Dry shampoo is like the holy grail for anyone who doesn’t want to wash their hair too often but still needs something to refresh and reduce oiliness. But curly hair usually requires specific products and unique care, so how do you know what to get? You’re in the right spot if you’re searching for non-aerosol alternatives like powder-based formulas.
While aerosols typically don’t contain harmful benzene levels, opting for powder or benzene-free options is safer.
Here are the 19 best dry shampoos for curly hair.
- Acure Dry Shampoo
- Klorane Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk
- Hair Dance Dry Shampoo
- Nuele Clean Essentials Dry Shampoo
- The Beachwaver Co. Second Chance Dry Shampoo
- Handmade Heroes Non-Aerosol Dry Shampoo
- Amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo
- Living Proof Dry Shampoo
- Briogeo Scalp Revival Charcoal + Biotin Dry Shampoo
- Drybar Detox Dry Shampoo
- IGK FIRST CLASS Charcoal Detox Dry Shampoo
- Bumble and bumble Pret-a-Powder Post Workout Dry Shampoo
- Mixed Chicks Hair Four Days Dry Shampoo
- Innersense Dry Shampoo Foam
- Kristin Ess Hair Fragrance-Free Dry Shampoo Powder Spray
- Not Your Mothers Clean Freak Refreshing Dry Shampoo
- Eva NYC Freshen Up Invisible Dry Shampoo
- Drybar Detox Gentle Dry Shampoo for Sensitive Scalp
- Love Hair Volumizing Dry Shampoo
The Best Dry Shampoo Recommendations for Curly Hair
Choose a dry shampoo from these 19 top picks for your curly hair, and never leave the house looking like you haven’t washed your hair again! Please note that this list of hair products may be outdated, so checking the product bottle for the most accurate and current details is advisable. Also, be sure to verify the size of the product, as it may vary across different sites.
1. Acure Dry Shampoo
This organic powder form is a one-two punch in a bottle. It is an excellent product that works quickly and simply. Acure dry shampoo will soon become one of your best friends. It is intended to tackle excess oil and unpleasant scents, leaving behind a rosemary and peppermint scent.
It’s formulated with essential oil – peppermint, arrowroot, essential oil – rosemary, and kaolin clay to remove dirt from your hair while giving it a clean, freshly washed look.
2. Klorane Dry Shampoo With Oat Milk
This dry shampoo is a powder form that cleanses, freshens, and adds texture and volume to hair while extending blowouts. The ultra-fine powders are absorbed into the scalp and roots, leaving a clean feeling with no powdery residue. The best part is that it doesn’t just mask hair/sweat odor; it actually eliminates it.
3. Hair Dance Dry Shampoo
An eco-friendly, refillable dry shampoo, free from benzene. Made in the USA, it’s natural, organic, vegan, and cruelty-free. Suitable for all hair colors, it’s perfect for quick refreshes in the morning, post-workout, while camping, or when traveling. Adds volume and absorbs excess oil without talc, parabens, baking soda, or phthalates.
4. Nuele Clean Essentials Dry Shampoo
This is a non-aerosol dry shampoo spray that helps clean, remove odor and sweat, and vanishes without residue or hair weighing. Benefits: Clean, eliminates odor, is residue-free, and is lightweight. Free from cruelty, phthalates, parabens, sulfates, synthetics, and artificial fragrances.
5. The Beachwaver Co. Second Chance Dry Shampoo
This Rice formula helps extend style, absorb moisture, add volume, and prolong wavy hair. It is free from parabens, formaldehyde, phthalates, benzophenone, mineral oil, animal products, and by-products.
6. Handmade Heroes Dry Shampoo
This non-aerosol formula is clean, sustainable, and non-toxic, with 100% natural, plant-based, and vegan ingredients. It volumizes and degreases hair instantly between washes. No benzene, propane, isobutane, carcinogens, synthetic fragrances, parabens, preservatives, or synthetic chemicals. Eco-friendly with no leaching into oceans; plastic-neutral packaging.
7. amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo
This talc-free dry shampoo contains rice starch that absorbs dirt and oil and adds volume and texture to hair. It also naturally cleans and deodorizes hair, adds volume, and cools and refreshes the scalp.
