I've never been one of these girls that washes their hair every day, and with good reason. Being mixed race my hair has always been coarse and dry, so washing it more than 2-3 times a week would make it brittle and unmanageable. I've never really had to do much in terms of maintaining my hair, just a top up of colour every few weeks and a bit of de-frizzing always gave my long curly locks what they needed. But as I have got older things have changed, my hair is now shorter than it ever has been and I'm finding that the roots tend to get a little oily in between washes. Still, it's not changed enough to warrant washing it every day, so I was on the hunt for a good dry shampoo.
The first dry shampoo I used must have been about 15 years ago, when my arm was in a sling for a few days and I was unable to wash my hair. It was terrible. I looked like someone had thrown a bag of flour on my head, and that was using less than instructed. So with this memory I was determined to find a decent product this time.
I searched online and found that Batiste had a lot of really good reviews, so after a quick search to determine if their products were suitable for vegans (all of their dry shampoos are*) I decided to give it a go.
I bought 2 varieties, Cherry (smells divine!) and XXL Volume. Since I have been wearing my hair straight a lot I thought I'd give the XXL Volume a go first. I didn't wash my hair for 2 days and usually I'd feel the need to put it up, even if it doesn't look horrible it feels it to me.
What they say about it:
Dry shampoo with the ultimate volume boost.Batiste XXL Volume revitalises hair, banishes oily roots and gives you so much body and texture, your up-do takes no time. A quick burst with our unique formula gives dull, lifeless hair the volumising makeover it needs.No water and no back combing - just big-style glamour and a great clean, fresh feeling. No need to worry about skipping a shampoo.
I parted my hair into 4 sections and sprayed as directed. It doesn't have a particular smell to it, it kind of resembles anti perspirant, fresh and clean. My hair is currently light brown with highlights but I didn't really notice any whiteness from the product. I know they also do dry shampoo with tints to match your hair colour, but I don't feel as if I need that. I then used my fingers to blend the dry shampoo into my hair and gave it a little zhoosh (I had to Google that spelling). My hair looked fab! I had lift, zero oil and (I think this is only in the XXL Volume variety) hold. It acts as a hairspray too, it's probably what gives it the extra lift.
I wouldn't use this all the time, as I did feel that my hair felt very dry with this on, but it looked great and washed out like a dream. It didn't give me dandruff either, which I sometimes find with new hair products. If you're in a hurry and don't have time to wash and style your hair, this is a great thing to have on hand as a back up plan. They also make mini bottles that you can pop in your handbag. I've even been using it instead of hairspray as gives me extra lift, and who doesn't want big hair?
Overall I'm really impressed with this dry shampoo, you can buy it from Superdrug or Boots for £3.99.
Have you tried any of the Batiste range? What would you recommend?
*Update: It has come to my attention that Batiste are owned by a company that conducts animal testing, obviously you're free to use your own judgement but I won't be purchasing from them or promoting them on this blog in the future.