The secret of good festival hair (Batiste Dry Shampoo)

Member Name: duskmaiden

Product:	Batiste Dry Shampoo
Date:	06/07/07 (2421 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: handy, no need to use water,works reasonably well

Disadvantages: not as good as regular shampoo, messy, not one for coconut haters

The festival season is in full swing now. Prepare for a weekend or more full of eating noodles and other junk food, little sleep and very rudimentary hygiene. When I go to a festival I do like to rough it but do not like to look a right state. I had read about the concept of dry shampoo in all those articles on what to take to a festival so decided to try it out this year. I was going to Rock Werchter in Belgium and would be going from Thursday to Monday without a shower or a hair wash.

Dry shampoo does exactly what it implies. It usually comes in a spray form and does not require water to rinse it out. It is handy to use if you need to refresh tired, smoky or greasy hair. I bought my dry shampoo in my local Superdrug whilst stocking up on other festival essentials such as wet wipes. I had very little choice as they only stocked two options. I chose Bnatise Tropical which come in a 150 ml aerosol can. It cost £1.99 which was reasonable enough for me. I liked the aerosol format as I knew there would be no liquids leaking all over my holdall or tent.

A couple of days into the festival and my hair was feeling rather horrible. It felt and looked like a rats nest covered in cold chip fat. A girl really does not want to feel like that. Out came the spray. Would it do wonders for my hair or would it be just as manky and greasy as it was before? I found the dry shampoo very easy to use. All you need to do is hold the can a foot away from your head and spray. I found that I used quite a lot as I wanted full coverage of my hair. You then massage the spray into your hair and scalp then wait a few moments. After that you simply brush the now powder like spray out of your hair. They suggest a natural bristle brush for best results but I only had a little travel brush but it still worked fairly well. Simple eh.

The first thing I noticed when opening the can is a slight hint of coconut. This develops into an overpowering pong when it is sprayed. I felt like I had dunked my hair in a vat full of Malibu or Pina Colada. It was a strong smell that lingered for hours afterwards. Even if it did not work it would still mask the odour of the filthiest hair going. I found the shampoo easy to massage in but I found the powder really messy to brush out. It seemed to get everywhere. My tent and clothes were coated with a fine white dust.

So did it work? Yes to an extent. My hair did feel a lot softer, shinier, smoother and bouncier. But underneath it was still a little bit greasy and tangled easily. It was a relief to have my hair looking semi decent. However like the morning after pill it is a quick fix you use occasionally but I would not rely on it. I think it was psychological but I did not quite feel like it worked as well as a conventional ashampoo as there is something comforting about lathering the shampoo and watching the soap suds disappear when you rinse our your hair. I would recommend Batiste Tropical dry shampoo to those who might have a weekend where it is not easy to wash their hair or else those who like th idea of smelling like an explosion in a Caribbean brewery. I might buy it again but not for a long while as I will only really use it during the festival season. Roll on next year for more of the same!

Summary: A quick fix for hair between washes