TSA item rule · verified 2026-07-02

Can you bring dry shampoo on a plane?

TSA's official answer, checked against tsa.gov on 2026-07-02.

Aerosol or powder changes which rule you are under

Dry shampoo is sold in two forms and only one of them is a liquid. The pressurised can is inside the 3.4 oz (100 ml) quart-bag limit like any other spray. A powder dry shampoo is not a liquid at all and never enters the quart bag — but powders bring a screening step of their own, and our powders page carries the container size at which that step starts, verified against TSA's own entry.

The can is flammable, which is what the checked limit is about

Below deck the constraint is propellant, not screening, so the numbers are the FAA's: 500 ml (17 fl oz) as the biggest single toiletry container, and 2 L (68 fl oz) as the most any one passenger may carry once every can in the bag is added together. Two full-size cans of dry shampoo will not trouble that ceiling; a whole toiletry bag of aerosols can.

The travel-size can is usually the cheaper answer

Dry shampoo is one of the few toiletries where the travel size is genuinely enough for a week, and buying it at the destination avoids the question entirely. That is a packing judgement, not a rule — nothing above changes if you would rather carry the big can in a checked bag.

Source for the rule above: FAA PackSafe — Aerosols

Liquids, gels and aerosols in carry-on follow the TSA 3-1-1 rule. The final decision always rests with the TSA officer at the checkpoint.

Source: TSA — What Can I Bring? · checked 2026-07-02

Related: hairspray · deodorant