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Dry Shampoo at Night: Should I Use Dry Shampoo Before Bed?

Published: May 13, 2023 · Modified: Oct 21, 2023 by Kenneth Byrd · This post may contain affiliate links

A young African American female with greasy roots due to excess oil sitting on her fine hair strands used a foam dry shampoo to absorb oil and clean hair.

Should I use dry shampoo before bed? If you deal with oily hair, dry shampoo has the potential to transform your hair routine. But as with literally every hair product out there, dry shampoo should be used correctly if you want it to do its job.

Ever since it was introduced in the 70s, people have experimented with dry shampoo to find out the best way to use it, and as of late, people have begun to use it before bed. Could you do the same? How would it affect your hair? That’s what we’ll get into in this article. 

Table of Contents

  • 1 Should I Use Dry Shampoo Before Bed?
  • 2 How to Apply Dry Shampoo to Your Hair at Night
  • 3 You Don’t Have to Use Dry Shampoo Before Bed
  • 4 Can You Use Dry Shampoo Every Day?
  • 5 Dos and Don’t of Using Dry Shampoo
    • 5.1 Dos
    • 5.2 Don’ts 
  • 6 Where to Find Good Dry Shampoo
    • 6.1 Related Articles

Should I Use Dry Shampoo Before Bed?

We recommend using a dry shampoo before bed if you have oily, greasy strands. When dry shampoo is applied to the hair right before bed, leaving the hair undisturbed after applying the product can make it more effective.

With greasy roots, she reaches for her beloved dry shampoo, using it correctly to absorb excess oil and refresh her hair.

Consider how dry shampoo is typically used: users spray a bit of the stuff on their roots and then start fluffing their hair less than a minute later to achieve a particular look. The problem with this is that the dry shampoo isn’t able to sit on the hair long enough for it to absorb the oil effectively. 

Alternatively, when applying the dry shampoo at night (without disturbing your hair until morning), you’ll give the product more than enough time to sit and absorb the oil. Using this application method, you’ll wake up with voluminous, non-oily strands that are easy to style and gorgeous to look at. 

Aware of the wrong way to use dry shampoo, she applies it correctly to combat her greasy roots and achieve fresh, clean hair.

How to Apply Dry Shampoo to Your Hair at Night

Using dry shampoo at night isn’t rocket science, especially if you regularly use it as part of your hair routine. But there are a few things you should be aware of if you go the overnight route: 

  1. Be generous with the dry shampoo. Since you’ll leave it on overnight, you don’t have to worry about over-applying it. If your roots are super oily, it’s totally okay to spray until your hair is damp. You may see some whiteness forming wherever you sprayed the product but don’t worry about that. It’ll go away by morning. 
  2. Don’t touch your hair afterward. Touching, combing, brushing, or otherwise manipulating your hair after applying the dry shampoo can remove some of it from your hair. So, refrain from doing so and catch your Zs. 
  3. Do your zhuzhing in the morning. When you wake up, your hair will be dry and look like you just washed it. But you may need to do a little bit of styling to get your hair to look the way you desire.
Her hairstylist friend recently told her the secret to using dry shampoo effectively, allowing her to absorb oil and revive her hair's texture.

You Don’t Have to Use Dry Shampoo Before Bed

Using dry shampoo before bed is something you can do if you’d like, but you don’t have to use it this way. Dry shampoo was designed to be used whenever you need it. That means you can spritz away morning, noon, or night; it really is all up to you!

How to use Dry Shampoo CORRECTLY!

The key is if your hair is super oily and you want your dry shampoo to work to its full capacity, allow it to sit on your hair undisturbed for as long as you can. Instead of waiting only 30 seconds to a minute to start styling after applying the dry shampoo, try to stretch that out to 2 minutes or even 10 minutes. Then, finish styling. 

Applying dry shampoo with a sweeping motion, she eliminates greasiness and adds volume to her fine hair.

After witnessing the genius of dry shampoo, you might be tempted to use it every single day without fail. You might even forget that you need to wash your hair with traditional shampoo and water to keep your scalp healthy. 

