Hair SOS – Bring on the Dry Shampoo

What have all of these scenario’s got in common?

• We  roll over in bed for just a few extra moments only to find that 7am has turned into 8am and we are now late.
• The third day of our camping trip would be great but the only life left in our hair is a bug’s life…..
• Summer water restrictions are on again making long shower time a distant memory.

Yup, we have all been there. These are indeed BAD HAIR DAYS!

Recently I have been lucky enough to give the Lee Stafford Dry Shampoo a bit of a blast – the perfect answer to those running late/ water issue blues. But what is a dry shampoo and does it work?

Dry Shampoo facts.

By carefully dissecting the ingredients listing I can see that this shampoo is more than just a touch of magic. The first ingredients to be listed are just there to get the product out of the bottle (Butane, Isobutane, Propane) but then we get to Corn Starch and we hit gold.

Corn starch is a natural way to help mop up the grease and grime that our hair collects throughout the day.  It is highly absorbent and has a very low likelihood of causing irritation. It is also pretty cost-effective and environmentally abundant.

The next key ingredient is the betaine and this is your surfactant or the thing that ensures that the corn flower sticks and binds to the dirt.  Betaine is another widely used and quite mind (though not the mildest) surfactant and is well suited to this kind of product. It is also naturally derived and very cost-effective.

After that the next key ingredient is the perfume.  The look of dirty hair is one thing but the odour can be enough to send you rushing to the shower. This product has a pleasantly clean, lightly floral and slightly powdery smell to it – very tolerable and long-lasting.

Otherwise the product contains alcohol as the continuous phase (bit that holds it together) and as per European guidelines the product lists some likely fragrance allergens – Linalool, Limonene, Benzyl Alcohol and Butylphenyl Methylpropional.

So, Does It Work?

I shampoo my hair every day as I am a complete grease ball without it (this may be self-inflicted but I have never dared go shampoo less for longer than 2 days).  Anyway, I have given the product a go on three occasions now and have to say that not only did it spruce up my helmet hair it also made the roots look vibrant again.  The weather here has been pretty hot so I did have to re-spray at lunch time on one day but overall, I would class this as a winner.

It has been said that over 90% of a shampoos carbon footprint can be attributed to the water used when rinsing and while I am inclined NOT to agree with this fact it is true that washing hair frequently has a big environmental impact. If only for this reason alone the Poker Straight is worth a try. However, we think that the fact that you can eek a few more days out of your blow dry, sleep in, camp in confidence and travel in style are also pretty fine reasons to buy.

If I could change anything it would be to create the product without the inclusion of fragrance allergens. This product is classed as a “leave on” and so could cause issues for people with sensitive scalps.  Be sure to test it on one of those stay at home days first!

PHOTO SHOP ME PLEASE!

Before and After shots. The before are on the LHS and the after on the RHS. I did see a marked improvement on the volume of the hair and it also appeared less greasy. At the point when these photo’s were taken I hadn’t applied any product or used any “tools”.

To find out more about Lee and his funky hair range  visit his web site Or pop into your local Priceline chemist (if in Australia).