Dry shampoo is a godsend for those who are lazy, time-starved, or both. It soaks up all that grease when you just don’t have the time or effort to shower. As great as it is, it doesn’t technically clean hair. Where does the powder go after it soaks up the grease and sweat? You may try to brush it through your hair so you can’t see that telltale white haze but it’s still there. Living Proof‘s Perfect hair Day (PhD), Dry Shampoo, $22 is a game-changer because it has triple cleansing technology that promises to clean your hair better than the average dry shampoo.
(Related: Is A Dry Conditioner As Good As A Dry Shampoo?)
The newly-launched dry shampoo claims to be the next best thing to washing your hair because it doesn’t just absorb oil, sweat, and grease but it removes them. How? The usual dry shampoo has powders that soak up the oil but they just stay on your scalp. This is why you can end up with bedhead waves after a good spray of dry shampoo. Living Proof’s dry shampoo uses patented OFPMA molecules that reduce surface friction on the hair and make it easier to remove the powders. Because of this, Living Proof boasts that you can extend your time between shampoos by a few extra days.
It sounds great but does it actually work? I decided to put it to the test. Instead of testing it on second-day hair, I decided to test it out of greasy fourth-day hair. Note that I did not use any dry shampoo on my hair between the first and fourth days because I want to see how good it really is. Here is my fourth-day, greasy hair that made it through high humidity and scorching temperatures:
The Perfect hair Day Dry Shampoo has a slightly different application. You shake the bottle and apply it to your head. Then you wait 30 seconds for the powders to activate and cleanse. You may see some white powder when you initially spray it but it goes away. After the time has passed, you shake and/or brush your hair out to remove them.
I followed the instructions and applied a bit to my scalp, waited, then gently worked it out. Then I applied it a second time since there was a serious grease situation going on. I did see some white powder the second time but it quickly dispersed itself. Here’s the post-dry shampoo result:
Much better. Not only do my roots look better but they feel it as well. They didn’t feel like I had some gunky product in them and I didn’t have to work to get the white marks out of my dark hair.
Here’s a comparison between before I applied the dry shampoo and after:
I did actually end up wearing my hair down for the rest of the day. I was impressed by how well the dry shampoo soaked up the grease. One other benefit to dry shampoo is the smell. A lot of dry shampoos can smell like cleaners but this one has a pleasant, refreshing fragrance. Furthermore, it has time-release technology to keep you smelling fresh throughout the day.
Obviously, most people wouldn’t wait until the fourth day to decide to apply dry shampoo so if you’re wondering about how it works on second-day hair, here’s the before and after:
The grease isn’t as obvious in the photo on the left as it is in the fourth-day photo but I could feel it on my scalp. With just a bit of dry shampoo, it was quickly soaked up and removed and my scalp felt clean again.
Verdict
I definitely recommend this dry shampoo if you want to extend the life of your blow-dry. You can pick it up at Sephora or on the Living Proof website. If you want to test it out, there is a travel-friendly 1.8 oz size for $12.
Beauty Expert & Hairstylist, Contributing Editor
Dorothy has been a beauty fanatic since she was a preteen growing up in a small Idaho town. She honed her makeup and hair skills on her willing mother and she’s a pro with a pair of tweezers, having fixed many a friend’s unibrow in college. Susan believes the true secret to beauty comes from within, but the right application of mascara and lipstick can help.
