I Dew Care Tap Secret Dry Shampoo

I Dew Care Tap Secret Non-Aerosol Dry Shampoo

I’ve been harping about aerosol dry shampoos being a problem for a while now. I’ve switched to tapioca starch. But maybe you aren’t as much of a DIY-sort or just don’t want to mess with all of that, and I hear you.

Sometimes, you just aren’t up for a project (though it is low effort, I swear). Sometimes, we just need something that’s ready-to-use without the potential for a mess.

I Dew Care has a great little non-foam, non-aerosol dry shampoo for you – Tap Secret ($10-16). It’s most cost-effective to buy 3 (to get it to $10 ea), so if you have friends or family members who might appreciate it as a holiday gift or want to try it, I recommend that route!

I loved the idea of it so much that I bought I Dew Care Tap Secret to try despite having a solution that works for me. And I haven’t been just buying things to try them!

As an added bonus – the container is reusable! I figured even if the contents aren’t for me, I’d get a super-convenient tapioca starch dispenser.

How to Use I Dew Care Tap Secret Dry Shampoo

To use it, you uncap it and tap the foam puff along your hairline. I tend to do my part, make another part/section, and tap again. Then, just like you’d use any other powdery dry shampoo (even aerosol), massage it in and shake it out, done.

I haven’t traveled in a long time, now, but I really love the idea of this dispenser for travel. No tiny aerosol to jam in your quart bag. No benzene.

Happily, there was no discernable fragrance which is a big win for me. Likewise, it did a nice job of absorbing oil without leaving a white cast or greyishness once it was massaged in. It definitely got me through another day without shampooing.

What I Didn’t Like (but You May)

One thing that was a drawback for me personally is that this dry shampoo has clay as an ingredient. You may enjoy depending on your preferences! It’s great as an oil absorbing agent, and it means a little goes a long way. For me, though, using enough to get the job done gave my hair some hair some, “teeth,” or grip. This is great for volume, but can come at the cost of the ability to run your fingers through it.

The downside of this quality, though, is that it feels awful to run your fingers through. It isn’t unique; if you’re used to using texturizing powders like this one from Big Sexy Hair (oh, cool – they now have a lighter option, Lite, that I haven’t tried) or this one from Kristen Ess, it’s a similar feeling.

I think those products have their place (indeed; I own the Kristen Ess one and have used the original Big Sexy Hair one), but by themselves, they aren’t dry shampoos. That quality isn’t what I’m looking for in a regular dry shampoo product. I still want my hair to mostly feel like hair.

On the upside, it washes out easily so no problems there. I’ll use it, but I’d definitely use it when I planned to shampoo the next day. It may also be one of those products that is best used before your hair seems oily – so I will need to report back on that.

What I’m Unsure Of Regarding Tap Secret.

Since the applicator sponge is integrated with the packaging, I don’t know if you can take it off to clean it. Given the nature of the product, I’d think you’d want to eventually if you’re reusing the container. Despite my critique of the contents, I’m not ready to swap them for tapioca starch yet (maybe I’ll find a use for those properties), so I haven’t disassembled it to find out.

The Bottom Line

Finally, I would recommend I Dew Care Tap Secret dry shampoo despite not being completely satisfied with the texture aspect. Having a thorough understanding of the texture will help you use it effectively and work around what I consider its only critical point.

Starch as Non-Aerosol Dry Shampoo

I switched away from conventional, aerosol dry shampoo well-before the news broke that the dry shampoo cans have been spewing poison at an uncomfortable rate. Instead, I use tapioca starch as non-aerosol dry shampoo to minimize oil between washes.

Non-aerosol dry shampoos have been available for a while. However, many of them come in the form of foam that claims to dry quickly. I haven’t tried them personally as they seem impractical; even if they dry fast, damp-looking roots can still be a problem. If I have time for damp hair, I would prefer to wash and dry it quickly.

Instead, on Jean’s advice, I use tapioca starch decanted into a few containers that I apply with a brush or puff. I realize this might sound like lunacy, so here’s more detail on HOW I go about using it:

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Lab Finds Benzene in More Dry Shampoo

Early last week, I wrote an informative and scathing piece on carcinogens in dry shampoo. The news on the matter was focused on brands under Unilever’s umbrella, but unfortunately independent analytical lab Valisure found benzene in more dry shampoo.

How Many?

Not in a few. 70% of the latest round of tests, featuring 150 batches from 30+ brands across multiple parent companies, came back with high levels of exposure. Here are just some of the affected brands:

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Why I Quit Buying Dry Shampoo

Somehow, I forgot to mention in this post that I quit buying dry shampoo. That doesn’t mean I wash my hair every day – which is both time consuming and often times too much for our hair and scalp.

Why I Quit Buying Dry Shampoo

I’ve used several dry shampoo products in the past that I’ve enjoyed. Unfortunately, my favorites were discontinued or changed to be a totally different product with the same name (such is my shitty superpower).

After trying a couple others that either met my low-or-no fragrance requirement but not my effectiveness requirement, or were effective in absorbing oil but choked me with fragrance (looking at you, special edition Grapefruit Mimosa Drybar Detox!), I was fed up.

Unfortunately, dry shampoo is one of those things that I can’t just push myself to use up if it is overly fragrant; it’ll make me sick smelling it all day.

What I Do Instead

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Batiste Dry Shampoo

Batiste Dry Shampoo
Batiste Dry Shampoo / Tropical / $6

For several years, I was a devotee of Psssst! dry shampoo. It took me a long time to find and settle on it, sifting through failures from Pantene and Dove, the lackluster one from Not Your Mother’s, and through an incredibly-awesome-but-usually-out-of-my-budget KMS Hair Play. Psssst! was out of stock when I went to replenish, so I decided to try Batiste. If you caught my August Favorites, you saw that it earned a place as one of them.

Application

That pressure, though – depressing the nozzle of a Batiste bottle releases a quick, forceful burst of product where you want it to go. No wimpy, aimless mists here – Batiste’s fine, powdery spray is targeted. Batiste is on a mission. This is awesome if you’re like me and tend to need to concentrate dry shampoo in certain areas – for instance, towards the back of my crown is the spot that usually needs the first, and repeat, attention. Being able to direct product there means less product goes to waste – and it means that areas that don’t need help aren’t risking unnecessary build-up.

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