K18 AirWash Dry Shampoo Has Dethroned Every Other Dry Shampoo in My (Massive) Collection
I am a self-appointed dry shampoo expert. I’ve tried ‘em all, and I will evangelize about my favorites far past anyone’s tolerance threshold. There’s a years-long log of my favorites on this very website, but over the past couple of years I have narrowed down my top picks to two, sometimes three staples. ALL of these have been dethroned by K18 AirWash Dry Shampoo.
Before I start my rave review, a little backstory. My previous dry shampoo routine was to use Tap Secret (reviewed here) right after I washed and dried my hair — true heads know that the ultimate dry shampoo secret is to use it before your hair is an oily mess. I’d mostly tap it around my temples, hairline, and crown. Then, after I worked out the next morning, I’d liberally spray Bumble and bumble Pret-a-Powder Post Workout Dry Shampoo Mist (reviewed here) and do a quick blow dry. I’d repeat this one or two more mornings, then the next morning the routine would start again. I will say, in all honesty, my hair looked good for like 1.5 days of this entire saga. But it was as good as I was going to get without washing my hair every or every other day, and it was the best system I’d built after years and years of experimentation.
Then reddit suggested a post from r/finehair. LISTEN. I do have fine, thick hair (the hairs themselves are fine, but I have a trillion of them), but I did not appreciate reddit just calling me out like that. I didn’t even know r/finehair existed! But I’ll read anything about dry shampoo, and the fine haired girlies KNOW ball, so I read the post. Then I immediately purchased a small bottle of K18 AirWash Dry Shampoo.
It’s everything the subreddit promised and more. It’s replaced EVERY other dry shampoo I own. I thought I needed a dry shampoo for all reason and seasons, but I really just needed K18 Air Wash Dry Shampoo. I bulk purchased the Bumble and bumble when it was on sale eons ago and now? I’m listing it on eBay. I was all set to buy a stack of Tap Secret on Prime Day. NOT ANYMORE.
All the promises K18 makes about AirWash are true. I will say, r/finehair reported a slight learning curve, so I read a lot of posts and went in a little more prepared than I would have been from just reading the packaging. This is a whole new level of dry shampoo technology, and even the most seasoned dry shampooers will need to adjust.
So here’s how I use this miracle elixir: I still wash my hair as usual and dry it. Then I shake my bottle of K18 like it’s spray paint (ie, a lot) and spray just three sprays on my whole head. One on each side/temple, and one on top closer to my hairline. As per reddit advice, I hold the bottle a good 6 inches from my head each time, and just ONE spray. The first time I tried this, I felt like I was just spraying a faint mist that would end up on my bathroom floor and not on my head, which is aggravating because AirWash is expensive. HOWEVER, it WORKS. There is not a sticky layer of dry shampoo mist on my floor while my hair is a greaseball. Even though it feels like nothing is on my hair, I can FEEL the difference almost immediately. I can also run my fingers through my hair, something I would not attempt with Tap Secret. I massage my roots a little, brush my hair, and it looks styled. It looks like I put in a small amount of effort, which I never do.
And just to sell this even more? I don’t reapply. Maybe I’ll do one or two extra sprays days later if I’m really trying to put in an effort, but if I’m not working out or sweating those first three sprays can truly get me two to three days of wearing my hair down. It’s shocking. It’s incredible. It’s actually worth $48.
I thought this was just a mystifying, wonderful replacement for Tap Secret, but then one day I decided to try using it post-workout. If it turned out to suck, I could just wash my hair and start over, right? So I did my three sprays just like I do on dry hair, but on sweaty post-workout hair instead. I did a quick blow-dry as I normally would, and wouldn’t you know it, my hair looked FAB. It was even BETTER than the already impressive results I got from Bumble and bumble!
Now that I’ve seen K18 AirWash Dry Shampoo in action, I know it’s worth the money, but it is quite a shock when you click a link and see that a 4oz bottle costs $48. I haven’t actually bought the full size bottle yet (but I will) and I’m using the 1.6oz travel size for $24. Still pricey! But think about how little you need to get amazing results. I have a lot of hair, and I use three sprays. Even if I used this every day, I’m still going to get weeks out of a travel size bottle. And it makes my hair look better than it has with any other dry shampoo product, and believe me, I’ve tried them all.
