The 5 Best Drugstore Dry Shampoos

Batiste’s cult-classic dry shampoo does everything a good dry shampoo should: It doesn’t feel sticky or wet, it gives your hair some body, and it makes your hair feel as clean and soft as if you’d shampooed it. Any white residue brushes away pretty quickly, too. You can’t go wrong with the Original formula, which has a clean, slightly floral scent. But if you want to switch it up a little, try one of the brand’s many fragrances (like Cherry, Tropical, or Neon, an intriguing synesthetic experiment), or a pigmented version to match your hair color.

If your hair is dry or dehydrated, spraying dry shampoo on it can be about as appealing as dry-swallowing a large pill. This OGX dry shampoo is as close to a metaphorical gulp of water as you can get with a dry shampoo, thanks to the addition of nourishing argan oil. Reviewers confirm this doesn’t make their hair feel brittle, and since the spray is on the lighter side, it won’t weigh down thin or fine hair. There’s a coconut oil version too, which delivers the same moisturizing properties but has a more tropical scent.

Dry shampoos can be a little intimidating for people with sensitive skin, but this one from Aveeno is very gentle. The formula contains colloidal oatmeal, rose water, and chamomile, which all work to soothe itchy, irritated scalps while refreshing oily hair. (One Amazon reviewer even said it was gentle enough to use when they developed shingles on their scalp.) And the mist is fine enough that it doesn’t leave behind any sticky, irritating buildup, so you can use it everyday until your next bonafide hair wash.

All dry shampoos basically double as volumizers, but this one from Dove is formulated specifically to give limp, flat hair some Dolly-worthy body and lift. The one linked here is an updated version of Dove’s original, fan-favorite dry shampoo, and some reviewers say this works better: They claim it leaves behind less white residue than the original formula, and it makes your hair feel super soft. It bears the same scent as a bar of classic Dove soap, albeit more concentrated, so there’s that comforting, nostalgic factor, too.

This Aussie dry shampoo gives your hair a matte, piece-y finish, just like a texturizing spray would. But unlike a texturizer, it’ll absorb all the oil and sweat in your roots — so your hair will look like it’s on its third consecutive no-wash day, but it won’t feel like it. (Or smell like it.) Useful if you’re styling it in a way that requires some hold, or if you just like the bedhead thing.