Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2024
*UPDATED REVIEW*
I'm leaving my 4/5 star rating. I can see this product working very well for people with different hair density, texture, issues (as noted in my original review below). The smell is nice, the powder form is convenient to carry around for travel or touch-ups, and the powder is fine enough to "disappear" in dark hair.
I continued to mix this product with the Got2B Powderful Voluminizing Styling Powder. The latter product was very drying & gritty to use on its own. But I eventually found the perfect mixing ratio of both products to give me the results I desired. The Got2B powder added the volume & texturizing properties that I found the B&B Pret-a-powder to completely lack. It also boosted the dry shampoo quality. Luckily, the Got2B powder doesn't have a scent, so I got the benefit of the nice clean, subtle scent of this product. I was able to go 2.5 full days with clean looking and smelling hair when I mixed the products just right. (I achieved this with only 1 full head application.) I did a little touch up in areas with the B&B Pret-a-powder (alone) on the 3rd afternoon. My hair looked great. Then, I used quite a bit more of the B&B Pret-a-powder (alone) to get me thru a 4th day! I probably could have used this product to get thru another day, but I really wanted to wash my hair after 4 days. The icky build up feeling started to kick in by then. Although, my hair looked & smelled clean, my scalp was starting to feel gross.
I got lucky that this paired well with the Got2B powder, since the Got2B powder comes in an easier to use & compact container. (It's kind of like a small seasoning jar.) I use way more of the B&B powder in my mix, so I just put the majority of the Got2B powder in a zip lock baggy for later. Then poured a lot of the B&B powder into the other product's container. (Using powdered hair products new for me. I'm still figuring out which method works best. I really don't think the B&B Pret-a-powder container has the best design for direct application... which is another reason I'm leaving 1 star docked.)
All in all, this is not a bad dry shampoo powder. It doesn't meet my needs or expectations when used alone. But it works excellent when mixed with another product, and it's gentle enough to keep "adding on" so I can get another 1-2 days without having to actually wash & deep condition my hair. Some dry shampoos are too heavy to keep adding on. This one is not.
Would I buy it again? Maybe. If I can find a better voluminizing hair powder for a decent price, then no. If I can't, then yes. But only if this product is on sale. And then I'd have to continue mixing it with the other product. (Which is why I'd only buy it while on sale.) I might even consider buying it just to use as an add-on (or as needed) product to get me thru another 1-2 days after using a stronger voluminizing dry shampoo product. I'm no longer completely ruling it out as a product I would never try again.
*ORIGINAL REVIEW*
I gave 4 stars because of the convenience of having a dry shampoo in a powder form. If it weren't for that, I would have rated it 3 stars for it's overall performance and effectiveness. It didn't meet my expectations, but it's not the worst product out there.
MY HAIR TYPE FOR REFERENCE: I normally have medium-fine, straight hair; and it's naturally very dense. I usually have to get it thinned out 3-4 times a year because it becomes very bulky and heavy - particularly below the crown. I'm half Korean and half Caucasian. If you don't know, Korean hair is notoriously difficult to style (even with the strongest products and best tools out there) because it has extra cuticles on the strands. I normally cannot hold a curl more than 10 minutes. I also have an oily scalp, so I usually need to wash my hair daily to avoid the dreaded triangular hair look (slick on top, voluminous towards the bottom). I learned that if I bleach damage my hair a bit, it'll actually hold styles better. Unfortunately, I bleach damaged the heck out of it again. (I seriously went overboard this time.) So, now I'm back in the process of growing my hair out until I can chop off the severely damaged ends.
Can you guess my hair care & styling dilemma right now? I can't wash my hair every day without risking a ton of breakage on the majority of the lengths. However, the few inches of healthy hair near my roots look greasy by the end of the day. There's no way I can wear my unwashed hair down on the second day without using a dry shampoo. My only other option would be a slick pony tail, but my hair is too fragile right now to keep it tied like that regularly. I need to go as many days without shampooing as possible to avoid more breakage and loss of hair color. (Parts of my hair is so damaged that they won't even hold hair dye for long.)
A little texturizing spray combined with a lot of dry shampoo (or a decent dry texturizing spray) is about the only thing that helps me achieve a clean look with a little volume. I can only use a texurizing product at my roots because my hair is so dried out else where. If I use too much texturizing product or one that's too strong, I get that awful gritty feeling... and if I accidentally tossle my hair, it'll cause the damaged the lengths of my hair to instantly knot up. My hair is really a total mess right now. I really need a dry shampoo with just a bit of texturing capability to get me thru the next few months.
WHY DID I CHOOSE THIS PRODUCT? I have products I can use at home. But I need to be able to touch up my roots at times. I'm not about to pay a ton of money so I can continously keep tiny cans of aerosol sprays in my purse or car. I also don't want to risk the cans bursting if I leave them in my car under extreme temps. I found out dry shampoos come in powder form. Yay! I figured a powder would be easier and safer to carry around. I read the awesome reviews on this B&B dry shampoo. I noticed a lot of reviewers commenting that a bottle would last a really long time, making the price of the product well worth it. This product happened to be on sale, so I jumped at the opportunity to try it.
