Zero waste dry shampoo is so easy to make. It’s also fantastic for giving your hair some much needed life between washes. I don’t wash my hair every day, I do it every other day. I tend to have oily hair, so even the day after washing it, it can start to grease up. Zero waste dry shampoo is my secret weapon for keeping grease at bay. I just sprinkle some dry shampoo onto my roots and spread it into my hair. It does a good job of giving my hair some volume, and getting rid of grease.
Granted, dry shampoo is no replacement for actual shampoo – it’s just designed to get you through the days you go without washing your hair. Washing your hair every day isn’t such a good idea anyway, because it can leave you with a very dry scalp and it strips away beneficial oils your hair needs. You can buy dry shampoo in stores…but the ingredients in those products tend to be less than ideal. Plus, they typically come in wasteful packaging that’s rather hard or impossible to reuse. Making your own will save you a lot of money. You can also just reuse a glass jar you have lying around the house to store the dry shampoo. Here’s how to make your own zero waste dry shampoo – using just three simple ingredients.
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Zero Waste Dry Shampoo
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup of rolled oats (blended), or 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon of baking soda
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder (for brunette hair)
- 4 drops of lavender essential oil (optional)
For black hair: Use more cocoa powder, or try activated charcoal powder. Adjust to your hair color needs. Don’t worry if you can’t get an exact match in color. Once you mix the dry shampoo into your hair, the dry shampoo will not be visible anymore.
For blondes: Omit cocoa powder and/or charcoal powder entirely. Just the blended rolled oats, baking soda and essential oil will do.
For red heads: Replace cocoa powder with cinnamon powder.
Directions:
- Begin by blending the rolled oats up in a blender. If you have cornstarch, you can omit the blended rolled oats entirely (I didn’t, so I had to use this method). Make sure you blend it really well and really good until it forms a fine powder.
- Add the blended oat powder (or cornstarch) to a bowl. Mix in the baking soda and the colorant of your choice (cocoa powder for brunettes, activated charcoal or more cocoa powder for black hair, cinnamon for red heads – blondes don’t need any color additives so they can skip that part if they so choose.
- Add the essential oil to the bowl, making sure to stir and blend it together with the mixture. Once everything is mixed nicely, transfer into the container of your choice. I chose to put mine into glass jars I had lying around the house. The smaller glass jar is for my parents to use, while the bigger one is for me – though I don’t mind sharing when they run out!
Storage: You can keep this dry shampoo in a simple glass jar you have lying around the house. Another cute idea is putting it in an empty salt and pepper shaker, or an old spice jar of some sort.
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Using zero waste dry shampoo
It’s really easy to use zero waste dry shampoo.
If you put it into a glass jar with a lid like I did, just grab some with your fingers and sprinkle it onto your hair, particularly the roots. Comb the powder through your hair so it’s spread evenly. You can also use an old makeup brush to apply it to your hair (which is what I prefer doing).
If you put your dry shampoo into an empty salt and pepper shaker, or an old spice jar, just shake it out onto the top of your head. Once you have enough in your hair, comb it to spread it out over your head. Make sure your roots get the most of it though – this is where most of the grease stems from, after all.
Don’t be afraid to part your hair and work it into your scalp, or areas of your head that need it most. It’s really easy to apply – you could even use your fingers if you had to.
Personally, this zero waste shampoo has saved me tons of money. I don’t need to go out and buy anything with questionable ingredients or excessive packaging anymore. These ingredients are all items I have on hand in my kitchen anyway, so it’s really a no-brainer.
Plus it actually works! Who could argue with something that’s cheap to make, good for the earth, good for you, and does its job? Not me!
Would you give this zero waste dry shampoo a try? Leave a comment to let me know!
For more zero waste beauty tips and tricks, check out my zero waste makeup remover or my zero waste skin care routine.
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If you enjoyed this article, be sure to share it! If you like my content, sign up for my newsletter to get notified every time I write a new blog post. To support me even further, please consider buying me a cup of tea to help support my blog.
