DIY Dry Shampoo
This DIY Dry Shampoo is easy to make, SO EFFECTIVE, and made from simple ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen.
Easy homemade dry shampoo
I don’t know about you, but next to coffee and leggings, dry shampoo might just be the lifeblood of motherhood for me.
Truthfully, I was never much of a dry shampoo lady in my younger years. I grew up washing my fine hair on the daily as I relaxed in long hot showers. However, in my older, wiser years where I have added motherhood and a full-time job into the mix of life, I understand that none of that is particularly good for my hair, skin, environment or time management.
So out with the daily hair washing…in with the dry shampoo! I tried the powder kinds. And then the aerosol kind. I even got so sick of it all that I resorted to using only talc-free baby powder for a while…but that ended up looking like I had just dumped a bowl of flour on my hair. So I finally decided to walk the natural DIY route with dry shampoo…..and I LOVE IT!
Why this dry shampoo recipe is so great
- Tried-and-true. I have literally used this DIY dry shampoo for years. And so have many of my followers. It is a naturally living beauty staple in my book!
- Made with stuff you might have in your kitchen. I don’t bother with the store bought stuff, since many of them don’t work and are expensive…instead I just hit my kitchen cupboards and mix up this dry shampoo.
- Quick to make. 3 ingredients mixed in a container to minutes and you are good to go.
- All natural. Since it is made with kitchen staples, there are no sneaky chemicals and yuck ingredients that you feel iffy about putting on your head.
- Adaptable. No one has exactly the same hair color, so you can adjust the cocoa in this recipe to match your unique color. I’ve included the measurements I use for my naturally dark blond hair, but you can add more or less based on your hair color.
How do I apply this homemade dry shampoo?
The key to this DIY dry shampoo, I have learned, is the application. You can’t just dump it onto your scalp, as you will end up with clumps and chalking looking hair.
The secret, I learned, to applying DIY natural dry shampoo is using a makeup brush. It doesn’t have to be a special makeup brush, just one that you can dedicate to your dry shampoo so that you don’t find yourself with clumps of makeup in your hair or dry shampoo in your makeup. I just use an old one I had kicking around.
So why is this the way to go for dry shampoo application? Applying dry shampoo with a make-up brush allow you to “paint” the dry shampoo onto the greasy sections of your hair without overloading your locks with powdery product. When you dump large amounts of the powdery dry shampoo onto your greasy scalp, the shampoo is going to clump and look like dandruff (that’s no good).
This post contains affiliate links, though all opinions are my own.
DIY Dry Shampoo
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder OR cornstarch heaping
- cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder Adjust as needed for your unique hair color. Leave out for light blond hair or add more for dark hair.
Instructions
- Place the arrowroot powder/cornstarch in a small bowl and mix with a fork until all clumps are broken down.
- If you have light hair, you can stop there and use the brush to apply! If you have darker hair, add cacao powder/cocoa powder a little at a time to the dry shampoo until you reach a tone that will disappear into your hair. (I use 2 1/2 teaspoons to make a shade that matches my light brown/dark blond hair). Mix cacao/cocoa powder in until dry shampoo is all one color and there are no clumps.
For application
- Once your dry shampoo is all mixed up, dip a makeup brush into the powder.
- Tap the side of the brush on the side of the container your dry shampoo is mixed in to shake off excess powder.
- Apply along your part and roots, “painting” the dry shampoo along the greasy sections of your hair. Apply throughout hair wherever needed.
- Rub the dry shampoo into your hair and scalp a little with your fingers. Give a little shake to get excess powder out and style as usual!
I have yet to try this recipe. The one I tried before is activated carbon for dry hair and it didn’t worked on my hair. Hopefully this recipe works on me.
For dark hair such as brown hair or black hair to mix the cocoa powder? I have a mix of auburn and brown for my hair color.
You might need to just add a little extra cacao powder at a time until it until you find the right shade for you.
Hello! Can you add an essential oil to this dry shampoo? If so, which one(s) would work best?
Thanks!
Yes! I would say lavender or peppermint would smell great and benefit the hair!
“Hi Taesha,
I read your blog, and enjoyed the content as well as the DIY recipe. One thing I want to ask is this safe for newly rebonded hair? I think it’s almost a month, trying not to use shampoo, but my hair is an oily type, so it’s prone to dandruff and falling hair. Can you please enlighten me on this? Thank you in advance for the feedback. By the way, this might be helpful for the other readers I found this a while ago https://juvetress.com/shampoo-recipes/, thank you.”
Hi Angel! I’m actually not sure how this would impact rebonded hair. Just sharing a little DIY hack that I found. I would touch base with a trusted stylist to find out what to use and what to avoid for that particular situation.
worked great
I love this for my hair in between showers. Also, wanted to let you know that I use this on my dog between grooming appts and it makes her smell so much better! Thank you!
I never thought to use it to freshen up a pup!
I use this for my dog, too, although I make 2 changes: I use a smaller proportion of baking soda so she can’t lick up so much sodium, and I use carob for color since cocoa is harmful for dogs.
Be careful using cacao powder on an animal, especially a canine. The dog will lick their fur, and it is pure chocolate. – veterinary assistant
Agreed. I would not recommend this for a dog or another animal for this exact reason.
Worked great for me! Plus cocoa always smells great!
Have mine in a pretty covered ceramic heart. Taped a small moisture-absorber thingy to the inside cover.
This is such a staple in my life + has been for years. So glad you enjoy it too and what a great tip about the moisture absorbing pad on the inside of the container!
Sister! Thank you! I have long dark hair and used a dark cocoa powder. This recipe came out perfect. I’ve never been a fan of spray dry shampoo because I hate breathing in the fumes (which is why I have to go outside to do it). I found an old makeup brush and after a few practice strokes of “stippling and dabbing” the product on my scalp, I found my rhythm! I store my product in a small mason jar 🫙. Thank yme and again — this was a winner!
Yay! So glad to hear that, Lynette!
Ran out of dry shampoo and decided to give this a go. I really like it and don’t find myself needing to buy anymore ever again! Thank you, Taesha!
Thats awesome!
Worked nicely, but my hair is dark brown, almost black, so to get it to the right colour I had to add a lot of cocoa, which made my hair smell like chocolate.
Oh my goodness… I bought a little powder spray bottle from a very cheap website in prep to make this recipe and the 2 combined is absolute WIZARDRY. I’m so excited to use this more.
Oh that is genius! I didn’t even know they made those!
Made this at 11:47pm because, why not? I used a heaping tablespoon of cocoa powder to match my dark brown hair. My hair was crazy greasy, so I had low expectations. But I was SHOCKED! What is this sorcery?! My hair looked like it was ready for a night on the town, not like I had just pulled it out of an embarrassingly messy bun! This is a keeper!
Yay! I love how simple and basica it is but, yet, works better than the fancy expensive stuff!
I absolutely love this! Just made and it works perfectly!! Thank you! I’m in the process of converting everything to non toxic ingredients. This fits perfectly into that.
So glad you loved it too! I’ve been using this for years and years!
I really like this DIY dry shampoo, really easy to make and apply and it helps with my oily skalp. Thanks for sharing it.
Yay! So glad you love it as much as I do! I have used it for years and years an no store bought version compares
My hair is dyed pink, so ive been drying to wash ig less to keep the color longer. instead of using cocao powder i scraped some powder blush into the mixture to match my dye! It works great, thank you so much!