I Have a Dirty Little Secret

And it’s technically not my hair. Over the past few years I have tried to clean up my beauty routine to limit the exposure to unnecessary chemicals, but the one product I couldn’t quit? Aerosol Dry Shampoo!!! I am in the “less is more” camp when it comes to washing your hair, which means there are times when you need to send for backup when the oils start to take over and that is where my love of dry shampoo began. And of course, I chose the kind of dry shampoo aerosol that was like blowing an air horn into your hair. To many attempts later to try and go without it, I decided to find a more natural alternative.

This is why I decided to DIY my dry shampoo after hearing so many success stories with arrowroot powder. Arrowroot is a starchy root extracted from a tropical plant, maranta arundinacea. The root looks similar to cassava and yucca, but arrowroot is a beast when it comes to thickening :) . The extraction process is simpler than the process for extracting cornstarch and the result (arrowroot powder/flour/starch (they’re all the same!) is naturally gluten and grain-free!

I typically use arrowroot to thicken sauces and soups, but now I use it to thicken my hair. Here is my easy, 2-minute dry shampoo recipe with an added bonus of the “Aveda” essential oil combination. I’ve been obsessed with Aveda’s scents since high school, but try to limit them since they are a bit greenwashed, i.e. the company (now owned by Estee Lauder) has replaced the essential oil scents with a synthetic fragrance to mimic the scent.

What you’ll need:

• 2 containers (I like these, however, I just found these powder “spray bottles,” which I may switch over to)

• 1/4 cup arrowroot powder

• Cacao Powder (the amount is up to you depending on your hair color, but for reference, I have dirty blond roots and I used 2 tbsp)

• Wisk

• small bowl

Essential Oil “Aveda” Blend:

• Orange EO

• Lavender EO

• Ylang Ylang EO

• Bergamot EO

• Peppermint EO

• Rosemary EO

  A note: ALWAYS make sure essential oils are okay with your skin—we’re all bio-individual! I made a small combo of these with a carrier oil (sesame oil) and tested on a patch of skin before adding to my dry shampoo. You also don’t have to use this combo—rosemary is excellent support for hair. You could totally just use one or two of these EOs.

Add the arrowroot and cacao to a small bowl and whisk to combine. Add one drop each of the desired essential oils. The above combination is the “Aveda” blend, so if that is desired, just one drop each of the listed oils! The oils do tend to clump since arrowroot is like a magnet for moisture and oil, so I like to add one oil at a time and whisk in between.

As noted about the cacao powder, it is up to you with the amount you’d like. You could also cut the arrowroot powder in half to 1/8 cup and do 1/8 cup of cacao to get an even mixture.

Spoon the powder into desired containers and be sure to add creative labels (see below).

To use the dry shampoo, I have donated one of my less used blush brushes as the applicator. Just dip the brush into the powder, knock off the excess and dab along the root line or desired area.

As I am a hair styling novice, I love to add dry shampoo at my dirty roots before bed and throw my air up into a bun. I wake up with voluminous, bouncy, non-toxic locks!