In the early 1940s, the Stephanie Brooke Company of Jersey City, New Jersey, sold a powder called Minipoo, the first commercially produced dry shampoo. It was pitched at women for surprise dates and for days spent sick in bed. Before that, European wigs had been kept wearable for two centuries with starch powders scented with lavender or orris root. So the idea is old: when you cannot wash, you absorb.

That is still all dry shampoo does. The American Academy of Dermatology says it is fine starch or alcohol-based particles that soak up surface oil, which makes hair look cleaner and fuller, but it does not cleanse the scalp. I have a point of view on dry shampoo: it is a bridge, not a replacement. The dermatologists' technique is to apply a little only where hair looks greasy, start at the scalp, let it sit, then brush it out so that oil and residue leave together.

The trick is to keep one can for ordinary days. Living Proof's Perfect hair Day and OUAI's Melrose Place are the everyday pair I would compare first, and amika's Perk Up Talc-Free is the one for less white cast. Kérastase's Fresh Affair is fragranced, so it doubles as a light mist for the hair. Color Wow's Insta-Wow, Oribe's Gold Lust, Crown Affair's The Dry Shampoo and K18's AirWash round out the shelf for different textures.

Start with the format. Aerosol is one way to get powder onto roots, and it is not the only one. In October 2022, Unilever recalled select aerosol dry shampoos over benzene in the propellant, and the FDA notice says the propellant, not the formula, was the source. That is a reason to try a powder or a pump, if you had wondered.

Crown Affair's Non-Aerosol Dry Shampoo Powder for Oily Hair and dae's Fairy Duster are the two powders I would start with, and the pink pump fits in a tote. Briogeo's Style + Treat Powder Puff is a talc-free puff, and Ceremonia's Powder Pouf and Violette_FR's Frange Puff are the two for precise root work. If you like the spray motion, Living Proof's Sheer Clean Mist, Bumble and bumble's Pret-a-powder Post Workout Mist and Redken's Acidic Cleansing Mist are the non-aerosol ones.

A pairing I like: a powder puff for the front hairline and a mist for the crown. You get precision where you can see it and speed where you cannot.

What I would skip: any spray held right up against your scalp. Hold the can or mist about six inches away, as Cleveland Clinic suggests.

Here is how I would choose a tint: hold the can up next to your roots in daylight, not in the bathroom. If the color on the label reads darker or lighter than what you see, believe your roots.

White cast used to be the tradeoff of oil control, and this group is the answer. Moroccanoil splits its Dry Shampoo into Light Tones and Dark Tones, and Verb does the same with its Refresh Dry Shampoo for Dark Hair and for Light Hair. Bumble and bumble names the shade itself, Blondish and Brownish, which I find refreshingly literal. IGK's First Class After Dark is the charcoal-tinted one for darker roots, and Drybar's Detox Clear Invisible skips tint altogether, for people who want a formula made to disappear.

A good rule if you are between shades: choose the can that matches the roots at your parting, since that is where the eye lands first. Apply it in small amounts and brush it through, and you will see quickly whether the match is right. Two light passes always look better than one heavy one, and you can add more.

What I would skip: a dark tint on light hair, or the reverse. It looks like a stain and takes a proper wash to remove.

A habit worth borrowing: spray at the roots the night before, not the morning of. The powder has time to work while you sleep, and you wake with lift and no visible white.

Some cans are for volume more than oil. Drybar's Detox Thickening and Bumble and bumble's Pret-a-powder Tres Invisible lean into root lift, and Fenty Beauty's The Imposter Invisi-Boost Volumizing Powder does it with a lighter hand. BondiBoost's HG Volumizing Dry Shampoo with Rosemary is the same lane with a rosemary note. For the scalp itself, Vegamour's GRO Dry Shampoo for Thinning Hair and Briogeo's Scalp Revival Charcoal + Biotin are the two aimed at the skin under your hair, not just the strands above it.

For oil, amika's Perk Up Ultra Oil Control and Oribe's Serene Scalp Oil Control Powder are the two I would compare, and the Oribe is the powder version.

What I would skip: dry shampoo on a scalp that is itchy or flaking. That needs a proper wash, and the AAD notes that skipping wet washing entirely can lead to a scaly scalp rash.

I think one or two days is the honest limit. Cleveland Clinic dermatologist Dr. Wilma Bergfeld says dry shampoo's cleansing power is minimal and cautions against using it for several days in a row. The AAD puts a number on it: wash after one or two dry shampoos, not five or six.

So I keep two cans, a powder for weekdays and a tinted one for the day before a wash, and I keep the ends clean. Minipoo was made for surprise dates. Mine is for the surprise at 6 p.m., and then the shower.