On 30 April 1795 the Duty on Hair Powder Act received Royal Assent in Britain, and it took effect on 5 May. Anyone who wanted to powder their hair had to buy an annual certificate, and the money went toward the wars with France. Royalty, some clergymen and members of the military were exempt. Everyone else who paid got a nickname, guinea-pigs, from reformist Whigs who cropped their own hair and skipped the powder in protest.

The Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre says the tax hastened the end of powdered wigs. Payers fell from 46,664 in 1812 to 997 in 1855. I love that a hair product once had a political position.

Modern hair styling powder is the same idea with better manners. It is a fine, dry powder, usually starch or silica, that you work into the roots for grip, lift and a matte finish, no wig or certificate needed. The line between it and dry shampoo is blurry, since many dry shampoos also add volume.

The first grid is the volumizers, some meant purely for texture and some that double as dry shampoo. The second is dry shampoo powders, made to absorb oil first and lift second.

Here is a test I like: dust a little at one part line and leave the other side alone. Rub your fingers through both by lunchtime. If the treated side still has some grip and the other has slid flat, you have found your product.

Three of these are texture powders first. Moroccanoil's Texture & Volume Hair Powder is a non-aerosol powder with argan oil and a 3D mineral compound, meant for fine and medium hair. The brand says you can tousle hair later in the day to bring the volume back. Kenra Professional's Volumizing Texture Powder 14 is a non-aerosol powder built around silica, with medium, flexible hold and a scent of mango, white flowers and amber. Barberino's Volumizing Powder is a small pot from a men's grooming brand founded in Milan. It uses silica, rice starch and zinc stearate for a matte finish at the roots, and a little goes a long way.

The other four are dry shampoos that add lift. Fenty Beauty's Imposter Invisi-Boost has a lilac tint the brand says disappears on every hair color, plus tapioca and rice starch. Act+Acre's Fulvic Acid version is plant-based and non-aerosol, made for an oily scalp. Kitsch's Light Volumizing Rice Protein Dry Shampoo has a built-in puff, no added fragrance, and is meant for light-to-medium hair colors. Bumble and bumble's Prêt-à-powder Très Invisible is a volumizing dry shampoo from a brand that began as a New York salon in 1977.

My pairing: apply the powder to dry hair, at the roots only, and massage it in with your fingertips. Barberino's says the same.

What I would skip: the Kitsch puff if your hair is dark, since the brand says it is meant for light-to-medium colors. Fenty's lilac tint is the better choice there.

These are for the days between washes. Crown Affair's Non-Aerosol Dry Shampoo Powder is talc-free and refillable, and comes with a kabuki brush for targeted application. Persimmon-derived tannic acid is there to deodorize. Briogeo's Style + Treat Dry Shampoo Powder Puff, in Translucent, is a finely milled, talc-free powder with a compact puff, and there is also a tinted shade for dark hair. dae's Fairy Duster is a transparent powder with Mojave yucca and prickly pear seed oil, said to absorb oil and extend styles.

Oribe's Serene Scalp is the scalp-care one. It is talc-free, with a starch blend and kaolin clay for oil, and mango leaf extract that the brand says supports a healthy microbiome. R and Co's Skyline uses diatomaceous earth for subtle grip, jojoba seed oil and burdock root, and has UV and color protection. VERB's is a squeeze-and-spray powder with tapioca starch and centella asiatica. The brand cites a third-party lab result of a 27 percent sebum reduction after one use and 45 percent after two. Bumble and bumble's Prêt-à-powder Dry Shampoo is the brand's other powder, this one made purely as a dry shampoo.

Here is a trick I like: divide your hair into sections and apply along each part, the way VERB's directions say, then massage it into the scalp. You get even coverage with a lot less powder.

What I would skip: a second application on top of the first. Massage the first one in and wait before you add more.

I think hair styling powder is the most underrated tool for people with fine hair. It does not make hair look styled. It makes hair behave like you had a good day.

Here is how I would use it: a light dust at the roots on clean, dry hair for lift, and a heavier one on day three for oil. Use a texture powder for the first and a dry shampoo powder for the second. Start with less than you think you need, since you can always add more.