Pantene

Often, when I least expect it, I have flashbacks to my corporate days. Oh, I rarely think about my tiny cubicle, the 4pm meetings (who schedules 4pm meetings?) or the frequent travel – but I do think about the mornings. The mornings where, almost on a daily basis, I whacked the snooze button and began the internal debate of whether I could get away with not washing my hair.

You see, back in the mid-2000’s, there was exactly one dry shampoo on the market – Oscar Blandi – and it was ex.pen.sive. It still is! At $30 for just 2.5 oz, it’s a great option only if you’d rather drop hundreds a year on fake shampoo than drag your sorry ass out of bed.

(Of course, I can be rational about it now, because it’s not 6:00am and I haven’t slammed my alarm clock twice.)

Alas, since I wasn’t willing to invest in Oscar Blandi, I dragged my ass out of bed. And now, when I don’t need to wake up in time for a morning commute, of course there’s a plethora of affordable dry shampoos on the market. Isn’t it ironic, Alanis Morisette?

So, how do you choose the perfect dry shampoo? Well, the good news is that with so many options that won’t break the bank, you can afford a little trial and error. From my own personal experience, I can tell you there is no “one size fits all” miracle product. I thought I had found the perfect dry shampoo, until I tried another, and then another, and then another. And now I realize that dry shampoo is a very personal choice; one that changes with your hair’s length, texture, colour, styling habits, and of course, oiliness. Hence, without further ado, here are five new-to-market, affordable and readily available dry shampoos. I’ll start with Pantene’s trio of products, as they really do deserve separate mentions.

1. Pantene Original Fresh Dry Shampoo

The Pitch: With our dry shampoo formula, it’s now possible to wash your hair without the water. Cleanse, remove oil, and refresh your style even when it’s not convenient to shower. Fuses tapioca with Pro-V Science; leaves no excess residue; tapioca starch is solubilized in ethanol to provide minimal white residue; made without emollients for excellent oil absorption.

The Perfect Customer: Gals with slightly oily hair. The product smells fabulous and goes on relatively translucently, so for application, it’s a clear winner. However, it had a tough time whipping my limp, greasy locks into shape, even with repeated applications. Hence, this product is best used the first day after washing as a maintenance dose, rather than trying to repair already oily hair. But OMG the scent! *Love* it.

2. Pantene Blowout Extend Dry Shampoo

The Pitch: Want to keep your runway-ready style a little longer? Our new waterless formula helps extend your blowout, giving your style a fresh, clean look, even on the second day. Outstanding Oil Absorber technology featuring tapioca particles; quickly evaporates leaving the oil absorbers available to clean effectively.

The Perfect Customer: Just about any gal. Does a great job of protecting the integrity of a fabulous blowout, restoring hair to its full, bouncy state. Showed amazing promise after three daily applications, extending my hair washing cycle effectively and without too much build up. With a good blow out, your volume potential is almost limitless. Definitely my pick of the bunch. …

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