What did I do before I discovered dry shampoo? Well, I certainly washed my hair a lot more, my hair was much more flat, and sadly, I also probably had a lot more money – ha! I love using dry shampoo with all of my heart and my hair is so much healthier when I wash it less, BUT dry shampoo can certainly add up. I’ve done some experimenting with both drugstore and higher-end dry shampoos, and there truly isn’t a huge difference. SO, save yourself some money and stick with the more affordable brands. Today, I’m comparing in-depth some of the best under $10 dry shampoos.
Not Your Mother’s Pump for Joy Dry Shampoo
- Price: $5.99
- Amount: 7 ounces
- Pros:
- Great value
- Adds volume
- Free of sulfates, parabens, phthalates, and dyes
- Cons:
- Doesn’t last as long as other dry shampoos
- Smell isn’t bad, but not as great as others
- My Result: For sure worth testing out – it is a great value! I think it works pretty well for the money.
- Price: $6.99
- Amount: 5.3 ounces
- Pros:
- Really great reviews online
- Lots of scents to choose from
- Often buy one get one 50% off at Ulta
- Cons:
- Leaves a white film
- Leaves my hair more greasy
- Makes my hair stiff
- My Result: People seem to REALLY love this dry shampoo, but for whatever reason, I did not work well for me. I can tell you I have a lot of fine hair that gets oily quickly, so if you have naturally oily hair, I’d be careful. However, I am in the minority of not liking this dry shampoo.
Eva NYC Freshen Up Dry Shampoo
- Price: $11.99 (but typically on sale, which is why I included it in the under $10 roundup!)
- Amount: 5.3 ounces
- Pros:
- Effective
- Incredible reviews
- Typically on sale at Ulta
- Cons:
- More expensive for the amount you get
- Bad smell
- Leaves hair stiff
- My Result: If you like a more citrusy smell, definitely give this a shot! I am not typically a “smell” person, and if a product works, it works and it’s great in my book. However, I really couldn’t get past the smell of this. It lingered in my hair and I was not a fan. BUT, if you like a citrusy smell, definitely grab yourself a bottle. A little goes a long way.
- Price: $7.99
- Amount: 6.7 ounces
- Pros:
- Very effective
- Lots of scents to choose from (I love blush!)
- Long-lasting
- Leaves hair soft
- Cons:
- Leaves a pretty thick white film initially, but easy to work out
- My Result: This is one of my FAVORITES. I love Batiste and definitely understand why the rest of the world does too. It is so effective, a great price, and they have so many great scents.
Dove Refresh + Care Detox & Purify Dry Shampoo
- Price: $5.99
- Amount: 5 ounces
- Pros:
- Very effective
- Can easily find on-the-go at drugstores like Walgreens and CVS
- Great price
- Fresh smell
- Cons:
- Need to use quite a bit each use
- Small amount
- My Result: I love this dry shampoo for the price. I initially stumbled across it when I was visiting my boyfriend and needed some dry shampoo. We stopped at a Walgreens and they didn’t have a lot of options, so I grabbed this one and loved it. I also love the Refresh + Care Fresh & Floral Dry Shampoo (smells fantastic) and the Refresh + Care Volume & Fullness Dry Shampoo (adds great volume) by Dove. Great if you’re in a pinch since a lot of drugstores carry it!
Nexxus Dry Shampoo Refreshing Mist
- Price: $13.99 (I bought it on sale – keep an eye out for it to dip under $10)
- Amount: 5 ounces
- Pros:
- Incredible smell
- Hardly any residue
- Cons:
- Pricey (comparatively)
- My Result: For the price, I think there are other better drugstore dry shampoos. However, it definitely does its job well and smells by far the best! However, if you don’t grab it on sale, you could buy two Batiste’s for the price of this one, and so I’d go with those.
OGX Bodifying + Fiber Full Body Renew Dry Shampoo
- Price: $8.99
- Amount: 3.5 ounces
- Pros:
- Great, non-overbearing scent
- Clean feel
- Effective
- Cons:
- Small bottle
- Not a great value
- My Result: I like it, don’t love it. It definitely leaves your hair soft and it gets rid of the oil, but its a bigger price tag for hardly any product, so I most likely wouldn’t rebuy. It didn’t give me any “wow” factor that makes it worthy of the additional dollars.
- Price: $7.99
- Amount: 6.5 ounces
- Pros:
- Free of sulfates, parabens, phthalates, gluten and artificial colors
- Cons:
- Leaves a white film
- Bad smell
- Not very effectively
- My Result: Unfortunately, this was my least favorite dry shampoo I tried. The “argon oil” aspect of the dry shampoo really got my attention, but the sadly it isn’t very effective and the smell is way too strong and citrusy for me.
My Winner
I love the cult-classic Batiste Dry Shampoo! It is so affordable, you can try out so many different scents (which is so fun) and most importantly, it is EFFECTIVE!
One little tip I have for you: if you are ever really in a pinch or don’t want to buy yet another bottle of dry shampoo, try baby powder! When I was younger, this was all I ever used. It definitely takes some hair massaging to work in the white powder, but it is pretty effective. However, nothing beats Batiste for the value!
What are you favorite dry shampoos? Drop them below so we can help each other find the BEST dry shampoo for the value?