I love holiday gift sets of shampoo and body wash. It is a guilty pleasure of mine. This year, I picked up the Herbal Essences Naked Volume set. I love the grapefruit and mint fragrance and was delighted to find a dry shampoo in the set, because I’ve wanted to try some for a while. Herbal Essences speaks to the ’90s girl in me, so I buy this brand fairly regularly (between that and Fructis).

I followed the directions; shook the can vigorously and then sprayed it into my hair. It looked good, felt good, smelled great, and did an excellent job of freshening my hair. The oiliness vanished with no residue and I was able to brush my hair out neatly as if I’d just washed it the night before. Great product, and how cool that it’s made with tapioca starch. I joked to my boyfriend that I was making boba hair.
I won’t go too many days without a full hair wash, so I didn’t use it again that week. A few days later when I tried to use it again, I barely got a sputter out. It made big white dots all over my shirt and didn’t even reach my hair. I shook it longer, but it didn’t help. Thinking maybe the nozzle was gunked up, I opened the top and ran some warm water over it. Tried again, but I got nothing more than a couple drops. Research time! What am I doing wrong? I got online and looked up the product and saw a number of bad reviews. “The accelerant has left the can and I can’t use it.” “Good for one use then it goes flat and won’t spray.” Wow, that’s disappointing. If I want to continue using dry shampoo, I’ll have to continue with another brand.
I went back to the store to shop a bit more, noting that the retail price for the Herbal Essences can was $4.97. I shook my head in pity for anyone who bought that product outside a gift set. As a replacement, I purchased TRESemme Fresh Start volumizing dry shampoo. Instead of tapioca, it uses aluminum starch, and while it still uses grapefruit fragrance, it swapped mint for tangerine. It should smell pretty good, right? Fruity? Fun? Well, actually, it sort of smells like deodorant. It’s a nice deodorant, but I definitely feel like I’ve put my head in some girl’s armpit. The can, so far, has not let me down. It’s always ready to go, but I really have to question the “New Formula, No Visible Residue.” I spray it on and it’s instant old woman hair. You can work the stuff in and it’s not as visible, but there is definite residue. My arm is long enough to put this can back at a distance for a light dusting of the shampoo, but it would seriously get all over the bathroom if I held it back that far. It does wick away the oil, though, because my hair gets mega boost from this shampoo. I wish I could have had this relationship with Herbal Essences.
My mother raised me to give consumer feedback whenever a product malfunctions (or even when it’s really awesome, because companies love to know when they’re doing well too). I informed them of the fault and I promptly received a letter and coupon from Procter & Gamble. They’ve provided me with a full coupon for any product up to $6. They really are trying to do right by the customers, and I’m grateful for that.
In the gift set, I also received a volumizing souffle (I always called it mousse) and it’s absolutely brilliant. I swear, I woke up one morning with the most amazing big curls, so I decided to wet and scrunch for the day. Two days later, I’m still rockin’ a lion’s mane. I almost hate that it’s hair night, but that just means I get to start over.
What dry shampoo do you use? What do you think of Herbal Essences products? Have you ever had a dud that convinced you to contact the company?