I noticed some of you guys (blubirde, drew) use baby powder on your roots on the second or third days after washing ...
i've tried doing this but for some reason i have problems making it blend in - and i'm blonde - i end up looking kindof gray on top or you can see white on my scalp
I put the baby powder in my hands and distribute it through the oily parts almost like I would a mousse. I also turn my head upside down and dust the powder from my hands through the roots, like a volumizer.
If I have white clumps or a spot of white, I brush it through and kind of shake the hair in that spot. That usually works to keep it from showing.
On my bangs, where I tend to use more baby powder, just to make sure they don't get heavy or oily (since I touch them more), I use my fingers and put powder in individual spots and rub it in.
It sounds like a lot of work but really I can do it all in under a minute. You just have to get the hang of it.
Just make sure to lift your hair as you put it in so it doesn't get stuck in one place and is distributed evenly.
I either lightly shake it on the top of my head and then use my hands to tousel (although it looks more like trying to mess your hair up) it in evenly. If I see any white I use a boars hair brush to even it out. Sometimes I even pat my head to kind of distribute it too. I also put it directly in my hands and apply it to the under parts of my hair at the scalp too. Cornstarch works as well too (I use them both interchangebly).
My mom hates baby powder and swears by some spray thing, that is suppposed to be an alternative to washing hair. I tried it once and admit I like the smell and performance, but am too lazy/cheap to bother buying it... That there are other alternatives out there is my point.
I know this isn't the cheapest option, but I use Bumble and Bumble hair powder. It comes in an aerosol container. It comes in different colors, I use the Blondish because my hair is light brown with blond highlights. This way I don't have to worry about blending so much. Its not exactly cheap, though.
I used to have a lot of trouble and then I started applying it with a blush brush so it goes on more finely and evenly. I sometimes use blubirde's technique of turning my head upside down and if I really go overboard with application I turn my hair upside down, shake my hair and go over it with my blowdryer on the high/cool setting.
Also I bought some of the red B&B powder on ebay a while back and it doesn't have an aerosol applicator, it's just a squeeze bottle that's supposed to puff the powder onto your hair, and it was a total disaster! I kept winding up with red patches on my scalp. So I started mixing it with cornstarch and went back to applying with the blush brush and it's been working really well.