Don’t Wash Your Hair: Dry Shampoo is The New Way to Go

I read a story that was so interesting that I read parts of the story to Mary. And Mary has a short tolerance for things that I find in the paper and begin reading to her. This was a story in today’s WSJ titled, “The Secret to Great Hair, and Sales, Stop Shampooing.”  Yes that got my interest, even though I am lacking much hair around the back myself.  It’s because if I try to get away with not washing my hair for one day, inevitably, I get that greasy, down-at-the-heels-at-the-bus-station look, which nobody wants.

Apparently, not washing your hair every day is a catching on.  In the story by Anne Marie Chaker, both stylists and fashionable 30-something women from Atlanta describe how they their hair looks better a few days after you wash it, not right after . “Messy tousled hairdos are appearing in magazines and on runways. Now those looks are showing up at work, whether it is beachy curls or straight hair worn half-up, half-down.”   The story, in typical WSJ fashion, cites sales declines for many shampoos, and a whopping 32 percent jump in the new dry shampoos category.  The secret of this time-saving formula in dry shampoos is a powdery spray that absorbs the scalp’s oils. Who knew?

I do know from personal experience that any evening event that involves a shampoo and a blow-dry is bound to have me sitting, tapping my fingers waiting for Mary to be ready.  These busy executives have the same time crunch, but they also cite a preference for how hair looks three days after it’s washed. “You need that grit from second day hair, a little bit of powder, hair spray and bobby pins does it,” said LA hair stylist Jenny Cho,” explaining how celebrities get that stylish messy look up top.

Another product that’s gaining traction are shower caps and headbands, both of which increased sales 51% this year. With the rising popularity of blowout bars, where women get styled once a week, just like in the old days, when women sat gossiping in salons underneath giant oval hair dryers. If you do it right, between the different styles, many woman say they can cut their hair washing down to twice a week.