When you’re in a pinch and haven’t had time to wash your hair (blow drying takes forever, we get it), dry shampoo is there for you. This unique product contains ingredients that sap up excess oils on the scalp and can make your hair look like it has been washed, even when you haven’t touched regular shampoo in days.
For most people and most brands of dry shampoo, using one sparingly is not going to cause any problems. But, like many things, if you’re relying on them almost daily to give your roots a lift and make your hair feel cleaner after the gym or when you haven’t had time to shampoo and condition your hair, there are a few things you should know before proceeding. Reading the ingredients label on your dry shampoo becomes important in these instances. There are three ingredients in particular that may cause hair damage and even hair loss.
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Alcohol
Dry shampoo usually comes in an aerosol can that allows you to easily spray or mist your hair on the spots of your scalp that you want to target. But many aerosol hair products contain alcohol, and alcohol can be drying on your scalp and hair.
Frequent use of dry shampoo sprays can lead to coating your hair with drying alcohols that can cause the strands to become thick, hard, and even split and break when you’re styling your hair.
Starches
By themselves, starches in any product don’t lead to hair loss, but here’s how they can contribute: many dry shampoos contains starch that is responsible for absorbing the oils on your scalp. This doesn’t actually clean your scalp or hair, but it mimics the look and feel of a clean scalp. Your scalp may feel fresh and your roots may be more lifted than before.
What’s actually happening though is this starch sits on your scalp and on your hair follicles. Similar to how not washing off your foundation can lead to clogged pores on your face and pimples or blackheads, a buildup of starch on the scalp can lead to a bacterial or fungal infection in the hair follicle called folliculitis. And this, if not taken care of, can lead to hair loss and damage.
Talc
Talc is a mineral that has been found to contain asbestos, so in an effort to avoid that hazard, asbestos-free talc has been added to some cosmetics and hair products like dry shampoo instead. While there is no studied direct link between dry shampoos and cancer, there has been researching finding a link between asbestos-free talc and ovarian cancer. Read dry shampoo ingredients carefully and consider whether you want to use talc if yours contains this ingredient.
Even if your dry shampoo checks out in a closer analysis of its ingredients, it is important to keep a few tips in mind to help keep your hair healthy. Use them sparingly. Relying on them daily makes it easier for these products to create buildup in your hair. When you do use them, make sure you wash your hair soon after application. This will remove the starchy buildup on your scalp and prevent hair follicles from becoming blocked.
