "dry shampoo" (aka baby powder) since high school. Store-bought dry shampoo wasn't super big at the time but my mother shared with me her "secrete" that they used back in college, baby powder. Since my days in high school I now only wash my hair 2 times a week. I would like to clarify that I DO wash my body more than 2 times a week.
In college, I fell in LOVE with Dove and Not Your Mother's dry shampoo, but I ALWAYS hated how short it would last me for the price I was paying. About a year ago I say 'goodbye' to my last bottle of Dove dry shampoo and started using the baby powder I had around the house because I was tired of the cost I was constantly paying. When I ran out of baby powder in the winter I saw someone use corn starch as their dry shampoo and lucky for me, I had an unopened box in our kitchen that I ripped open, poured some into my hand, rubbed it into my hair, and off to work I went! Worked like a charge and exactly how baby powder used previously.
Not to mention I was saving my hair and my body all the crazy bad ingredients that are commonly found in Dove and Not Your Mother's dry shampoo brands. Check out these pictures below of how these two brands were rated on the Think Dirty App. The #1 toxic ingredient in all these dry shampoos is fragrance! Fragrance is one of the #1 toxic ingredients found in our everyday beauty items. "Fragrance is basically a blend of aromatic extracts from natural and synthetic ingredients. Used in nearly 50% of beauty products, it actually has a LOT of unknown toxic chemicals that can be harmful to you. Without you knowing, fragrance can irritate skin, have toxic hormonal effects, and may even cause cancer. It may smell fabulous, but it can lead to not-so-fab." Source Orgaid blog post "Top 8 Harmful Chemicals to Avoid in Skin Care ".
Since January/February I have been meaning to combine dry corn starch and cocoa powder together to make a darker combo that would better fit my root color. I also only get my hair done 2 times a year (spring & fall) and waiting out the few months until my next hair appointment. Then COVID-19 hit and here I sit with darker roots and hair than I have had in a LONG time. Last week when getting groceries I finally added cocoa powder to our list to sit down and make my own dry shampoo.
This is a messy item to make but only takes 5-10 minutes to do! Here is what you will need
Old salt/pepper/salt container
Cornstarch (You can also use baby powder, arrowroot and other substitutes)
Cocoa powder (use for darker roots)
10 drops of essential oils. I used Frankincense, Lavender & Cedarwood Essential Oils (You can use ANY essential oils of your choice)
Funnel (I used a piece of paper as mine)
Small bowl
Step One: Prep
I am going to HIGHLY suggest that you do this over the skin or lay down a towel on your table before mixing. It probably doesn't help that I am a messy person but I honestly haven't seen a single person do this WITHOUT making a mess.
Grab all your materials and have them on the towel with you.
Grab your essential oils of choice. I used Frankincense, Lavender & Cedarwood Essential Oils (all that are great for hair support)
Step 2: Mix ingredients
To be 100% honest I didn't do the mixing part but really wished I would have. Based on the size of your container I start with a few spoonfuls of corn starch then added small amounts of cocoa powder. You can always add more if you need to go darker. I added 10 TOTAL drops of essential oils, using frankincense as my base oils (5 drops) then lavender (3) and cedarwood (2).
Step 3: Pour ingredients into Container (aka the messy part)
This is where things will start to get messy. Using your funnel (or a makeshift funnel if you are like me) slowly pour your dry shampoo mixture into your container. Add a label, screw on the top and you are ready to use! Now your hair is good will be naturally supported the next time you are looking to stretch your next wash.
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