As a person who hates wash day, I’ve tried a bunch of clean dry shampoo over the years to deal with my oily roots, and I’m sharing the best ones. The best non-toxic dry shampoo is made with plant based goodness that absorb oil, keep scalp healthy and even volumize without any harmful or questionable ingredients.
Reasons to Use Clean Dry Shampoo
I love using dry shampoo for multiple reasons:
- I have super long hair that’s such a pain to wash
- I have oily roots with dry hair (the most annoying combo!). They get oily by day 2. Using dry shampoo helps extend the days between wash days and prevents me from overwashing my hair.
- I workout and stay active, so my scalp produces a lot of sweat. If you’re a fitness gal, you know the pain of getting sweaty hair and scalp and having to keep hair clean between wash days.
- The tinted dry shampoos are a great “hair makeup” product that covers gray hairs.
So if you haven’t used non-toxic dry shampoo, it can be a total gamechanger in your hair care routine. And if you’re a frequent dry shampoo user, it’s important to swap to a healthy one.
Why Switch to Non-Toxic Dry Shampoo
Your typical dry shampoo can contain benzene, talc, and harmful chemicals that are damaging to scalp and follicle health. The drugstore ones sold at Target and Ulta are always getting recalled when they get outed by independent consumer product safety testing for having health-endangering chemicals. Here’s why you should switch to a natural dry shampoo.
- Dry shampoo comes in loose powder form so the particles are airborne and you breathe them in easily.
- It’s sitting directly on your scalp, which is highly absorbent.
- Conventional dry shampoos can be filled with harmful and irritating ingredients. More on that below.
Here’s my honest take. If you rarely use a dry shampoo, I don’t think you need to toss out the one you currently have. But the next time you need to buy one, remember this post!
A Note on Natural Dry Shampoo
Keep in mind clean dry shampoo will not be an aerosol spray and does NOT come out translucent. Non-toxic ones come out as a gentle poof of air with each pump. They still leave an invisible finish and some even come in tinted versions.
Dry shampoo is still dry shampoo at the end of day, non toxic or not and you’re still adding more product to your scalp. This is going to build up so you need to use a clarifying shampoo and try not to overdo it.
Clean Beauty Guide
Ingredients to Avoid in Dry Shampoo
Independent lab testing has found some conventional dry shampoos contaminated with benzene, plus aerosol propellants and other ingredients you want to avoid.
Benzene Contamination
Independent testing found benzene — a recognized carcinogen — in aerosol dry shampoos, some samples exceeding safety limits. It prompted P&G and Unilever recalls.
Aerosol Propellants
Butane, propane, and isobutane push the spray out of the can — but can irritate the lungs, especially with daily use in a small bathroom.
Talc
A common oil-absorbing powder base, but talc mined near asbestos deposits carries a contamination risk.
⚠ Look for talc-free formulasSynthetic Fragrance
“Fragrance” on a label can legally hide thousands of undisclosed chemicals — some linked to irritation and hormone disruption.
Drying Alcohols
Alcohol helps absorb oil fast, but with frequent use it strips the scalp’s natural oils — leaving it dry, flaky, and irritated over time.
Cetrimonium Chloride
An allergen and irritant.
Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane
A silicone-based ingredient that causes buildup.
Clean Formulas
Ingredients that actually improve scalp health and nourish your strands.
Why it matters: Dry shampoo often gets sprayed close to the scalp and inhaled repeatedly — sometimes daily — so what’s in the formula matters more than a rinse-out product used once and washed away.
My Criteria to Make the Cut
All the natural dry shampoos that make my cut are:
- Made with clean, non-toxic ingredients and talc free
- Actually work to absorb oil and keeps my hair fresh
- Good for scalp health
- Minimal product buildup
- Doesn’t feel heavy or clogging
- No white cast
I tried Jupiter Day 2 Dry Shampoo (best for scalp health!)
Jupiter’s Day 2 Dry Shampoo is the newest innovation in the clean dry shampoo scene! The formula is vegan, sulfate free, paraben free, dye free, synthetic fragrance free, phthalate free and safe for both color treated and chemically treated hair. It’s basically a scalp treatment that also has the added perk of acting like a dry shampoo. This has a grayish white hue and leaves a totally invisible finish on my black hair. My hair looks actually clean versus “powdered” and stays fresh for a few days.
I love that it’s formulated with the heavy hitters that you’d see in a skincare formula like postbiotics, hyaluronic acid, and ashwagandha. Scalp is skin too and their formula focuses on improving scalp health and keeping the scalp barrier calm and hydrated between wash days. A small amount comes out in a gentle “poof” of air so you’re not at risk of over-powdering. I find a two max three pumps is all I need. Be careful not to overdo it!
The is great for sensitive, irritated and oily scalps and particularly ideal for fine hair. The powder itself is super fine and softly milled, and it absorbs very quickly into my oily roots and blends in without much work at all. My hair still looks like my hair when I use this and not like I’ve put on hair makeup for the role of 80-year old me.
Price: $22 for 1oz
Key actives: postbiotics, hyaluronic acid, and ashwagandha
use OBL for -15%
I tried Rowe Casa Organics Dry Shampoo
This is the most affordable 100% natural dry shampoo on my list. Rowe Casa’s looks like a kitchen spice at first glance, but I promise this is actually an organic dry shampoo😂. Rowe Casa Organics Dry Shampoo is a super simple and straightforward all natural dry shampoo made with just three ingredients – organic arrowroot powder, cocoa powder, and grapefruit essential oil.
This option is for my crunchy readers who like saving money or have a sensitive scalp and prefer a very minimal formula. Their dry shampoo offers amazing value for money and has double the amount of product compared to most other clean dry shampoo brands.
