Dry shampoo is a great product to have on hand for absorbing excess oil and refreshing hair on no-wash days or absorbing sweat after a workout. My primary go-to product for dry shampoo for the last year or two has been IGK First Class Charcoal Detox Dry Shampoo. That dry shampoo is very effective, but I’m not thrilled about a few of its ingredients: denatured alcohol, fragrance (proprietary blend that is likely artificial), and alpha-isomethyl ionone (another fragrance ingredient with high allergen potential). That IGK dry shampoo, and most traditional aerosol dry shampoos, also contain butane and propane which are propellants that can be dangerous if inhaled. I don’t mind those ingredients when only used rarely, and I will continue to use traditional aerosol dry shampoos as needed, but I decided to search for a more natural alternative that wouldn’t have any of those potentially harmful ingredients.

I looked to one of my favorite natural brands. I ordered Beauty by Earth Dry Shampoo & Volume Powder because I know I can trust the ingredients used in their products. Instead of an aerosol spray, this dry shampoo comes in the form of a powder. I had seen other dry shampoo powders before, but I liked that this one comes with a nozzle for targeted application.

This type of dry shampoo certainly has its pros and cons. I’ll take you through all of them in my review below!

Product claims directly from BeautybyEarth.com

It’s time to rethink how you clean your hair. Swap out your regular routine for an organic dry shampoo to get the long, luscious, healthy locks you’ve been craving. It’s the gentle way to deal with drab, drained, or dirty ‘dos.

This light and airy powder is so quick to blend in and has a clean floral scent that will leave your hair smelling like you just hopped out of the shower! Immediately after you brush the dry shampoo in you will notice your gorgeous locks refreshed and voluminous! 

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Other product details

• Price: $16.99 (full size) or $12.99 (mini)
• Net weight: 2.5 oz. or 1.5 oz.
• Made in the USA
• Cruelty-free (Leaping Bunny certified)
• Vegan
• Shelf life: 12 months
• USDA certified organic
• No artificial dyes or perfumes
• Formulated for all hair types
• Two shade options:
  • Dark–You’d expect this shade to be light brown or darker, but no, it is white! (this is the shade that I use)
  • Light–This shade is yellow and would only work for blonde hair.
• Where to buy: BeautybyEarth.com or Amazon.com
  • BeautybyEarth.com ships internationally for a flat fee of $28.00
  • Amazon.com ships internationally to over 100 countries, but not all items will ship to every country. Update your default shipping address to see items that will ship to your location.
• Overall rating: 8.4/10
  • Packaging/ease of use: 8/10
  • Oil absorption: 7/10
  • Ingredients: 9/10
  • Ease of removal: 10/10
  • Price: 8/10

Packaging/ease of use

This dry shampoo is packaged in a plastic bottle with a narrow nozzle at the top. Other dry shampoo powders I’ve seen have a cap similar to what you’d see on baby powder, with several small holes. I appreciate that this packaging allows for more targeted application.

Instructions on bottle: Shake well. Twist open the cap. Holding the bottle upright about 6 inches away from hair, part hair into sections and squeeze the middle of the bottle until powder reaches your hair. Start with a very light, fast squeeze and increase pressure until desired amount of powder comes out of the bottle. Using your fingertips or a makeup brush, massage into scalp and brush hair as usual. If extra body is desired, do not use a brush or comb, simply use fingertips to massage into hair line.  

I wanted to include those full instructions here because there are a couple of things I disagree with. If you hold the bottle 6 inches from your hair, you will likely end up with a mess. I make a bit of a mess every time anyway, but keeping the bottle closer to your hair will certainly minimize the mess. I only hold the bottle about an inch from my hair. I also wouldn’t recommend squeezing the bottle because sometimes too much product comes out and then it’s difficult to get it blended into the hair. I think it’s better to shake the bottle because that doesn’t dispense the dry shampoo as quickly, giving you more control. To massage into the scalp, I think fingers work best. If you want to use a makeup brush, it would need to be fairly dense to work it in effectively.

Dry shampoo powders obviously aren’t as quick and easy to apply as typical aerosol dry shampoos, and this one is no exception. However, I do think this type of nozzle/applicator makes it a little bit easier to use compared to other dry shampoo powders. 

Oil absorption

This dry shampoo definitely absorbs excess oil and makes hair look refreshed. However, it doesn’t make my hair look as clean as it does when I use my IGK First Class Charcoal Detox Dry Shampoo. My hair gets oily pretty quickly, so I usually go for the most absorbent dry shampoos and that one has the highest cleansing level of IGK’s three dry shampoos. Beauty by Earth Dry Shampoo & Volume Powder oil absorption is probably comparable to that of a lower cleansing level traditional dry shampoo.

