Ever find yourself short of time to wash your hair in the morning? With these hair-saving dry shampoos you can spritz and be out the door with clean-looking hair in minutes. Phew!
12 of the best dry shampoos
It's all very well and good planning on washing your hair every morning, but when, please tell us, are we meant to find the time? There's the packed lunches to make, the clothes to iron, the breakfasts to prepare and that's all before getting out of the house.
If you're anything like us, a hair wash will be a twice-a-week treat most of the time, and in between it's all about clever hairstyles and quick-fix products. The latest go-to hairstyling hero is dry shampoo, it's everywhere and it's made our morning routine so much easier when we don't have time for a full on wash and dry.
We have found ourselves reaching for the same old bottle again and again, and fancied something new. So what better way to come up with a favourite than by testing all the options out?
Click through the gallery to see our top 10 favourite dry shampoos...
No Drought Dry Shampoo from Lush - 3/10
Our tester Gemma said: The fragrance of this was ok, quite strongly citrus but I'm not sure I want my hair to smell of lemons... I found the design of the bottle made it easy to get a bit heavy handed, leaving me with some white patches, which made my hair look obviously dry shampooed. The texture was a bit sticky but it did make my hair feel fresher, and adsorb some of the moisture, but it didn't make it feel 'awake' and 'uplifted', as the bottle claimed it would do.
Score: 3/10
Size and price: £3.95 for 50g
Bouffe hair thickening spray all hair colours - 4/10
Our tester Jessica said: This smelt nice - sweet and similar to hairspray. It lasted all day long, so much so that I actually found it a bit tricky to wash out. It left my hair looking clean but with a horribly texture, which was stiff and slightly itchy. I couldn't run my hands through my hair and it made the ends static. It gave volume at first but then faded throughout the day. Really love the design and packaging, and it comes in a good size. It also looks professional and it has an easy to use spray action, which were all good.
Score: 4/10
Size and price: £5.99 for 200ml
Pantene Dry Shampoo Instant Refresh - 5/10
Our tester Charlotte said: It smelt really nice and didn't make my hair white or talcum-powdery like other dry shampoos. It went some way to making it cleaner but the results weren't drastic and it did leave some residue in my hair so didn't feel wonderful to the touch. There was no itching though! I would say this is a good option for dark or coloured hair as it doesn't show up too much and I would probably recommend it to other people with dark hair for that reason.
Score: 5/10
Size and price: £3.99 for 180ml
Dove Style+Care dry shampoo - 5/10
Our tester Anna said: This smells really like flowers, and a
little bit like their deodorant too which seems a bit strange. When I
was using it I felt like I had to use a lot of it, but once it was all
in my hair did feel a lot less greasy. The texture was a bit wet for my
liking, and then the next day my head felt a bit itchy, but I find this
with all dry shampoo. My hair stayed clean until the next day, so that
was good. However I think the bottle looks too similar to their
deodorant and it could do with a different design.
Score: 5/10
Size and price: £4.59 for 200ml
Bumble and Bumble prêt-a-powder - 6/10
Our tester Ellie said: It doesn't really have much of a smell at all - not great if you're wanting to use it on second-day hair. It did lift my roots and was really good at absorbing oil, leaving my hair fealing clean after using it. The texture is very fine and light, quite easy to rub in and gives subtle volume. This is a really nice product, but it's very expensive for the amount you get and I've used other much cheaper products which gave similarly good results.
Score: 6/10
Size and price: £21.50 for 56g
Trevor Sorbie Styling Dry Shampoo - 6/10
Our tester Steph said: This smells really nice, like an expensive shampoo. The spray is powerful so I found I overdid the amount the first time I used it. Because of how powerful the nozzle was it made my hair very powdery looking, with a lot of product. Once brushed through it did make my hair look and feel cleaner but it wasn?t as body-inducing as the packet claimed.
Score: 6/10
Size and price: £5.70 for 200ml
Label.m Dry Shampoo - 7/10
Our tester Holly said: This is a Toni and Guy brand and I think you get a really nice product for a reasonable price. I like that it?s mini, so fits in your handbag and the overall product performed well. It had a subtle, salon-like smell and brushed through my hair easily.
Score: 7/10
Size and price: £3.75 for 50ml
Superdrug killer volume - 7/10
Our tester Gemma said: I liked the nice fresh and light fragrance this dry shampoo left on my hair. I think it performed well overall and I'd probably use it again.
Score: 7/10
Size and price: £1.99 for 150ml
Swell Ultimate Volume dry shampoo - 7/10
Our tester Anna said: This has a really nice and fresh scent. For
some reason it doesn?t feel like it refreshes your hair as it has a
slightly gritty texture, but the overall appearance is definitely
cleaner. This is probably because you have to use quite a lot to get the
desired effect. The packaging doesn?t give you any instructions, which
would have been useful. It?s a nice product, which would be useful for
popping in your bag but I probably wouldn?t buy it for the price.
Score: 7/10
Size and price: £20 for 14.5g
Tabitha James Kraan Organic Dry Shampoo - 8/10
Our tester Gemma said: It didn't smell of much, but the little smell it did have wasn't unpleasant. I was really impressed at how well it performed, and it left my hair feeling very clean with a soft and light texture. I was pleasantly surprised with this product, given that it's 100% natural, as I wasn't sure how well it would deliver. The nozzle made it easy to distribute the powder lightly and evenly compared to other loose powder shampoos, which I find can leave big grey patches all over your head!
Score: 8/10
Size and price: £27.95 for 200ml
Aussie Miracle Dry Shampoo Aussome Volume - 9/10
Our tester Ellie said: It smells lovely - just like Aussie's shampoo range. It makes hair look fresher overall, but isn't one for ladies with oily faces/fringes, as it goes on wetter than a powder and doesn't help the appearance of grease quite as much. It's quite a wet spray, and when it dries, it goes a bit sticky - but I think you need that to hold the volume. No itching to speak of! It gives hair great volume that lasted for a good few hours. I would say it's actually better for a root lift than sucking up grease.
Score: 9/10
Size and price: £2.29 for 65ml
Garnier Ultimate Blends, The Silky 7-in-1 dry shampoo - 10/10
Our tester Shannon said: This Garnier dry shampoo smelled wonderful with a scent of vanilla milk - I couldn't stop smelling my hair! It has a very soft texture and I barely noticed I had applied anything, which was a nice change from the usual hair products. It did exactly what it said on the tin - it cleansed, absorbed grease and felt lightweight.
Score: 10/10
Size and price: £2.66 for 150ml
Where to next?
- 10 of the best concealers under £10
- The 10 best beauty products to help you sleep
- Winter skin protectors
