So I’m reposting this blog post from Influenster because it has an infographic that cracked me up. Yes, it feels like an ad – but the Should You Wash Your Hair infographic/flow chart is still funny.
Hope you get a laugh, as I did. As for me, I’m not head over heels for Not Your Mother’s Clean Freak dry shampoo, but I don’t hate it (the marketing made my eye twitch more than any dissatisfaction with the product itself). PSSSST! still reigns supreme for me.
I ran out of my beloved Psssst! Dry Shampoo. No matter, my local Walgreens carries it! Or, they did, at least. I spent at least five minutes scouring my location’s tiny hair aisle for it. Not wanting to leave empty-handed and not wanting to make a special trip elsewhere, I picked up this can: Pantene Blowout Extend Dry Shampoo.
Pantene Blowout Extend Dry ShampooPantene Blowout Extend Dry Shampoo is one of three of Pantene’s dry shampoo offerings. They also have one called, “Original Fresh,” in a similar can with a green band and one called, “Root Reboot,” packaged the same but with a purple band. Along with the stand-to-Pantene vitamin boasting, Pantene Blowout Extend Dry Shampoo contains tapioca as an ingredient. Why? I really couldn’t begin to tell you.
Because I do not live in a fictitious world in which people actually do get regular biweekly salon blowouts, I’m testing this against the conditions my hair normally faces. Typically, I wash my hair every other day (e.g., Mon, Wed, Fri). I don’t usually need dry shampoo on that second day, but sometimes use it anyway to stay ahead. Sometimes, I want to push it another day – so, wash hair Monday and then again on Thursday, for example. Last week was one such week.
Dear Haircare Companies,
Dry shampoo is a staple for me. In addition to saving me from situations where I don’t have as much time as I’d like, it is a regular part of my routine in that it helps me go a little longer between washing, especially when used my favorite way: before bed. This helps preserve the health of my hair in addition to saving me time, effort, blah blah blah.
Every one that I have tried, with the exception of my current favorite, is rife with varying strong perfume-y fragrance. Even my favorite is scented more than I’d like – though not as much as the competition I have tried. While I understand the goal of a scented dry shampoo in that it should help refresh your hair, I really don’t want to walk around smelling like my dry shampoo. So I ask this: please make a low-scent dry shampoo. Please.
In a rush the other day, I didn’t take a good look at the state of my hair before I left to start my day. When I got to work (early, thankfully), I felt that I could use a quick blast to help my hair have a little more life. Fortunately, I have a travel-sized can of Not Your Mother’s Clean Freak Dry Shampoo (long name, sheesh) in my desk. Being as that I arrive eons earlier than my teammates, I sprayed a quick blast at my roots – and coughed. Mmm, aerosol perfume – now with powder particles!
I got up and went to one of the restrooms (which for some ungodly reason do not have fans) and finished the job, but I had to keep moving around to avoid a lungful of this stuff. Granted, most dry shampoo is aerosol and you could have this happen – but of all the ones I have tried and all the times I have used it, this was the worst. The spray is dense, the fragrance is dense; even aiming the product at your roots (as intended) doesn’t prevent some of the powder-mist from settling wherever it feels like (like your top). I hope it dissipated before the next person went in; but even after the dry shampoo cloud itself disappears, the fragrance of this one lingers.
Low-scent dry shampoos would definitely be adopted. A lot of your consumers already wear perfume or some other fragrance. Having their fragrance-of-choice compete with their dry shampoo is no good. On the other hand, I’m sure some of your consumers, or your would-be consumers suffer in the midst of strong fragrances – so they either suffer while using your product, or they forego it. In the interest of keeping happy customers–and gaining new ones–I suggest that you, like Expo did with their dry erase markers, make a low-scent dry shampoo.
Sincerely,
the Beauty Skeptic
Maximize the effectiveness of your dry shampoo!We all know how to use dry shampoo, right? Start with hair that could use refreshing; maybe it is oily or maybe it has fallen limp and flat. Grab your can of hair sorcery of choice and violently shake. Remove the cap, angle towards your scalp, and depress the nozzle to dispense. Re-part your hair and do this as needed. Wait a few minutes, then massage it in to get rid of any powder-y appearance. Enjoy refreshed hair!
“Why are you writing about this?”
Stay with me!
So usually, I, like everyone else, would apply this in the morning before going about my day. I’d get up, brush my teeth, apply dry shampoo, get dressed, then rub the dry shampoo in. Worked fine.
But then I found a way that works even better. You use less product (therefore saving money), you’re inhaling less dry shampoo first thing in the morning (yessss), and your hair looks a little more natural (sometimes, I find that just-applied dry shampoo can make the hair near my scalp a little too matte. I’ll take it over looking oily, but you know).
How?
Do it before you, “need,” it – so, in most cases, the night before! Just incorporate it as a step for that evenings beauty stuff – wash your face, brush your teeth, moisturize, use dry shampoo. Because you end up using it as a preventative, you don’t need to use as much as you may have to, “fix,” it in the morning. One less thing to worry about before you get your coffee – and your hair looks a little more natural, too.
I’m all about simplifying my mornings because it takes me a loooong time to actually be awake and feel like a person. I hope this helps you simplify your morning and gives you a better experience with your dry shampoo.
Not Your Mother’s Clean Freak Dry ShampooWhen your hair is long, when you’ve slept in too much, when you’re lazy, when you’re in a hurry (hello, every day of my life)…but also when you have last minute plans, or just don’t feel like waiting for your 47 miles of hair to dry etc. dry shampoo can be what takes your hair from looking, frankly, grungy, to looking presentable. I am a frequent user and am on the lookout to see if anything can top my current favorite, Psssst!