8. Living Proof Advanced Clean Dry Shampoo
Effectively cleans hair by removing oil, sweat, and odor while offering conditioning benefits like softness, shine, and manageability. Functions and a rinse-out shampoo add softness and shine without leaving visible or textured residue. Balances scalp sebum levels and offers pollution protection. Talc-free and does not contain benzene as an ingredient.
Note: This product is suitable for most hair types, including straight hair. If you have thicker or coarser hair, make sure to section it more thoroughly for even application. If you have curly hair, for best results, removing the powder using a blow dryer rather than using your fingers or a brush is recommended, as this could disrupt your curls. Also, this is not “Curly Girl Friendly” for those adhering to the Curly Girl Method.
9. Briogeo Scalp Revival Charcoal + Biotin Dry Shampoo
This dry shampoo is formulated in powder form with detoxifying charcoal to absorb oil, sweat, and odor. It also contains biotin to strengthen hair and aloe vera to soothe the scalp. It’s also infused with clay and tapioca to absorb excess oil, ensuring a perfect hair day while extending the life of your hairstyle.
10. Drybar Detox Dry Shampoo
This dry shampoo is formulated with micro-fine Rice Powders that effectively absorb excess oils and odors. The Golden Root Extract also helps maintain moisture levels, preventing dryness and breakage.
It absorbs oils, adds lift at the roots, eliminates impurities, and leaves your hair looking and feeling clean and refreshed, with added volume and a matte finish. It works for all hair types, including lighter hair and blonde hair.
11. IGK FIRST CLASS Charcoal Detox Dry Shampoo
This charcoal dry shampoo will help extend the time between washes, even post-workout. Its detoxifying charcoal powder effectively lifts away dirt and build-up, all while soaking up excess oil and sweat.
The addition of soothing white tea powder brings a cool, calming sensation to your scalp, reinforcing hair follicles for an all-around hair care experience. This product has received high customer satisfaction ratings, so I would run to try it!
12. Bumble and bumble Pret-a-Powder Post Workout Dry Shampoo
This 2-in-1 powder-based dry shampoo is formulated with French Pink Clay to absorb oil from roots. It will leave hair lightly scented with no trace of white or chalky residue. UV filters help protect against the drying effects of the sun. This formula is specifically for normal to oily hair.
13. Mixed Chicks Hair Four Days Dry Shampoo
This dry shampoo is made in powder form to help improve how your hair looks, feels, and smells after a wash. Fast-absorbing powders absorb excess oil and sweat, leaving hair with a clean and fresh appearance, and then easily brush out, leaving no residue.
14. Innersense Dry Shampoo Foam
This natural foam-to-powder dry shampoo helps eliminate excess oil, build body, create hair texture, and revitalize second-day hair. This is for you if you’re looking for a formula with many natural ingredients, free of chemicals and other nasty ingredients.
15. Kristin Ess Hair Dry Shampoo Powder Spray
This fragrance-free powder form dry shampoo is ideal for those with oily scalps or looking to skip a wash-day. You can also use this at the roots for added volume and oil absorption.
Suitable for sensitive skin and scalps, suitable for all hair types, absorbs oil, enhances style, and provides a soft and lightweight finish.
16. Not Your Mothers Clean Freak Refreshing Dry Shampoo
This is made with natural barley and rice starches to swiftly absorb oils, leaving your hair soft and clean within minutes. There is no residue, even for dark hair. It has a fresh scent with hints of orange, lemon, lavender, rose, and jasmine.
17. Eva NYC Freshen Up Dry Shampoo
You’ll experience long-lasting freshness with this dry shampoo designed for both dark and light hair. Refresh your hair with this natural formula, achieving a just-washed look, even on day 3. It leaves no white cast or residue, ensuring a clean finish. It is infused with argan oil and rice starch, adding volume and moisturizing, keeping your hair healthy.
18. Detox Gentle Sensitive Scalp Dry Shampoo
This dry shampoo was formulated for those with sensitive scalps. It offers a mild yet effective solution for clean and refreshed hair with enhanced texture. Infused with a probiotic complex, it goes beyond cleansing, soothing, and relieving scalp discomfort. It contains Upcycled Patchouli, which works wonders to rebalance oily, dry, and flaky scalp. This innovative formula absorbs excess oil and impurities without causing over-drying, leaving your hair with a soft, matte finish.
