Here at T&C, we pride ourselves on our discerning eye for quality. With Tried & True, our editors will give you an inside look at the pieces they simply cannot live without.
Growing up, my fine hair was always a problem. Its natural urge is to lay flat, limp, dare I say lank. Add to that the fact that I have an oily scalp, and my teen years were spent dutifully doing the shampoo-rinse-repeat dance daily. Of course, that was before the dry shampoo renaissance of the mid-aughts, a life-changing moment that allowed me, for the first time, to experience what it would be like to have tresses with volume, bounce, and even better, not to have to shampoo and style every single day.
Over the years, I’ve become something of a connoisseur of dry shampoos. From drugstore favorites to non-aerosol powders to the most frou-frou luxury brands, my hair has been sprinkled and spritzed with a veritable cornucopia of oil-absorbers. So when I say that there is one, just one, dry shampoo that truly holds my heart, you know I’m not playing around. The dry shampoo in question? Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Dry Shampoo.
So what makes this spray so special? The first standout, and my personal favorite aspect, is the finish. One of the biggest frustrations with dry shampoos is that they can leave hair with a dull, ghostly cast (the powdered wig look just doesn’t work in 2023.) Like many dry shampoos, Living Proof’s coats the hair in a blend of starch and mineral powders to soak up grease and sweat—don’t worry, it’s talc-free—however this version also contains a special ingredient that prevents those oil-absorbers from sticking to your hair, so the powdery effect disappears easily with the swipe of a brush.
And while it doesn’t cling to hair like other dry shampoos, just a whisper of the formula remains on the strands, which combined with its oil-busting properties, provides a bit of grip for added volume—essential for fine hair. I’ve even been known to spritz it on freshly washed tresses to give an unobtrusive hint of natural-looking hold for styling.
The scent is also a standout. Light and decidedly unisex (think: laundry straight from the dryer) it has just enough fragrance to provide an oh-so-subtle just-washed waft without coming off overwhelming or perfumey. Even better, it’s time-released, so the scent-enhancing properties don’t fade in a single burst, but linger unobtrusively—ideal for, say, long travel days when you need a quick boost, or a post-gym meetup where the last thing you want is to smell like a sweat monster.
All of this has made Living Proof PhD Dry Shampoo a staple of my beauty routine. From a da of running errands to a big night out, there’s rarely a time when my hair doesn’t feature at least a light spray of this shampoo, and it’s never looked better. If that’s not an endorsement we can all aspire to, I don’t know what is.