Dry shampoo — when done right, it's a lazy girl's best friend.
But when done wrong, it's a nightmare including but not limited to sticky runaway powder, hair breakage, and excessive oil.
Now that hair care's biggest drugstore brands have all developed their own versions, our dry shampoo options are both affordable and limitless — but which one beats them all?
Turns out there's one very clear answer to that question.
At Revelist HQ's nearest drugstores, I pulled these six contenders from shelves — and decided to rank them all.
I judged them based on three major factors: how visible its powder was, its scent, and its ability to absorb oil.
First up was Aussie, one of my favorite cheap brands for shampoos and hair spray.
This guy ($4, Target) boasts not just the ability to keep grease at bay but also to keep hair in place like a hair spray.
Although I was impressed by how little its powder showed on my dark hair, I was instantly perturbed by its smell.
This spray was allegedly infused with "a tint of wild cherry bark," but it smelled more like "a grade school hallway," as our video producer described it.
Not only did it smell a little like disinfectant, but it also didn't do much for my scalp's oil or my hair's volume. The section of my hair that received Aussie's dry shampoo remained limp and almost felt more slippery than it did before.
Rating: Two out of five stars.
Next, Not Your Mother's, which always reels me in with its pop-y packaging.
This is the original, unscented version ($5, Target), but you can find this dry shampoo in several other scents and textures.
This dry shampoo didn't let me down, but it didn't really impress me, either.
The scent of NYM's was light and refreshing, but it had little powder payoff, which means little oil absorption. This really just felt like spraying some nice smelling, cold air into my roots.
Rating: Two and a half out of five stars.
The same goes for Dove.
This dry shampoo ($5, Target) is specifically formulated to eliminate oil without a trace of residue.
This one helped a little more in terms of volume, but still didn't have that grippy texture and refreshing effect I look for.
On the bright side, it still had virtually no scent and no residue.
Rating: Also two and a half out of five stars.
After using Tresseme's spray, I quickly realized that in most cases, residue is the sacrifice you make for oil absorption.
Tresseme's formula ($5, Target) claims to be chock full of B vitamins and keratin to boost hair health.
This shampoo gave me slightly better results for a little more residue — and I was just fine with that.
What little residue did show with Tressemme was easy to blend in and brush out. The floral scent was subdued. It gave my hair just enough of a boost and didn't dry it out completely. Not bad.
Rating: Three and half out of five stars.
The priciest of the bunch, Batiste faced my highest expectations.
This brand ONLY makes dry shampoo ($6, Target), which made me think "they'd better have this shit DOWN by now."
And although it was VERY powdery, it did everything it was supposed to.
Batiste left me with the most volume of all six dry shampoos once I let all the residue settle. Added bonus: You CAN buy colored versions of it to match your roots.
Rating: Four out of five stars.
But none of these dry shampoos charmed me quite as much as PSSST!
I mean, the name alone kind of got me, but the formula itself ($6, Walmart) was a sight to behold.
I didn't think it was possible, but there IS a dry shampoo that's both absorbent AND residue free.
AND IT'S PSSST!, Y'ALL. At the risk of sound like Stefan from "Saturday Night Live," this dry shampoo has everything: A truly untraceable scent, the ability to eliminate oil, AND volumizing properties.
***Rating: Five out of five stars!!!***
The only thing that's kind of a let down is that PSSST! the hardest to find in stores. But who cares, that's why we have the internet, right?
