If you’re a fan of Living Proof’s Perfect hair Day Dry (PhD) Shampoo—it’s the best-selling prestige dry shampoo in the country right now, according to the brand, with countless five-star reviews—you’ll want to hear this news: A new formula called PhD Advanced Clean Dry Shampoo ($30) is set to debut July 26. We never thought Living Proof would try to top its existing award-winner (attention devotees: the OG will not be retiring), but we think they might have done just that with this launch.
So why create another dry shampoo? On a Zoom meeting with the brand, Maria Mahoney, manager of product insights and testing at Living Proof, said 91 percent of consumers don’t use dry shampoo, according to a 2019 Mintel dry shampoo study. I find that so hard to believe, but the stats don’t lie. The reason why, Mahoney continued, is that those consumers don’t think dry shampoo actually cleans their hair. So, we wanted to tackle that barrier and break it down, striving to reinvent the dry shampoo category with this launch.
Designed to deliver the benefits of a rinse-out shampoo—that soft, silky feeling with zero residue—without the water, Advanced Clean has several new features that differentiate it from the classic PhD. It includes an advanced delivery system with a new nozzle that allows control for how much you spray, promoting even distribution so fast-absorbing powders can soak up oil, sweat and odor,” says Ron McLaughlin, senior vice president of product development at Living Proof. “It also has a new powder removal system that eliminates activated powders so there is no visible [aka white cast] or textured residue, which the current formula provides.” Many consumers want the added textural benefit, which also often comes with a slight volume boost, but based on the Mintel research, a large group does not.
Other changes include a milder fragrance—some users of the existing formula found the scent to be too strong—and the added benefit of scalp care. “We added an optimized conditioning ingredient blend to refresh the scalp, protect against pollution, balance sebum levels, and leave hair soft, shiny and more manageable,” says McLaughlin. “We took the cleaning benefits of the existing formula and added a whole new level of care for a freshly washed look you can run your fingers through.” Both products are silicone-free, color-safe and safe for chemically treated hair as well.
