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Why Dry Shampoo’s are not a Curls Best Friend

by Anita Grant

My personal results:

I have tried powder dry shampoos and in my humble opinion it was messy and very (excuse the pun) drying on the scalp.
I did not see any benefits but I did see a lot of white dry powdery residue left behind tangled in each curve and bend of my tresses.
I can see it being great for those with straight light coloured hair but not for my curls.
It didn't clean and caused a lot of build up, not to mention made my hair look as if it had dry white dandruff flakes.

Ingredients:
On average powder dry shampoos usually contain the following ingredients:
Butane, Isobutane, Oryza Sativa Starch (Rice) and/or Corn Starch, Propane, Alcohol Denatured (drying agent).

Butane and Propane
Combustible gases used in lighter fluid & mousses to give a foaming propelled element to the product once it's expelled from the canister. In general most mousse manufacturers use a mixture of propane (10%), isobutane (40%) and butane (2%) .Propane is similar to Butane and may deliver more energy than butane, but when butane is compressed, it becomes a liquid very quickly. Once it's released into the air, however, it reacts with an ignition source & becomes a highly flammable gas.

Isobutane
Apart of the Butane family of natural gases, is added to hair care & skin care formulations to give the product its propellant qualities.
Everything from hair spray & mousse to cooking sprays, isobutane allows the spray to be easily expelled from it's container. Isobutane is also used in the refrigeration process most notably in commercial and domestic freezers and refrigerators.

Hydroflurocarbon (HCFC)
A mixture of hydrogen, fluorine, and carbon used as an alternative to to chlorofluorocarbons in regard to the ozone layer. It is used mostly as a propellant in aerosol sprays, as a refrigerant.

Starches act as a sponge and soak up the natural oils (sebum) from our scalp and hair.

Alcohol denatured evaporates in the air extremely quick, when applied to your hair and/or scalp it will take a bit of your hair's moisture with it, causing it to dry out very quickly.

Our hair requires moisture, even distribution of natural oils to act as a sealant.

Powder dry shampoos are not entirely suitable for curly hair types because it will not provide the cleansing, moisture and conditioning properties that naturally curly hair requires.

Another "Dry" Shampoo:
Organic Root Stimulator Organic Root Stimulator Herbal Cleanse Dry Shampoo

Being an ingredient junkie I Googled the ingredients and found this blogger http://theaccidentalnatural.wordpress.com/2009/12/01/product-review-organic-root-stimulator-herbal-cleanse-dry-shampoo/ who listed them as:
"water, alcohol, aloe vera, tetrahydroxypropyl ethylenediamine, wheat amino acids, FD&C Blue #1 (CI42090), kola nut extract, nettle extract, lavender oil, basil oil"

Not sure if the blogger should have used half the bottle but seeing as the the first 4 ingredients contain the highest weight per gram within the product it would seem as though this may be a better alternative to the powder dry shampoo products that do not contain water.
...but...
I do question the use of alcohol (drying agent) and tetrahydroxypropyl ethylenediamine (known to cause contact dermatitis - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21272022)

Everybody is different and it may just work for you.

I am a traditionalist, I need water in my body & on my body but this is just my humble opinion.