Surprise! You’re Actually Using Dry Shampoo Incorrectly

Not to be too hyperbolic, but we’re pretty sure if Emily Dickinson had existed in 2017, her love poems would be page-long odes centered around the wonderful world of dry shampoo, instead of 19^th century lords and barons. Because dry shampoo is everything. It is the sun and the trees and the moon and the sky and the only thing that can turn a hot-mess morning into a semi-respectable one. So when we heard that we were using our beloved dry shampoo incorrectly—or, rather, inefficiently—we listened the hell up. And now our greasy, three-day-old hair has never looked better (except for when we actually wash it, but whatever).

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Photo: ImaxTree

No, spraying your head with dry shampoo shouldn’t require an instruction manual, but if you’re blasting your roots with it in the morning before heading out the door, then surprise, you’re kind of doing it wrong. Because as soon as that layer of dry shampoo hits your scalp, a little team of oil-sucking powders wrap themselves around your hair strands to trap odors and absorb oil and sweat. So when you brush your hair out after a few minutes, all of the gunk gets, theoretically, swept out, too.

The problem is that most of us spray on our dry shampoo, wait 30 seconds, deftly claw at our roots and run out. And even if you do wait a full five minutes, there’s a good chance the powder still hasn’t had enough time to do its thing. So when a hairstylist friend recently told us to use our dry shampoo at night before bed to give the powder a ton of time to work, our minds were somewhat blown. And before you get skeptical, trust us when we say this hack seriously, truly works, and we have the incredibly clean-looking roots to prove it.

Right before bed, liberally blast your roots with dry shampoo (don’t worry; any excess white spots will wear off before you wake up), then hit the sheets. In the morning, brush out your hair—or, if you’ve got curly hair, just flip your head over and massage your roots for a few minutes to distribute and shake out the powder—and boom, your hair will look hella fresh and new. If you’ve still got visible grease, blast your roots again, wait five minutes, and brush it out like usual. It may not seem like a huge hack or trick, but when you wake up looking like you just showered, you’ll understand why we’re so excited. And if you’re not feeling your current dry shampoo lineup, check out nine of our favorites, below. Then please come back ASAP so we can all freak out excitedly together.

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