Can You Use Dry Shampoo Every Day?

Dry shampoo isn’t able to function like regular shampoo can. While dry shampoo can absorb scalp oils, it also leaves behind a film that can cause scalp and hair issues down the line. This buildup can accumulate indefinitely, and as it does, it can eventually clog your hair follicles.

Clogged hair follicles can lead to a plethora of scalp problems ranging from itchiness to irritation to infections. That’s not what you want. So, try to limit how often you use dry shampoo.

A frequency of once or twice a week is about right for most people. If you wash your hair a couple of times per week and need to use dry shampoo more than twice a week, something may be wrong.

You could be dealing with a scalp condition that needs some attention. Excessive scalp oiliness can be a sign of dandruff, uncontrolled stress, a less-than-ideal diet, and more. 

Dry shampoo is her secret weapon for combatting greasy roots, absorbing excess oil, and leaving her with fresh, voluminous, dry hair.

Dos and Don’t of Using Dry Shampoo

In addition to the information above, there are some more things to keep in mind when using dry shampoo. Here are some dos and don’ts to keep in mind:

Dos

  • Do spray your hair in sections. If all of your roots are dry, you’ll need to section your hair to access all the roots. For many, it’s easiest to part your hair into 4 sections and then work with smaller subsections from within each section. 
  • Do focus the spray on your roots instead of the mid-lengths and ends of your hair. Oil accumulates primarily in your roots, so that’s where you’ll spray the dry shampoo. You may occasionally need to spray the dry shampoo a little past your roots, but that won’t happen often. If you feel the need to apply the product all over your head, you’re better off washing your hair with shampoo and water. 
  • Do allow the dry shampoo to sit for a while after spraying it. Though many say you should brush, comb, or fluff your hair right away, doing so may sabotage your results. Wait at least a few minutes before styling if you can. If you apply the dry shampoo at night, you can wait until morning to style it. 

Don’ts 

  • Don’t spray dry shampoo on wet hair. It’s designed to be used on dry, oily hair. 
  • Don’t spray dry shampoo on areas that aren’t oily. If you do so, you’re more likely to deal with product buildup. 
Aware of ways to use dry shampoo wrong, she applies a small amount of dry shampoo correctly, avoiding the white residue and achieving clean, oil-free hair without overusing dry shampoo.

Where to Find Good Dry Shampoo

It’s important to know that not every dry shampoo is created equally. Some simply don’t remove oils very well, and others are more likely to leave behind a gunky residue. You don’t want either of these. 

If you want to know how a product performs, a reliable way to find out is to look at online reviews. One of the best dry shampoos on the market is Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Dry Shampoo.

The great thing about this particular dry shampoo is that it actually cleanses the hair - it not only absorbs oil, but it removes odors and absorbs sweat as well. If you want a dry shampoo that will perform better than you could imagine, Living Proof is the way to go.

Related Articles

  • Hair Gets Greasy Overnight
  • How to Get Smoke Smell Out of Hair
  • How to Make Hair Smell Good

So, there you have it! You can use dry shampoo at night, and that may be the right choice if your roots are super oily. But you don’t have to take this route if the oiliness is mild. Either way, we hope you found all the information you were looking for, and we wish you the best of luck in your fight against greasy hair!

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About Kenneth Byrd

Kenneth Byrd, with a BS in Accounting and Management Information Systems and an MBA from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, has over 15 years of experience and is a recognized authority in hair care. Co-founder of Curl Centric® and Natural Hair Box, Kenneth has dedicated himself to promoting ethical and scientifically-backed hair care practices. Rigorous editorial guidelines, industry recognitions, and features in numerous media outlets evidence his expertise. Kenneth’s commitment to transparency, quality, and empowerment has positioned him as a trusted voice in the field, empowering readers to confidently embrace their natural beauty.

Kira Byrd wearing short pixie cut

Hey, I'm Kira!

Curl Centric is a curly hair blog created by husband-and-wife team Kenneth and Kira Byrd. With over 15 years of experience and a community of 10,000+ daily readers, we share trusted techniques to help you embrace and care for your natural curls with confidence.

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