Although cocoa powder dry shampoo sounds tame compared to the Tide Pod trend, I was still iffy about dousing my hair in a baking ingredient. I never use traditional dry shampoo because it leaves white, skunk-like stripes in my hair, no matter how vigorously I rub it in.
My hair is thick, unruly, and a bottomless brown that most people assume is black. I decided to try cocoa powder since other women of the internet have tested this fad too, their claims of “Wow! This is incredible” making me rethink its absurdity. Here’s what happened when I used cocoa powder as dry shampoo—mess, denial, and chocolate whiffs included.
The Plan
I snagged a jar of Hershey’s cocoa powder, made from 100 percent Natural Unsweetened Cacao as I was shopping with my parents in Walmart. “Why do you need that for, Mackenzie?” my mom asked, dubious mostly because I’m a horrible baker. “It’s for a Spoon article! I need to put it in my hair.” And then she gave me that what child have I bred look and moved on to the cereal aisle.
My plan was to throw some powder in my dirty hair, give it a shake, and see what happened. My second-day hair is oily, dandruffy, and stringy, therefore it’s a prime candidate for experimental dry shampoos.
My friend helped me photograph the cocoa powder dry shampoo, laughing and shaking his head as I spilled powder everywhere. We were standing outside the journalism building on campus, Sunday-afternoon, casual strollers ogling my insanity (or badassery, as I prefer to call it).
#SpoonTip: Use a salt shaker instead of your hands to evenly distribute the powder in your hair. I just lobbed it on there, causing patchy lumps, a messy sidewalk, and soiled clothes.
The Pros
The "women of the internet" weren’t as far-fetched as I thought: the cocoa powder worked surprisingly well—the chocolatey scent making me a walking bakery. Although I used too much powder, it absorbed the hair grease and dyed my dandruff brown.
My hair was also very voluminous, the powder teasing my hair so it hung miles off my shoulders. The white streaks that Pantene and TRESemmé usually gave me were missing, although the brown powder didn’t match my raven hair either. The gross, dirty feeling that second-day hair usually has was baked away, replaced with a slight stickiness and sweetness.
The Cons
I’m often a chaotic, absent-minded girl, but this powder was a whole other level of mess (i.e. look at my blouse above). I should’ve used a salt shaker, but loving the willy-nilly, I grabbed a handful and threw it over my head. The mess was my fault, but showering the next day was liking taking a bath in sewer water.
My tub still has streaks of brown, but it matches the decrepit faucet and stains from when I moved in. As I mentioned above, the color of the powder still didn’t match my hair, the light brown obvious against my natural hair color (although it’s better than a dull gray or white). My hair also felt chalky and sticky, but the wafting chocolate smell was worth it.
The Cocoa Powder Verdict
I’m a sucker for food-related challenges: shaving my legs with peanut butter, drinking 10 La Croix waters in a day, and smoking cigars for "Why Smoking Hookah Is Unhealthy" pictures. It’s not for the adrenaline rush, I’m just a nutter.
As for cocoa powder as dry shampoo, my verdict is two-fold: The powder was superior to store-bought dry shampoo, but there were key flaws (i.e. mess, color) that make greasy, second-day hair not seem so heinous. So, I’ll stick to the all-natural and let the DIY gurus of the internet have this trend.