This is a difficult category for me to rank because I think my expectations might be too high due to the fact that I’ve almost always used dry shampoos that are meant to absorb a lot of oil. While I’m not completely satisfied with the level of oil absorption this dry shampoo provides, I do feel as though it makes my hair look clean enough that I’m comfortable going out and I don’t believe anyone else would say my hair looks unclean when I use it.

I apologize for the poor quality of these before and after photos, but I think you can see that there is a big difference in how my hair looks after I’ve used this dry shampoo. In these photos, my hair was washed the night before last, so while it was starting to look oily, it didn’t start out overly oily. I think this is the ideal way to use this dry shampoo; it works well for minimal excess oil, but once you hit a certain point it won’t be enough to make your hair look clean.

Ingredients

Beauty by Earth Dry Shampoo & Volume Powder only contains six ingredients! That is much less than what you’d find in any typical aerosol dry shampoo. For example, my IGK First Class Charcoal Detox Dry Shampoo contains 24 ingredients!

Organic Zea Mays (Corn Starch), Organic Maranta Arundinacea (Arrowroot) Powder, Kaolin Clay, Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda), Organic Theobroma (Cocoa) Powder, Organic Lavandula Hybrida (Lavender) Oil

*These are the ingredients for the dark shade. The light shade contains Yellow (Kaolin & Illite) Clay instead of regular Kaolin Clay and Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Powder instead of Theobroma (Cocoa) Powder. All other ingredients are the same.

I usually focus on the beneficial ingredients in products because more often than not, the list is very long. In this case I’ll provide information on each of the six individual ingredients:

• Zea Mays (Corn Starch)
  • Absorbs oil and sweat
• Maranta arundinacea (arrowroot) root powder
  • Absorbs oil
• Kaolin Clay
  • Lightweight clay that absorbs oil and sweat
• Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda)
  • Absorbs oil, sweat, and odors
• Theobroma (Cocoa) Powder
  • I couldn’t find any information on the purpose of using cocoa powder in a dry shampoo, but I suspect it is only used as a colorant so the powder doesn’t look stark white
• Lavandula Hybrida (Lavender) Oil
  • Fragrance that could sensitize skin (EWG gives this ingredient a score of “1,” however)

These ingredients are refreshingly simple! I appreciate that the formula is focused on absorbent ingredients that will help to control excess oil.

I only have a couple of negative comments regarding these ingredients. I think they should use a higher concentration of cocoa powder to give the “dark” option more color. To me it just looks white, which makes no sense. That is very minor though, as it does blend into the hair once it’s massaged in completely.

Lastly, the lavender oil…I think Beauty by Earth should offer an unscented option for this dry shampoo since lavender oil is sensitizing for some people. I’m happy to report that I have not had any problems with it, but I don’t have sensitive skin. If you have problems with lavender oil or other essential oils, it might be best to pass on this product.

Ease of removal

Most dry shampoos build up residue on the hair and can be difficult to remove completely (I have to use extra shampoo or my Briogeo Scalp Revival Charcoal + Coconut Oil Micro-Exfoliating Shampoo to completely remove most dry shampoos). Fortunately, this dry shampoo powder is different! Since it is a lightweight powder, it feels very light in the hair too. It leaves very minimal residue behind and is easy to wash out with regular shampoo. 

I’m especially glad this dry shampoo is so easy to remove, because I often wonder if I get my hair completely clean when I’m washing out my heavy-duty IGK shampoo. Product buildup isn’t good for your hair or scalp, so I like feeling confident that I’ve got my hair and scalp completely cleansed of product after washing out this dry shampoo.

Price

The full size (2.5 oz.) bottle of this dry shampoo is $16.99. If this was a traditional dry shampoo, I would think that’s way too expensive! Fortunately, this is not a traditional dry shampoo. 🙂 There are a couple of things that must be taken into consideration. Beauty by Earth Dry Shampoo & Volume Powder is an organic product, and organic products are almost always a little more expensive than non-organic comparable products. Also, I feel that this powder is going to last me much longer than a can of traditional dry shampoo would. I’ve been using it for a couple of months and have barely put a dent in it! I’d say that all things considered, this product is a good value at $16.99.

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This product review has been a lot more mixed than most of my other product reviews. What is my final verdict? I think Beauty by Earth Dry Shampoo & Volume Powder is a high quality product that definitely has a place in my collection. However, it does have its downfalls and it’s not a product that I would use when I’m in a hurry. 

If you’re looking for a natural alternative to traditional aerosol dry shampoos and don’t mind putting in a little extra effort, then I think this product is a great choice.

Have you ever used a dry shampoo powder? If so, do you have any tips or tricks to make it easier to use? Please comment below!

Lauren

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