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The IGK First Class Charcoal Detox Dry Shampoo is described as “a powerful dry shampoo that cleanses even the most oily hair and scalp with oil-erasing, odor-eliminating charcoal powder.” The bottle contains 6.3 oz of product and it retails for $27. There is also a mini version available which contains 2 oz for $14.
The main dry shampoo I use is Batiste Divine Dark Dry Shampoo which does the job but I wanted to venture out and try some new ones. This one has a lot of hype so I figured I’d give it a try.
It has a light melon-y type of fragrance which is not overpowering, thankfully. I actually quite enjoy the fragrance of this. It’s very fresh and clean smelling.
The packaging is pretty standard: metal can, nozzle, pressurized spray. The nozzle sprays the product on very finely and evenly.
I give it about a minute to dry down and then work the powders into the roots to help absorb oils. When I first apply this, it goes on clear. I can barely tell where it has been applied. After it dries down for a minute I can start to see a white residue where the powders are on my hair. After I work the product into my roots, I don’t feel that I am left with a white cast or anything like that, just kind of a mattified look to my hair.
This does seem to absorb a bit of oil but if I wait for my hair to get too dirty this doesn’t do a whole lot to make my hair look better. It works best if I apply it right after I wash my hair (when it has dried, of course), or sometime later in the day (if I’ve washed my hair in the morning). My hair looks terrible on the second day no matter what I do, so I always wash it every day. I have tried using this dry shampoo as well as others in the morning on second day hair but it never makes enough of a difference to make it worth wasting the product.
This leaves a kind of dry, rough feeling texture to the hair but it doesn’t necessarily make it feel any dirtier. Sometimes dry shampoos seem to make my hair feel even heavier than the oil alone did and makes the strands of hair stick together, making my hair still look dirty but with a slightly altered texture. This doesn’t make the strands stick together too much and gives almost a kind of “hold” to the hair the way a mousse would, which is good for adding a bit of volume.
IGK First Class Charcoal Detox Dry Shampoo vs Batiste Divine Dark Dry Shampoo
I don’t think either one of these necessarily performs better than the other but they do have some differences worth pointing out.
First of all, the Batiste Divine Dark Dry Shampoo costs around $8 for 6.73 fl oz which is a little over a quarter of the cost of the IGK First Class Charcoal Detox Dry Shampoo.
Batiste offers options for dark hair which I LOVE. The dark tint is especially great for somebody with fine hair because it kind of darkens the scalp at the same time giving the illusion of thicker hair. The dark tint could also be a drawback for somebody that touches their hair a lot because it does rub off very easily. When I use this dry shampoo it gets onto my fingers and under my nails if I’m messing with my hair throughout the day.
I think the IGK dry shampoo smells far better and seems less irritating to the lungs. At least, it doesn’t feel like I’m inhaling as much of the stuff when I spray it onto my hair. I don’t know what is in the Batiste that is different than IGK but I have to spray it on my hair and very quickly exit the room for a few minutes to let the powder settle out of the air. The IGK can sprays the product a bit more evenly and smoothly than Batiste.
The IGK dry shampoo gives the hair a more dry feel and feels slightly less heavy in the hair. Neither one leaves my hair looking or feeling any cleaner than the other.
While I do like the IGK First Class Charcoal Detox Dry Shampoo, I won’t be rushing to repurchase it when I run out just because I get a good enough result from the Batiste for much cheaper but I do like the product.