As someone who’s always had very dark hair, I have a love-hate relationship with dry shampoo. I love the concept (because I hate washing my hair), but the most beloved dry shampoos on the market leave a veil of chalky residue that dulls my color. Sure, there are a few solid dry shampoos for dark hair, but I’m always on the hunt for something better. That’s why when I saw content creator Amy Chang using micellar water as dry shampoo to dry-cleanse her hair, I wanted to try it immediately.
I stumbled upon Chang’s video on Instagram where she was explaining how she refreshes her hair post-workout. In the clip, she used the Bioderma H2O Micellar Water ($21) on a cotton pad and dabbed it onto her hairline where she had some sweat and oil – nowhere in this routine was there any powder or spray dry shampoo. In the end, her hair looked good as new, and because she has dark brown-black hair like me, I trusted her expertise on the matter.
In theory, the idea of using micellar water as dry shampoo. Micellar technology traps dirt and oil on the skin, leaving it feeling freshly cleansed without the need for soap and water, so why couldn’t the same concept apply to your hair? I struggle with keeping my hair clean between wash days because I work out four to five times a week, so I was down to give this hair hack a try.
I had the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water With Hyaluronic Acid and Aloe ($11) on hand for this – it’s my favorite one to use on my face – and applied a decent amount to a reusable cotton pad. Once the cotton round was saturated, I dabbed it along my scalp and hairline where I would usually spray some dry shampoo. You’ll immediately feel a little bit of a cooling sensation on your scalp, which I found super refreshing. After I felt that I’d applied enough to soak up all the dirt and oil, I brushed it through and let it sit for a few minutes before assessing the results.
My main beef with dry shampoo is that it leaves my hair covered in a white cast, but that’s not the end of my grievances: I also hate how gritty it makes my hair feel. It’s as if it makes your hair even dirtier to make it look clean. (I know this is a controversial opinion, but I said what I said.)
Once my hair dried from the micellar water, it looked incredibly shiny and less oily than before. My roots weren’t weighed down, and I even had a bit more volume. While I’m not sure this would save day-five or -six hair, it certainly seemed to work well on my day-three hair. I’m not saying this will make me give up using dry shampoo once and for all, but it banished any signs that I had just gone to the gym, and that’s a win in my book.
Jessica Harrington is the senior beauty editor at PS, where she writes about hair, makeup, skin care, piercings, tattoos, and more. As a New York City-based writer and editor with a degree in journalism and over eight years of industry experience, she loves to interview industry experts, keep up with the latest trends, and test new products.