19. Love Hair Volumizing Dry Shampoo
This product is formulated with certified organic and 100% natural ingredients; it effortlessly absorbs excess oils, adding volume to your roots without any trace of white residue or unnecessary weight. It is suitable for all hair types. The container is flexible and designed for easy squeezing, offering a non-aerosol solution.
This brand provides the best in all-natural and organic hair care, leading them through six rounds of formulations to perfect this dry shampoo. The result? Weightlessly fresh and effortlessly manageable hair.
Specifically designed for women, this vegan dry shampoo boasts a powerful blend of kaolin clay, tapioca, and rice starch complex. These ingredients work synergistically to absorb sweat, oil, and grease, leaving your hair clean and fresh without the need for washing. The scent is natural, with hints of orange peel oil and flower oil.
Does Curly Hair Need Dry Shampoo?
Dry shampoo is not subject to a hair type. And just because dry shampoo exists doesn’t mean you need it. But here’s the thing: it can be extremely helpful and beneficial. Dry shampoo helps to absorb oils from the scalp and hair, leaving your hair refreshed and rejuvenated between wash days.
Curly hair might need dry shampoo (more than other types) because curly hair, while naturally leans towards dry, tends to carry a lot of product residue. Curlies typically apply significantly more products, from leave-in conditioners and curl creams to styling gels and mousses.
This can cause the hair to become weighted, greasy, and lackluster. But since washing your hair too often can be drying, curlies need a way to reduce the oiliness and boost volume between washes. Dry shampoo can do the trick and give the appearance of freshly washed and clean hair.
Benefits of Using Dry Shampoo for Curly Hair
Whether you invest in a spray or powder form dry shampoo and use it occasionally or on every non-wash day, dry shampoo will benefit you.
Let’s look at some of those benefits:
- It helps extend the time between washes.
- It can achieve certain styles, such as beachy waves or extra volume at the roots.
- Dry shampoo can help restore the roots and give your hair natural volume, even after several days of no washing.
- Many dry shampoos contain ingredients to help volumize and texturize the hair, making them ideal for people with thin or fine hair.
- After the gym, dry shampoo can help clean your curls and remove sweaty odors that may be trapped in your hair.
- It can extend the life of your blowout.
- It can be used as a quick fix for greasy roots.
How to Properly Use Dry Shampoo on Curly Hair
Dry shampoos come in the form of loose powders or aerosols. With the loose powder, they can be difficult to control and super easy to over-apply. With the aerosols, you can better achieve even coverage and avoid overdoing it in one area.
Apply dry shampoo to the roots of your dry hair by spraying or sprinkling, then massage it in and brush through to ensure even distribution of the product. Avoid use on wet hair. If your dry shampoo comes in a powder form, tap off any excess before applying it to your hair to avoid leaving any visible residue.
Be sure to follow the directions on the package, as some products may require that you wait a few minutes, gently massage the product into your roots, or remove the product from your hair with a brush or blow dryer. Avoid over-using it, as this can cause the hair to become greasier and dirtier.
If your dry shampoo is in a spray form, apply it lightly (in sections), and be sure to hold the can about 6 inches away from your head when using it. Doing so will help to prevent any unwanted build-up or residue in your hair. After spraying the product, let it work its magic for about 30 seconds.
After the third or fourth day, you want to wash your hair with regular shampoo. Dry shampoo should be used sparingly. When using dry shampoo on curly hair, be sure to massage it well to avoid any white residue being left behind. Avoid using a dry shampoo on wet, freshly washed, or clean hair.
FAQs
Can I use dry shampoo every day?
You can use dry shampoo daily, but limit it to 2-3 times a week to avoid build-up and damage. And use dry shampoo only if your hair needs it.
What characteristics of dry shampoos are ideal for curly hair?
Moisturizing components in dry shampoo are ideal for maintaining moisture levels for curls. Ingredients like sulfates, LPGs, talc, silicones, and alcohols can coat the hair, cause buildup, and prevent moisture from getting in. However, the extent of these effects can vary depending on the specific product formulation and individual hair type.
Is alcohol denat in dry shampoo bad for hair?
According to the Chemist Corner, no because of the plasticizing ability of water, ethanol (or “alcohol denat. “) is better for the hair than water.
