Living Proof’s Dry Shampoo Is A Magic, Shine-Boosting Elixir

Depending on weather conditions and propensity to sweating, dry shampoo may be essential to your hair care routine. While there's no shortage of options for the myriad of different hair types out there, there is one bottle that stands out as among the rest due to its magical cleansing benefits: Living Proof's PhD Dry Shampoo. If you've yet to experience the magic of the formula firsthand, it's become a cult favorite (boasting over 3,000 Sephora reviews) for its lightweight texture, intoxicating scent, and ability to actually cleanse along with condition the hair without weighing it down. And now, five years after the first bestselling formula launched, Living Proof offers a new-and-improved edition. The PhD Advanced Clean Dry Shampoo features an updated "lighter" scent and "optimized" conditioning ingredients that work even harder to eliminate activated powder residue — aka it still has all the classic oil/sweat/odor-fighting qualities as its popular predecessor but with amped up softness, natural shine, and "fresh-out-of-the-shower" feel. (Other superpowers include being safe for color-treated hair, plus adding a shine-boosting, softening effect that is virtually unheard of when it comes to dry shampoo.) Below, read up on our review of the new release as two R29 Shopping team members (a dry shampoo newbie and a Living Proof superfan) test it out IRL.

"I don’t really use dry shampoo. I’ve tried numerous times before but I’ve never really gotten it. I always feel like I’m doing something wrong — aka I’m putting even more product into my hair that it definitely doesn’t need. My scalp is that type of dry that gets my hair very oily (seems confusingly contradicting, I know) so I wash it every two to three days when it’s basically screaming at me to do so."

"Since I recently cut my hair short, I need less product in general. I also have purple curtain bangs, which can get Sahara desert-levels of dry, and I don't always look to use something that could make feel them even drier. That being said, Living Proof's Advanced dry shampoo is kind of magical for making sweat disappear from your hair. It also doesn’t leave a huge white streak that takes forever to blend in, even on my naturally brunette hair. In general, this dry shampoo was super convenient to use as a quick mid-day refresh, but I'll probably follow it up with a leave-in conditioner spray on pieces of my hair that need more moisture." – Mercedes Viera, Associate Deals Writer

"I'm a longtime fan of Living Proof's original dry shampoo, so I was pretty excited to try the new formula. I usually wash my hair three times a week, and by the second or third day, I definitely notice less volume around my roots and crown of my hair. Dry shampoo helps a lot with that, as well as helping absorb oil, of course."

"At first spritz, Living Proof's Advanced dry shampoo is definitely more powerful than the OG. The texture is drier and if you have dark hair like mine, will definitely need to be worked in properly to avoid the dreaded white, powdery buildup. Bit by bit, I dispensed concentrated sprays of the product in my roots, tousling it in each time. After I did my entire head, I was surprised at how clean it felt; usually, the price I pay for mitigating greasy scalp is a slight buildup-y residue. Not the case here. My hair was surprisingly shiny after application (usually I chase dry shampoo with a dry oil mist to add a light veil of moisture back into my hair), and I was able to hold off on washing my hair for a full day more than I otherwise would've." – Karina Hoshikawa, Beauty & Wellness Market Writer