Dry Shampoo is a must for people who don’t have time to wash their hair before work. It not only freshens up your hair, but it saves time and helps avoid social awkwardness in the workplace.
Hence, Dry Shampoo day is a day that lauds the useful product that is dry shampoo.
How to Celebrate National Dry Shampoo Day
Check out some styling tips online about how to apply dry shampoo into your everyday routine. When you’re searching online for dry shampoos, not all dry shampoos work the same, so check out the ingredients of the products you buy and look for more natural ingredients.
Some come in powders and some come in sprays, so research online what kind of product would be best for you.
Dry Shampoos are not something you can use on their own, however, every so often you’re going to need to get your hair wet and wash out the build-up that comes from constantly using a powder.
Dry Shampoos are amazing though and serve as great tools for maintaining colored hair without washing it out.
History of National Dry Shampoo Day
National Dry Shampoo Day is a fairly recent holiday, but the origins of dry shampoo have a long history.
According to Toni&Guy Hairdressing Academy, dry shampoo has been around since the 15th century, when people in Asia would use clay as a refresher for their hair and in the 17-1800’s, Europeans would ground starches to freshen up their hair under their wigs.
The first commercial dry shampoo was introduced in 1940 and from there it was brought into mainstream culture as a must-use product for quick easy fixers for messy hair. Then Klorane, a European botanical beauty brand known for its high-quality dry shampoos, declared this as an event in 2017.
According to PRNewswire, because of the effects of daylight savings time and less time for hair routines, Klorane decided that this holiday would be the perfect solution towards giving people their hair care needs.
The company’s dry shampoo collection gives a variety of formulas for different types of hair, but the company sees this holiday as an opportunity to celebrate dry shampoo as a “secret weapon” against the oily, frizzy, or dry hair in between showers.
Klorane started over 50 years ago in Southwest of France by a young pharmacist, Pierre Fabre, who advanced the idea of “botanical beauty care”, using eco-friendly plants as a basis for their products.
National Dry Shampoo Day launched last year with Klorane’s #DryShampooAuthority campaign, allowing people to rejoice in the innovation of dry shampoo.
Facts About National Dry Shampoo Day
Clay Powders Were Early “Dry Shampoos”
Long before commercial products, people in parts of Asia used finely ground clays such as fuller’s earth on hair to absorb grease and odor.
These mineral clays have a high surface area and natural affinity for lipids, which helps them bind sebum and sweat so the residue can be brushed away, functioning much like modern powder-based dry shampoo.
Starch-Based Hair Powders Helped Keep Elaborate Wigs Wearable
In 17th and 18th century Europe, heavily powdered wigs and coiffures were often maintained between wet washings using starch-based hair powders, commonly made from wheat or rice.
These powders not only whitened hair for fashion but also helped mask oil, odor, and dirt under layered styles, an important trick at a time when frequent hair washing was impractical.
How Dry Shampoo Powders Actually Soak Up Oil
Most modern dry shampoos rely on starches such as rice, corn, or aluminum starch octenylsuccinate, and sometimes silica or clays, to manage greasy roots.
These particles are highly porous and hydrophobic, so they attract and trap the oily components of sebum on the hair surface, which are then mechanically removed when the product is brushed through, reducing visible shine without dissolving or rinsing away the sebum like a traditional surfactant shampoo.
Aerosol Dry Shampoos Contribute to Indoor Air VOC Levels
Aerosol forms of dry shampoo can significantly increase volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in indoor air because of hydrocarbon and alcohol propellants.
A study of common personal care products found that spray hair products, including dry shampoos, were notable sources of VOC emissions in homes, which can interact with other pollutants to form secondary organic aerosols and affect indoor air quality.
Benzene Contamination Triggered Major Dry Shampoo Recalls
In 2022 and 2023, several widely sold aerosol dry shampoos were voluntarily recalled in the United States after independent testing detected elevated levels of benzene, a known human carcinogen, likely introduced through contaminated propellants.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration published recall notices instructing consumers to discard affected lots, underscoring how raw material quality in spray formulations can create unexpected safety risks.
Overuse Can Alter the Scalp Microenvironment
Dermatologists note that heavy, prolonged reliance on dry shampoo can lead to buildup of powders, sebum, and styling products that accumulate around hair follicles.
This residue layer may trap sweat and microorganisms, aggravate dandruff or folliculitis in susceptible people, and, in severe cases, contribute to hair breakage or shedding if regular cleansing is skipped for too long.
Dry Shampoo Fits a Bigger Shift Toward Less Frequent Washing
The popularity of dry shampoo is part of a broader trend in which people are washing hair less often to preserve color, curl patterns, and scalp health.
Survey data from cosmetics industry reports show that many consumers now stretch wash days to every 3 to 4 days or longer, supplementing with products like dry shampoo to manage oil and volume, which has helped push the global dry shampoo market into the billions of dollars in annual sales.