HOW DO I CARRY & USE IT ON THE GO? I couldn't find a decent working, compact sized "duster. " (Another reviewer recommended a duster tool to help with application. I found one that sort of works well, but it's too large to carry in a small purse, and it's easy to accidentally spray or break. It doesn't even have a cap or lock. So, I've been using it at home. Thanks to that reviewer for the great idea! It helped with home applications.) I got creative. I found some used up eye drop bottles to carry this product in! It's a bit of a pain to fill an entire bottle, but it can be done if the hole is wide enough. For my needs, I found it easier to just use the one hole on the eye drop bottle and tap (maybe very lightly squeeze) the powder out where I need it. (It's basically the same way you would use this product straight from the bottle as intended. Except you have a tinier bottle that has a pointed tip, making it easier to aim where you want to apply the product.) I lift and part my hair a section at a time, and apply the product along the part, as close or far away from the scalp as needed. It takes me a while to cover the areas I want, but it saves me from making a mess or wasting product. Plus, in most cases, I've already applied the powder at home and just use this application method for touch ups.
WHAT PRODUCTS DID I USE PRIOR TO TRYING THIS ONE? I was using aerosol sprays. The best dry shampoo I found was Not Your Mother's Plump for Joy Body Building Dry Shampoo. The best texturing spray was Chi Infra Texture, but I could only use the tiniest bit with dry shampoo or it would add to the oily scalp look. Then I'd have to comb oil thru the rest of my hair to match the shine that the Chi spray created. The best Dry Texturizing spray was Kristin Ess Dry Finish Working Texture Spray. I still use all of these products because I have them on hand and don't want to waste them. But truthfully, I usually use a combo of the three (along with other products for the lengths of my hair) when I want my hair to look clean and nice all day long until at least the next afternoon. The compact (purse/carry-on) sizes of these products are not worth the price, IMO. Which is why I now carry around the B&B for touch ups.
INITIAL THOUGHTS ON THE B&B PRET-A-POWDER? I was disappointed that "a little does not go a long way," which is contrary to what many reviewers suggested. And maybe that's just because I have a lot more hair, a different hair type, or a more oil prone scalp. I need to use quite a bit of the powder for it to be as or almost as effective as some other dry shampoos I've tried. It does not work as well as the Not Your Mother's dry shampoo I've been using. It does work to a decent enough extent though. I'm glad I got it on sale. I would've been more disappointed had I paid full price. I've chosen to reserve it for carrying on the go and touching ups because it doesn't work as well and because I want to get my money's worth as much as possible. I paid too much to just toss it out.
SCENT: Light scent that's refreshing and clean smelling. It's hardly noticeable, which is great because it doesn't compete with heavier scents of other products. I have no issues with the scent. I like it a lot.
APPLICATION: It takes practice to apply this straight out the bottle without accidentally dusting parts of your hair that you didn't mean to. If your hair isn't damaged like mine, I don't see this being a huge issue since the "hold," voluminizing effect, or "texturizing" ability is ultra low (pretty much non-existent for my hair). Still, even with enough practice and watching tutorials, it was difficult to accurately get the back of my head near the scalp by just using the bottle alone. *Be careful when squeezing the bottle while it's tilted too much. I got dusted pretty bad a few times. I have dark hair, so I really had to work the product in (in the non-oily lengths) for it to disappear in those instances. Also, it can be hard to distribute the product evenly compared to spray products. If you have thin and/or fine hair, this might not be a big issue. If you have thick hair, it's a hassle trying to work the product thru out your entire scalp. I do let it sit for a while (as I do with other dry shampoos) before working it thru my scalp. But I always have to add more. And then a little more. And maybe just a little more in some spots.
EFFECTIVENESS: Like I said, it works. But I, personally, have to use quite a bit of the product. So, I'm one of the unlucky people who will need to repurchase a bottle every 2 months or sooner. Given the amount I have to use, I absolutely can't stand the way my hair feels on the 3rd day... I usually end up washing it out by the end of the 2nd day. But I don't find this product effective enough on its own to repurchase for regular use. This product helps hide some of the greasy look on my scalp, but it doesn't add any volume whatsoever. If I use a lot, it may make my hair look clean, but it leaves it feeling thick and kinda gunky. It's hard to describe except to say my roots feel heavier and dirtier. (It's pretty much a lot of build up from using a large amount of the product to achieve an effect that other products can do better with less.)
HACK FOR WAY MORE VOLUME & TEXTURE: I also decided to try Got2B Powderful Voluminizing Styling Powder. I'm on the fence on how I feel about that product. It's definitely way more grittier (for texture). I tried mixing it with the B&B powder, and so far it helps provide just a little more texture & volume. I'm still experimenting to see what products I might be able to mix so that this pricier one doesn't go to waste.
OVERALL OPINION: The B&B powder seems like it would work well for people with fine to medium hair, with a thin to medium density, and who don't have problems with their scalp looking annoyingly greasy under 24 hrs. The scent is nice and not overbearing. The product is challenging to work with, but if you find a decent dusting spray bottle, it makes application a whole lot easier. The product is convenient to carry around for touch ups. I'm not sure if I'd buy it again, but I'm still on the hunt for a dry shampoo in powder form that offers a decent amount of texture and volume. This offers no grip or volume at all for me.
