Sorry to be nitpicky (as a copywriter I can't help myself sometimes)

In the last paragraph, shouldn't it be "wary" not "weary"?

A thought =)

I love dry shampoo. I feel like it weights my thin hair down though? I sometimes use baby powder when I don't have anything else but nothing beats how fluffy and flowy my hair is right after washing it. Does anyone else with thin/fine hair have any suggestions? I'd like to hear!!

If you're doing the "no-poo" or "low-poo" thing with your hair, meaning no shampoo, or sulfate-free shampoo, you should be avoiding silicones in hair products as well. Otherwise, your new-found hair texture will likely pass the glory stage and just be gross with build up.

That said, almost all the dry shampoos have silicones in them...including this once: cyclomethicone.

I learned this one the hard way too. But you can use cornstarch (better than baby powder). Or, if you have dark hair, you can use cornstarch and cocoa to tone down the greying effect. It works, it's not bad for your hair, and you'll smell just a touch like chocolate.

Thanks. Usually my boyfriend notices the smell of baby powder, which I don't like. I do have darker hair so I'll look into the cornstarch/cocoa route.

Kathryn C. - GREAT suggestions - thank you!!!

I use a homemade combo of arrowroot powder, rice powder/flour, cornstarch, and baking powder. You can put it in the spice grinder if you need a finer consistency. I have very dark hair, but this rubs in better than some aerosol dry shampoos I've tried, so there's no powdery residue.

Like others mentioned, rice flour or corn starch make up a ton of dry shampoos and cost a fraction of that. I can't stand dry shampoo though or anything like it. Makes my hair feel stiff and dry. Like I just soaked my hair in hairspray and brushed it all out. Yuck.

I am not a big fan of this whole no-poo fad. There's a reason we wash our hair, and it's not just to clean the hair follicles. You wash your body every day to get rid of grease and shed skin, so think of the greasy shed skin creamed all up on your scalp stuck there in between all your hairs you're not washing by trying to make your hair "healthier." I wash the heck out of my hair but only wash my hair 3 times a week. I just don't wash my hair at every shower, and I don't have to apply anything to soak up grease the days I don't wash. And I am totally happy with how my hair looks. Just a thought, but I just think more people should think about this stuff before jumping on a trend. I know I don't want all that gunk trapped against my scalp. Yuck.

This site has a great unbiased look at all the no-poo options (including hair powders) if anyone is interested

http://thebeautybrains.com/2007/12/12/dry-shampoo-and-other-weird-ways-to-wash-your-hair/

I've only tried out one store bought dry shampoo spray, it made my hair feel gross.

I regularly use Burt's Bees baby powder on non-wash days. It helps with the extra oil and adds a little volume, but my hair never looks nice enough to wear down. So on those days I put it up in a low bun or pony tail.

The trick is to really brush the powder out. I'm going to look into recipes mentioned above, since I don't love the baby powder smell and maybe the texture would be finer.

I tried the corn starch one morning when I woke up late, with slightly greasy hair. I have fine, long, blonde hair and after dusting about a teaspoon on to the top roots of my hair (roots on top of my head), I COULD NOT get the starch out! I tried every comb and brush that I had: fine tooth, wide tooth, bristle, plastic, metal, with water, without water... In the end, I had a sore scalp and a strange tinge of powder near my ponytail for the rest of the day.

Does anyone have any ideas on removal of the fine powder? Does this happen with any other ingredients (I would imagine baby powder would be similar)?

@jmorri26: No-poo isn't about not washing the hair, it's about not using shampoo which is very damaging to the hair and scalp. Shampoo wasn't even invented till about a hundred years ago.

I haven't used any shampoo since 2009, but I still wash my hair once a week with an inexpensive 'cone free (free of silicone and silicone derivatives) conditioner.

The scalp overproduces oil in response to the drying effect of shampoo. The scalp and hair are surprisingly capable of managing just fine without shampoo. (Though it can take awhile for the scalp and hair to normalize if one has been using shampoo regularly). None of the other mammals need it for their hair, why should humans?

@sam I Am,

Actually, lots of people do no-poo with literally nothing. No surfactants touch their heads. It's just grown more common to use conditioner or a sulfate free product instead of nothing at all.

Either way, it is one of those things that's personal to people. You either can do it and like it or can't.

Is there any scientific basis behind the idea that shampoo makes your scalp overproduce oil? I bear people say it all the time, but it sounds so much like the myth that shaving males your body hair grow back thicker that I have a hard time believing it's real.

And yes, I say this as a person who rarely uses just a mild shampoo because I have long hair, so I'm not some sort of shampoo fangirl. I think the no-poo movement has some valuable ideas, but I still wonder that specific belief has any basis in reality.

Ack, my phone made some horrible typos in that post, my apologies. Meant hear instead of bear and makes instead of males.

Darn technology. :P

hilarious. we're all moving back to the eighteenth century when people just kept powdering and powdering and powdering. too funny.

Not particularly useful for me as I don't comb my hair. I just pull fingers through once a day after my shower. and if I don't wet my hair but just comb, I get an unsightly and unmanageable frizz.

So, I guess the moral of the story is (if I gather it correctly from many comments) : do this if you have long, blond, straight hair. that way you can comb it out and/or put up in a pony tail and the powder won't be visible. and no, I don't want to smell like cocoa powder and cocoa powder is much lighter than my hair colour anyway.

I'll just shampoo every other day as I have been.

Just to clarify, I have dark brown hair, which is naturally wavy/curly but I often dry it straight. I only wash my hair every 3 days or so, sometimes if I need to I'll rinse it with water a bit (for example after exercising). On the 3rd day I'll wear it up, or use the dry shampoo if it seems particuarly limp. I've never had an issue with a light color residue from the dry shampoo but it probably depends on the formula being used.

Baby powder has talc in it sometimes, so it's NOT a good alternative "if you're worried about ingredients". In fact, you're MORE likely to breathe it in since it's on your head and not your diaper-area.

I got some powdery dry shampoo from Sephora and the citrus smell was nice at first but then it became so dang overpowering it made me nauseous. I had to toss it. Now I like just plain ol' corn starch.

Oh, I just remembered Bumble and Bumble's spray option. You can get it clear or colored. It's not meant to completely replace shampooing, but as an in-betweener it's amazeballs. Used to use it when I was a news anchor.

I have very long, thick hair so I don't wash my it every day OR every other day. It's just way too much work. I generally wash every 6 to 7 days unless it's super hot out, but San Diego is usually quite mild. I rely on dry shampoo to get me through the week! It's great stuff.

It does have silicone in it, but I've fallen in love with the dry shampoo brand Klorane - "gentle dry shampoo with oat milk." I've tried a bunch of other brands with similar results as other readers but this one seems to leave my hair fuller and without residue. Haven't tried the at-home methods though.