The Reason Olympian Chloe Kim’s Hair Looks So Effortless Is This $12 Dry Shampoo

There are several reasons why finding the right dry shampoo is a tricky feat. For starters, it’s not guaranteed that it will actually help your hair feel cleaner and absorb excess oil — and that’s not even taking into consideration whether or not it’ll leave a chalky cast in its wake. And if there’s one person who feels uniquely primed to put the stuff through its paces, it’s Chloe Kim.

The Olympic snowboarder — who the world met in the 2018 Winter Games as a bleached blonde — has recently returned to her brunette roots. Given that her job requires more time in a snug, sweat-trapping helmet than the average person, when she says she swears by Batiste to keep her roots feeling and looking fresh, I — a fellow dark brunette — am inclined to believe her.

“I remember using Batiste for the first time and being like, oh my gosh, this works,” she tells Refinery29, days before going to intensive training ahead of the upcoming 2026 Olympics in Italy. “Especially with my travel and training, it's one of those necessities that I need on the go.” Her favorite formula? The Zen Matcha Light Dry Shampoo, which uses rice starch to mop up excess oil and has a refreshing chamomile, green tea, and sandalwood scent.

Keep reading as Kim divulges her Olympics hair routine, the K-beauty find she’s currently obsessed with, and more.

“My skincare routine these days consists of Medicube,” Kim tells me — and it makes total sense considering the brand’s toner pads have become a cult staple among K-beauty obsessives and R29 staffers alike. “I love their toner pads and face masks, especially the collagen masks,” adds Kim.  For her, that reliability becomes essential when she’s travelling: “When I’m on the road, especially for snowboarding, where I’m in very dry climates, it’s all about moisturize, moisturize, moisturize.” We love Medicube’s Collagen Niacinamide Jelly Cream for its glass skin-bestowing ingredients like collagen, squalane, and niacinamide.

Kim's secret to excellent hair is practice — and then some. "Honestly, it's like muscle memory at this point. I just know where to pull from," she says of her accidentally perfect strands. "I will say when I sleep with heatless curls in, I get a really cute wave. So when I pull my strands out, they're perfect." To make the most of your beauty sleep, try Kitsch's Satin Heatless Curling Set, which cuts down on frizz and breakage while delivering bouncy, defined ringlets.

Kim laughs as she thinks back to her early snowboarding days, when bigger always felt better. “I used to like [my waves] really thick,” she adds, “so I’d pull out a pretty big chunk, but then it started obstructing my vision when I was doing tricks, so I had to tone it back a bit.”

Looking back on her beauty routine throughout the years, Kim — whose signature look is a matte nude lip and feathered brows — says she's switched things up so many times. "I got into makeup when I was young, and then hair came shortly after. I wanted to dye it all these crazy colors and do all of that fun stuff — I'm all about it. When I first started doing makeup, I always had to have eyeliner, usually a little wing. I also loved mascara and got into BB cushions too.” (One of her go-to’s is the Laneige Neo Cushion, which packs hydrating properties and sheer coverage in a light-as-air formula].

While Kim might be known for her incredible hair today, the journey getting there wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. “Bleaching was rough for my hair, I'm not going to lie. I had to chop it when it was bleached, which was sad, but when I went back to brunette, I was able to grow it out, and I started caring more about my hair when I saw that it was growing back very healthy." Kim says that it's about having a consistent routine, but mainly, taking care of your scalp. "My scalp was always so oily and congested, and I would wash it all the time. And then that's when I discovered Batiste dry shampoo,” she says. The Zen Matcha Light Dry Shampoo buys you more time between washes — ideal if you’re as busy as Kim — thanks to oil-absorbing rice starch. It’s also packed with moisturizing glycerin and calming plant extracts to keep your scalp healthy and comfortable.