Is Dry Shampoo Good for your Hair?

We all have had those days when we hit the snooze button tad too many times and woke up to realize that there was an important meeting. Worse still, your crush has just asked you out and you need to rush right after college or work. In such situations, dry shampoo can be our saviour – it is a magical hair product that can freshen up greasy and “third-day hair” in an instant. Just a few spritzes are enough to make hair fabulous and fresh all over again without the lengthy process of shampooing. In today’s busy world, dry shampoo is a collective boon for womankind which saves time, energy, and water! But is dry shampoo good for your hair? Let’s find out:

Dry Shampoo Good for your Hair

In fact, a dry shampoo also adds texture and volume to almost any hairstyle, and with the correct usage, you can fool anyone into believing that you have a great hair day. But do you know your favorite dry shampoo might be a beauty game-changer but it can also be a hidden source of toxins and future scalp problems. Before talking about whether dry shampoo is good for your hair, let me tell you what is a dry shampoo and what are its ingredients.

What is Dry Shampoo?
Dry shampoo is a type of shampoo which removes greasiness/oiliness from hair without using water. It basically comes in a powder form and can be sprayed on to hair directly to freshen up hair. Dry shampoo often has a base of corn starch or rice starch and help to give the effect of freshly-shampooed hair in a matter of a few minutes. But sadly, it also has many chemicals which are not your scalp’s best friends. Here are some common ingredients that you can find in dry shampoos:

1. Talc: Conventional dry shampoos are loaded with talc because of its excellent absorbent abilities. But think about it, the ingredient that you so carefully avoid in your face makeup constitutes a major chunk of your favorite dry shampoo. Talc is a material made of magnesium, silicon, and oxygen and may also have asbestos fibers. In fact, asbestos fibres can pose health risks such as respiratory toxicity as well as cancer.

2. LPG’s (Liquid Petroleum Gas) Butane, Propane and Isobutane: Science students, remember aerosols in sprays? Your dry shampoo has toxic aerosol ingredients. What’s worse is this not only are aerosols bad for your health, they are severe environmental pollutant and odorless, colorless gases are extra harmful to our precious ozone layer. They can trigger and increase headaches, or even nausea to you and everyone near the area you’re spraying in.

3. Phenoxyethanol: Phenoxyethanol’s purpose is to help fight bacteria, but research studies are on about this controversial dry shampoo ingredient. Apparently, the synthetic phenoxyethanol used in dry shampoos can lead to developmental and reproductive issues as well as cancer.

4. Cetrimonium Chloride: Cetrimonium chloride is your conventional dry shampoo ingredient addition to get rid of hair static. But I hate to inform you that this has been classified by the AFH Library as toxic, irritating and allergenic, not to mention lethal if orally ingested. Scary right?

5. Alcohol: Alcohol helps to absorb oils and grime, but can be extremely drying to our delicate strands and head. IN fact too much dry shampoo use can remove natural oils that are needed for a healthy scalp resulting in long term hair and scalp damage.

6. Siloxane, Silicones and Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane: Silicones and siloxanes are often used for their binding ability, helping the products to not break down during application and to help product formulas dry faster. These can clog pores and also lead to hair loss.

How Safe is it to Use Dry Shampoo Daily?
Now that I have mentioned about the ingredients, you may realize it’s not advisable to use dry shampoo daily. The dry shampoo is best used in between hair washes. You can use it once or twice a week, as an emergency fix to your hair. Relying completely on dry shampoo and using it on a daily basis is NOT recommended. Dry shampoos cannot be a replacement for actual hair cleansing and clarifying with shampoo. They smother the follicle in the interim but can lead to product build up and clogged scalp follicles. Using dry shampoo too often can be detrimental because it would cause ultimately lead to dandruff, hair fall and other hair issues. In fact the heavy buildup of powder, oil and dead skin cells can cause to breakouts and irritation on your scalp.

So, make sure you are not an avid dry shampoo user and save it only for days when you really need it because it is not good to use dry shampoo frequently through all days.

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