I discovered that Not Your Mother’s offers their Clean Freak Dry Shampoo in a trial/travel size (1.6 oz), so I picked up the little white can adorned with what is ostensibly green hair printed onto it to give it a shot (hah) and see if it could knock the reigning champion off its throne.
On the front, Not Your Mother’s Clean Freak Dry Shampoo says:
Instant results
Absorbs excess oils
Cleans without water
Lite matte finish
Nothing too crazy here – though I feel like we should clarify that dry shampoo does not actually clean anything, and is not a substitute for ACTUALLY washing your hair. It is just meant to tide you over another day between washings. You still need to take proper care of your hair and scalp! Also, I could do without the cutesy abbreviation of, “light,” but maybe I’m just nitpicking.
Moving onto the back, which reads:
I know you’re busy keeping up with that social life! So don’t waste precious time in the bathroom, just use Clean Freak Dry Shampoo. Get that perfect hair (and the perfect guy!) before all the other girls. Expect more room on your social calendar because this salon formula dry shampoo will have you and your hair ready for a night out on the town.
Refreshes instantly
Application: Spray generously on roots and throughout hair. Brush through to diffuse powder and watch it absorb any excess oils. Style as desired and enjoy your newly freshened hair.
Sigh. Marketing. I am more inclined to use a product like this at 5:30-6AM when I am getting up for work than I would be to help me, “keep up with my social life.” The next line is what I find the most ridiculous. Get the perfect hair AND the perfect guy? For the love of cats who knew I could have the best of both worlds with just a couple blasts of this amazing Clean Freak Dry Shampoo? I must be a terrible fool as I am seeking neither (can I just look presentable and quasi-professional for work, please?).
Sigh. Marketing.
Application instructions are pretty straightforward and not insane, which is nice. I tested it out by doing just that – it took a while of depressing the dispensing nozzle (after shaking, of course) for the product to actually come out, leaving a greyish-white veil on my roots. I re-sectioned my hair and reapplied in areas that hadn’t gotten coverage. I then let it sit for about 30 seconds, then massaged it into my roots with my fingertips – this helps move the powder around to areas that still may have been missed. I let it sit for 30 more seconds and brush through – my hair was left matte, but not grey or white. It is scented, and while it is not strong, it is noticeable – a perfume-y powder, not for me.
For what it is, Clean Freak Dry Shampoo it worked well enough. It is a decent product, despite its…er, tasteful. rear product description. Not Your Mother’s Clean Freak Dry Shampoo isn’t super costly, at around $9 per 7oz can is superior to both versions from Suave, better than Tresemme’s…but does not top Psssst! Dry Shampoo ($5.50 per 5.3 oz can, and Psssst’s availability and frequent sales), which means it will retain its tiara and title as Best Dry Shampoo. That said, if I couldn’t find any Psssst! and needed something quick and inexpensive (well of course I need something inexpensive. KMS Hair Play is glorious but I can’t swallow $18 for dry shampoo), this is what I would reach for.
In the meantime, this little guy will live in my cubicle at work for touch ups.
1. Because I don’t tan in beds or outside any longer, I need to fake it (especially because I’m not trying to look washed out in an ivory gown). I’m going to have a lot of pictures taken soon, so I needed it to be convincing and not a pain to deal with, either. I bought a bottle of Million Dollar Tan’s Cabana Tan and Cabana Tan Extreme lotions a while back after some recommendations were made to me. I’m pretty happy with it and plan to have a post up soon. In addition to their lotion products, Million Dollar Tan carries spray and mousse versions, which you can find here.
2. The original bareMinerals Flawless Definition Mascara is my holy grail mascara (so far, anyway). I often go without because $18 for something that you need to replace so frequently is too much for me – but I snagged two (one regular, one waterproof) when Ulta had them half off as a part of 21 Days of Beauty event this spring. It does on sale on the bareMinerals website, too, every now and then, but if you don’t care about it being on sale you can get it there, Ulta, or Sephora.
3. The original 3-Minute Miracle (“Moist Deeeeep Conditioner”) is my favorite conditioner, period. More than I loved the Tigi Moisture Maniac conditioner, and this is a hell of a lot cheaper. They have new versions of it now, too, but I haven’t tried them yet. You can get it at drugstores, mass merchants, online – pretty much anywhere, this is very accessible.
4. Got a sample-size can of this Dry Shampoo with from a Gift with Purchase bag and it is easily the best dry shampoo I have ever tried. One or two short bursts takes care of my whole scalp, it is not strongly scented at all, it feels nice, ugh. So good. Alas, with a $20 price tag, I’ll be stretching my sample and ultimately sticking with Psssst! unless I can find it on sale. (You can get the travel size for $7, however). I could only find it at Ulta.
5. Credo blades aren’t safe and daily pumice stone use only get you so far. Despite my DIY pedicure efforts, sometimes you have to break out the big guns. This is also carried at Sally Beauty as well as a similar product that is slightly cheaper (haven’t tried this brand though). Be careful not to leave it on too long, and be both grossed out and amazed by what it does to stubborn calluses.
Disclosure: Hey! Some of the links in this June 2014 Favorites post are affiliate links (not all of them, of course) – this means I may get a very small percentage of the sale if you decide to buy something. I only recommend products I’ve tried and verified as awesome, which is kind of the point of a favorites post. Ethical blogging FTW.