Herbal Essences Naked Dry Shampoo

One of the things I absolutely hate about vacationing is washing my hair. To be honest, I just generally hate washing my hair.

About my hair: It is thick and naturally wavy. If I just wash it and do nothing else to it, it will dry frizzy, either wavy or curly, and oh-so-thick. In fact, it's quite possible that my hair might actually look like that of a clown's, except longer. It's not cute.

My routine: To conquer that clown look, I find that I must blow dry my hair and that takes at least an hour for me to do. Since I hate the heat from the blow dryer (and I know it does bad things to my hair), I usually allow my hair to dry naturally resulting in the frizzy, wavy hair I mentioned above.

The next step in my hair care routine is to straighten my hair. I'm not a hair stylist, so the combination of not drying my hair and attempting to straighten it getting it perfect the first time usually doesn't happen. I end up giving up another hour to the straightening iron. … Then I have to come back to it the next day (or a few hours later) to correct what I didn't get right the first time.

All of the above results in a very irritated me with dry hair, split ends, and less happiness than when I started.

This is why dry shampoo is my friend.

Granted there are days when I couldn't care less whether or not you or anyone else thinks my hair looks oily. I put my hair in a ponytail or braid and go about my business simply because I don't want to put in the hours required to have a decent hairdo. But most of the time the oily look isn't really my favorite. That's when I use my favorite dry shampoo which has, more often than not, been cornstarch. Yes, you heard me correctly. Cornstarch. (You can add a bit of cocoa powder for darker hair.) The result quickly soaks up excess oil without leaving your scalp feeling dirty or dry. (I've also tried baking soda which does leave your scalp feeling dirty and dry.)

When Influenster sent me the Herbal Essences Naked Dry Shampoo to try, I was thrilled! Previous non-homemade dry shampoos have worked somewhat but nothing was ever as good as the stuff found in my pantry. Unfortunately, as with most of my reviews recently, I was only to be disappointed. I received the whole bottle as a free trial, but no matter how much product I sprayed in my hair or how long the product was in my hair, my hair still had an oily sheen to it that was just completely unacceptable in my opinion. If I wanted to maintain the oily look, why would I buy and pay for a dry shampoo? Furthermore, the product felt heavy and dirty on my scalp. This resulted in me having to wash my hair sooner rather than later. No thanks. I guess that's why Influenster also sent me a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner from the Herbal Essence line to try as well. (I didn't try it. My mom did and loved it. I went straight to the hair salon and got my hair washed, cut, and curled. Definitely a good hair day for me!)

What is your opinion on dry shampoos? Have you tried the new Herbal Essences naked dry shampoo yet? What about a homemade dry shampoo?

* I received these products free to try, but all opinions are my own and not necessarily those of Herbal Essences or Influenster.