As you can probably guess from the kitchen spice shaker bottle, this can get messy when applying. Instead of shaking directly onto my hair I prefer tapping the powder on a makeup brush first and applying.
I was skeptical about whether it would actually absorb oil or leave a powdery cast, but found it to actually work pretty well. There’s also a medium and dark shades that have black walnut hull powder for better blending. Surprisingly, medium still works okay on my black roots. There’s a bit of visible residue at first but once rubbed in it blends in with my hair color well. My main gripe is it isn’t the most sophisticated to use.
Price: $18 for 2oz
Actives: organic arrowroot powder, cocoa powder
use OBL for -20%
I tried Briogeo Biotin Tinted Dry Shampoo Puff
Briogeo Biotin Tinted Dry Shampoo Puff is my top pick for those of you who want convenient hands-free application. This is the only one in clean beauty with a puff applicator for hassle-free touchups on-the-go AND comes tinted. It’s very compact and perfect to throw in my purse or travel bag. My hair looks so clean after applying this and I appreciate that I can just dab it on without having to get powder on my fingers. Fresh roots and some clean leave-in protectant on my drier lengths and my hair’s as good as new.
The Dry Shampoo Puff is 92% naturally derived, vegan & Leaping Bunny certified cruelty-free. The formula begins with a corn starch, tapioca starch and rice starch base and is fortified with an arsenal of actives like copper peptides, Coffee Seed Oil, green tea leaf, glycerin, larch wood extract and even biotin to nourish hair.
This is a super smart product that solves a lot of pain points. No cast on dark hair. No coughing on powder. Easy to travel with and apply. No messy application or having to use my hands. No having to rub rub rub and wonder if it still looks off. I love the extra perk of volume it gives me at the roots. My only gripe is it’s on the pricey end.
Price: $28 for 0.5oz
Actives: biotin, copper peptides, Coffee Seed Oil, green tea leaf, glycerin
use OBL15 for -15%
Rahua Voluminous Dry Shampoo (great for fine hair)
Rahua’s Voluminous Dry Shampoo is all natural and particularly great for super fine hair that needs volume and lift and sensitive scalps. The botanical formula has just five simple natural and organic ingredients, including organic tapioca starch and cosmetic clays to absorb oil and offer volume. It adds a bit of grip and volume, which is fantastic when my greasy roots look like they’re sticking to my head. It conveniently comes out as a spray with a gentle poof, not as a continuous aerosol spray. There’s a very subtle star anise scent that smells amazing and dissipates quickly.
The cost initially looks quite high, but you actually get a lot of product that makes it comparably priced in clean beauty. I love their hair oil on my dry lengths and overall find this to be a top notch band in the organic hair care world. I also really appreciate there’s no cap and it’s a twist top (you squeeze the bottle in order to pump out the powder). Those damn things constantly get lost.
Price: $36 for 1.8oz
Actives: organic tapioca starch, fullers clay, star anise, vanilla
use OBL15 for 15% off
I tried The Rootist Clarify Dry Shampoo Powder
The Rootist is the only brush-on dry shampoo powder I’ve tried and it’s got a super convenient hands-free brush applicator and refillable packaging. I love that they have interesting and innovative ingredients like their proprietary “Rootbiomic” ferment powder of Lactobacillus, Coffee Seed and Panax Ginseng along with magnesium carbonate for oil absorption and allantoin to soothe scalp – all in an arrowroot, tapioca starch and corn starch base. It’s talc-free, paraben free, silicone free, mineral oil free, synthetic fragrance free, sulfate SLS free.
It does have a “vanishing tint” but I need to work it in well with my fingers on my blacker than the night hair for it to disappear which kind of defeats the whole convenience of the brush applicator. I find the quality of the brush bristles are nice and feel very silky and I don’t detect any scent. A decent amount of powder puffs out as I brush. My hair looks clean and fresh for two days. It does run out so fast and offers the least amount of product compared to all the others I’ve tried.
Price: $36 for .17oz
Actives: Lactobacillus, Coffee Seed and Panax Ginseng along with magnesium carbonate, Allantoin
I tried Innersense Refresh Dry Shampoo
Innersense is different from the others I’ve tried in that it’s a foam-to-powder formula. If you don’t like a straight up powder dry shampoo, this is a good alternative to look into that’s water based and 100% natural. Their Refresh Dry Shampoo reminds me of the no-rinse foam shampoo I use on my dog between his baths😂. It’s propellant-free without being a loose powder you’re inhaling or spilling. The base is tapioca starch instead of harmful talc, and has witch hazel for oil balance, quinoa, rice protein, Vitamin B5 and honey. I love that it actually nourishes and conditions scalp. It’s got a subtle citrusy orange scent.
Price: $24 for 2.37oz
Actives: tapioca starch, quinoa, rice protein, Vitamin B5 and honey
I tried Captain Blankenship Refresh Dry Shampoo
Captain Blankenship is another OG in the clean hair care space and their Refresh Dry Shampoo is made of organic tapioca starch, rice powder, kaolin clay, and Irish sea moss powder. The essential oil blend is there specifically to help balance scalp pH and regulate sebum, not just for the lovely floral scent. This one requires more work to rub in since it’s totally white and my roots are super black.The line is currently showing “coming soon” for everything so I would go for the other ones in my list for now.
Price: $28 for 1oz
Actives: organic tapioca starch, rice powder, kaolin clay, and Irish sea moss powder
use OBL15 for 15% off
Andrea is a clean beauty expert from Los Angeles, California with 10 years of experience in natural skincare and organic living. She writes for Organic Beauty Lover using her expertise to guide readers in choosing the best clean products. Andrea graduated from the University of Southern California in 2012 and has worked at multiple skincare companies, big and small. Connect with her @organicbeautylover.
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